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☆ Texas Bluebonnet curriculum: Officials to vote on state lessons that emphasize Christian Bible lessons
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Officials in Texas are set to vote Tuesday on a new public school curriculum that incorporates lessons from the Bible as early as kindergarten, that provoked criticism from advocacy groups and families across the state. The state Board of Education will vote on revisions to its K-5 reading and English language arts materials, part of Bluebonnet Learning, the Texas Education Agency-developed open education resources. We don’t leave Texans behind.”Ghani also argued that Texas public school teachers are already “overburdened” with the amount of material they’re expected to teach. “But inserting faith-based lessons into public school classrooms, which sounds like what is intended here, is not the study of history or literature. The legislature has also pushed to require that public school classrooms display the Ten Commandments.

Persons: Bill, Jesus, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, ”, Mark Chancey, “, Barbara Baruch, “ Don’t, Jonathan Covey, Glenn Melvin, Vitale, ” Melvin, ” David Brockman, –, ” Brockman, Shariq Ghani, don’t, ” Ghani, ’ Charles Haynes, Robert Pondiscio, Greg Abbott Organizations: CNN, Education, Texas Education Agency, Texas AFT, Southern Methodist University, Texas, US, Engel, Texas Freedom Network, “, Foundation, Texans, Freedom, Association of Religion Data, American Enterprise Institute, Republican Locations: Texas, Rome, Roman, “ Texas, The74, Oklahoma, Louisiana

CNN —When Elisa Smithers was deployed to Iraq in 2005, there was a ban on women serving in ground combat operations. But she returned home to find she wasn’t offered the same support by the US Department of Veterans Affairs that male combat veterans were offered, Smithers said. Women account for roughly 17.5% of the Defense Department’s active-duty force, according to 2022 data from the agency. Hegseth has specifically criticized having women in roles where strength “is the differentiator,” he said on the podcast last week. She also worries any course reversal on women serving in combat will have a sweeping impact on women serving in other government jobs.

Persons: Elisa Smithers, Smithers, wasn’t, Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, –, he’s, ”, Hegseth, “, hasn’t, ” Hegseth, Shawn Ryan, ” Smithers, we’ll, Elizabeth Beggs, Let’s, ” Beggs, Beggs, who’ve, Lory Manning, “ I’m, …, ” Manning, it’s, Manning, we’ve, Brandy Cottrill, Cox, “ It’s, ‘ That’s, Sen, Tammy Duckworth, Anna Moneymaker, Illinois Sen, Duckworth, MAGA, Wendy Coop, Wendy Coop Wendy Coop, ” Coop, Coop, don’t, that’s, she’s Organizations: CNN, National Guard, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Fox News, Army, Defense, Warriors, US Army, Army National Guard, Department of Veterans Affairs, Navy, Army Rangers, Army Special Forces, Marine, “ Seals, Rangers, Green Berets, Service, Action, American Civil Liberties Union, “, National Center for Veterans Analysis, Combat, Veterans Families, US Coast Guard, US Army Special Operations Command, US National Guard, Capitol, US Navy, US Naval Academy Locations: Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Washington , DC, Illinois, St, Augustine , Florida

☆ How atheist chaplains provide spiritual care for nonbelievers
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

In these conversations with patients who are wary of religion, Callahan slips in another detail: He’s an atheist himself. Callahan is one of a growing number of openly atheist chaplains working in institutions around the country. Though the term “atheist chaplain” might sound like an oxymoron, he doesn’t see a contradiction between his beliefs and the work of tending to the human spirit. Other atheist chaplains don’t shy away from religion at all, instead helping people explore faith and spirituality in nontraditional ways. There may be few atheist and nonreligious chaplains right now, but as Callahan sees it, their numbers only stand to grow.

