Postcards: After Helene, one Asheville church finds a way to step up

In less than four months, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church has doled out more than $US3.5 million in rent support to hundreds of people who have walked through its doors. YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
Trump mulls scrapping FEMA, pledges disaster help to North Carolina, California

Los Angeles, US Reuters US President Donald Trump on Friday floated shuttering the Federal Emergency Management Agency during a trip to disaster areas in North Carolina and California, where he pledged government support and sparred with Democratic officials. Fresh from assuming office on Monday, Trump’s visit showcased a desire to show up early in the […]
Donald Trump elected US president in stunning comeback

Updated: 10:30pm (AEDT) Palm Beach, Florida, US Reuters Donald Trump was elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad. Trump, 78, recaptured the White House on Wednesday by securing […]
Quick facts – Ten counties to watch in Tuesday’s US presidential election

Washington DC, US Reuters Seven battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are expected to play a decisive role in Tuesday’s US presidential election between Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump. Members of the media listen to Maricopa County Election officials ahead of the US presidential election, in […]
Harris closes campaign in Philadelphia, Trump in Michigan on eve of deadlocked election

Updated: 5:45pm (AEDT) Reading, Pennsylvania/Allentown, Pennsylvania, US Reuters Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both predicted victory as they campaigned across Pennsylvania and other battleground states on Monday in the final, frantic day of an exceptionally close US presidential election. The campaign has seen head-spinning twists: two assassination attempts and a felony conviction for Republican former […]
Why we may not know the winner of the US presidential election on 5th November

Reuters The US presidential election will take place on 5th November, but the winner of the razor-thin race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump may not be known for days after the polls close. As ballots are counted, one candidate may appear to be leading based on early returns, only for a rival […]
“Not an act of God”: How Rev Richard Joyner became a farmer, then a climate activist

Richard Joyner has a new rejoinder to his congregants: “God is not flooding the land. Our behaviour is destroying the environment.” YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports…
Will Asheville’s once-booming riverfront art district ever recover from Helene?

Asheville, North Carolina Reuters The river that runs through Asheville, North Carolina, is littered with artwork drifting downstream after deadly floods from Hurricane Helene decimated the mountain city’s arts district, a linchpin of tourism in the area that some residents fear will never recover. Some of the 300 artists and designers who work out of […]
By mule and helicopter, volunteers deliver aid to Helene victims

Asheville, North Carolina Reuters An army of private volunteers including mule drivers and helicopter pilots are helping deliver supplies and rescue stranded victims after one of the deadliest storms in recent US history ripped through the mountains of western North Carolina. One week after Helene slammed into the Florida Panhandle and devastated wide swaths of […]
In the US state of North Carolina, the sound of chainsaws brings hope as faith-based workers clear roads

United States RNS In the days since Hurricane Helene swept through mostly rural areas of nine states, Kevin King, executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service, has been working to make plans for how to best respond, despite spotty phone service due to downed cell towers and roads and bridges that have been washed out or […]