Big Churches Do Bigger Business

More launch own programs to provide affordable homes

(NEWSER) - Churches that have long called for an increase in affordable housing have started taking matters into their own hands, the Washington Post reports: A growing number of them have launched their own housing projects, partnering with developers to build whole communities. Their weekly flow of donations allows them to qualify for financing, and the resulting real estate revenue diversifies church income and helps underwrite community programs like food banks. More»

(NEWSER) - A suspected arsonist set fire to Sarah Palin's church in Wasilla, Alaska, causing about $1 million in damage, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Investigators say they don't know if Palin's connection to the Wasilla Bible Church is a factor, and they have no suspects. Palin stopped by the church today and issued a statement saying she's sorry if it's somehow connected to the "undeserved negative attention the church has received" since she entered the public stage nationally. More»

Was expelled from missionary school where he killed 2

(NEWSER) - The gunman at two Colorado church shootings yesterday had been expelled from the missionary school where killed two people, the AP reports. He also sent the school hate mail in recent weeks and may have "hated Christians," police said. The school admitted that it had kicked out the gunman, Michael Murray, a few years ago due to "issues with his health." More»

Texas' Louie Gohmert says Alaskan pipeline is hot date meet-up

(NEWSER) - A Texas Republican congressman is adamant in his backing of the trans-Alaska pipeline, but not because of silly energy independence. No, we must keep the oil flowing for the sake of ... caribou romance. So argued Rep. Louie Gohmert, tongue perhaps in cheek, during a meeting of the House Natural Resources committee last week, reports the Washington Post . Gohmert made the case that the warmth of the oil making its way through the pipeline encourages the randy behavior (and population boom) of the region's caribou. More»

Collisions soar as hungry animals head for roads

(NEWSER) - Heavier-than-usual snowfall in Alaska this winter has created what officials are calling a moose crisis. Starving, weary moose are heading for roads and railroad tracks to escape the deep snow—up to 6 feet in some places—and the number of vehicle-moose collisions is soaring. The state has given the Alaska Moose Federation permission to set up feeding stations to lure moose away from roads, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»