Here are some important law-and-religion news stories from around the web:
- The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a terror attack in Spain that left 13 dead; authorities believe a 12-man jihadist cell carried it out.
- North Korea has released a Canadian pastor who had been sentenced to life in prison; it is unclear whether the release is related to the rising tensions between North Korea and the United States.
- A Vatican official has signaled that an unofficial agreement on the appointment of bishops has been reached with the Chinese government.
- The Australian government will go forward with a non-binding plebiscite to be conducted by mail that will ask voters whether same-sex marriage should be legalized.
- The Afghan government has said that the Taliban and the Islamic State joined forces in an attack on a remote village that left more than fifty civilians dead.
- A Syrian national in Germany has been accused of being a member of the Islamic State and committing war crimes while he lived in Syria.
- Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who occasionally sits with the First Circuit, has granted a Rhode Island Jewish congregation additional time to file a rehearing petition as it seeks to overturn Souter’s decision awarding control of a historic Rhode Island synagogue to a New York congregation.
- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson condemned some key U.S. allies in the Middle East in a newly-released report on international religious freedom.
- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Native Americans and “Syncretic Spiritualists” seeking to enjoin the opening of a wind farm that they claim is being built on top of Native American religious monuments.