Fewer Americans see religion as an important aspect of their lives, and it shows in their beliefs and actions. A Gallup survey finds U.S. adults are less likely to identify with a religion, say religion is very important to them, belong to a congregation, or attend worship services.

The trio struggled up the stairs of city hall in an Armenian village. The mother heard a medical team from the United States was seeing patients for free. She would do anything to have these doctors look at her 20-year-old son with cerebral palsy — like carrying him, with help from a neighbor, almost a mile from her home.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general said Wednesday it has opened up an investigation into the U.S. Secret Service’s handling of security for former President Donald Trump on the day a gunman tried to assassinate him at a Pennsylvania rally.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s expanding diversity became a passion for Minh Ha Nguyen, leading to his work in establishing and updating a cutting edge portal and resource that has greatly influenced the SBC’s work to share the Gospel among its ethnically diverse community.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge's stunning decision to dismiss the classified documents case against Donald Trump brought an abrupt halt to what experts have considered the strongest and most straightforward of the prosecutions of the former president.  Special counsel Jack Smith's planned appeal of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order is expected to tee up a court fight that might reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dozens of aging bridges in 16 states will be replaced or improved with the help of $5 billion in federal grants announced Wednesday, the latest beneficiaries of a massive infrastructure law.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas-led armed groups committed numerous war crimes during the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that precipitated the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, according to a global human rights group report released Wednesday.

BANGKOK (AP) — Initial autopsy results showed traces of cyanide in the blood of six Vietnamese and American guests at a luxury hotel in central Bangkok and one of them is believed to have poisoned the others over a bad investment, Thai authorities said Wednesday.

PARIS (AP) — After months of anticipation, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip in the long-polluted Seine River on Wednesday, fulfilling a promise to show the river was clean enough to host open swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics — and the opening ceremony on the river nine days away.

CIUDAD NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Mexico (AP) — Last year, the Hernández Pacheco family began to notice a number of Haitians arriving at an apartment across the street from their medical clinic on the outskirts of Mexico City.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh urged all universities to close on Wednesday, the day after at least six people died in violent protests over the allocation of government jobs and police raided the headquarters of the main opposition party.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 72 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier's wife, were killed when armed men attacked a village in western Congo, local authorities said, as violence intensifies between rival communities.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Labour Party government promised to calm the country’s febrile politics and ease its cost-of-living crisis as it set out its plans for “national renewal” at the grand State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.

ATLANTA – Georgia voters will be getting help from veterans on Election Day this year, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Tuesday. Raffensperger’s office will partner with Vet the Vote, a new nationwide organization that recruits veterans and members of their families to serve as volunteer poll workers.

“Camp is back!” declared Chris Trent, NextGen catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. “Superwow and Impact have an amazing legacy here in Georgia. It was amazing this summer to see those camps continue to point teenagers to Jesus in such a powerful way.”

It started with three kids peeking through the fence. Then, a few more joined them and found a way to get around the fence to the other side. By the end, more than 20 Afghan refugee children from the neighborhood behind the fence had joined Connection Church’s youth activity, and church planter Jonathan Lee couldn’t believe his eyes.

When IMB missionary Mick Stockwell spoke with the president of the Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary about globalization and missions, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine had yet to puncture the health and safety of the world. Both men desired to send Ukrainian missionaries to the nations, and they brainstormed ways to make this a reality. 

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — The large majority of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Cooperative Program supports the ministries and missions their church values and allows their church to support more missions endeavors than they could on their own.

BEDFORD, Ky. (KT) — “It’s been a great day in the Lord’s house.” That Facebook post by Pastor Mark Payton at Bedford Baptist Church came after the church baptized six people Sunday — all from the same family.

While we as Baptists may celebrate larger churches, larger churches are not free of problems. The Jerusalem church was “increasing in number,” but a divisive issue arose that threatened to divide them. The Greek text utilizes a term that suggests that the issue was dire.

There have been 49 vice presidents in the history of our nation. From memory, how many can you name? Some, like Lyndon Johnson and Dick Cheney, were known for the power they wielded. Others, such as Garret Hobart and Schuyler Colfax, are forgotten.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican National Convention resumes Tuesday, when the focus shifts to immigration, an issue central to former President Donald Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015.

CHICAGO (AP) — Storms spawning multiple tornado reports blew through Iowa, Illinois — including Chicago — and Indiana on Monday, downing trees and power poles and cutting power to more than 460,000 customers and businesses. A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell onto a home, authorities said.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 350 others, Taliban officials said Tuesday. Separately, at least 17 died when a bus overturned on a main highway, official media said.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Three people were killed and dozens injured in two separate incidents in Bangladesh as violence continued Tuesday on university campuses in the nation's capital and elsewhere over a government jobs quota system, local media reports said.