A first-grade teacher who prayed with her class before lunch every day has been told to stop due to a complaint from a parent and an atheist organization.

The unidentified teacher at Norwood Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala., led her class in prayers each day at lunchtime, according to a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation to the school superintendent. The teacher also allegedly taught her students Bible verses and Christian songs. 

“Public school teachers and administrators may not promote religion by leading students in prayer, encouraging students to pray, participating in student-initiated prayer, or otherwise endorsing religion to students,” attorney Christopher Line of the Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote to the Birmingham City Schools superintendent.

The same letter alleged the principal began meetings with prayer.

A Birmingham City Schools attorney wrote back this month, telling the Freedom From Religion Foundation that the teacher and principal were told to stop praying with students and faculty. 

“It is our understanding that no further complaints have been received,” Birmingham City Schools attorney Ashaunti Parker wrote. 

A teacher-parent conference also was held to “address the parent’s concern,” Parker said.

“The teacher was advised to refrain from conducting any religious instruction and teacher-led prayer,”…

A small Pakistani Christian community of two families was set upon by a furious Islamic mob last week after being accused of insulting a Muslim man and committing blasphemy.

According to a Britain-based charity advocating on behalf of Pakistani Christians, the families, who were from the Arif Wala Tehsil district of Punjab province, were confronted by some 40 Muslim men from a local mosque and forced to flee their homes.

The British Pakistani Christian Association, which is assisting the families financially, noted that the local mosque announced on its loudspeakers that the Christians had insulted the prophet Muhammad, sparking the mob to seek a violent confrontation.

According to reports, the local imams called for the Muslim community to unite and force the Christians out of town. As a result, five Christian men have been arrested and are currently being detained by police. 

“Local police from Arifwala police have confirmed that thus far no blasphemy charge has been made which is comforting for the Christian families,” BPCA field officer Mehwish Bhatti explained, according to the Christian Post. “However, we call on people to pray for this situation to improve as Christian families are not sending their children to school for fear that they will be kidnapped or attacked or worse still killed.”

In addition, Bhatti noted that many Muslim…

A California state legislator has introduced a bill that would give filmmakers an additional tax credit if they relocate their productions to California from states with abortion restrictions.

The bill targets states like Alabama and Georgia that recently passed laws either restricting or outlawing abortion, says bill sponsor Luz Rivas, a Democratic assemblywoman. 

“My bill provides the film industry a relocation incentive during a time of national uproar that has ensued from these shameful actions of restricting access to abortion services, and the call to action from several Hollywood stars and studios to instead avoid film production in states that do not respect women or their rights,” Rivas said.

“California is both a leader in women’s rights and the film industry. We hope those who are filming in these regressive states will come to California and share our values.”

The tax credit would apply only to production companies that first try to locate to a state with pending or existing abortion restrictions. It would not – for example – apply to a production company that moves from a pro-choice state such as New York.

The bill’s text says the credit will be given to production companies that “relocated to California from a state that has pending legislation or existing law that prohibits access to, criminalizes the provision of, or…

The company that manages an apartment complex in Virginia is facing a federal lawsuit after allegedly threatening to kick out an elderly couple for hosting a Bible study in the condo’s communal area.

Retired Lutheran pastor Kenneth Hauge and his wife, Liv, have filed a religious discrimination suit against Community Realty after being threatened with eviction over their refusal to stop running Bible studies at the Evergreens at Smith Run complex in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

“The management company’s hostility to religious residents violates federal law and taints Virginia’s long history of religious freedom,” said Lea Patterson, associate counsel for First Liberty Institute, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Hauge’s.

“We’re asking the court to hold the management company accountable for violating the Hauges’ right to exercise their faith in their home and to ensure no other residents have to suffer through what the Hauges have endured,” she added, according to Fox News. 

The couple, who have been residents of the complex since 2017, said that the discrimination began as a simple request that management made of them to stop saying grace before communal meals. However, it soon escalated to the outlawing of Bible studies – something the couple believed to be plainly outrageous and a violation of their…

Former vice president Joe Biden says he would support making abortion rights laws federal “should it become necessary.”

Biden, who has launched his presidential campaign for 2020, said this week that he would support abortion rights becoming covered under federal law. Biden had released a video this week calling Republican-supported state laws that cut abortion access “pernicious” and “wrong.”

He did not specify how he would defend Roe v. Wade if the Supreme Court takes on the landmark case.

Biden’s comments come after Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren have publicly endorsed new federal laws that would guarantee a women’s right to abortion. Sen. Kamala Harris has also previously said she supports Roe v. Wade and Sen. Bernie Sanders told the AP this week that he also supports federal laws that safeguard abortion rights.

Biden, who is a Roman Catholic, had previously said he had a “middle of the road” stance on abortion rights. 

Previously, Biden had been in support of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortions. He said, “Those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.”

Then in his 2007 book, he called his position “middle of the road.” Political experts believe Biden has slowly changed his mind about abortion…

In a memo issued Thursday night, President Trump gave Attorney General William Barr permission to declassify documents regarding surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016.

According to Fox News, President Trump ordered the intelligence community to cooperate with Barr in declassifying documents related to campaign spying in 2016.

Reportedly Fox News received a copy of the memo which read, “The heads of elements of the intelligence community… and the heads of each department or agency that includes an element of the intelligence community shall promptly provide such assistance and information as the Attorney General may request in connection with that review.”

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed the request in a statement posted to Twitter. Sanders wrote, “Today, at the request and recommendation of the Attorney General of the United States, President Donald J. Trump directed the intelligence community to quickly and fully cooperate with the Attorney General’s investigation into surveillance activities during the 2016 Presidential election.”

She continued, “The Attorney General has also been delegated full and complete authority to declassify information pertaining to this investigation, in accordance with the long-established standards for handling classified information. Today’s action will help ensure that all…