Samira Imin during an interview in Boston on Feb. 9, 2020. RNS photo by Aysha Khan
Need to know: Thursday, May 7, 2020
After advocating for his release, Uighur woman hears from father via Chinese media
Samira Imin’s next mission is to determine whether her father’s release from Chinese detention is genuine.
Greg Zanis, who honored shooting victims by building 26,000 crosses, dies
The 69-year-old retired carpenter from Aurora, Illinois, crisscrossed the country to erect his wooden memorials near the sites of massacres, big and small.
National Day of Prayer, reshaped by pandemic, includes interfaith and online events
In its 69th year, the observance — often predominated by evangelical Christians gathering in public places — will feature interfaith and even international voices on computer screens and cellphones.
Quarantine cooking gone hipster is a sign of hope
It’s understandable to respond to the pandemic by discovering a connection to real food and getting in touch with nature. It might even put us back in touch with the humanity of others, writes Tara Isabella Burton.
The mythic punch of the Lincoln Project’s ‘Mourning in America’
In a take-off aimed at promises to restore America, Trump becomes the Anti-Reagan, writes Mark Silk.
Tired of Zoom, churches consider plans to pray in person
Many churches across the country, closed for physical worship for nearly two months, are contemplating what’s next.
Latest news from RNS
Court upholds California ban on church services in pandemic
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom had the right to ban church assemblies in the interest of public health during the coronavirus outbreak, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
Pope backs migrant farm workers as Italy mulls legalization
(RNS) — While migrants are not testing positive in great numbers, their precarious, off-the-books work has dried up because of Italy's coronavirus lockdown.
Potawatomi Christian author Kaitlin Curtice on finding herself and God in new book
Curtice wasn’t expecting to release her book amid a pandemic, but she believes the book can speak into this moment in history.
More views from RNS
Nonhuman animals and the COVID-19 pandemic
(RNS) — Things will go badly for us as long as we live in a throwaway culture that turns animals into mass-produced objects to be used as a mere means to our ends.
A kaddish for Kent State — and Jackson State
In a death-saturated America, let us remember six more, writes Jeffrey Salkin.
Crowded into camps, refugees are sitting ducks for COVID-19
(RNS) — Refugees and displaced persons live under conditions ideal for the spread of COVID-19.
