Mormons in the news: Meyer, Bennett, Romney

With the release of the movie "New Moon," Stephenie Meyer is likely the most written about Mormon in the media this week. Dozens of news organizations have profiled Meyer.

Along with Meyer, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and Mitt Romney also garnered media attention.

For example, the U.K.'s Daily Mail wrote:

"For a woman who has sold more than 85 million books and has been hailed as the new J.K. Rowling, it is a remarkably modest home. Set down a dusty dirt trail, the four-bedroom property blends seamlessly into the desert landscape — low and sand-colored with just a few cacti for decoration. Only a high-tech camera and newly installed metal gates give some hint of the occupant's desire for privacy. Here, in the remote town of Cave Creek, Ariz., is where Stephenie Meyer chooses to live, in a house she has shared with her husband and three children for the past decade."

The New Zealand Herald dubbed Meyer "Mormon Queen of the Damned" in its coverage:

"Since the publication of her first novel, 'Twilight,' in 2004, Meyer has sold more than 70 million books and is credited with single-handedly shoring up young-adult publishing, plugging the gap in bookshops after sales of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' began to die down.This year, Meyer was ranked by Forbes as the 26th most powerful celebrity in the world. The origin story of 'Twilight' is almost as fantastic as its contents. Stephenie Meyer is famously a Mormon, living in Arizona with her husband, Christian, known as Pancho, a former accountant who is now a full-time father to their
three sons."

Here's also a link in the Western Mail, based in Wales and Christian Science Monitor.

Aside from vampires, some Mormon politicians are also making headlines.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

"Utah has emerged as an improbable battleground in the fight for the future of the GOP, as the party's veteran U.S. senator — with nary a whiff of personal or political scandal — has become one of the most threatened lawmakers up for re-election next year. Robert F. Bennett is no Northeast liberal. Raised in Salt Lake City, he built a business,
manufacturing day-planners, that made him wealthy. His grandfather was a president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father served four Senate terms — meaning that, combined with Bennett's own three terms, father and son have held the seat for the better part of 60 years.

Yet those very attributes — longevity, seniority — only compound the challenge facing Bennett, who, like other Republicans across the country, faces attack within the party from those who find him insufficiently conservative."

Mitt Romney continues to sound like a contender for the 2012 presidential race. He has spoken recently to a pro-Israel group and to the Young America's Foundation.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

"Romney, who sought the Republican presidential nomination last year and lost to Arizona Sen. John McCain, is widely seen as a front runner in the race for the 2012 nomination. Although he hasn't announced his intentions, he spoke like a candidate at the conference, seeming eager to impress the deep-pocketed donors in attendance."

Congressional Quarterly also reports that Romney's PAC leads in fund-raising.