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the demonstration "awful" and defiant of the powerful church that is the heart of Russia's national identity.
• The case, which ended Friday with the three band members' conviction for hooliganism and sentence to two years each in prison, became an emblem of Russia's intolerance of dissent and was widely seen as a warning that authorities will tolerate opposition only under tightly controlled conditions.
• Tikhon Shevkunov, who is widely believed to be President Vladimir Putin's spiritual counselor, said on state television Saturday that his church forgave the singers after their "punk prayer" in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow in February.
• "We did forgive them from the very start. But such actions should be cut short by

society and authorities," said the cleric, who heads Moscow's Sretensky Monastery.
• ___

• SEATTLE (AP) -- Thunderstorms and lightning threatened fire officials' plans to contain a large blaze in central Washington state as hundreds of Washington and California residents returned home to find out whether their homes were spared.
• In Idaho, authorities on Saturday issued a mandatory evacuation order for some 350 homes in the area around Featherville due to thick smoke. That town and the community of Pine, both recreation getaways in the mountains 105 miles northeast of Boise, remained in the path of a 130-square-mile wildfire that has been burning for two weeks.
• Fire managers were concerned that poor visibility could hamper the evacuation process, fire spokesman David Eaker said. The smoke also prevented retardant bombers from reaching the fire and aerial reconnaissance flights from locating the fire's leading edge.
• "It's a very active, very dangerous fire," fire information officer Steve Till said. Crews "were prepared for it, but civilians are probably much better not being here."
• The Idaho Emergency Operations Center on Saturday assigned an Idaho National Guard helicopter to fires in the southwest part of the state to be available for medical evacuations if needed. Officials said the UH-72 Lakota helicopter and seven soldiers were scheduled to be stationed in Pine as early as Monday.
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