Persons: Jason Callahan, Callahan, —, nonbeliever, ”, David, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Tupac Shakur, “, ” Callahan, haven’t, Michael Skaggs, Greg Epstein, ” Epstein, Epstein, he’s, wouldn’t, don’t, Vanessa Gomez, Skaggs, agnostics, Gomez, Brake, “ There’s Organizations: CNN, Pew Research, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, VCU, “ Chaplaincy, Christianity Chaplaincy, Harvard University, MIT, Harvard, Adobe Stock, Technology, University of Southern, Adobe Locations: Christianity, New York, Flushing , Queens, University of Southern California

☆ Judge hears arguments to block Louisiana's Ten Commandments displays in schools
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

— A federal judge heard arguments at a hearing Monday on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1. In June, the GOP presidential candidate posted on his social media network: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. ?”Louisiana’s legislation applies to all public school K-12 and state-funded university classrooms. Tens of thousands of posters will likely be needed to satisfy the new law since e Louisiana has more than 1,300 public schools. Louisiana State University has nearly 1,000 classrooms at the Baton Rouge campus alone.

Persons: Jan, Steven Green, Green, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Liz Murrill, “, ”, John W, deGravelles, Donald Trump . Organizations: Willamette University, Constitution, District, GOP, AS, Louisiana State University, Baton Locations: BATON ROUGE, La, —, Louisiana, . Louisiana, Oregon, Independence, U.S, Florida

Jeff Landry as he signed bill after bill this week on public education in the state, making it clear he believed God was guiding his hand. One new law requires that transgender students be addressed by the pronouns for the gender on their birth certificates (“God gives us our mark,” he said). Then he signed into law a mandate that the Ten Commandments be hung in every public classroom, demonstrating a new willingness for Louisiana to go where other states have not. “We don’t quit,” Mr. Landry, a Republican, said at the signing ceremony. And Mr. Landry, a Catholic who has been vocal about his faith’s influence in shaping his politics, wants to lead the charge.

Persons: Jeff Landry, ”, “, don’t, ” Mr, Landry Organizations: Fatima Catholic School, Republican, Catholic Locations: Lafayette, La, Louisiana

☆ Supreme Court rejected military chaplains' lawsuit saying their careers were ruined after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Patricia Kime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court denied military chaplains' lawsuit claiming retaliation for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. The appellate court ruled that the Defense Department's decision in January 2023 to rescind the vaccine mandate rendered the chaplains' case moot. The Defense Department was later ordered to pay $1.8 million in legal fees as settlement for two lawsuits over the mandate. An aeromedical technician fills a syringe with the COVID-19 vaccine at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station in Pennsylvania. US Air Force photo by Joshua J. SeybertThe Defense Department began requiring service members to get the COVID-19 vaccine in August 2021.

Persons: —, recrimination, Mauricio Campino, Israel Alvarado, Joshua J, Johnson Organizations: Defense Department, Service, Appeals, Fourth Circuit, Defense, Airmen, Dover Air Force Base, US Air Force, Austin, Pentagon, Navy, Fifth Circuit, US, The Defense Department, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve, Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson, Air Force, Space Force Locations: Delaware, Israel Alvarado et, Pennsylvania, COVID, China

☆ God's Man in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +34 min

Trump's departure from the White House hasn't stopped him from using the old administration's star power to fuel Capitol Ministries' growth. But regardless of what happens this coming November, Capitol Ministries is quickly becoming the face of American GOP-style evangelicalism around the world. Other than Ralph's wife, Danielle, and a few members of Capitol Ministries' administrative staff, the room was almost entirely men. Rick Perry spoke to Drollinger at Capitol Ministries' global summit in Washington, DC. And yet, on the question of whether and why to support Israel, Drollinger was indeed looking to Revelation for answers.

Persons: Cheyne, —, He'd, Christ, Rick Perry, Cheriss, Trump, Mike Johnson —, Ralph Drollinger, Drollinger, Alex Acosta, Perry, Acosta, Mike Pompeo, Betsy DeVos, Sonny Perdue, Ben Carson, Jeff Sessions, hasn't, Danielle, you've, Donald Trump, Capitol Ministries doesn't, Samson, Matthew, didn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Rick, I'm, Ralph Drollinger's, Daniel Ortega, Ralph, he'd, Washington —, Ortega, Douglas Coe, Maria Butina, Joe Biden, forbearance, Bruce Westerman, Bruce Westerman of, Glenn, Thompson, George Washington, Fame, Mike Johnson, Benjamin Netanyahu, Johnson, Washington, Moses, I've, Westerman, I'd, Netanyahu, God, that's, he's, we're, That's, Israel, King David, wilder, MAGA, David Barton, WallBuilders, doesn't, George W, Bush, Donald Trump's, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: Hill Club, Business, Israel, Mmm, Christ, Capitol Ministries, Capitol Hill, Capitol Ministries Bible, Trump Cabinet, BI, GOP, Capitol, White, Capitol Ministries ', Trump, NBA, of Energy, Trump's, American GOP, Pacific, BI Drollinger, Capitol Hill Club, Washington Hilton, Senate, Training, Liberty, Gettysburg, Capitol Ministry, NPR, United States Congress, Washington Bible, Republican, Democratic, Times, Wall Street Journal, Brown University Locations: Washington , DC, Arkansas, Hebrew, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, United States, Texas, Washington, Seoul, Kathmandu, Iowa, Rwanda, Ukraine, Washington ,, Drollinger, Nicaragua, California, Nicaraguan, Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, schwartz79@protonmail.com

