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Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland churches could openly endorse candidates from the pulpit, under IRS proposal
Churches could make political endorsements without fear of losing their nonprofit status, if a recent IRS settlement agreement is approved by a federal judge in Texas in a lawsuit brought by churches. (Photo by Capt. Joe Bush/U.S. Army) The Rev. L.K. Floyd believes church leaders should have the liberty to speak to their congregations and support certain political candidates, especially when it comes to improving their communities. Floyd, pastor at Heart Changers Baptist Church in Silver Spring, said Friday some people may believe that allowing that only helps evangelical Christians, pointing to white evangelicals like the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. who established the Moral Majority in 1979 as a political organization pushing a 'pro-family' agenda. 'Not allowing the Black church, in particular, to be able to speak from the pulpit their political views, and also to be able to endorse their candidates and focus and support their agendas, I believe would be dangerous and problematic,' Floyd said. 'When there is something that is unjust … we must speak truth to power.' Now, the Internal Revenue Service agrees. In a proposed settlement filed last week, the IRS agreed with the National Religious Broadcasters that churches and other houses of worship should be allowed to formally endorse political candidate without endangering their nonprofit status under the tax code. A U.S. District Court judge in Texas still has to approve the agreement, which would settle a lawsuit by two Texas churches, the Intercessors for America and the National Religious Broadcasters that challenged the 'Johnson Amendment' to the Internal Revenue Code. That 1954 amendment was introduced by then-Texas Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, and said that nonprofit organizations can maintain tax exempt status if they refrain from political campaigning. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE There's no specific deadline for the judge to make a decision. A lawyer with the IRS didn't respond to an email for comment. A lawyer for the plaintiffs declined to comment Thursday. The seven-page court filing states the amendment violates the plaintiffs' First and Fifth Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, as well as their rights to equal protection under the law. It said merely speaking from the pulpit does not violate the Johnson Amendment rule against participating in or intervening in a political campaign. 'Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates,' the proposed settlement says. 'Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,' it says. The settlement also acknowledged the IRS 'has not enforced the Johnson Amendment against houses of worship for speech concerning electoral politics in the context of worship services.' University of Notre Dame law Professor Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer said in an interview Thursday that the IRS hasn't been enforcing the so-called Johnson amendment for at least the past 20 years. 'Many religious leaders have become bolder and bolder in inviting candidates to come speak at their church, calling them up to get praised, or saying other things that clearly indicate support of a candidate and not have the IRS open up an audit or threaten their types of status as a result,' said Hitoshi Mayer, whose areas of research include election and tax law and political activity by churches and other religious organizations. 'It gives churches that perhaps were hesitant to engage in this activity because they were worried about the IRS a green light to do so,' he said. Even if the judge decides not to approve the settlement, and asks both parties to go back and try again, Hitoshi Mayer said the IRS acknowledges 'we are not going to enforce the Johnson amendment' against churches and other houses of worship. At least it wouldn't happen during the Trump administration, he said, because President Donald Trump (R) said during his first term in office he wanted to repeal the amendment. Under shadow of deportation, Latinos find light at Hyattsville church On Wednesday during a lunch with African leaders, Trump said, 'I love the fact that churches can endorse a political candidate. If somebody of faith wants to endorse, I think it's something that I'd like to hear. Those people were not allowed to speak up. Now they're allowed to speak up. I think it's terrific.' Jeff Trimbath, president of the nonprofit Maryland Family Institute, called the IRS court filing 'a watershed moment.' 'For too long, many pastors have operated under the chilling belief that the law prevented them from equipping their congregations on how to think biblically about civic engagement, candidates, and public policy,' Trimbath said in a statement Tuesday. 'The IRS made it clear: there is no such prohibition. Let's pray this leads to pulpits that are once again unafraid to preach the whole counsel of God — including His truth for the public square.' Not all religious groups are on board. Ashley Hildebrand, senior adviser with Catholics for Choice based in Washington, D.C., hopes the judge rejects the settlement, especially given what it could mean for the separation of church and state. 'If the church can endorse a political candidate, it is just one more way that priests could preach from the pulpit and further alienate people in the pews,' Hildebrand said Thursday. 'If we allow the pulpit to be weaponized or put into service of a political agenda more so than it already is, we are essentially allowing a very well-organized religious force to mobilize its base in pursuit of a partisan agenda,' she said. 'That is inherently dangerous.' No matter what the judge decides, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said it plans to maintain its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates. 'The IRS was addressing a specific case, and it doesn't change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate,' the conference's spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said in a statement Tuesday. 'The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good.'
