My top stories for The Associated Press: 2002-2005

By Bobby Ross Jr.

Some of my best and/or favorite stories for The Associated Press between 2002 and 2005:

Presidential campaign 

• President Bush caps final day of 2004 campaign with Dallas rally (reporting from Dallas)

• Crawford, Texas, rallies behind President Bush after hometown paper endorses John Kerry (reporting from Crawford, Texas)

• People of faith ask: How would Jesus vote in 2004 presidential election? (reporting from Austin, Texas)

• Dallas visit offers Bush chance to appeal to Catholics (reporting from Dallas)

• AP exclusive: Son of late officer and others question Bush memos attributed to his dad (reporting from Dallas)

• Former Texas House speaker says he’s ‘ashamed’ for helping Bush get into National Guard (reporting from Dallas)

• AP enterprise: A rarity in Bush country: Voters split on presidential race (reporting from Daingerfield, Texas)

• Texans fight for popular votes in Bush’s home state (reporting from Plano, Texas)

Religion

• AP enterprise: American boy and his church share faith, friendship with Mexican orphans (reporting from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico)

• AP enterprise: Children of Holocaust survivors find each other, and find answers (reporting from Southlake, Texas)

• AP enterprise: 25 years later, passions still strong on Southern Baptists’ conservative takeover (reporting from Houston)

• AP enterprise: Payout in Lutheran abuse case totals $69 million (reporting from Marshall, Texas)

• AP enterprise: Megachurches put on megaproductions for the Christmas story (reporting from Plano, Texas)

• Opening of Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion’ movie draws crowds across the nation (reporting from Plano, Texas)

• Texas priest ‘unlikely leader’ in Episcopal conservatives’ fight against gay bishop (reporting from Plano, Texas)

• From TV sermons to book, pastor Joel Osteen’s influence grows with flock (reporting from Houston)

• AP enterprise: For Texas couple, caring for Sudanese ‘heart kid’ life-changing (reporting from Lubbock, Texas)

• San Antonio archbishop steps into role as leading Hispanic cleric in the United States (reporting from San Antonio)

• ‘SoupMan’ offers food and hope to the homeless in Dallas (reporting from Dallas)

• No doughnuts on Sunday? Churches confront nutrition, fitness (reporting from Grapevine, Texas)

• During Gospel Music Week, Christian music reigns in Nashville bars, nightspots (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Excommunicated Jehovah’s Witnesses speak out on church’s handling of child abuse victims (reporting from Tullahoma, Tenn.)

Breaking news

• AP exclusive: Condemned Tennessee inmate says government, military control his mind (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• AP enterprise: 5-year-old’s torture, beating death brings questions (reporting from Chattanooga, Tenn.)

• Police: Shooting deaths of four, including two high school football players, not random (reporting from McKinney, Texas)

• Texas town prepares for long day of funerals after eight senior citizens killed in church bus crash (reporting from Eldorado, Texas)

Iraq war

• Reaction as U.S. launches strike on Iraq shows nation still divided on war (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Iraq war opponents hold rallies across Tennessee (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Fallen Marine — first Tennessean killed in Iraq war — ‘laid down his life for his friend’ (reporting from Gallatin, Tenn.)

• AP enterprise: Patriotism, sense of duty bind WWII veteran, son killed in Iraq (reporting from Corpus Christi, Texas)

• AP exclusive: Woman who lost father in Iraq loses husband, too (reporting from Dallas)

• Christian groups eager to help in Iraq, but critics wary their aim is conversion (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

JFK assassination

• Kennedy assassination still stirs memories, debate 40 years later (reporting from Dallas)

• Historians see similarities, differences in Kennedy, Bush (reporting from Dallas)

• Experts: Presidency more difficult after Kennedy (reporting from Dallas)

Politics

• Some dare to ask: Does Texas need an income tax? (reporting from Dallas)

• Sin taxes: Political genius or unstable way to fund schools? (reporting from Dallas)

• Future president? Three Tennessee politicians play prominent national roles (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Donning camouflage, scoping out doves, Senate candidates campaign with guns blazing (reporting from Kingston Springs, Tenn.)

Tennessee lottery

• Lottery advocates, foes debate impact on education (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Tennessee lottery supporters look to Georgia as model (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Moral issue or not? Tennessee voters to decide whether to legalize state lottery (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Victorious Tennessee lottery backers ponder next step (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Tennessee hoping to soon keep lottery dollars at home (reporting from Franklin, Ky.)

• Dub it Lottery 101: Tennessee officials seek tips on lottery startup (reporting from Atlanta)

• On Georgia bus trip, Tennessee lawmakers discover the business of a lottery (reporting from Atlanta)

Business

• AP enterprise: Click and buy: Internet becomes hot place for used car sales (reporting from Arlington, Texas)

• AP exclusive: Forgotten stock account helps Tennessee man reunite homeless woman, family (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

Child Protective Services

• AP enterprise: Funding a key issue in Texas’ child protection crisis (reporting from Austin, Texas)

• AP enterprise: Keeping children safe is a fast-paced, high-stress job (reporting from San Antonio)

Education

• AP enterprise: Schools learning new four-letter word: Mold blamed for illnesses, lawsuits and millions in maintenance (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

Sept. 11 anniversary

• AP enterprise: Post-attack volunteerism: Lasting trend or a blip? (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Tennesseans transformed by terrorist attacks (reporting from Nashville, Tenn.)

• Small-town Tennessee volunteers help ‘fellow man’ after New York attacks (reporting from Smyrna, Tenn.)

Sports

• Amid basketball scandal, Baylor tries to return to normalcy (reporting from Waco, Texas)

• Dennehy case reopens wounds for Baylor basketball program (reporting from Waco, Texas)

• AP exclusive: Car dealer says Baylor coach helped missing player find SUV (reporting from West, Texas)

• Player’s disappearance another blow for nation’s largest Baptist university (reporting from Waco, Texas)

• After 25 seasons, life as Texas Rangers baseball announcer still thrills Eric Nadel (reporting from Arlington, Texas)

• In fight over proposed Cowboys stadium, some ask: Where’s Jerry? (reporting from Arlington, Texas)