Spiritual Leader

After longtime Rep. Henry Waxman survived an $8-million challenge from a deep-pocketed independent candidate in 2012, some political observers thought the Beverly Hills Democrat would not draw another substantial challenge this time around. But spiritual leader, best-selling author and friend of many in the entertainment industry Marianne Williamson has decided to seek Waxman's Westside-South Bay seat this year.  A longtime Democrat, Williamson has re-registered with "no party preference" so she can run as an independent.

MEXICO CITY - One of the best-known leaders of Mexico's vigilante “self-defense” movement has been arrested on suspicion of participating in a double homicide, raising new doubts about the federal government's strategy of partnering with armed campesino groups in the fight against a powerful drug cartel in Michoacan state. Hipolito Mora Chavez, a lime grower who gained fame for leading one of the first local uprisings of autodefensa groups early last year in the small city of La Ruana, was arrested Tuesday evening by state officials.

Pope John Paul II this week appointed a prelate who has condemned the Irish Republican Army as evil to be the new spiritual leader of the 4 million Catholics on both sides of the Irish border. Archbishop Cahal Daly's outspoken and constant denunciation of the IRA and his pursuit of reconciliation between Ireland's so-called "two traditions" were believed major factors in his selection as archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland.

After longtime Rep. Henry Waxman survived an $8-million challenge from a deep-pocketed independent candidate in 2012, some political observers thought the Beverly Hills Democrat would not draw another substantial challenge this time around. But spiritual leader, best-selling author and friend of many in the entertainment industry Marianne Williamson has decided to seek Waxman's Westside-South Bay seat this year.  A longtime Democrat, Williamson has re-registered with "no party preference" so she can run as an independent.

The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's new spiritual leader, Monday rejected hostage negotiations with the United States so long as Washington maintains its support of Israel and continues what he called a policy of "lies, fraud and mischief." The hard-line statement, reported by Tehran Radio, appeared to reverse a potentially accommodating signal put out by Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani 10 days ago.

Swami Swahananda, 91, the longtime spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California who had previously headed the Hindu religious organization's branch in Berkeley, died Friday at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center after a stroke, according to an aide. Since 1976, Swahananda had led the Southern California society, which has its headquarters in a domed white temple in Hollywood and is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Order of India. But Swahananda, a senior monk of the order, was also known for his role in founding Vedanta centers around the United States, including one outside Washington, D.C., and another in upstate New York.

It's becoming a cliche. World renowned guru plays role of holy teacher while indulging in all the follies he condemns. Greed, love affairs and extravagant living is how Radha Rajagopal Sloss describes the lifestyle of Jiddu Krishnamurti in her book "Lives in the Shadow with J. Krishnamurti." She writes that her American mother, who was married to Krishnamurti's best friend and business manager, carried on an affair with the spiritual leader for 20 years.

The longtime spiritual leader of Adat Ari El, Rabbi Moshe Rothblum, plays a number of different roles at the temple, including director, talent scout, choreographer and even matchmaker. His first love is Judaism, and his second is clearly theater. For the past 30 years, Rothblum has directed synagogue youth in a variety of secular musicals and plays, an experience that has inspired several budding actors to pursue careers in theater.

NEW YORK - As the wife of a beguiling spiritual leader, Amy Adams' character in "The Master" takes pains to hide her shortcomings. In public, she toes the party line, extolling the virtues of the Scientology-esque religion founded by her husband, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. And when she suspects her spouse may be cheating, she tells him only that his exploits must never get back to her. Adams also seems hesitant to reveal too much of herself, staying upbeat but guarded. When she swept into Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle last month out of a torrential downpour, she was unflustered, skin aglow and swaddled in layers of earth tones.

A married television evangelist and pastor of the Los Gatos Christian Church resigned after confessing to his congregation that he conducted a liaison with a woman who was not his wife. The affair occurred seven years ago, the Rev. Marvin Rickard said. Many churchgoers broke down in tears when they heard the news from their spiritual leader. Rickard, 57, built his congregation from 83 people in 1959 to an estimated current membership of 6,500, with a claimed television ministry of 100,000.