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
This Date in Baseball - Barry Bonds hits his 715th HR to pass Babe Ruth for 2nd place all-time
May 28 1918 -- Boston's Joe Bush pitched a 1-0 one-hitter against the Chicago White Sox and drove in the lone run. The only Chicago hit was by Happy Felsch. It occurred when he threw his bat at the ball on a hit and run. 1939 -- Philadelphia pitcher Robert Joyce was victimized two straight days by New York's George Selkirk. Joyce gave up two homers to Selkirk a day earlier. Joyce came on in relief on this day and gave up two more homers to Selkirk. Selkirk ended with four homers in four at-bats against the same pitcher over two successive games. The Yankees won 9-5. 1946 -- The Washington Senators beat New York 2-1 in the first night game at Yankee Stadium. The first ball was thrown out by General Electric president Charles E. Wilson. 1951 -- After going 0-for-12 in his first three major league games, Willie Mays of the New York Giants hit a home run off Warren Spahn in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Braves. 1956 -- Dale Long of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a home run in his eighth consecutive game, a major league record. Long connected off Brooklyn's Carl Erskine at Forbes Field. 1968 -- The American League announced the league will be split into two divisions. The East division will consist of Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New York and Washington. California, Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, Oakland and Seattle will make up the West. 1979 -- George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit for the cycle and added another home run to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 in 16 innings. 1986 -- Joe Cowley of the Chicago White Sox set a major league record by striking out the first seven batters he faced. He lasted 4 2-3 innings in a 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers. 1995 -- The White Sox and Tigers set a major league record with 12 homers, and combined for an American League-record 21 extra-base hits in Chicago's 14-12 victory in Detroit. 1998 -- Arizona manager Buck Showalter intentionally walked Barry Bonds with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Diamondbacks held on to beat San Francisco 8-7. 2003 -- Atlanta became the second team in major league history to start a game with three straight homers in its 15-3 win over the Reds. Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit consecutive home runs off Jeff Austin in the bottom of the first. The Padres did it against the Giants on April 13, 1987. 2006 -- Barry Bonds hit his 715th home run during the San Francisco Giants' 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies to slip past Babe Ruth and pull in behind Hank Aaron and his long-standing record of 755. 2007 -- Adrian Beltre tied a franchise record with four extra-base hits, including two homers, as Seattle pounded the Los Angeles Angels 12-5. 2010 -- Detroit's Miguel Cabrera hit three homers in a 5-4 loss to Oakland. Oakland's Ben Sheets gave up three runs -- on Cabrera's first two homers -- worked seven innings in his longest start of the season. 2012 — The Cubs end a twelve-game losing streak, their longest since 1997, with an 11-7 win over the Padres at Wrigley Field. 2010 -- Matt Cain pitched a one-hitter to match a career best, giving up only a two-out double in the second to Mark Reynolds, and San Francisco beat Arizona 5-0. 2013 — The Mets honor Yankees great Mariano Rivera, who has announced his retirement at the end of the year, by having him throw the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the two teams from the Big Apple at Citi Field, with retired Mets closer John Franco acting as his catcher for the occasion. 2016 — In the 3rd inning of a game against the Dodgers, Mets P Noah Syndergaard is ejected for throwing at Chase Utley, in apparent retaliation for Utley's aggressive slide which injured Mets SS Ruben Tejada in last year's NLDS. Umpire Adam Hamari also tosses Mets manager Terry Collins for arguing his decision, then Utley gets his revenge when he opens the score with a solo homer off Logan Verrett in the 6th and adds a grand slam off Hansel Robles in the 7th. The Dodgers hit five homers in total as they win the game, 9-1. 2019 — Derek Dietrich continues his unlikely homer binge as he hits three, all two-run shots, in leading the Reds to an 11-6 win over the Pirates. With 17 homers this year, he has already topped his career high, and 12 of his last 17 hits have gone over the fence. For the Pirates, rookie Kevin Newman hits his first career homer, a grand slam off Lucas Sims. 2023 — Spencer Strider of the Braves becomes the fastest starting pitcher to record 100 strikeouts in a season, doing so in his 61st inning in an 11 - 4 win over the Phillies. Last year, Strider set the record for the fastest pitcher to reach 200 Ks in a season. _____
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ottawa County to hold Water Quality Forum
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Ottawa County is holding a Water Quality Forum on Friday to share updates on water quality, groundwater protection, aquatic invasive species and more. The forum runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the Pinnacle Center in Hudsonville. Water Resources Commissioner Joe Bush stopped by News 8 Thursday morning to discuss what's on tap. You can watch the conversation in the video player above. 'We have an agenda full of great topics, a lot of great speakers coming,' Bush said. Attendees are asked to , since space is limited. Registration is free. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
