Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools under optional new curriculum that could test boundaries between religion and public classrooms in the U.S. The material adopted by the Texas State Board of Education,...

Charges dropped against pro-Palestinian protester arrested under mask ban for wearing a kaffiyeh

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York dropped charges Friday against a kaffiyeh-wearing, pro-Palestinian protester who was among the first people arrested under a local face mask ban that's stirred free speech concerns. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office...

Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools starting next year

Pakistani city mourns 42 Shiite Muslims who were ambushed and killed in a gun attack

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Protesters in Pakistan's restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans and tensions flared Friday after funeral prayers were held for 42 Shiite Muslims who were ambushed and killed by gunmen a day earlier in one of the region's deadliest such assaults in recent...

Today he is a high school football player. Soon he'll be a Buddhist lama in the Himalayas

ISANTI, Minn. (AP) — The young Buddhist lama sat on a throne near an altar decorated with flowers, fruits and golden statues of the Buddha, watching the celebrations of his 18th birthday in silence, with a faint smile. Jalue Dorje knew it would be the last big party before he joins...

Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad

A social-media tribute to Coptic Christians. A billboard in Amish country. A visit to a revered Jewish gravesite. While Donald Trump's lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, he and his campaign allies also wooed smaller religious groups, far from the mainstream. ...

In Bali, young girls dance in a traditional Hindu festival threatened by changing times

BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Ketut Nita Wahyuni lifts her folded hands prayerfully to her forehead as a priest leads the temple gathering. The 11-year-old is preparing to perform the Rejang Dewa, a sacred Balinese dance. The rituals are part of the two-week-long Ngusaba Goreng, a...

Fashion designer describes invitation to work on Notre Dame cathedral's reopening as 'a calling'

PARIS (AP) — When Jean-Charles de Castelbajac watched as Notre Dame cathedral burned in April 2019, he felt compelled to act somehow. Returning home, the French fashion designer began sketching ideas, imagining the monument’s reconstruction. So, when the Paris...

Gunmen fire on vehicles carrying Shiites in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 42

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's restive northwest on Thursday, killing at least 42 people, including six women, and wounding 20 others in one of the region's deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said. The...

Gold-plated rose stolen from NYC 9/11 memorial honoring influential pastor

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are searching for a man accused of stealing a gold-plated rose from a Manhattan church memorial honoring the victims of 9/11. The metal flower had served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose long-time...