
Southern Baptists grapple with race, gender, sex and God in pivotal annual meeting
CNN
There's a political fight brewing inside the nation's largest Protestant denomination as the Southern Baptist Convention gathers in Nashville this week for its annual meeting.
On one side is a hardcore vanguard of conservatives seeking to beat back what's viewed as a move toward "wokeness." On the other is the SBC establishment that's adopted a more conciliatory approach on progressive social issues such as Black Lives Matter, critical race theory and ordaining female ministers -- all in an attempt to attract a broader group of adherents. The battle, which culminates in a vote for a new president on Tuesday, is similar to the current cultural debate raging across the country over questions of race, gender and equality. It also comes as the SBC, like most Christian denominations in the US, faces shrinking membership and an increasingly secular America.
Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.










