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Atheistic facility opens in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, June 21 (UPI) -- Marie Castle has opened what she says is the first openly atheistic facility in the United States.

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Monday Castle converted the bottom half of her geodesic dome home in Minnesota into a community center for nonbelievers.

"The Catholic Church always said, 'For the love of God, think,'" Castle said. "I did, and I became an atheist."

The Barna Research Group, which tracks religious trends, published a survey in May that said the the number of "unchurched" people has nearly doubled in the past 13 years, from 39 million in 1991 to about 75 million people today.

A Minnesota Poll, last December, showed the number of people in the state who "definitely believe in God" had decreased since 1984, from 84 percent to 78 percent.

The Rev. John Malone, of Assumption Catholic Church in St. Paul, who noted that both the archdiocese and his parish has grown in the last five years, said it may only appear that there are more nonbelievers because those people are more vocal.

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U.S. to publish revised terror report

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- The United States plans to publish the corrected version of its annual counter-terrorism report Tuesday, the State Department said.

The department withdrew the report, released initially in April, following complaints that it contained inaccurate statistics. The report had claimed the number of terrorist attacks occurring during 2003 were the least in more than a decade.

The Bush administration used the report to claim its anti-terrorism policy was a success.

After receiving complaints of inaccuracies, particularly from U.S. lawmakers, the State Department agreed to publish a corrected version.

Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the revised report will also be published Tuesday on the U.S. State Department's Website.


U.S. condemns South Korean's abduction

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- The United States Monday condemned the kidnapping of a South Korean citizen in Iraq whose kidnappers have threatened to execute him.

The kidnappers warned Sunday they would behead 33-year-old Kim Sun-Il within 24 hours unless South Korea abandons plans to dispatch thousands of troops to Iraq. Seoul rejected the demand.

"Our hearts go out to the family of the South Korean civilian who is being held ... in Fallujah," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing in Washington while calling for his immediate release.

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The threat to behead Kim was delivered in a videotape screened on Al-Jazeera television and repeated several times on South Korean TV networks.

"We deplore the unjustifiable and violent threats that are made against this man and hope the world will reject these sorts of acts against innocent civilians," said Boucher.

Kim was abducted Thursday near the Iraqi city of Fallujah, along with several other people. His abduction caused angry demonstrations in Soul, during which protesters urged the South Korean government not to send troops to Iraq.


SpaceShipOne reaches edge of space

MOJAVE, Calif., June 21 (UPI) -- SpaceShipOne officially became the world's first privately funded spacecraft Friday following a successful, human powered flight to the edge of space.

Taking off from Mojave airfield in the California desert in front of hundreds of onlookers and ferried to an altitude of 50,000 by White Knight, its carrier aircraft, pilot Mike Melvill ignited SpaceShipOne's rocket engine and climbed to an altitude of 62 miles (100 kilometers) within minutes. The rocket then glided back to Earth and rolled to a stop on the Mojave runway at 8:16 (11:16 EDT).

Melvill, 63 and grandfather of four, shouted "Incredible!" after emerging from the cockpit.

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The climb to the drop altitude took about an hour because Federal Aviation Administration rules required White Knight -- and its entourage of chase aircraft -- to remain in the airspace above Mojave airport.

The 62-mile height is considered the border between Earth's atmosphere and space. It also is the minimum required to qualify for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million purse to be awarded to the first privately funded spaceship to reach 62 miles twice, carrying at least three persons -- or the equivalent payload weight -- within two weeks. On this flight, SpaceShipOne carried Melvill and the equivalent of two passengers.

SpaceShipOne was built by Scaled Composites, also of Mojave, and designed by famed aircraft designer Burt Rutan.

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