Latest news with #Christian-based
UPI
17-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Supreme Court to hear New Jersey pro-life free speech case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a faith-based pregnancy center's request, challenging New Jersey over its claim the pro-life group misled women about offering abortion services. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for October. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a Christian-based pregnancy center's request, challenging New Jersey over its claim the pro-life group misled women about offering abortion services. The Supreme Court will decide later this year whether First Choice Women's Resource Centers can use federal courts to block the state's attorney general from investigating its donor, advertising and medical personnel records. First Choice, which provides parenting classes and free ultrasounds to women facing unplanned pregnancies, claims a 2023 subpoena violated its free speech rights. Attorney General Matthew Platkin "has made no secret of his hostility towards pregnancy centers," the pro-life group wrote in its petition to the Supreme Court, as it called Platkin's subpoena "invasive" for demanding access to records. "State attorneys general on both sides of the political aisle have been accused of misusing this authority to issue demands against their ideological and political opponents," lawyers for First Choice wrote. "Even if these accusations turn out to be false, it is important that a federal forum exists for suits challenging those investigative demands." Platkin argues that the subpoena he issued has yet to be enforced in state court. He also said the donor information he sought was from two websites, which he claimed may have misled people into thinking First Choice provided abortions. "Nonprofits, including crisis pregnancy centers, may not deceive or defraud residents in our state, and we may exercise our traditional investigative authority to ensure that they are not doing so -- as we do to protect New Jerseyans from a range of harms," Platkin wrote in a statement. The Supreme Court will focus on whether First Choice sued prematurely, not whether New Jersey's subpoena was valid, according to Platkin. "First Choice is looking for a special exception from the usual procedural rules as it tries to avoid complying with an entirely lawful state subpoena," Platkin added. "No industry is entitled to that type of special treatment -- period." Lawyers for First Choice said the group is not seeking special treatment and believes their free speech rights are being targeted. "New Jersey's attorney general is targeting First Choice simply because of its pro-life views," Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erin Hawley said in a statement. "The Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from unjustified demands to disclose their identities, and First Choice is entitled to vindicate those rights in federal court." Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for October. "We are looking forward to presenting our case to the Supreme Court and urging it to hold that First Choice has the same right to federal court as any other civil rights plaintiff," Hawley added. "The First Amendment protects First Choice's right to freely speak about its beliefs, exercise its faith, associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide its free services in a caring and compassionate environment to people facing unplanned pregnancies."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
York teenagers prepare to fly 6,000 miles for East Africa volunteer work
TEENAGERS from a York school are preparing to fly more than 6,000 miles to do community and volunteer work in East Africa. Nineteen students from Archbishop Holgate's School are embarking on the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Uganda after raising thousands of pounds to cover the costs. Pupils from Years 9, 11 and 12 are going on the adventure in early July for two weeks, travelling with the Christian-based charity Abaana which invests in children in Africa, helping them to break the chains of poverty through education. The group will undertake a range of volunteer work, which will include painting both the inside and outside of a primary school building. School show, The Masked Singer, helped boost their fundraising efforts (Image: Submitted)They will also be teaching and running a range of activities and experiences for primary school children in the town of Kuluba, a sub-county in the Koboko district of Uganda. Group members are paying for their own flights, accommodation and food and will be staying in one of Abaana's guesthouses on the outskirts of Kampala. They have also raised money for the renovation materials for the primary school and to buy resources and gifts to take on the adventure. Each student threw themselves into a range of challenges, including scaling great heights and throwing themselves out of a plane, to bring in the pounds. RECOMMENDED READS: Fantastic news' as more than 5,000 children eligible for free school meals 'The world is changing': head at top York school joins others in smartphone plea New light show to bring vibrant colour to Museum Gardens Joanna Kitney, assistant headteacher and trip lead, said: "It's been so impressive to see them working hard to ensure we meet our aim. 'Brodie Barrow cycled a mile a day for a month, Oscar East has been sorting and selling items on EBay, Reuben Stockdale and Miles Hall walked the Three Peaks. 'Charlie Summers has completed a sponsored bike ride, Charlotte Brannan and Dora Escombe have been busy making and selling homemade products to family and friends and Bryn Wade did a parachute jump.' As a team, the group has also run whole school events which included The Masked Singer show in December and a school disco in April. Collectively both events made more than £1,000. Students who helped to organise the fundraising school disco (Image: Submitted) The group also has a JustGiving page which has received more than £2,400 in donations. To donate to the students' fundraising efforts, visit It is not the first time students from Archbishop Holgate's School have travelled to far-flung destinations to do overseas volunteer work. Back in 2012, pupils from the school, which is named after one of the city's most famous clerics, went to South Africa to do community and voluntary work in schools and orphanages. The group of ten Year Ten students were joined by teachers Richard Nihill and Hannah Turvey as they visited the Diocese of Cape Town for two weeks, and got the chance to meet the city's Nobel Prize-winning former archbishop, Desmond Tutu who was taking a small service at the city's cathedral.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hegseth orders review of military homeschooling support
