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This county is the most religiously diverse in the U.S.

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This county is the most religiously diverse in the U.S.

Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Montgomery County, Maryland is currently meeting at the Lutheran Church of St. Andrew, after their building suffered a fire. It is one example of interfaith cooperation in the most religiously diverse county in the country.

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Sarah Ventre/NPR

SILVER SPRING, Md. — About 30 miles north of Washington, D.C. is a winding road surrounded by leafy trees and lots of churches. But not just churches.

There’s a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Cambodian Buddhist Society, Muslim Community Center, the Maryland Hindu Milan Mandir, and even a home with a sign out front advertising psychic readings.

This stretch of New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland is so packed with houses of worship, it’s been called the Embassy Row of Religions. But locals know it as the Highway to Heaven.

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The Highway to Heaven sits on the eastern part of Montgomery County, Maryland, which was determined to be the most religiously diverse county in the country, according to the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). The U.S. Census does not collect data about religious affiliation, so the PRRI Census of American Religion is considered to be one of the most reliable sources of data on the topic.

Melissa Deckman is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, which conducted the survey. She said the counties with the most religious diversity have some common denominators.

“[They are] the most populated counties in the country, but they’re also the most racially and ethnically diverse,” said Deckman.

Just 40% of residents in Montgomery County are white, another 20% are Hispanic. The county also has larger populations of African-Americans and Asian-Americans, said Deckman. “There are higher percentages of residents who are Hindu, who are Buddhist, who are Muslim.”

Other counties at the top of PRRI’s diversity list included Kings County, New York, which includes Brooklyn; Suffolk County, Massachusetts; and San Francisco County, California. Counties with the least religious diversity included Holmes County, Mississippi; Macon County, Alabama; and Appling County, Georgia

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A wall in an exterior corridor of the Muslim Community Center on the Highway to Heaven in Silver Spring, Maryland has the word

A wall in an exterior corridor of the Muslim Community Center on the Highway to Heaven in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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Interfaith cooperation

On a sunny Saturday morning, families from the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church gather for worship. (For Seventh-day Adventists, the sabbath is Saturday as opposed to Sunday as in most Christian denominations.)

But the congregation isn’t actually meeting at their own church. Instead, men in suits greet worshippers at the door of the Lutheran Church of St. Andrew — about a mile and a half up the road.

In August, Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church suffered a fire, and the congregation is still unable to use the building.Crystal E. Ward, the church’s executive pastor, said it’s been a positive experience to have supportive communities of faith nearby.

“The Lutheran church and the pastor here [have] been so welcoming and gracious to us to allow us a space where we can worship. So we’re here worshiping every Saturday.”

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These kinds of interfaith partnerships are often the goal, but the geographic closeness on the Highway to Heaven may make them more possible.

“There’s a mosque, the Muslim Community Center, which are amazing interfaith partners and do a lot in the community,” said Kate Chance, the Faith Community Outreach Manager for the Office of Community Partnerships in Montgomery County.

“They have a health clinic to support folks, and right next to it is the Ukrainian church. And so they share parking lots. They’re very good friends. But when the Ukrainian church was supporting Ukrainian newcomers, they’re taking the newcomers to the MCC’s health clinic.”

Communities with deep roots

Two miles north of the Muslim Community Center and St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Church is Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church. It’s a striking building — tall, wooden, and topped with a polygonal pyramid that can be seen from the road. It would look out of place anywhere else in Silver Spring. But on the Highway to Heaven, the log construction (typical in the Carpathian Mountains) is just one of many thoughtfully built houses of worship.

Holy Trinity Particular Ukrainian Catholic Church is a wooden building with a stone foundation and sits atop green grass.

Holy Trinity Particular Ukrainian Catholic Church follows the Byzantine Rite and sits on the “Highway to Heaven” in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Sarah Ventre/NPR

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“This is the church that I grew up in. I had my first communion. I was a part of this congregation before the church was even built, we had our first church in Washington, DC in a house,” said Lila Johnson. She drives with her family around an hour and fifteen minutes each way to come to this church.

She enjoys celebrating the mass entirely in Ukrainian — just like her parents and grandparents did.

“The mass is just moving and beautiful, and I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else,” said Johnson

On the Highway to Heaven, there are enough options that most people don’t have to.

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.

During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.

The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.

Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.

Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

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Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.

The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.

The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.

“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.

The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.

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On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.

During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.

Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM

Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26

Page 5 of 17

and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.

Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)

On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.

Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)

On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.

Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)

On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.

5

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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.

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The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

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Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

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“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all.

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“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.

Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.

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“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”

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