ATLANTA (AP) — Since Jimmy Carter entered hospice care at his home in south Georgia one year ago, the former U.S. president has celebrated his 99th birthday, enjoyed tributes to his legacy and lost his wife of 77 years. Those advocates commend the Carter family for demonstrating the realities of aging, dementia and death. Almost half of Medicare patients who died that year did so under hospice care. JIMMY CARTER’S ENDURANCE IS NOT UNUSUALIn 2021, the average stay of hospice patients who died was 92 days, MedPAC calculated. About 10% of enrollees who die in hospice care stayed more than 264 days.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Carter, “ It’s, ”, Angela Novas, it’s, “, Mollie Gurian, ” Gurian, Gurian, Chip Carter, Jimmy, Rosalynn, Novas, JIMMY CARTER’S, ’, Jimmy Carter’s, JIMMY CARTER, ” Novas Organizations: ATLANTA, Hospice Foundation of America, Medicare, Advisory, Novas, The Washington Post Locations: Georgia, Washington, Plains, U.S, “

☆ This is the world’s rarest passport
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Lola Méndez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The Sovereign Military Order of Malta – also known as the Knights of Malta – isn’t just a religious Catholic order with nearly 1,000 years of history. After World War II, the use of the diplomatic passport took on characteristics of passports used in other countries. Today, there are only around 500 of the diplomatic passports in circulation – making it the rarest passport in the world. robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo“The Order grants passports to members of their government for the duration of their mandate,” de Petri Testaferrata says. Once when I arrived at the Bangkok airport, a crowd of operators at passport control wanted to see my rare passport and take a selfie with it,” Balfour tells CNN.

Persons: Malta –, It’s, King, Spain, Napoleon Bonaparte, Daniel de Petri Testaferrata, Angelo, ” de Petri Testaferrata, Marianna Balfour, “ They’ve, ” Balfour, De Petri Testaferrata, John Kellerman, Anne, de Valette, Paschal II, ” Dane Munro, Don’t, Grand, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Caravaggio, St John’s, St John ”, Finnbarr Webster, Casa Rocca Piccola, de Piro, Munro, Marquis Nicholas de Piro, Knight of Malta Don Pietro Rosselli Organizations: CNN, Knights, Knights of Malta – isn’t, United Nations, Sovereign Council, Souverain, Fort, UNESCO, “, Casa Magazzini, National Library of Malta, of, Supreme, Grand Masters, of Ambassadors, St, Maltese Association of Locations: Malta, Knights of Malta, Jerusalem, Maltese, Rome, of Malta, St, robertharding, Bangkok, France, United Kingdom, United States, Knights, Valletta, Mdina, Knight

They sometimes break barriers and celebrate milestones, like Jabeen becoming the first female Muslim military chaplain a few years ago. In the film and in interviews, they provide a window into the struggles and victories of Muslim chaplains and service members in one of the most American of institutions. “These voices from both sides of the aisle start piling on upon Muslim service members,” Lantigua said. Now is the time for us to go work.’”Not long ago, being a Muslim military chaplain was uncharted territory. Then and now, he said, the presence of Muslim military chaplains helps chip away at misunderstandings, fears and bias.