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a review of the Pentagon's support for military families who choose to homeschool their kids, according to a memo released Tuesday. The review, ordered May 15, calls for officials to look at 'current support for homeschooling military-connected families, as well as best practices, including the feasibility of providing facilities or access to other resources for those students.' Hegseth said the evaluation was part of a Defense Department-wide review of educational choices for military families following a Jan. 29 executive order directing the Pentagon to consider using its funding to foot the bill for private, religious or public charter schools for children in military families. He added that ensuring military families receive strong educational support 'maintains morale and readiness, reinforcing the overall stability and effectiveness of our military communities.' The document did not specify when the review is expected to be completed. Roughly 12 percent of active-duty military families homeschooled their children in the 2023-24 school year, double the rate of civilians, at 6 percent, according to a Johns Hopkins University study released in March. That percentage rate has remained consistent even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were temporarily shut down across the country. Homeschooling is seen as a more desirable choice among military families as it can 'stabilize and prioritize their family life' even with frequent moves or family separation due to service members' deployments, the study found. Hegseth in the past has criticized public school education, arguing for more Christian-based teaching. He has claimed the country's public schools are failing to educate students and lack 'virtue and excellence,' according to his book 'Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Hegseth orders review of military homeschool support
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed a review of the Pentagon's support for military families who choose to homeschool their kids, according to a new memo released Tuesday. The review, ordered on May 15, calls for officials to look at 'current support for homeschooling military-connected families, as well as best practices, including the feasibility of providing facilities or access to other resources for those students.' Hegseth said the evaluation was part of Defense Department-wide review of educational choices for military families following a Jan. 29 executive order directing the Pentagon to consider using its funding to foot the bill for private, religious or public charter schools for children in military families. He added that ensuring military families receive strong educational support 'maintains morale and readiness, reinforcing the overall stability and effectiveness of our military communities.' The document did not specify when the review is expected to be completed. Roughly 12 percent of active-duty military families homeschooled their children in the 2023-2024 school year, double the rate of civilians, at 6 percent, according to a Johns Hopkins University study released in March. That percentage rate has remained consistent even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were temporarily shut down across the country. Homeschooling is seen as a more desirable choice among military families as it can 'stabilize and prioritize their family life' even with frequent moves or family separation due to service members' deployments, the study found. Hegseth in the past has criticized public school education, arguing for more Christian-based teaching. He has claimed that the country's public schools are failing to educate students and lack 'virtue and excellence,' according to his book 'Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Couple banned from chapel told they are 'going to hell'
A couple who run community events claim they were told they are "going to hell" and were stopped from using a chapel because they are not Christians. For the last three years, Salvaged Creations Wales (SCW) have been running youth clubs, playdays, woodworking classes, and other sessions at a chapel in Markham, Caerphilly. But now Layton Jones and partner Gemma Baker, who run the community interest company, say they've been told to leave the Markham Congregational Chapel, because they're deemed "a non-Christian organisation". The couple say the decision to evict them was made by the Reverend Nick Holloway. Mr Holloway has been asked to comment. Social services face cuts over £646m budget gap Social care reform stuck over funding, expert says The couple said they were shocked at the "unfair" decision, which they believe was taken without consulting the chapel's congregation. Mr Jones said there had been no issues until earlier this year, when Mr Holloway, who took up his post two years ago, informed the couple indirectly via email that they would be leaving the chapel. When the couple tried to arrange a meeting with him to discuss the reasons, Mr Jones claims the reverend launched into an "angry" tirade. After first being told it was due to a contractual issue, the couple said Mr Holloway told them he did not want them there as they are a "non-Christian based group". "Gemma tried to talk to him, and he just shouted in her face 'you're going to hell'," Mr Jones said. The couple, who are unmarried, told him the work of Salvaged Creations Wales was nevertheless valued in the community, and that "all our values are Christian-based". "He was having none of it," said Mr Jones. "He was very angry towards us, [saying] 'my decision is final, I will not be changing my decision, you're out'." Mr Jones and Ms Baker claim the decision appears to have been taken unilaterally by Mr Holloway, without a vote of the congregation. But the reasoning, claims Mr Jones, could potentially breach equality laws and the chapel's own policies on discrimination. "Whatever religion (or not) we are, we are entitled to use the premises of Markham Congregational Chapel," said SCW in a post on their Facebook page. "Many chapels are used for a variety of groups, AA groups, mother and toddler, youth & scouts or brownies for example." The not-for-profit organisation is now faced with finding new premises, something the couple says they can ill afford. "Due to the changes forced upon us, we are now in a position of financial hardship, much more than what we already were," the post added. Mr Jones and Ms Baker said that they had tried to appeal to the Congregational Federation, but that the chapel itself is ultimately its own entity. "We are aware of the situation at Markham," said the Congregational Federation's trust and property manager, Kate Bass, in comments made to the Caerphilly Observer. "While the church is affiliated, all governance and decisions lie solely with the individual church membership, as is the foundation of congregationalism. "We hope a resolution on the matter can be reached for all concerned.".
