Polybius
Polybius's JournalTexas can require public schools to display Ten Commandments in classrooms, US appeals court rules
Source: Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into schools.
It sets up a potential clash at the U.S. Supreme Court over the issue in the future.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said in the decision that the law did not violate the First Amendment, which protects religious freedom and prevents the government from establishing a religion.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, called the ruling “a major victory for Texas and our moral values.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/texas-ten-commandments-law-public-schools-scotus-43e679cf473e6b98b091d575578824eb
Outcry grows over Israeli soldier smashing Jesus statue in Lebanon
Source: Al Jazeera
A photo of an Israeli soldier smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon has sparked outrage in the United States, adding to the anger Israel is facing, including from parts of US President Donald Trump’s base.
Although the incident is only one among a broad range of atrocities that Israel is accused of committing in the region in recent years, it garnered condemnations across the world and prompted a response from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the US, where support for Israel was once unchallenged – especially in right-wing circles that purport to espouse Christian values – the desecration of the Christian religious symbol added fuel to the criticism that the Israeli government is facing from some Republicans.
“You would never know it by consuming American corporate media, but this kind of incident is not rare,” said right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson, a former Trump ally.
Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/20/outcry-grows-over-israeli-soldier-smashing-jesus-statue-in-lebanon
Truly disgusting.
Tim Cook Will Step Down as Apple C.E.O.
Source: NY Times
Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said on Monday that he would step down after nearly 15 years running an operation that rode the wild popularity of the iPhone to become one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world.
Mr. Cook, 65, will move into a new role as Apple’s executive chairman in September and be succeeded in the company’s corner office by John Ternus, the 50-year-old head of Apple’s hardware engineering.
The retirement of Mr. Cook will end one of the most successful management runs in the history of American business. During his tenure, Apple’s annual profit quadrupled to more than $110 billion, while its value ballooned more than tenfold to $4 trillion.
Mr. Cook replaced the Apple co-founder Steve Jobs shortly before Mr. Jobs’s death in 2011, having earned a reputation for perfecting the nuts and bolts of a global consumer electronics business. Apple has since defined how a modern technology company operates, with products assembled in a supply chain that stretches from the giant operations that Mr. Cook helped create in China to India and Brazil and a popular retail business that operates on five continents.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/technology/tim-cook-apple-ceo-steps-down.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cVA.pVa2.KLKTCBnfa0ac&smid=url-share
House Oversight Committee to investigate missing, dead scientists
Source: The Hill
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) on Sunday said the committee will investigate the deaths and disappearances of 10 American scientists who all had links to U.S. nuclear or space research programs.
Authorities have not confirmed an official connection between members of the group, though it’s been noted that each of them had high-level security clearances at certain national research facilities.
“We’re very concerned about this. This is a national security concern. This would suggest that something sinister may be happening,” Comer said during a Sunday appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.”
Comer said the committee will seek briefings on the topic from the Pentagon, FBI, Department of Energy and NASA, according to NewsNation.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5838817-investigation-american-scientists-deaths/
US House narrowly rejects war powers resolution as dissent grows
Source: The Guardian
The US House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly rejected a war powers resolution that would have prevented further military action against Iran, as Democrats united against continued US involvement in the conflict amid peace talks that have yet to make a breakthrough.
The resolution introduced by Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, failed by a vote of 213-214, with one Republican member voting present. It required at least two more votes to pass, as tied votes fail in the House.
In a sign that Democrats had solidified in opposition to the war, three congressmen who had voted against a previous resolution in March – Henry Cuellar of Texas, Greg Landsman of Ohio and Juan Vargas of California – voted in favor of this attempt. Jared Golden of Maine was the sole Democrat to vote in opposition, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky the only Republican to vote for passage. Ohio’s Warren Davidson voted present, after voting in favor last month.