Persons: Saleha, Jabeen, “ You’re, Major Rafael Lantigua Jr, Lantigua, ” Lantigua, “ We’re, ”, Khallid Shabazz, Islam, who’s, Abu, “, you’ve, Shareda Hosein, David Washburn, ” Jabeen, Muhammad’s, ’ ”, she’s, —, ‘, ’, Abdul Rasheed Muhammad, Muhammad, ” Muhammad, Islam — Organizations: PBS, Army, Muslim Army, ., Pentagon, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: U.S, Iraq, Lantigua, “, Afghanistan, Texas, Kuwait, Dominican Republic, African American, United States, India, Gaza, Israel

☆ Maui fires: 100 days later, 4 names remain on the Lahaina missing list. These are the people trying to find them
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Alyssa Kraus | Mike Valerio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Maui Police removed a fifth individual from the Lahaina fire missing list as recently as October. Officers tasked with finding missing persons from the inferno, or, the remains of Lahaina’s missing, are still searching the burn zone. Details concerning the three remaining people on the Lahaina fire credible missing list have not been previously reported. “Robert Owens, he was known to frequent Lahaina,” Landsiedel said. The officers within MINT carry a triple burden: coordinating Lahaina missing persons investigations, tracking identification efforts, and, ultimately, notifying family members of the dead.

Persons: Mario Tama, Lahaina’s, “, ”, Brad Taylor, Steven Landsiedel, ” Landsiedel, Lydia Coloma, Paul Kasprzycki, Robert Owens, Elmer Lee Stevens, “ Robert Owens, Landsiedel, ” Elmer Lee Stevens, Kasprzycki, Artur Babkov, CNN Babkov, Taylor, ” Taylor, I’m, Billy Graham, Steve, Tony Earles, it’s, ” Earles Organizations: CNN, NASA, Maui Police Department, Authorities, Maui Police, Maui –, Maui, Honolulu Civil, MINT, Honolulu Police Department, Billy, Billy Graham Rapid Locations: West Maui, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, Honolulu, Lahaina . Stevens, California, “, Paradise , California, Northern California, Paradise, West

For many of the university chaplains and faith leaders caring for students angered and shaken by the Israel-Hamas war, the needs are acute, the days intense. “Muslim students are walking around scared, just like the Jewish students are walking around scared,” Reed said. Chaplains say some students have been feeling alienated, marginalized, hurt or intimidated by the rhetoric and positions of some administrators, faculty members or other students. Levine and his wife hosted local Jewish alumni and graduate students to provide community and a space to grieve. “There’s not enough time in the day to give all the students the support that they need,” he said.

Persons: Kaiser Aslam, Israel, Rabbi Esther Reed, Rutgers Hillel, ” Reed, They’ve, Tahera Ahmad, ”, Ahmad, “, Daniel Levine, ” He’s, Levine, “ There’s, “ We’re, “ Don’t, Don’t, Aslam, He’s, it’s, Rabbi Reed, ” Hillel, “ It’s, Reed, she’s, “ it’s Organizations: Center for Islamic Life, Rutgers University, Rutgers, Northwestern University, Orange County Hillel, University of California, Jewish, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Israel, United States, Gaza, Palestine, Orange, California, Irvine, Gaza —

☆ This hospital chaplain has counseled thousands of dying patients. Here’s what he’s learned
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Park, 41, has been a chaplain at Tampa General Hospital for eight years, and has counseled thousands of patients and their families. Park says he’s spent a lot of time as an adult reconciling with his upbringing and trying to heal. And regret is a common theme among his dying patients. ”What else do dying patients worry about? We are so connected that often we worry about how other people will be affected by our own death.”It’s a reminder that patients’ loved ones face a tough journey after a loss.

Persons: CNN — Joon, they’re, He’s, “, ”, he’s, Ivy Ceballo, I’m, ” Howard Tuch, who’ve, Samuel Williams, Daniel Wallace, I’ve, ” Tuch, Park, –, “ Will, ’ Organizations: CNN, Tampa General Hospital, ”, Tampa Bay Times, Zuma, Tampa General, Chaplains Locations: Tampa, Park, Largo , Florida, South Florida, Wake Forest , North Carolina

☆ Opinion | Oklahoma’s Religious Public Charter School Would Be an Affront to Taxpayers Everywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Rachel Laser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In June, Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved the nation’s first religious public charter school. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa were given permission to open St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School in August 2024. That’s right, a religious public school, funded by the state’s taxpayers. Proponents hope this model will spread to the dozens of other states that allow charter schools. Seven percent of public school students in the country attended charter schools as of the fall of 2021, and that number continues to grow.

