Newt-loving socialist or floppy-haired bike rider? One will be London’s Olympic mayor

LONDON — One sports an unruly blond mop, spouts Latin aphorisms and loves to ride his bicycle. The other is a neat, newt-loving socialist who prefers to travel by subway. Their contest is an Olympic-size grudge match. Meet Boris and Ken — hometown celebrities known universally by their first names. When the 2012 London Games…

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PEW: Lobbying for the Faithful

Religious Advocacy Groups in Washington, D.C. The number of organizations engaged in religious lobbying or religion-related advocacy in Washington, D.C., has increased roughly fivefold in the past four decades, from fewer than 40 in 1970 to more than 200 today. These groups collectively employ at least 1,000 people in the greater Washington area and spend…

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Religious groups spend nearly $400 million on D.C. advocacy

WASHINGTON — The number of religious advocacy groups in the nation’s capital has more than tripled since the 1970s, with conservative groups seeing the biggest growth, according to a new report. Together, faith-based lobbying and advocacy groups spend $390 million a year to influence lawmakers, mobilize supporters and shape public opinion, according to the report,…

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Appeals court reinstates conviction of 3 Boston Islamic charity leaders accused of conspiracy

BOSTON — A federal appeals court has reinstated the conviction of a Libyan man and two associates accused of conspiring to dupe the U.S. into granting tax-exempt status to a defunct Muslim charity by hiding its pro-jihad activities. The court Thursday reinstated the jury’s guilty verdict against Libya’s Emadeddin Muntasser (ee-MAH’-de-din mun-TAH’-sehr), Samir Al-Monla and…

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Prosecutors defend Islamic charity case conviction

Federal prosecutors acknowledged that the government blundered in the prosecution of Pete Seda, an Oregon man convicted of helping to smuggle money through an Islamic charity, but said Friday that the errors weren’t serious enough for a new trial. Court documents filed late Friday contain the government’s first accounting for its failure to tell defense…

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