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The very first act of the new Bush administration was to have a Protestant Evangelist minister officially dedicate the inauguration to Jesus Christ, who he declared to be “our savior.” Invoking “the Father, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ” and “the Holy Spirit,” Billy Graham’s son, the man selected by President George W. Bush to bless his presidency, excluded the tens of millions of Americans who are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics and atheists from his blessing by his particularistic and parochial language.

The plain message conveyed by the new administration is that George W. Bush’s America is a Christian nation, and that non-Christians are welcome into the tent so long as they agree to accept their status as a tolerated minority rather than as fully equal citizens. In effect, Bush is saying: “This is our home, and in our home we pray to Jesus as our savior. If you want to be a guest in our home, you must accept the way we pray.”

But the United States is neither a Christian nation nor the exclusive home of any particular religious group. Non-Christians are not guests. We are as much hosts as any Mayflower-descendant Protestant. It is our home as well as theirs. And in a home with so many owners, there can be no official sectarian prayer. That is what the 1st Amendment is all about, and the first act by the new administration was in defiance of our Constitution.

This was surely not the first time in our long history that Jesus has been invoked at an official governmental assembly. But we are a different and more religiously diverse nation than we were in years past. There are now many more Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and others who do not accept Jesus as their savior. It is permissible in the U.S. to reject any particular theology. Indeed, that is part of our glorious diversity. What is not acceptable is for a presidential inauguration to exclude millions of citizens from its opening ceremony by dedicating it to a particular religious “savior.”

Our first president, George Washington, wrote to the tiny Jewish community in Rhode Island that in this new nation, we will no longer speak of mere “toleration,” because toleration implies that minorities enjoy their inherent rights “by the indulgence” of the majority. President Bush should read that letter and show it to the Rev. Franklin Graham, who told the media on the day before the inauguration that his prayer “will be for unity”; instead, it was for the Trinity. Uniting for Jesus may be Graham’s definition of unity, but it is as un-American as if a rabbi giving the official prayer had prayed for the arrival of the “true Messiah,” thus insulting the millions of Christians who believe Jesus is the true Messiah.

Inaugurations are not the appropriate setting for theological proclamations of who is, and who is not, the true Messiah. Perhaps at Bob Jones University it is appropriate for an honorary degree recipient to declare Jesus to be the only king of the United States, but the steps of the Capitol should not be confused with the lectern of a denominational church.

The inauguration ended with another Protestant minister inviting all who agree that Jesus is “the Christ” to say, “Amen” (ironically, a word that originated in Jewish prayer or, alternatively, originally a Jewish acronym for “God, the King, forever.”) Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), along with many others who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, was put in the position of either denying his own faith or remaining silent while others around him all said, “Amen.” This is precisely the position in which young public school students are placed when “voluntary” prayer is conducted at school events. If they join in prayer that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs, they have been coerced into violating their conscience. If they leave or refuse to join, they stand out as different among their peers. No student should be put in that position by their public schools at an assembly, just as no public official should be placed in that situation by their government at an inauguration.

If George W. Bush wants all Americans to accept him as their president, he made an inauspicious beginning by sandwiching his unity speech between two divisive, sectarian and inappropriate prayers.

SCOTT Mills’ husband has appeared to have taken a shady swipe at the BBC as their pal Zoe Ball started her new gig.

Scott, 53, was unceremoniously axed from BBC Radio 2 back in March after details of an historic police investigation emerged.

He was dismissed after new information came to light regarding the investigation about alleged sex offences with a boy aged under 16 in 2018.

As well as losing his role on Radio 2, he was also sacked from working on the BBC’s Eurovision coverage and from a new podcast spin off from Race Across The World – which he won the celebrity series of in 2024.

Zoe, 55, famously left the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show in December 2024 and was replaced by close pal Scott.

She completely left the network a year later when she hosted her final Saturday show as Emma Willis stepped into her shoes following her departure.

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The former It Takes Two host started her new show on Greatest Hits Radio on Monday this week.

A short clip of Zoe on her first show was shared on the radio’s official Instagram account as she welcomed her viewers for the first time.

Scott’s husband Sam Vaughan took to the comments section to show his support as he appeared to shade the BBC.

He penned: “Perfect afternoon soundtrack, we’ve got you on.”

This isn’t the first time Sam has appeared to have thrown some shade as he previously took a swipe at Scott’s Radio 2 replacement, Sara Cox.

She was named as his successor and took over hosting duties back in July.

Sam doesn’t often appear on social media but the timing of his post on Sara’s first day was definitely noticable.