CAIRO -- The spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was arrested early Tuesday, will stand trial with other members of the Islamist organization on charges that include inciting murder, Egyptian prosecutors said. The arrest of Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie dealt another demoralizing blow  to the Brotherhood amid a crackdown by the military to silence dissent and build support for its control of the nation after the removal of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. State media reported that the charges against Badie and five other Brotherhood members stem from the June killings of anti-Morsi demonstrators during clashes outside the group's headquarters in Cairo.

Amy Adams will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Cinema Vanguard Award for her performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master. " The announcement was made Monday afternoon. She will be honored on Jan. 31 at the Arlington Theatre with a tribute at the 28th edition of the festival, which runs Jan. 24-Feb. 3. The three-time Oscar nominee was named best supporting actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. on Sunday for her performance as the steely wife of a charismatic spiritual leader in the drama set during the 1950s.  "Amy Adams is one of the gutsiest and most gifted actors working today," said SBIFF's executive director, Roger Durling, in a statement.

Swami Swahananda, 91, the longtime spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California who had previously headed the Hindu religious organization's branch in Berkeley, died Friday at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center after a stroke, according to an aide. Since 1976, Swahananda had led the Southern California society, which has its headquarters in a domed white temple in Hollywood and is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Order of India. But Swahananda, a senior monk of the order, was also known for his role in founding Vedanta centers around the United States, including one outside Washington, D.C., and another in upstate New York.

NEW YORK - As the wife of a beguiling spiritual leader, Amy Adams' character in "The Master" takes pains to hide her shortcomings. In public, she toes the party line, extolling the virtues of the Scientology-esque religion founded by her husband, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. And when she suspects her spouse may be cheating, she tells him only that his exploits must never get back to her. Adams also seems hesitant to reveal too much of herself, staying upbeat but guarded. When she swept into Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle last month out of a torrential downpour, she was unflustered, skin aglow and swaddled in layers of earth tones.

Leontine T.C. Kelly, a daughter and wife of ministers who followed her own calling and became the first black woman bishop in a major Christian denomination when the United Methodist Church elevated her to the position in 1984, has died. She was 92. Kelly, who oversaw Northern California and Nevada for the church from 1984 to 1988 while based in San Francisco, died June 28, the denomination announced. She had been in poor health for some time while living at a retirement home in Oakland.

If the latest reports of Mullah Mohammed Omar's demise are greatly exaggerated, they nonetheless show the strength of rumor and media frenzy in Afghanistan and Pakistan after the death of Osama bin Laden. A Taliban spokesman Monday vehemently denied claims that the movement's spiritual leader had died or been killed, even as Afghanistan's main intelligence service asserted that the reclusive cleric had disappeared from his alleged Pakistani hide-out. The spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said by telephone that the one-eyed, self-declared "leader of the faithful," who has long been thought to be hiding in Pakistan, was alive and well, directing the Taliban's military campaign in Afghanistan.

Cardinal John Krol, spiritual leader to Philadelphia's 1.3 million Roman Catholics, was in stable condition Tuesday after a seven-hour operation to stop internal bleeding, doctors at St. Agnes Medical Center said.

The Dalai Lama, the 50-year-old exiled spiritual leader of Tibet who lives in India, left for France on Wednesday for a private visit, officials in Paris said. He will arrive in the Mediterranean port of Marseilles and spend five days in the town of Digne.

In eastern Libya, the spectral image of an elderly, bearded man in a skullcap or Bedouin cloak is everywhere — on bumper stickers and posters, military vehicles and checkpoints, even press IDs issued by the rebel government here. "He is the godfather of all of us," said Salim Ismael, a retired army officer now training rebel recruits. "He is our inspiration, the spiritual leader of the Libyan revolution. " The figure is Omar Mukhtar, a 20th century resistance hero executed by Italian occupiers 80 years ago — and, improbably enough, depicted in a 1981 Hollywood all-star epic, "The Lion of the Desert," starring Anthony Quinn as Mukhtar.

As the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama says he practices compassion to such an extent that he tries to avoid swatting mosquitoes "when my mood is good and there is no danger of malaria," sometimes watching with interest as they swell with his blood. Yet, in an appearance Tuesday at USC, he appeared to suggest that the United States was justified in killing Osama bin Laden. As a human being, Bin Laden may have deserved compassion and even forgiveness, the Dalai Lama said in answer to a question about the assassination of the Al Qaeda leader.