Hobby Lobby purchased thousands of ancient artifacts smuggled out of modern-day Iraq via the United Arab Emirates and Israel in 2010 and 2011, attorneys for the Eastern District of New York announced on Wednesday. As part of a settlement, the American craft-supply mega-chain will pay $3 million and the U.S. government will seize the illicit artifacts. Technically, the defendants in the civil-forfeiture action are the objects themselves, yielding an incredible case name: The United States of America v. Approximately Four Hundred Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three...…Hobby Lobby purchased thousands of ancient artifacts smuggled out of modern-day Iraq via the United Arab Emirates and Israel in 2010 and 2011, attorneys for the Eastern District of New York announced on Wednesday. As part of a settlement, the American craft-supply mega-chain will pay $3 million and the U.S. government will seize the illicit artifacts. Technically, the defendants in the civil-forfeiture action are the objects themselves, yielding an incredible case name: The United States of America v. Approximately Four Hundred Fifty (450) Ancient Cuneiform Tablets; and Approximately Three...WW…

was empty on Election Night, with only a few cars in the Disney World–style parking lot out front. North Point Community Church and its nine satellites in the Atlanta area have been mostly closed since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. When Stanley decided to cancel in-person worship until at least early 2021, dozens of families were so unhappy that they decided to quit his church. “Never once did I hear, ‘We’re upset because we miss coming to church,’” he told me, leaning back in a heather-gray wingback chair. The vibe of his church offices is tasteful and inoffensive, as if his...…was empty on Election Night, with only a few cars in the Disney World–style parking lot out front. North Point Community Church and its nine satellites in the Atlanta area have been mostly closed since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. When Stanley decided to cancel in-person worship until at least early 2021, dozens of families were so unhappy that they decided to quit his church. “Never once did I hear, ‘We’re upset because we miss coming to church,’” he told me, leaning back in a heather-gray wingback chair. The vibe of his church offices is tasteful and inoffensive, as if his...WW…

Updated on September 26, 2020 at 5:21 a.m. ET.When President Donald Trump announced today that Amy Coney Barrett is for the Supreme Court, he was effectively declaring victory. In 2016, Trump offered a horse trade to American conservatives: In exchange for their votes, he promised to appoint judges who would champion their interests. This nomination is yet another chance for Trump to remind his supporters that their bet paid off, conveniently timed just a few weeks before Election Day.While Trump may see this nomination as a boon to his reelection campaign, the true victors are the leaders...…Updated on September 26, 2020 at 5:21 a.m. ET.When President Donald Trump announced today that Amy Coney Barrett is for the Supreme Court, he was effectively declaring victory. In 2016, Trump offered a horse trade to American conservatives: In exchange for their votes, he promised to appoint judges who would champion their interests. This nomination is yet another chance for Trump to remind his supporters that their bet paid off, conveniently timed just a few weeks before Election Day.While Trump may see this nomination as a boon to his reelection campaign, the true victors are the leaders...WW…

Updated 11:56 a.m. on January 3, 2020.Drough December. For one thing, he’s about to lose his job: Over the summer, members of the Virginia GOP to kick the freshman Republican out of Congress, largely because he publicly officiated a same-sex wedding. Riggleman’s cousin died of COVID-19 the week before Christmas, and his grandmother had to be hospitalized with the virus. Now, as his family gets sick all around him, Riggleman is about to be replaced in Congress by a coronavirus skeptic. “We have got to stop the insanity, and stop accepting the hoax that says forcing people to wear a mask,...…Updated 11:56 a.m. on January 3, 2020.Drough December. For one thing, he’s about to lose his job: Over the summer, members of the Virginia GOP to kick the freshman Republican out of Congress, largely because he publicly officiated a same-sex wedding. Riggleman’s cousin died of COVID-19 the week before Christmas, and his grandmother had to be hospitalized with the virus. Now, as his family gets sick all around him, Riggleman is about to be replaced in Congress by a coronavirus skeptic. “We have got to stop the insanity, and stop accepting the hoax that says forcing people to wear a mask,...WW…

Updated at 4:50 pm ET on June 14, 2020.V the past decade getting routed in elections. They lost three U.S. congressional seats and control of both chambers of the state legislature in the last two years alone Yesterday, with another tough election less than five months away, Republicans in Virginia’s Fifth District gathered in a church parking lot and kicked out their incumbent congressman, Denver Riggleman, largely because he officiated a same-sex wedding last summer. The grooms, Alex Pisciarino and Anthony “Rek” LeCounte, earned a distinction in their first year of marriage that most...…Updated at 4:50 pm ET on June 14, 2020.V the past decade getting routed in elections. They lost three U.S. congressional seats and control of both chambers of the state legislature in the last two years alone Yesterday, with another tough election less than five months away, Republicans in Virginia’s Fifth District gathered in a church parking lot and kicked out their incumbent congressman, Denver Riggleman, largely because he officiated a same-sex wedding last summer. The grooms, Alex Pisciarino and Anthony “Rek” LeCounte, earned a distinction in their first year of marriage that most...WW…

Briahna Joy Gray has spent the past year waging war on behalf of Bernie Sanders—and now she’s shifted her focus to attacking Joe Biden. At a moment when Democrats are calling for unity around the former vice president, Gray is an outlier, someone her critics accuse of inadvertently aiding Donald Trump now that Sanders is out of the Democratic-primary race.The former Intercept editor joined the Sanders campaign in March 2019 and was immediately ubiquitous on cable news, advocating for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and student-debt forgiveness. But she is perhaps most visible...…Briahna Joy Gray has spent the past year waging war on behalf of Bernie Sanders—and now she’s shifted her focus to attacking Joe Biden. At a moment when Democrats are calling for unity around the former vice president, Gray is an outlier, someone her critics accuse of inadvertently aiding Donald Trump now that Sanders is out of the Democratic-primary race.The former Intercept editor joined the Sanders campaign in March 2019 and was immediately ubiquitous on cable news, advocating for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and student-debt forgiveness. But she is perhaps most visible...WW…

past a graffiti-covered wall and black metal security barriers, her signature cross necklace dangling above her double-breasted navy blazer. She watched as President Donald Trump held a Bible aloft in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. When he turned to her and pointed, she scooted into the frame, taking her place by his side with her phone clutched behind her back. Stately white corbels framed the plywood-covered windows and door of the building, where a fire had been set in the nursery the night before. McEnany, Trump, and a handful of other administration officials stood silently,...…past a graffiti-covered wall and black metal security barriers, her signature cross necklace dangling above her double-breasted navy blazer. She watched as President Donald Trump held a Bible aloft in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. When he turned to her and pointed, she scooted into the frame, taking her place by his side with her phone clutched behind her back. Stately white corbels framed the plywood-covered windows and door of the building, where a fire had been set in the nursery the night before. McEnany, Trump, and a handful of other administration officials stood silently,...WW…