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⛪️ ‘The pope is dead!’: How news outlets prepared in advance to cover Francis’ passing 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged “The pope is dead!” Religion writer Kelsey Dallas shouted those words to her husband — or something to that effect — when she awakened to a push … Continue reading ⛪️ ‘The pope is dead!’: How news outlets prepared in advance to cover Francis’ passing 🔌

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📝 ‘We Will Never Forget’: How covering the biggest story of my life changed me 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged OKLAHOMA CITY — The last week or two, I started feeling stressed. Agitated even. For no apparent reason. Then it hit me: The anniversary. Saturday marks 30 … Continue reading 📝 ‘We Will Never Forget’: How covering the biggest story of my life changed me 🔌

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‘Most severely injured’ OKC bombing survivor overcomes evil with good

On the terrorist attack’s 30th anniversary, Susan Walton praises God for showing ‘the goodness of people.’ By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle OKLAHOMA CITY — Thirty years have not healed all of Susan Walton’s wounds. Still, the Oklahoma City bombing survivor’s Christian faith remains strong. “God brought a lot of good,” Walton, 74, said of the aftermath of the April 19, 1995, attack on the Alfred P. Murrah … Continue reading ‘Most severely injured’ OKC bombing survivor overcomes evil with good

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‘A Day of Darkness, Years of Light’

Oklahoma City marks the 30th anniversary of 1995 federal building bombing. By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle OKLAHOMA CITY — “We Will Never Forget.” That message — scrawled on a police car, printed on a memorial program, vowed by politicians and ordinary people alike — became a mantra after the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history killed 168 people — including 19 children … Continue reading ‘A Day of Darkness, Years of Light’

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🚊 Meet Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged’s executive editor: 7 things to know 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged WASHINGTON — Ordinarily, an Amtrak ride from Penn Station in Manhattan to Union Station in Washington takes about three hours. But last week, New York-based journalist Clemente Lisi’s … Continue reading 🚊 Meet Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged’s executive editor: 7 things to know 🔌

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🤖 #RNA2025: What the nation’s top religion writers — and AI — are talking about 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged ARLINGTON, Va. — I’m hanging out this week with 169 of my closest Godbeat friends. The Religion News Association kicked off its annual three-day meeting Thursday at the … Continue reading 🤖 #RNA2025: What the nation’s top religion writers — and AI — are talking about 🔌

🔥 After monster storm, the story can’t be told without recognizing faith 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged STILLWATER, Okla. — I planned to drive 400 miles to south-central Nebraska last weekend for a story on rural churches. But about 75 miles up Interstate 35 from … Continue reading 🔥 After monster storm, the story can’t be told without recognizing faith 🔌

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Survivors pick through ruins after monster storm

By Kyle Melnick and Bobby Ross Jr. | Washington Post My part of the story: Drew Boers, a 75-year-old retired beer distributor, and his wife, Julie, sat at a folding table Sunday afternoon in the driveway of their neighbor’s home in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which escaped the flames unscathed. The scene might have resembled a neighborhood block party — except for the heavy smell of smoke … Continue reading Survivors pick through ruins after monster storm

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😷 ‘That escalated quickly’: Five years ago, COVID turned the world upside down 🔌

Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged OKLAHOMA CITY — To quote Will Ferrell’s character in the original “Anchorman” movie, “Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.” The fictional … Continue reading 😷 ‘That escalated quickly’: Five years ago, COVID turned the world upside down 🔌