Arkansas

Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is standing by televangelist Kenneth Copeland as the U.S. Senate investigates the ministry’s potential financial misconduct.

Copeland has given his support to Huckabee and appears in ads with the Republican candidate in the religious magazine Charisma to promote the ministry’s upcoming TV special.

Despite the potential negative effect, former Baptist preacher Huckabee has expressed his trust in the Copelands and will appear on the ministry’s TV show next week. more >>

Underdog presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is rising yet again as his campaign receives a huge boost from a line-up of influential Christian conservative leaders.

The former Arkansas governor turned presidential candidate announced Sunday the addition of several new endorsements including those from Stephen Strang, founder of Charisma Magazine; Rick Scarborough, president and founder of Vision America; Janet Folger, president of Faith2Action; Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel; and Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, among others.

“To have the support of these leaders of faith means so much to me,” Huckabee said in a statement. “I have the greatest level of respect for each person – and I know they will be vital in helping me spread my conservative message of hope and my vision for a stronger America.” more >>

WASHINGTON – Presidential contender Mike Huckabee is on the move, drawing larger than expected crowds on the campaign trail, witnessing a boost in funds, and scoring a major endorsement from a prominent Christian conservative leader on Thursday.

The Rev. Dr. Donald E. Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, has given his personal endorsement to the former Southern Baptist preacher.

“I think he shares our values,” Wildmon said, according to OneNewsNow, which is operated by the American Family News Network. more >>

A high school in Omaha, Ark., allowed two students to open and close their graduation ceremony Friday with prayer and a youth ministry leader to act as the commencement speaker after originally barring both.

The senior class of Omaha High School had unanimously voted for prayer and for David Griffith, director of Christian ministry K-Life in nearby Harrison, Ark., to speak as part of their ceremony. However, the class was told by officials that they could not support such practices, however, due to separation of church and state.

Following legal counsel from Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization that defends religious freedom, the school reversed its position. more >>

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee withdrew his participation from a 2008 Baptist convocation in disappointment of former president Jimmy Carter's recent controversial remarks on President George W. Bush.

Huckabee was one of three recently invited Republican politicians added to the speaker line-up for the New Baptist Covenant Celebration – a broad Baptist meeting in America part of a new initiative to counter the "negative" Baptist image and demonstrate Baptist unity around social concerns. The effort for a new Baptist voice was spearheaded by Carter.

"While I continue to have great respect for President Carter as a fellow Christian believer and Baptist, I’m deeply disappointed by the unusually harsh comments made in my state this past weekend regarding President Bush, and feel that it represents an unprecedented personal attack on a sitting president by a former president which is unbecoming the office as well as unbecoming to one whose conference is supposed to be about civility and bringing people together," Huckabee told Florida Baptist Witness on Monday. more >>

The Salvation Army broke ground Wednesday for the development of the first Kroc Community Center in San Francisco, one of 30 to 40 locations where the center will be set up throughout the nation.

At the request of the late Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald's Corp. founder Ray A. Kroc, the Army received an approximately $1.5 billion gift for the sole purpose of building Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers to serve communities without access to resources and opportunities. The groundbreaking ceremony in San Francisco celebrated the Army's Tenderloin Housing and Kroc Community Center - a $52.6 million project expected to be completed in July 2008.

"I can't imagine a better project for the Tenderloin to meet the needs of the neighborhood and San Francisco," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom who attended the celebration along with other community partners. "This is as good as it gets." more >>