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WASHINGTON (AP) - Television evangelist Pat Robertson, who has rattled the religious and political establishment with recent controversial declarations, acknowledged Thursday "my passion runs ahead of me" on some occasions. "I've been doing TV for years and years," Robertson said. "And the problem is, I ad lib." Interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America" on the morning of the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Robertson was asked about statements suggesting that the United States assassinate President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and intimating that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was God's punishment for giving up the Gaza strip. Robertson sent a letter...

Reform Jewish Leader Responds to New Orleans Mayor Comments Linking God and Destruction from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita In response to the comments made by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin stating "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement noting, “Mayor Nagin’s comments yesterday, suggesting that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck our land because, ‘God is mad at America’ are offensive, misguided, and perhaps even more to the point,...

Mayor Ray Nagin suggested Monday that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other storms were a sign that "God is mad at America" and at black communities, too, for tearing themselves apart with violence and political infighting. ADVERTISEMENT "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin apologized Tuesday for some of the comments that he made during a Martin Luther King Day Rally in the city Monday. Nagin said that his intention was to comfort African-American residents, especially those feeling unwanted during the rebuilding process, but he said in doing so he inadvertently offended others. “I apologize to any resident in this city that may have been offended,” he said. “That was not my intention. If I could take anything back, I thought the Uptown comment was inappropriate. If any people are working hard to rebuild this city, it’s the people...

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin suggested Monday that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other storms were a sign that "God is mad at America" and at black communities, too, for tearing themselves apart with violence and political infighting. "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day. "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mayor Ray Nagin suggested that recent destruction from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other natural disasters is a sign that "God is mad at America," and also mad at black communities for tearing themselves apart with violence and divisive politics. "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin said as he and other city leaders commemorated Martin Luther King Day. "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also....

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mayor Ray Nagin suggested that recent destruction from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other natural disasters is a sign that "God is mad at America," and also mad at black communities for tearing themselves apart with violence and divisive politics. "Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin said as he and other city leaders commemorated Martin Luther King Day. "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also....

The destruction from hurricane Katrina unleashed a disaster like our nation has never encountered. Like a guided missile, Katrina executed a mission of utmost devastation. Despite our advancements in technology, computers, satellites, healthcare and tons of mind-boggling innovations – the nation stood speechless and helpless. It seemed everything that could go wrong – went wrong. The breaking of the New Orleans levees; the thousands of trapped victims; the incessant looting; the perverse crime; the escalating gas prices; the complete collapse of the nation’s infrastructure for disaster aid – each day after Katrina brought new nightmares – each day after Katrina...

A US pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his Texas church when he grabbed a microphone while partially submerged, a church employee said. The Reverend Kyle Lake, 33, was standing in water up to his shoulder in a baptismal in front of 800 people at University Baptist Church when he was electrocuted yesterday, said Jamie Dudley, a church business administrator. Doctors in the congregation unsuccessfully performed chest compressions for 40 minutes, Dudley said. The woman Lake was baptising was not injured, Dudley said. Pastors at University Baptist Church routinely use a microphone during baptisms, Dudley said. "He was grabbing...

Bishop Thomas Wenski lost no time preparing for hurricane season, which began Wednesday. He led a special Roman Catholic Mass to protect Central Florida from devastating storms. <snip> Wenski cited the death of innocents when the tower of Siloam collapsed, and compared it with the damage done by hurricanes and tsunamis. "Jesus warns us not to see these events as somehow the wrath of an angry God," Wenski said. <snip> Wenski distanced himself from the notion of weather as heavenly retribution. "We don't have the same theology as Pat Robertson," Wenski said before the Mass. "Hurricanes are not a divine...

Tsunamis are not the wrath of God Paul Stenhouse, M.S.C., Ph.D. January 04, 2005 THE world is still reeling from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean that caused such loss of life and devastation on Boxing Day. Numbness, disbelief and outrage at our powerlessness, our inability to warn the victims, or to save them, is a common reaction. As is, at times, a desire to blame someone, usually God; or at least to question his wisdom and knowledge in permitting such tragedies to occur, and to seek an explanation for what has happened. Grief at the extent of the devastation...

TULSA - Blake Champlin, a Tulsa lawyer and environmental activist, died Monday at his home when a tree supporting a hammock fell and crushed him. Champlin, 45, died instantly, said Gerald Hilsher, an attorney with Shipley & Kellogg, Champlin's former law firm. Champlin was a member of Sierra Club and Save the Illinois River, and the director of Keep Tulsa Beautiful. He also pushed for an agreement between Oklahoma and Arkansas on phosphorus limits in northeast Oklahoma waters, Hilsher said. Champlin was a past director of the Oklahoma Society of Environmental Professionals and a past chairman of the Environmental Law...

Looks like the Outer Banks is about to be caught with their pants down! Hurricane Alex is now a category two (11:00 am est) and appears to be headed directly into Pamlico Sound. That puts the east side of the storm directly over Hatteras Island, which at this point is at the height of the tourist season. No evacuation orders were issued for this storm. Every one thought it would be a harmless little puppy that would remain offshore. Let's hope it makes a turn to the east right away. Otherwise, there could be trouble!!!

Meteorite hits Iran Fri January 02, 2004 10:48 AM ET TEHRAN (Reuters) - A meteorite has hit northern Iran causing minor damage to property but there were no immediate reports of casualties, state radio has said. It said the impact sent locals in panic onto the streets in the northern town of Babol in Mazandaran province. "A meteorite which hit Babol on Friday morning caused only some minor damage to residential units," radio said, without giving further details or citing any source. It said the impact was felt up to one kilometre away. Iranians are currently mourning at least 30,000...

Abu Mazen is not as terrorism-free as might have been thought - and he is in fact connected with one of the 20th century's most infamous terrorist crimes: the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes - including American citizen David Berger - at the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany in 1972. Mahmoud Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, long the treasurer of the PLO, was the man who provided financing for that attack, according to information compiled by Israeli attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of the Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center. Darshan-Leitner told Arutz-7 that PA sources themselves told her that it is...

<p>Crashing trees, blankets of blackouts and countless fender benders ushered in the rainy season Thursday, as northern and central Californians stumbled through fall's first storm.</p> <p>Mighty wind gusts heaved plywood and other construction materials into traffic on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, forcing the state transportation department to close the span Thursday night.</p>