ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A top Iraqi Shiite official said Thursday that the political crisis pitting Shiite officials against his country’s largest Sunni-backed bloc must end. But Ammar al-Hakim, a powerful cleric and leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, did not offer any change in the legal challenge that started the standoff: An arrest warrant that Iraq’s Shiite-led government filed against the Sunni vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, on terrorism charges, sending him into virtual exile to the Kurdish autonomous... Read more

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A top Iraqi Shiite politician is meeting Turkish leaders, who have accused Iraq’s Shiite-led government of coercing Sunni political leaders there. Ammar al-Hakim, a powerful cleric and leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, has opened his talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish President Abdullah Gul later Thursday. Turkey, fearing that the increasing sectarian divide could turn into an armed conflict in... Read more

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities said Thursday they were investigating whether a Muslim group violated religious laws with a morality campaign that describes the Prophet Muhammad as a role model for “sacred sex.” The group that calls itself the Obedient Wives Club is planning private talks for hundreds of its members in the campaign centered around the prophet, who is thought to have married about a dozen women in his lifetime, including widows in need of protection. The... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s police commissioner apologized Wednesday for appearing in a documentary movie about terrorism that Muslim groups have criticized as inflammatory, and said his department acted wrongly when it later showed the film to counterterrorism trainees. A spokesman for Raymond Kelly had previously denied the commissioner had any participation in the making of the “The Third Jihad,” suggesting last year that footage of Kelly was lifted from another source. But on Wednesday Kelly said he had... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A defense lawyer said Wednesday that Monsignor William Lynn’s successor threw Lynn “under the bus” in Philadelphia’s priest abuse scandal. Lynn is the only archdiocese official facing trial. Prosecutors say he endangered children by keeping predators in the priesthood. Defense lawyers say he took orders from Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. In court Wednesday, a letter surfaced from Monsignor Timothy Senior, who followed Lynn as secretary for clergy in 2004. A New Jersey diocese had asked about a priest... Read more

SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Airlines is ending decades of giving passengers prayer cards with their meals, saying Wednesday the decision was made out of respect for all passengers. Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said the airline heard from customers who preferred not to mix religion with transportation. The decision reflects respect for the diverse religious beliefs and cultural attitudes of Alaska Airlines’ customers and employees, the company said in announcing the change. “Some customers were comforted by the cards and some... Read more

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — An Alabama professor accused of killing three colleagues will ask a judge on Wednesday to keep a report into the 1986 killing of her brother secret. The highest court in Massachusetts ruled last month that a judge’s inquest report into the death of Amy Bishop’s brother Seth can be released publicly. But the court also said Amy Bishop’s lawyer, prosecutors and others could go to court to argue that there is “good cause” why it should... Read more

Catholic bishops, immigrant advocates protest NM driver’s license repeal effort SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hundreds of immigrant advocates protested New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s push to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses. The advocates, including religious groups and student activists, marched around the Capitol Tuesday in what has become a regular scene since Martinez took office last year. New Mexico is one of three states — including Washington and Utah — where illegal... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Catholic Church official is showing signs that he might not take the fall alone for the Philadelphia priest abuse scandal. A defense lawyer said Wednesday that Monsignor William Lynn’s successor threw Lynn “under the bus.” Lynn is the only archdiocese official facing trial. Prosecutors say he endangered children by keeping predators in the priesthood. Defense lawyers say he took orders from Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua (beh-vih-LAH’-kwah). In court Wednesday, a letter surfaced from Monsignor Timothy Senior, who... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Will a Catholic monsignor be left to defend the sins of the Philadelphia archdiocese in the child sex abuse scandal? Prosecutors on Wednesday outlined old cases they say should be considered as part of the upcoming child endangerment trial of Monsignor William Lynn. Defense lawyers insist Lynn should only be tried for his oversight of the priest and former priest on trial with him on rape charges. The 61-year-old Lynn is accused of failing to weed them... Read more