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Polygamy ruling * Amish beards * Deceptive animals: Thursday's Roundup

A federal judge issued a final ruling in a polygamy case. An appeals court overturned the hate-crime convictions of 16 Amish in beard-cutting attacks. Plus, some animals are being deceptive.
Polygamy ruling * Amish beards * Deceptive animals: Thursday’s Roundup
Kody Brown, right, stars in TLC's "Sister Wives" with wives (left to right) Christine, Meri, Robyn and Janelle. Photo courtesy Joe Pugliese/TLC
Sarah Pulliam Bailey

One more day ’til you get your three-day weekend. Hang in there. Here’s what you need to know:

Kody Brown, right, stars in TLC's "Sister Wives" with wives (left to right) Christine, Meri, Robyn and Janelle. Photo courtesy Joe Pugliese/TLC

Kody Brown, right, stars in TLC’s “Sister Wives” with wives (left to right) Christine, Meri, Robyn and Janelle. Photo courtesy Joe Pugliese/TLC

An appeals court has overturned the hate-crime convictions of 16 Amish in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow members of their faith in Ohio. The ruling said religious beliefs did not spark the attacks.


A federal judge issued a final ruling Wednesday in a polygamy case, handing the stars of the TLC show “Sister Wives” a resounding victory.

Alabama megachurch pastor David Platt, 36, will take over the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board.

A Wyoming pastor was shot and wounded with his own handgun after apparently interrupting a burglary at his rural church and a struggle with the burglar.

The U.S. government is suing a small Minneapolis suburb for rejecting an Islamic Center worship space.

From RNS:

Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King and others from the King Center in Atlanta are meeting with Missouri high school students to help them channel anger over the police shooting of Michael Brown into positive change.

Concerned for the safety of U.S. citizens soon headed to Mecca, 27 Muslim-American groups are asking the State Department to better protect them from violence that has plagued those who have made the pilgrimage in the past.


Poland’s ambassador to the Holy See has forcefully condemned the alleged sexual abuse of children by a Polish-born former archbishop and Vatican diplomat.

An American who lived in Minnesota and San Diego and had recently converted to Islam was killed in Syria, where he had gone to fight alongside terrorists.

From the “interesting reads” department:

Are Central Americans seeking refuge in the U.S. any different from Zionist ancestors? (Tablet)

I thought a winsome faith would win Christians a place at Vanderbilt’s table. I was wrong. (Christianity Today)

I had to start exercising so that I wouldn’t die. But the threat of death turned out to be the wrong motivation. (FaithStreet)

Mormons are unlikely to hear politics preached from the pulpit. So how are they one of the most politically cohesive groups in the U.S.? (Wall Street Journal, sub required)

And just for fun:

Plus, some animals have been deceptive lately (h/t Jeff Chu):

Finally, a big congrats to friends of RNS changing posts: Elizabeth Tenety (headed from the Washington Post to America magazine) and Tim Townsend (headed from the Pew Research Center to Timeline).


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