Persons: Isidore of Organizations: Charter School Board, Oklahoma City, Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School Locations: Oklahoma, Archdiocese, Tulsa, St, Isidore of Seville, . Texas, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, West Virginia, United States

☆ Hospice Is a Profitable Business, but Nonprofits Mostly Do a Better Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the nearly 20 years that Megan Stainer worked in nursing homes in and around Detroit, she could almost always tell which patients near death were receiving care from nonprofit hospice organizations and which from for-profit hospices. “There were really stark differences,” said Ms. Stainer, 45, a licensed practical nurse. Looking at their medical charts, “the nonprofit patients always had the most visits: nurses, chaplains, social workers.”The nonprofit hospices responded quickly when the nursing home staff requested supplies and equipment. By contrast, she said, “if you called and said, ‘I need a specialized bed,’ with for-profits it could take days — days when the patient is in a bed that’s uncomfortable.”Ms. Stainer, now a private duty nurse and certified death doula in Hamburg, Mich., also found nonprofits more willing to keep patients enrolled and for-profits more prone to “live discharge” — removing patients from hospice ostensibly because they no longer met the criteria for declining health, then re-enrolling them later.

Persons: Megan Stainer, ”, Stainer, ‘, Ms Locations: Detroit, Hamburg, Mich

The plaintiffs accused Ocala of violating the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment "establishment clause," which restricts governmental involvement in religion. Ocala city officials helped organize and conduct the one-hour prayer vigil held in response to a series of shootings in which three children were struck by stray bullets. The city then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. A federal district court will now weigh the plaintiffs' establishment clause claims in light of the football coach ruling. The conservative-majority Supreme Court in recent years has chipped away at the wall separating church and state, eroding American legal traditions aimed at barring government officials from promoting any particular faith.

☆ Atheists avoid — for now — Supreme Court review of Florida shooting prayer vigil lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In the Florida case, the Ocala police chief organized and promoted a prayer vigil whose attendees included police chaplains. The judge, in his ruling, applied the so-called "Lemon test," named after a 1971 Supreme Court ruling. In that 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court effectively jettisoned the Lemon test in deciding that the coach had the right to pray with players and others on the field after games. The court's ruling said the Establishment Clause "must be interpreted by 'reference to historical practices and understandings.' A majority of the Supreme Court's justices on Monday declined to take the case on those grounds, without commenting on the decision.

☆ How Does Hospice Care Work?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Dana G. Smith | More About Dana G. Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, have both transitioned into hospice care at home. The Carter Center announced that Mrs. Carter, 96, who has dementia, entered hospice in November, and that “she and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family.”Hospice provides end-of-life palliative care with a focus on the patient’s comfort and dignity. Hospice agencies offer access to physicians, nurses, health aides, social workers and chaplains who assist patients and their families with everything from symptom management to funeral arrangements. The care is typically provided where the patient lives, whether that’s at a private home or in an assisted living facility. Hospice “is really focused on caring for people — and their caregivers or loved ones — to help them have the best quality of life possible for the time that they have left.”Here’s what hospice care entails and how to decide if and when it’s right for you or your loved one.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Carter, there’s, ”, Carly Zapata Organizations: Carter Center, University of California Locations: ”, San Francisco

☆ 4 Navy sailors assigned to same facility die by apparent suicide within weeks, amid growing concerns of mental health crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Melissa Chan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

At least four U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the same facility in Virginia died by suicide in the last few weeks, including one as recently as Saturday, military officials and family members said. It is the latest cluster of Navy suicides this year to spark concerns of a fleetwide mental health crisis. The 22-year-old U.S. Navy sailor died by suicide on Nov. 5. Caserta’s parents, Arestivo and military mental health experts said both are critical reforms needed to reduce suicides in the services. Nearly 17 out of every 100,000 Navy sailors died by suicide in 2021, compared to members of the Army, who had the highest rate, at about 36 per 100,000, Pentagon statistics show.

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