%1

For the second time in as many years, President Bush vetoed a bill June 20 that would have expanded federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. However, in order to soften the political impact of nixing the popular legislation, Bush coupled his veto announcement with an executive order designed to promote other kinds of stem cell research that offer “new possibilities for progress without conflict or ethical controversy.” Bush vetoed the “Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007,” which the House and Senate earlier passed by wide—but not veto-proof—margins.

The 2,700-member First Baptist Church of Decatur, Georgia, has become the largest church associated with the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to hire a woman as senior pastor.

In a business session after Sunday morning worship June 17, nearly 400 members voted to call Julie Pennington-Russell as minister. The proposal, approved by a show of hands, went unchallenged in a discussion session.

The Southern Baptist Convention has rejected scientific claims that humans are to blame for global warming and dismissed governmental efforts to reverse it.