He shared a picture of their cute dog in the lounge, standing in front of a TV screen with Heart FM breakfast playing — NOT Radio 2‘s offering.

Sara was always seen as a natural successor to Scott and we reported how execs moved quickly to secure her for the role when he was dismissed.

A source said at the time: “This is something the BBC have always had lined up for her and she could not be more excited to take on the role.”

Scott confirmed he was quizzed by Metropolitan Police officers in 2018 after an allegation of a “historic sexual offence”.

The case – said to have taken place between 1997 and 2000 – was later dropped in full due to a lack of evidence.

But bosses claimed they only became aware of the age of the alleged victim in the weeks before Mills’ sacking, according to reports.

ACROSS 10 days in September, Brits can enjoy thousands of free events courtesy of Heritage Open Days.

The festival has thousands of free things to do from checking out Silverstone race course to ghost walks and even football tickets are up for grabs.

Between September 11-20, lots of England’s best-known attractions and destinations will open to the public for free.

Events will be held across the country – here are some of the places to explore with Heritage Open Days.

For racing fanatics, book a day out at Silverstone where the collections team take you through its history with a guided tour.

At Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, families can check out the codebreaking trail, try hands-on activities and have a go themselves.

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Other spots to explore include the grand Lyme Park in Cheshire, Wightwick Manor and Lyveden.

Transport museums around the country are open with lots of vintage trains and buses for viewing.

This includes Aldridge Transport Museum, Dover Transport Museum and East Anglia Transport Museum.

At the Museum of Transport in Manchester, visitors can ride on its historic buses.

Depending on who you support, some people might be interested to know that you can get free football tickets.

Head into Wigan Athletic Heritage Museum and then enjoy the match as the team plays Wycombe Wanderers (make sure to prebook).

Activities for kids include medieval crafting like decorating shields, crowns, princess hats and horse puppets at The Garage in Norfolk.

Over at Acorn Bank Watermill in Cumbria, see the mill in action and even taste some of baked goods yourself.

In Milton Keynes, head to the Midsummer Place Shopping Centre for the Caribbean carnival village celebrations with hands-on workshops.

At museums across the UK, kids can dress up and see what life was like in different eras – like the 1800s in the National Justice Museum.

Some of the best events take place during twilight hours.

Onboard the Tudor ship, the Golden Hinde, there’s a reconstruction of living, working and sailing.

At the Rosse Observatory, get up close to the impressive telescope itself – and if it’s a clear night, you could even see Saturn or Jupiter.

Or if you’re into ghosts, head to Ripon Market Place in North Yorkshire for some spooky walks.

Make sure to look at activities and events in advance as you may need to pre-book before attending.

For more on attractions – check out all the ones that you pay for once and then return all year for free.

Ten months after a coup, military leaders say the referendum is designed to stabilise future civilian governments.

Ballot counting is under way in a referendum in Guinea-Bissau that could significantly boost the presidency’s power.

Citizens of the West African nation took to the polls on Sunday to vote on a new constitution that would reform the country’s political system ahead of elections later this year.

Turnout “exceeded” 55 percent and the poll took place “without any incidents that would call into question the credibility of the vote”, Idrissa Djalo, executive secretary of the National Electoral Commission, told a news briefing on Sunday.

Results are expected on Tuesday.

The referendum comes less than 10 months after the military seized power in a coup.

The military government says it seeks to stabilise institutions before presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 6, designed to hand power back to a civilian government.

The new constitution, which citizens were asked to approve on Sunday, would switch Guinea-Bissau’s political system from a parliamentary to a presidential one.

It would abandon the system by which prime ministers came from the parliamentary majority, an approach that has led to uncomfortable power-sharing.

The new system would also allow the head of state to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and members of the government, and to dissolve parliament.

On Sunday, voters answered “yes” or “no” to the question: “Do you agree with the entry into force of the new constitution approved by the National Transitional Council?”

“What we want after this referendum is to allow whoever wins the elections to see out their mandate without hindrance,” military leader and transitional President General Horta Inta-A Na Man said.

Under the transitional charter he upholds, Inta-A Na Man is barred from running in elections.

The referendum follows years of political instability. In the November 2025 presidential election, both candidates declared victory and accused each other of electoral interference. The coup happened one day after.

PHOENIX — The Trump administration has begun work on a project to build a stretch of border wall in southern Arizona along part of a Native American tribe’s reservation, pushing ahead with one of its signature projects despite protests from the tribe.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the area is a dangerous smuggling route and that building the wall will close a longstanding security gap. But members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose membership spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, have accused the administration of trespassing and say the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe.

