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Dozens of gay couples are planning to converge on Albany, N.Y., Thursday to witness what would be a historic vote to legalize gay marriage in New York. But for that to happen, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s considerable political skills will be tested as never before to engineer one of the biggest social changes in a generation.

The Democrat has been using a kind of shuttle diplomacy to privately test proposals for additional religious exceptions within the Senate’s Republican majority. He’s talked to individual senators or small groups of lawmakers privately, breaking down barriers and letting them take his message to others in the Republican caucus.

The proposed protections are aimed at saving religious groups from discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to recognize gay marriage based on their principles.

The voice of prophetic doom is silenced, sort of.

Harold Camping, the 89-year-old Christian radio broadcaster who three times predicted the world would end—most recently on May 21—is putting an end to his weekday segment called Open Forum on Family Radio.

Camping suffered a stroke on June 9, and Family Radio has been playing reruns of earlier recorded episodes on the radio station he founded since then. Specifically, Camping’s staff aired 20 segments he recorded between May 23 and June 9, according to the Oakland Tribune.

Increased public statements against Christianity in Iran have intensified pressures on Christians, sources said, but at their core they reflect Islamic leaders’ dismay with the growth of house churches and may signal dissension within Iran’s leadership.

“The reality is most of the house churches are so hidden that the government can’t do anything, and they know it,” said a regional expert who requested anonymity. “They just see how the house churches are still growing.”

The source said that since mass arrests at the beginning of this year, Christians have been more cautious.

Members of the Congolese medical community joined church and mission leaders, relief workers and Congolese government officials in celebrating 50 years of Mission Aviation Fellowship service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

MAF is a Christian ministry organization that uses airplanes and other technologies to serve church and relief organizations in remote areas of the world.

During a gathering at the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa last month, Dr. Tony Karemere of the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale commended MAF’s commitment to sharing the gospel and providing access to medical care. Karemere emphasized MAF’s work to combat Ebola epidemics in 1995 and 2007, as well as the measles outbreak that threatened the DRC this spring.

AP Photo/Joel Page

Kansas could become the first abortion-free state in the nation.

According to the new state law, clinics offering abortions must meet minimum safety standards before they can be licensed. If clinics fail to meet the new standards, they cannot legally do abortions.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has the authority to deny, suspend or revoke a license, and has the authority to fine a clinic for violations and go into court to ask that a clinic be closed. The KDHE will notifiy the trio of clinics on July 1 as to whether or not they can continue killing unborn babies.

“We have doubts that any of the abortion clinics can meet the safety requirements of the new law,” says Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “If they cannot comply, all three abortion clinics would be forced to cease abortion operations, making Kansas the first abortion-free state in the nation.”

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Ministries to the unique NASCAR culture of hot cars, cold beer and public prayer are on the rise

When you think about  motorsports, what comes to mind are probably images of beer-drinking Bubbas, tattooed fanatics and the occasional death-defying crash. But more and more, Jesus is in the mix.

Unless you’ve been to the race track, you may not know NASCAR is the only professional sport that still launches with a prayer, usually in the name of Jesus, over the public address system. Lately, more ministries are moving to preach the gospel and make disciples by sponsoring drivers as they race their souped up cars around famed NASCAR and IndyCar tracks.

Indeed, from pre-race prayer meetings to behind-the-scenes testimonies to live television exposure, evangelicals are reaching men (and women) who are watching drivers speed around circles at up to 200 miles per hour.

Despite personal loss, gospel piano legend focuses on helping others after disaster

Dino Kartsonakis received a prophetic word about a new beginning with “water, lots of water,” but the Grammy award-winning gospel pianist never dreamed it would come in the wake of a history-making flood in southeast Missouri.

Kartsonakis’ home in Hollister, Mo., was buried under 13 feet of water in April. In a flash, he lost his grand pianos and a lifetime of musical awards, archives, photographs, clothing and family heirlooms. The keepsakes that healing evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman gave him during the time he played piano for her ministry were also destroyed.

A homeless Kartsonakis now is sounding the “last days” trumpet—and proclaiming the power of God—as he turns his focus toward helping others who have lost so much in the deluge of natural disasters this year.