I'd avoid it. Using the term metaphorically could be seen as making light of a religious practice:

(dʉr´vish)

n. [[Turk dervish < Pers darvēsh, beggar]] a member of any of various Muslim religious groups dedicated to a life of poverty and chastity: some dervishes practice whirling, chanting, etc. as religious acts

Yes, we'd use the possessive, as you have it. 

We'd use lowercase.

Spell it out in that scenario.

For just two or three photos, we usually write the caption signoff as you suggested. For more photos than that, we would write just (The Seattle Times).

 

The issue is that once you get a lot of photos in the combo and, therefore, a lot of bylines, it becomes unwieldy to credit everyone and image itself really becomes a new visual work in the context of all of the photos put together like that.

Tell your senators ....

Sharp eye! That's an oversight and we will fix it. Should be Pleistocene Epoch.

No, we don't.

Yes, lowercase after the name.

We generally call both the stores and the company Ikea.

Yes, use the comma.

They're not necessary but I would use them rather than commas in this case. I'd also make it two sentences:

Our safety record was 30 times lower than the overall U.S. manufacturing average. It also was lower than that of the refining industry and other industries, including retail trade; construction; and electric power generation, transmission and distribution.

Another thought: I'm not sure that "our record was lower" is really what you mean to say. For one thing, it may give the impression that your record was 30 times worse. 

Yes.

Thanks. We'll take a look at that.

Yes. Or simply the Postal Service, if it's clear from the context.

We don't have a style for that. I'd use the uppercase.

We don't use those abbrevations for associate degree programs. If you choose to, use the periods in keeping with our style for B.A. and M.A.

If mention of degrees is necessary to establish someone’s credentials, the preferred form is to avoid an abbreviation and use instead a phrase such as: Fatima Kader, who has a doctorate in psychology.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc., but there is no possessive in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

Also: an associate degree (no possessive).

Use such abbreviations as B.A., M.A., LL.D. and Ph.D. only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use these abbreviations only after a full name — never after just a last name.

When used after a name, an academic abbreviation is set off by commas: John Snow, Ph.D., spoke.

Do not precede a name with a courtesy title for an academic degree and follow it with the abbreviation for the degree in the same reference.

No hyphens there.

We'd use the hyphen and lowercase.

We use LGBT or LGBTQ in all references. if you need to spell it out, use lowercase. Here's the relevant section of our gender and sexuality entry:


LGBT, LGBTQ (adj.) Acceptable in all references for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning and/or queer. In quotations and the formal names of organizations and events, other forms such as LGBTQIA and other variations are also acceptable with the other letters explained. Igenerally stands for intersex, and A can stand for asexual (a person who doesn't experience sexual attraction), ally (some activists decry this use of the abbreviation for a person who is not LGBT but who actively supports LGBT communities) or both. Use of LGBT or LGBTQ is best as an adjective and an umbrella term. Don't use it, for instance, when the group you're referring to is limited to bisexuals. Walters joined the LGBTQ business association. Queer is an umbrella term covering people who are not heterosexual or cisgender and is acceptable for people and organizations that use the term to identify themselves. Do not use it when intended as a slur. Follow guidelines for obscenities, profanities, vulgarities as appropriate.

near-to-medium-term outlook. Here's the relevant section from the hyphens entry:

SUSPENSIVE HYPHENATION: Use these forms to shorten a compound modifier or a noun phrase that shares a common word:

When the elements are joined by and or or, expressing more than one element: 10-, 15- or 20-minute intervals; 5- and 6-year-olds. But: The intervals are 10, 15 or 20 minutes; the children are 5 to 6 years old.

When the elements are joined by to or by, expressing a single element: a 10-to-15-year prison term; an 8-by-12-inch pan. But: The prison term is 10 to 15 years; the pan is 8 by 12 inches.

The current entry is our current style. (We know that many within that jurisdition capitalize the District. You're free to do so if you prefer.)

In datelines Washington doesn't take D.C. Generally use District of Columbia within a story only for official designations, such as local government names, or to avoid confusion with other localities of that name. Washington should be used in most story references to the U.S. capital because of the name recognition globally. Use Washington, D.C., with the added abbreviation only if the city might be confused with the state. Do not use D.C. standing alone other than in quotations. On second reference, the district is acceptable. Postal code: DC. See state names, Washington.

Yes, I'd use the hyphen there.

Indeed, you could consider them/it as either two things or one combined thing. I'd go with the singular.

Our style is still klan or KKK on second references. The writer/editor got it wrong,

A secretive society organized in the South after the Civil War to assert white supremacy, often using violence. The organization splintered, and not all successor groups use the full name. But each may be referred to as the Ku Klux Klan. The klan or the KKK may be used on second reference.