The Cross

The Supreme Court just stayed the removal of a 29-foot cross at a Korean War veteran's memorial in San Diego.

Phil Thalheimer, chairman of the memorial association, said the ruling "borders on divine intervention."

"We were jumping up and down," he said. "For this to happen on July 3 — the day before our Independence Day, which is about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression — it couldn't have happened better."

Last year, San Diego voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition to transfer the land beneath the cross to the federal government. The measure was designed to absolve the city of responsibility for the cross under the existing lawsuit. But a California Superior Court judge found the proposition to be unconstitutional.