AP reports that on March 13, Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, signed an Interim Constitutional Declaration (full text), which will be in effect until a new permanent constitution for the country is drafted and adopted and national elections are
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Oklahoma Indicts Megachurch Pastor on Charges of Lewd Acts With a Minor
The Oklahoma Attorney General has announced that on Wednesday a Multi-County Grand indicted the founder of a Texas Megachurch on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a young girl. (Full text of indictment). The AG’s press release (…
9th Circuit: Profs Lack Standing to Challenge Addition of Caste Discrimination to University’s Anti-Discrimination Policy
In Kumar v. Koester, (9th Cir., March 12, 2023), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that two Hindu California State University college professors lack standing to challenge the addition of “caste” as a protected class under the…
Petition Seeks to Stop Latest Effort to Get Bibles in Oklahoma School Classrooms
As previously reported, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has issued an order staying any work by the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services on any new request by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) for the purchase of Bibles…
Trump Nominates Brian Burch as Ambassador to the Vatican
Yesterday, President Donald Trump formally submitted to Congress the nomination of Brian Burch to be U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. Burch is President of CatholicVote. According to Catholic News Agency, last December Trump announced on Truth Social…
Oklahoma Supreme Court Stays for Now Bible Purchases for Public Schools
As previously reported, in October suit was filed by public school parents, teachers and by clergy challenging Oklahoma’s requirement for all public schools to incorporate the Bible in their curricula. The suit was filed in the Oklahoma Supreme Court…
Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine Leads to Dismissal of Church Property Dispute
In Atlantic Korean American Presbytery v. Shalom Presbyterian Church of Washington, Inc., (VA App., March 11, 2025), a Virginia state appellate court held that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine barred civil courts from hearing a church property dispute where the…
Education Department Threatens Enforcement Actions Against 60 Universities for Antisemitic Activities on Campus
In a press release yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education said in part:Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education warning them of potential enforcement actions if they do…
Wyoming Enacts State RFRA
Suit Challenges NYPD’s Forcible Removal of Hijabs as Crowd Control Tactic
Suit was filed this week in a New York federal district court challenging the practice of the New York Police Department of forcibly and publicly removing Muslim women’s hijabs as a method of crowd control at demonstrations. The complaint (…