Televangelist Kenneth Copeland's request for an IRS audit is being called a "clever and deceptive" move. Ministry watchdog Warren Smith also believes the request is designed to distract from a Senate investigation into alleged financial misconduct by Copeland's prosperity gospel ministries. Christian News Headlines

As the Televangelist Kenneth Copeland continues to defy a Senate Finance investigation , internal ministry documents shed new light on how Copeland runs his $100 million church. Church bylaws obtained exclusively by CBS News say Copeland is "empowered to veto any resolution of the Board" concentrating all key decision-making power in the televangelist. CBS News

An Ohio school district under fire for telling a teacher to hide his personal Bible instead of leaving it on his desk when students are present has released a long list of accusations against the teacher, ranging from preaching in class to "branding" students, and says it is hiring an investigator for the case. The case arose last week when officials with the Mount Vernon, Ohio, school district ordered teacher John Freshwater to remove a Ten Commandments representation from a collage on his classroom wall, and told him he must hide his personal Bible from students. World News Daily

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is fond of quoting a particular passage of Scripture. The quote, however, does not appear in the Bible and is "fictional," according to biblical scholars. In her April 22 Earth Day news release, Pelosi said, "The Bible tells us in the Old Testament, 'To minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.' On this Earth Day, and every day, let us pledge to our children, and our children's children, that they will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and the opportunity to experience the wonders of nature." Conservative News

Republican John McCain asked the North Carolina GOP not to run a television ad that brings up the controversial former pastor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. North Carolina Republican party officials insisted the ad will run as planned despite McCain's request. The ad opens with a photo of Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright together and a clip of Wright, whose incendiary comments about race have bedeviled Obama. "He's just too extreme for North Carolina," the narrator says in the 30-second spot. Christian Post News

When Dallas Theological Seminary professor Daniel Wallace examined New Testament manuscripts stored in the National Archive in Albania last June, he was amazed by what he did not find. The story of the woman caught in adultery, usually found in John 7:53-8:11, was missing from three of the texts, and was out of place in a fourth, tacked on to the end of John's Gospel. "This is way out of proportion for manuscripts from the 9th century and following," Wallace said. "Once we get into that era, the manuscripts start conforming much more to each other. Thus, to find some that didn't have the story is remarkable." Christianity Today

Window treatments vs. right wing conspiracy? -- When most people think of hot-button political issues, they probably don’t think of interior decorators. But California is the latest battleground in a national war that has raged across numerous states, not to mention The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page and George Will’s columns. Malcolm Maclachlan in Capitol Weekly -- 4/24/08

Global rice shortage hits wallets in Silicon Valley -- At the Asian supermarket 99 Ranch, the price of jasmine rice has already doubled this year. Across the street, Costco is rationing its 50-pound bags of discounted rice - if you can get them at all. And some Asian restaurants are even reconsidering their longstanding policy of refilling rice bowls for free. Ken McLaughlin in the San Jose Mercury -- 4/24/08

Trust me, your legislator is a bargain -- The adage "misery loves company" may be timeworn, but it still drips with veracity. Doubters need only look to the tidal wave of approbation that greeted Tuesday's announcement by the California Citizens Compensation Commission that it was actually considering lowering the salaries of legislators and constitutional officers. Steve Wiegand in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/24/08

Costly gas, housing woes stunt sale of new autos -- Hammered by rising fuel prices and declining home prices, sales of new cars and trucks plummeted throughout California in the first quarter, according to data released yesterday. Dean Calbreath in the San Diego Union-Trib -- 4/24/08

Dems face outsiders' dirty tricks / Mudslinging begins from the sidelines -- With North Carolina and Indiana taking center stage in the political slugfest between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the next critical primaries could be shaped by political dirty tricks from outside their campaigns. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/24/08

Barack Obama still takes in oil money -- The Illinois Democrat received $46,000 in donations from executives and workers last month. In a campaign ad, he said he took no money from oil companies. Dan Morain in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/24/08

For Obama, a Struggle to Win Over Key Blocs -- It is the question that has hung over Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and it loomed large on Tuesday night after his loss to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania: Why has he been unable to win over enough working-class and white voters to wrap up the Democratic nomination? ADAM NAGOURNEY in the New York Times JACKIE CALMES and MARY JACOBY in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/24/08

California students log improvement in English fluency -- State figures show a 4% increase in the number of nonnative speakers advancing to higher-level work from the year before. L.A. Unified records similar gains. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times Kim Minugh in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/24/08

Oakland: When school bullies get out of hand -- Anthony Cataldo of Oakland first raised concerns about aggressive bullying at his son's elementary school last year after Zachary lost four teeth on the playground - but he said he received only a verbal assurance that things would change. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 4/24/08

For many California ninth-graders, it's shape up or more PE -- In California public schools, kids have been tested for physical fitness for many years. If they could do the push-ups and run a quick mile – great. If not – no big deal. Deb Kollars in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/24/08

It's SRO on many commuter buses as gasoline prices climb -- With the price of regular gasoline creeping toward $4 a gallon, commuters in Davis, North Natomas and Placer County are reporting a shocking sight when the bus pulls up. All the seats are taken. Suddenly, it's standing room only on commuter buses around the region. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee -- 4/24/08

U.S. offers L.A. $213 million for toll lane plan -- MTA will weigh project to convert carpool lanes to congestion pricing, beginning with parts of the 10 and 210 freeways, but many obstacles remain. Steve Hymon in the Los Angeles Times -- 4/24/08

Divorce often gets blamed for a host of troubles faced by children whose parents split, and much past research has focused on the damage to children's well-being. But new research suggests that at least in one segment of overall well-being — bad behavior — divorce doesn't appear to be the reason for some behavior problems. USA Today

A wall-mounted gadget designed to drive away loiterers with a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is infuriating civil liberties groups and tormenting young people after being introduced into the United States. A wall-mounted gadget designed to drive away loiterers with a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is infuriating civil liberties groups and tormenting young people after being introduced into the United States. CNN News

What's God been teaching you these days? This is a question many of us should really be asking each other. There's something refreshing about being communally aware of God's movements. So. what has God been teaching you lately and how has He been doing it?