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Attacks on churches leave Egypt's Coptic Christians feeling more persecuted, vulnerable
• THE RED MONASTERY, Egypt (AP) -- Locked inside a 6th century church in a desert monastery are some of the jewels of early Christianity -- ancient murals in vivid pinks, greens and reds depicting saints, angels and the Virgin Mary with a baby Jesus, hidden for centuries under a blanket of black soot.
• Italian and Egyptian restorers are meticulously uncovering the paintings, some of the earliest surviving and most complete examples of early Coptic Christian art. But the work, in the final stages more than a decade after it started, is done quietly to avoid drawing attention -- and there's no plan to try to attract visitors, at least not now.
• "This is our heritage and we must protect it," said Father Antonius, abbot of the Red Monastery where the Anba Bishay Church is located. He takes it as a personal mission to protect it. The church's heavy wooden door has only two keys. He keeps one and a young monk he trusts keeps the other.
• "I don't think there is a church anywhere in Egypt that even begins to match the beauty of this one," Antonius said, beaming like a proud father.
• The little known Anba Bishay Church offers a striking example of how Egypt's Orthodox Coptic Church jealously guards its heritage against formidable odds -- whether decades of neglect, discrimination by the Muslim majority or the violence by Islamic militants, who have gained significant power since the 2011 ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
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Jackson leads revamped Tigers lineup to 7-3 win over Red Sox, Detroit evens ALCS at 2-2
• DETROIT (AP) -- Jim Leyland had no big plans for Detroit's oddest lineup card of the year.
• "I'll throw it away, unless I can sell it to some bar on the way home," the Detroit manager said.
• Torii Hunter batting leadoff and Miguel Cabrera hitting second worked well enough Wednesday night for the Tigers, who beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 to even the AL championship series 2-all.
• Leyland used his new lineup in an effort to boost the offense after the Tigers lost 1-0 in Game 3. Slumping leadoff hitter Austin Jackson was dropped to eighth in the (Continued on page 25)
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