Some interesting law & religion stories from around the web this week:

• Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have amended the existing state RFRA to make clear that it included for-profit businesses and applied as against private causes of action.
• In Texas, a federal judge struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban
• Religious leaders who favor an overhaul of immigration laws are stepping up their pressure on House Republicans
• On Thursday, a U.S. district judge dismissed a civil rights lawsuit brought by eight Muslims who alleged the NYPD’s surveillance programs were unconstitutional because they focused on religion, national origin, and race
• The Jewish community of Thessaloniki is suing Germany in the European Court of Human Rights for the return of a ransom paid during the Nazi occupation of Greece
• An Al Qaeda splinter group has demanded that Christians in the Syrian city of Raqqa pay a levy in gold and curb displays of their faith in return for protection. The group demands that Christians must not make renovations to churches or other religious buildings, display religious insignia outside of churches, ring church bells, or pray in public.
• In Africa, the God Wars continue amidst weak governance, poor infrastructure, entrenched poverty, and fierce ethno-nationalism
• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is demanding the revision or repeal of Uganda’s law imposing life sentences for homosexuality and same-sex-marriage
• A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ordered Google to take down the “Innocence of Muslims” film based on a copyright claim brought by  an actress who briefly appears in the film
• A Kentucky church’s insistence on using venomous snakes in Sunday sermons – despite two fatal bites since 1995 – has local authorities trying to find a balance between public safety and religious freedom
• The rabbinic councils of all three Orthodox parties in Israel issued a statement prohibiting their yeshiva students from enlisting in the Israeli military