Two Democrats who shifted their positions said they were dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the conflict and were concerned that it could turn into a costly open-ended engagement.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/war-powers-trump-iran-vote
Sotomayor apologizes for criticizing Kavanaugh over ICE arrests, in rare public Supreme Court clash
Source: CBS News
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized Wednesday for publicly criticizing Justice Brett Kavanaugh over a ruling on immigration stops — and seeming to imply that her conservative colleague's views were shaped by an out-of-touch upbringing.
"At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate," Sotomayor said in a statement issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. "I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague."
Sotomayor did not mention Kavanaugh by name. But during last week's event in Kansas, she reportedly offered rare — and personal — criticism of a Supreme Court order in which Kavanaugh was the only member of the majority to lay out his rationale in writing.
The September 2025 order cleared the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to resume broad sweeps in Los Angeles, halting a lower court ruling that restricted ICE's practices. The lower court found the agency had unlawfully detained people, and said ICE could not rely solely on factors like race, occupation or use of Spanish in deciding whether it had reasonable suspicion that somebody is in the United States illegally.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sotomayor-apologizes-kavanaugh-ice-arrests-supreme-court/
Immigration board denies Mahmoud Khalil's appeal, bringing activist one step closer to deportation
Source: Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — An immigration appeals board has denied Mahmoud Khalil’s latest bid to dismiss his deportation case, a largely expected ruling that brings the former Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist one step closer to re-arrest and possible expulsion.
The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order of removal on Thursday, according to Khalil’s lawyers. The board’s rulings are not public, and an inquiry to the U.S. Department of Justice was not immediately returned.
Khalil said he was not surprised by the ruling, which he called “biased and politically motivated.” His attorneys said he cannot be lawfully detained or deported as he pursues a separate case in the federal court system.
“The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it,” Khalil said in a statement.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/mahmoud-khalil-protester-appeal-deportation-trump-94e926c5a6bfd7fbcb0fe52066a77dbb
Rep. Tim Burchett Aliens Are Real ... We've Made Contact!!!
Rep. Tim Burchett says a member of our government has told him extraterrestrial beings have visited our planet, traveling on an otherworldly craft ... and made contact with humans!!!
The Congressman from Tennessee joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked him about aliens ... and he didn't hold back.
Rep. Burchett says he's had multiple government and military officials tell him extraterrestrials exist ... it sounds out there, but he insists it's true.
Don't go running for the hills ... Rep. Burchett says there doesn't appear to be any danger to human life. After all, he says their technology is so advanced and so far beyond our comprehension that these life forms could have wiped us out long ago ... and we're still here.
Read more...
Nation's high court rules Oklahoma Indigenous woman must pay income taxes
Source: Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday decided to let stand an Oklahoma ruling that found an Indigenous woman is required to pay income taxes despite living and working on a reservation.
The high court’s refusal to consider the case leaves in place the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s July ruling that Muscogee (Creek) Nation member Alicia Stroble is not exempt from paying state income taxes because she worked for the tribe and lived on its land.
The state’s high court ruled that McGirt, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case decided in 2020 that found much of the state remained reservation land, was narrowly limited to criminal jurisdiction under the Major Crimes Act.
Stroble had argued that the ruling also included civil issues. She argued the U.S. Supreme Court finding meant she was exempt from paying income taxes for years 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Read more: https://oklahomavoice.com/2026/04/06/nations-high-court-rules-oklahoma-indigenous-woman-must-pay-income-taxes/
Mamdani is rescinding New York City government's TikTok ban
Source: Politico
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is permitting city government employees and agencies to use TikTok again, reversing a ban his predecessor enacted out of data security concerns.
Mamdani, whose prolific social media use became a hallmark of his successful 2025 mayoral campaign, announced the reversal of the TikTok prohibition in a brief video released on the app Tuesday morning.
“TikTok, we’re back,” Mamdani said in a four-second video posted to the @nycmayor account. The clip came after POLITICO first reported the announcement was imminent.
The @nycmayor handle had been inactive since 2023 when former Mayor Eric Adams banned TikTok from being used on city government devices due to concerns about the app’s ownership ties to the Chinese government.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/31/mamdani-is-rescinding-new-york-city-governments-tiktok-ban-00851884?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it
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