NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Even as Gov. Chris Christie's threat of a "swift" veto looms, gay rights activists are celebrating after the state Assembly voted on Thursday (Feb. 16) on a bill to legalize same sex marriage in New Jersey. By Maryanne Spoto.

LONDON (RNS) A British High Court justice has triggered dismay and anger across England and Wales with a decision that declares prayers at town hall meetings are against the law. By Al Webb.

VATICAN CITY (RNS) A prominent U.S. attorney has dropped his abuse lawsuit against the Vatican, the second time a high-stakes attempt to hold the pope personally responsible for abusive priests has failed. By Alessandro Speciale.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (RNS) As a Muslim woman waits in jail here for word on a possible indictment in her alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire beheading plot, her friends and family are using social media to come to her aid. By Amanda Greene.

CLEVELAND (RNS) Shuttered churches might be the biggest challenge facing the preservation community. Shrinking congregations and migration to the suburbs have left churches empty, or with fewer members. Preservationists lobby to save them, but no one can afford to open them. By  Michelle Jarboe McFee.

NEW YORK (RNS) A 67-year-old woman with a criminal record for theft has been charged with siphoning $1 million in donations while working in the finance office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. By David Gibson.

 (RNS) From Maine to Phoenix to southern Louisiana, Catholic churches across the country echoed with scorn for a new federal rule requiring faith-based employers to include birth control and other reproductive services in their health care coverage. By Rick Jervis. 650.

(RNS) A federal appeals court ruled Friday (Jan. 27) that the expulsion of a counseling student from a university after she declined to advise a gay client could be due to "hostility’’ toward her faith. By Adelle M. Banks.

LONDON (RNS) In the first case of its kind, a British court has convicted three Muslim men -- who claimed they were acting under teachings of their religion -- of openly advocating the execution of gays. By Al Webb. 250.

The jailed leader of an Amish splinter sect involved in a series of beard-cutting attacks says he is not opposed to allowing electricity installed in his home so that he can be released with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.