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Deepa Bharath.

Lawsuits accuse former California megachurch pastor of child sex abuse in Bucharest

September 17, 2025

Two Romanian men have filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in California accusing a former megachurch pastor of sexually abusing and trafficking children for years at a shelter he ran in Bucharest. The men say in their lawsuits filed Tuesday that Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor and missionary Paul Havsgaard severely abused them. The lawsuits also say church founder Greg Laurie and other senior leaders failed to prevent abuse. The Associated Press could not reach Havsgaard for comment. The church said the allegations are shocking but the lawsuit’s target should be Havsgaard and not the church or its founding pastor.

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The Rev. Oona Casanova Vazquez, lead pastor of the South Bay Church of the Nazarene in Torrance, stands outside Santa Ana Immigration Court during a prayer vigil for immigrants in Santa Ana, Calif., Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Deepa Bharath)

Faith leaders rally to support immigrants facing deportation in Southern California

August 8, 2025

Faith leaders in Southern California have been supporting immigrant communities during increased immigration arrests and raids. Many pastors and people of faith have been offering comfort, holding prayer vigils and accompanying refugees and asylum-seekers to their court hearings. Churches and nonprofits are also delivering groceries, food and medicine to those afraid they’ll be arrested when they leave their homes. Some congregations are also providing rent assistance to individuals who have lost or quit their jobs out of fear of being apprehended. Others are streaming live services so those who are apprehensive will not be isolated from their congregations.

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Two shoppers select items at a grocery store in the "Tehrangeles" neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Iran war tests the harmony of Los Angeles’ huge Iranian community

July 5, 2025

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran. This diverse group includes Muslims, Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians and Bahai who have lived here harmoniously since the 1980s. However, the recent Israel-Iran conflict has tested these long-held bonds. Experts note that in the diaspora, shared cultural and social ties often outweigh religious divides. Iranian Jews, while united with Muslims in opposing Iran’s regime, feel heightened anxiety over security in local houses of worship. Experts say Iranian Muslims, who would otherwise cheer on a regime change, might feel differently about an Israel-led war because of their antipathy toward Zionism.

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The Shri Shri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, on Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

From radio waves to temple domes: The unexpected journey of a Krishna couple in Utah

May 26, 2025

A couple who moved from Los Angeles to Utah about 45 years ago to run a radio station are now operating the only Hindu temple in a predominantly Mormon town. The 10,000-square-foot temple in a rural part of Utah called Spanish Fork sits on a 15-acre property that hosts one of the largest color festivals outside India every spring. The temple grounds have fruit and vegetable gardens, enclosures for llamas, peacocks and parrots and offers a donation-based vegetarian buffet daily. Members of the surrounding community, most of whom are Latter-day Saints, support the temple. Their revamped radio station now broadcasts rap and modern music composed and compiled to cater to a younger, Western audience.

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Finance.

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