RNS Morning Report - 🧵 After refugee aid cuts, faith groups help Afghan women connect through sewing

After refugee aid cuts, faith groups help Afghan women connect through sewing In Durham, North Carolina, the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to refugee admissions and support has meant a local mutual aid organization no longer had resources to run a sewing circle for Afghan women whose families had recently been resettled. For the women involved, the program was about more than sewing — it helped them feel less isolated. Now, two Durham-based congregations have stepped in to fill the gap. The Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Judea Reform Congregation raised money and sought volunteers to offer these new immigrants a class to improve their sewing skills, meet fellow Afghans and pick up some English skills. They are among religious congregations around the country now compensating for lack of government support. Read RNS national reporter Yonat Shimron’s story from the class below. Top Stories After refugee aid cuts, faith groups help Afghan women connect through sewing DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — The Trump administration’s vast cuts to refugee services have led some religious congregations to fill in gaps. AI has a bias toward Catholicism, researchers say (RNS) — ‘As AI amplifies and compounds religious bias at scale, more users may misunderstand the contribution faith and belief can make to moral and ethical AI grounding,’ said Elder Gerrit W. Gong, one of the 12 apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in a speech. What we know and don’t know about the emerging deal to end the Iran war CAIRO (AP) — It is not clear when or how the deal might be finalized and when its various parts will take effect. Details come from two regional officials and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. Muslims begin the annual Hajj in sweltering heat against a backdrop of war concerns MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The faithful have been pouring into the country for the Hajj against the backdrop of a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war and related regional tensions and uncertainty. Opinion The anti-Muslim rhetoric that inspired teen gunmen has been increasing for years (RNS) — Islamophobia rose sharply from 2022 to 2025, according to the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding’s Islamophobia Index, which has tracked anti-Muslim rhetoric since 2016. What Jefferson and Madison would have thought about ‘rededicating’ the US to God (The Conversation) — The ‘Rededicate 250’ rally raised questions about separation of church and state. Jefferson and Madison’s many letters to each other shed light on that much-debated principle. ICYMI Eli Lilly sues church leaders for alleged $200 million ‘sham’ drug program (RNS) — A lawsuit filed by the pharmaceutical giant alleges that Bishop Jerry Maynard Sr. and Elder Readus C. Smith III, a national COGIC leader, worked with wholesalers to submit fraudulent drug reimbursement claims. In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV says AI must serve humanity, not the powerful few VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In ‘Magnifica Humanitas,’ Leo's 83-page manifesto on AI, the pope tackles the social, economic and political challenges associated with artificial intelligence. Support Our Work As a nonprofit newsroom that covers all faiths, RNS sits uniquely at the intersection of freedom of the press and freedom of religion. News tips or feedback? Email comments@religionnews.com. Like the Morning Report? Share it with a friend. Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. We rely on reader donations to power our reporting. Donate here. Or send a check to: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205

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