Jesus Christ's epic Sermon on the Mount, with its calls for peacemaking, helping the poor and working for justice, could well be compared to a modern political campaign speech in front of the multitudes in a modern stadium. Now a Gilbert church is launching a Jesus for President campaign and will conduct a two-month effort starting in August - parallel to the U.S. presidential campaign - that emphasizes a familiar issue in the 2008 campaign: change. East Valley Tribune

It has taken a man of God, perhaps, to do what nobody else has been able to do since the general election season began: Get Barack Obama and John McCain together on the same stage before their party conventions later this summer. The Rev. Rick Warren has persuaded the candidates to attend a forum at his Saddleback Church, in Lake Forest, Calif., on Aug. 16. In an interview, Mr. Warren said over the weekend that the presidential candidates would appear together for a moment but that he would interview them in succession at his megachurch. NY Times

Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, saying he could reverse his position and endorse the Arizona senator despite serious misgivings. "I never thought I would hear myself saying this," Dobson said in a radio broadcast to air Monday. "... While I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might." Rocky Mountain News

For a small but increasing number of Americans, the song “Pull Your Pants Up!” by gospel rap artist Dooney “Da Priest” is not just a song. “It’s a movement,” as the rapper told the Jackson Clarion Ledger of Mississippi last week after his album “Pull Your Pants Up!” released. And with new laws recently passed or being considered in a handful of U.S. cities, it might be. In the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood, village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public. Christian Post

Petitioners have succeeded in moving a measure that would effectively decriminalize prostitution in the city of San Francisco to the Nov. 4 ballot. While prostitution is unlawful under the California Penal Code, the measure - if passed by voters - would ban the San Francisco Police Department from allocating any financial resources for the investigation and prosecution of sex workers on prostitution charges. Section four of the ballot measure - under the heading "Prostitution Shall Be Decriminalized" - further states that the city, county, and district attorney "shall not subject sex-workers to life long economic discrimination associated with having a criminal record." World Net Daily

From the interview with Tom Brokaw on Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press: “Our current course is completely unsustainable. We are being told by scientists around the world, particularly the international group that is charged with studying this and reporting to world leaders, that we may have less than 10 years in order to make dramatic changes lest we lose the chance to, to avoid catastrophic results from the climate crisis. We're building up CO2 so rapidly that we're seeing the consequences scientists have long predicted. And the only way to take responsible action is to get at the heart of the problem, which is the burning of fossil fuels.” MSNBC

Almost two-thirds of American newspapers publish less foreign news than they did just three years ago, nearly as many print less national news, and despite new demands on newsrooms like blogs and video, most of them have smaller news staffs, according to a new study. NY Times

Even as gas prices go through the roof, hundreds of public employees who work for San Francisco and Oakland are commuting in city vehicles, complete with free fill-ups. Some are coming from as far away as the Central Valley. San Francisco Chronicle

A federally appointed receiver assigned to fix the prison health-care system in California says he will force the state to come up with $2.5 billion to begin improvements - just as legislators are confronting a budget shortfall of over $15 billion this fiscal year. Wall Street Journal

San Diego mayor's had a change of heart - the campaign against same-sex marriage in California was treading water until it got help from an unexpected corner; a Republican mayor choking up and announcing he would not betray his gay daughter. Los Angeles Times

After locking up his party’s presidential nomination, Barack Obama’s fundraising operation came roaring back to life in June, generating more than a million dollars on five days, including a whopping $25 million that came in on the last day of the month. Politico

Want kids to score well on statewide tests? Reward them. Before they ask, "What's in it for me?" offer a prize for performance. That's the thrust of a proposed state law passed this month by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sacramento Bee

Olivia Crowther left her London flat last month to become a statistic in San Francisco. The 23-year-old college graduate surfed suicide Web sites, bought a plane ticket for California and, at 9:24 a.m. on June 25, leapt to her death off the Golden Gate Bridge, at light pole No. 105. Sacramento Bee

Turns out, it's going to cost taxpayers $32 billion more than first thought to open and operate the nation's first nuclear waste dump. The Bush administration's latest calculation - made public last week - is that the facility in Nevada will cost more than $90 billion. AP

Buy a new suit in California, you pay sales tax. Take it to a dry cleaner, and the transaction is tax-exempt. With the state's budget deficit at $15 billion, some state officials argue it's time to end the tax-free ride on dry cleaning and many other services. Sacramento Bee

Child-welfare advocates fear last-minute funding concerns will cause Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto legislation that would permit foster children a greater role in dependency court hearings. Their worries stem from the administration's finance department analysis that put the cost of the measure at about $500,000 next year, and $900,000 the following year - costs that the legislation's author and child advocates consider grossly exaggerated. San Jose Mercury

Texas billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens has made no secret of his desire to open up the market for natural gas-powered vehicles. The founder of a company that develops natural gas vehicles, Pickens believes he has a foothold in an emerging field of clean energy resources - just as soaring gas prices and carbon emissions are causing many to look for alternatives. Contra Costa Times

Does high court ruling let them keep weapons at home? Twice convicted of felonies, James Francis Barton Jr. faces charges of violating a federal law barring felons from owning guns after police found seven pistols, three shotguns and five rifles at his home south of Pittsburgh. As a defense, Barton and several other defendants in federal gun cases argue that last month's Supreme Court ruling allows them to keep loaded handguns at home for self-defense. AP

But Ed Wilkins, student nutrition director for the district, said that with food prices skyrocketing, it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the new level of nutritious food and expand it as had been planned. Adding new salad bars, making portions bigger for high school students, and adding new menu items in middle schools and high schools may all be put on hold. And prices for food that's not part of the federal school lunch program will rise. San Francisco Chronicle

A discovery leads to questions about whether the odds of people sharing genetic profiles are sometimes higher than portrayed. Calling the finding meaningless, the FBI has sought to block such inquiry. Los Angeles Times