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Briefly noted

The United Church of Christ has retained a former U.S. solicitor general to represent the church during an Internal Revenue Service investigation of its political activities. Seth P. Waxman, who represented the U.S. government before the Supreme Court from 1997 to 2001, will lead a team of attorneys working on behalf of the 1.2-million-member denomination, according to the UCC. The IRS is investigating the Cleveland-based denomination because of a speech given by church member and presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama at its synod gathering last June.