The wall segment is part of a $46 billion effort by the Trump administration to fill the border with 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology designed to stop undocumented immigration and smuggling.

But as building efforts have ramped up, the administration has run into opposition from landowners, environmental groups, and Native American tribes who say construction is violating property rights and desecrating sacred Indigenous sites.

The Tohono O’odham Nation said in a statement Tuesday that about 20 Customs and Border Protection officers, working with contractors, went onto the tribe’s land early that morning to begin construction.

Drone videos published by nation officials show roughly 14 vehicles and an industrial drill at one of the sites.

A federal judge permitted the government to move forward with construction earlier this month, but the tribe says the contractors are violating tribal codes and trespassing to access the border wall site.

The Tohono O’odham Nation, which has 37,000 members including thousands who live in Mexico, sued the federal government in June in an attempt to block construction of the border wall. The tribe argued that the wall would cause “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks sacred to the tribe, and would alter boundaries of their nation.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, ruled in favor of the government, noting that the border wall would be built on a 60-foot wide buffer zone of federally owned land called the Roosevelt Reservation.

“Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

The Tohono O’odham Nation said that even if construction were contained to the Roosevelt Reservation, driving onto tribal land to access the area still constitutes trespassing.

“The contractors, who are on the Nation illegally, were accompanied by agents as they worked on three separate locations near the border with drill trucks to conduct soil sampling and other activities,” tribal officials said in a statement.

The CBP agents were masked, armed, and set up a vehicle blockade to stop tribal police from removing the contractors, according to Tohono O’odham officials. The nation had set up “No Trespassing” signs before Tuesday.

So far, no physical confrontations between police or members of the Tohono O’odham Nation have been reported.

CBP defended the need for the wall in a statement Tuesday, saying the desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation is a corridor for drug smuggling.

“The project will close one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border: remote desert that has facilitated decades of drug loads, migrant deaths, and cartel activity,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.

Tribal officials said they’re exploring further legal actions in an effort to remove contractors.

SLSCO Ltd., the Texas-based construction company building the section in Arizona, has secured over $390 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security to build the border wall since 2023.

Schuettler writes for the Associated Press.

A star-studded legal drama, which viewers have described as ‘one of the best shows’, is starting tonight on ITV and ITVX

ITV viewers looking for their next fix need look no further.

The broadcaster will be airing the legal thriller series, The Rainmaker, on Friday 28 August at 9pm on ITV after acquiring the star-studded US show. The show will air weekly and also be available to stream on ITVX.

A synopsis teases of the legal thriller: “Based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, Rudy Baylor, who is fresh out of law school, goes head-to-head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend, Sarah.

“Rudy, along with his boss, Bruiser, and her disheveled paralegal, Deck, uncover two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son.”

The incredible star-studded cast sees Rivals actor Milo Callaghan as Rudy Baylor, Mad Men legend John Slattery as Leo Drummond, Once Upon a Time’s Lana Parrilla as Jocelyn “Bruiser” Stone and Jumanji star Madison Iseman as Sarah Plankmore.

Other cast members include The Wolf of Wall Street actor P.J. Byrne as Deck Shifflet, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star Dan Fogler as Melvin Pritcher, Bodkin’s Robyn Cara as Kelly Riker and The Split’s Karen Bryson as Dot Black.

The Rainmaker was first released in the US back in 2025, receiving rave reviews at the time. The show has been confirmed and renewed for a second series.

The first series got an impressive 84% on Rotten Tomatoes with many fans praising the ‘outstanding’ legal drama.

One person said: “This is one of the best shows I’ve seen this year. Anyone interested in a nice show should try it. For this one don’t judge by the rating. Trust me. Its one of the best shows you will find this year, 2025.

“I loved and enjoyed every single episode hour, minute and second. I was honestly angry that I now have to wait for the season 2. Its a very good tv show and i would wish to watch the complete story.”

A different viewer wrote: “This is absolutely the best show I have seen for awhile,I love all the actors they couldn’t not have done a better job on that all great actors.

“I just wish we could binge watch I don’t like waiting a week to see what happens. USA is not a monthly subscription its always a week ahead . Well I really hope I see several seasons of this show . I absolutely love it.”

Another show watcher commented at the time: “I was skeptical since the book and original movie were so good, but this series hooked me from the first episode!

“Love Rudy! He’s young, vulnerable, but knows the law and doesn’t cave under pressure. Outstanding casting and storyline! Bruiser is bad*ss and Deck is the best sidekick! Really hope there is a season 2, can’t wait!!!”

The Rainmaker is available to watch on ITV and ITVX from Friday 28 August