SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH SUES STATE OVER EMPLOYMENT LAW: The Seventh-day Adventist Church is suing Maryland, arguing that its fair employment law prevents religious organizations from being able to hire – and fire – people based on their beliefs, bridging those groups’ constitutional right to religious independence. The church said in its lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, that it only employs people who are members of the church and adhere to its religious standards, which bar consuming alcohol and drugs and “adultery and homosexual practices.” Alex Mann/The Baltimore Sun.