Why Mary, as the Immaculate Conception, became the patron saint of the US in the 1840s

Ultra-Orthodox protesters block roads and trains across Israel over military draft

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s police said demonstrators blocked major intersections and attacked a soldier who disembarked from a bus near a protest. Police struggled to control the crowds with water cannons and horses.

Peruvian shamans perform a blessing ritual ahead of a presidential runoff

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The shamans gathered by the sea on Herradura Beach in the Chorrillos district in Lima, Peru's capital, holding up posters of the two candidates.

Canada is failing the Jewish community and Jews are being targeted, Prime Minister Carney says

TORONTO (AP) — Carney said antisemitism plagues Europe, Australia and the United States. But he said the crisis of antisemitism in Canada is "specific, severe and demands a targeted response.”

AP exclusive: Under Notre Dame cathedral, a 'dig of the century' unearths 1,700 years of history

PARIS (AP) — For archaeologists, the cathedral dig is a rare treat. In France, like elsewhere, they work only where building work is about to begin — a bit like how industrial quarry workers end up unearthing dinosaur remains.

‘The Autism Pastor’ Lamar Hardwick dies at age 47

(RNS) — Hardwick was known for his disability advocacy and dynamic preaching.