1. Md. father told police of alleged bomb plot

"We became aware of what he was doing, and we felt obligated to contact the police," Robert F. Weiler Sr. told The Washington Post.

Early Thursday, Robert Weiler Jr. was taken into custody at a rest stop in Western Maryland. By dawn, the pipe bomb he allegedly built and stored at a friend's house in the Riverdale Heights area had been partially detonated by bomb squad technicians working to disarm it. …

According to an affidavit signed by two ATF agents, Weiler admitted planning the attack and also told investigators that he intended "to shoot doctors who provided abortions." A loaded gun was found in the glove box of his car at the time of his arrest, the affidavit says.

2. Evangelicals vs. Christian cable

The debate over cable TV indecency is back. RNS reports on the battle between Christian groups that want cable companies to allow subscribers to purchase only the channels they want and Christian broadcasters who worry cable subscribers won't pay for their stations.

The Christian networks' main concern is that the only ones willing to subscribe would be Christians. If a la carte were in existence, May argues, conversion experiences for alcoholics and people contemplating suicide or suffering from a crumbling marriage never would have happened. …

But Concerned Women for America and other groups don't care. "Unfortunately, the number of inappropriate programs far outweighs the number of good," said Lanier Swann, the group's director of government relations. "Our issue is to protect families."

3. Exodus receives sympathetic attention

It's not often that ex-gay ministries get sympathetic treatment in the press. But The Boston Globe takes a look at a California ...