(SRN NEWS)-( ) The Trump administration is following through on its threat to withhold federal funds from public schools that promote transgenderism. The Education Department is placing several Virginia school systems on high-risk status, a move that attaches specific conditions for releasing taxpayer funding. The schools in Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun (LAOW-din) counties have […]
Religious News
RELIGION HEADLINES FRI 8-22-25
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(SRN NEWS)-( ) The Trump administration is following through on its threat to withhold federal funds from public schools that promote transgenderism. The Education Department is placing several Virginia school systems on high-risk status, a move that attaches specific conditions for releasing taxpayer funding. The schools in Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun (LAOW-din) counties have all announced that they will not modify any of their policies, including those that allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms. The Education Department says “School districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding.”
( ) A federal appeals court has blocked West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler from enforcing a campus drag show ban. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled two-to-one that the performances are likely protected under the First Amendment. The ruling reverses a lower court’s decision upholding Wendler’s 2023 cancellation of a drag show. The decision means the student group that brought the lawsuit can produce drag shows on campus while its lawsuit continues in a lower court. Texas A&M, the University of Texas and the University of North Texas have instituted drag show bans as well.
( ) Target says CEO Brian Cornell will step down and be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke (FIDDLE-key). The discount retailer is trying to reverse a persistent sales slump and revive its reputation. Target has also been the subject of a boycott by Christians and others, which followed Cornell’s decision in 2016 to allow men to use the women’s restrooms and changing rooms in Target stores. Target has reported flat or declining comparable sales — those from established physical stores and online channels — in nine out of the past 11 quarters. Its net income has also dropped 21 percent.
( ) One of Sweden’s most beloved wooden churches has been moved as part of the relocation of the town of Kiruna (keer-OO-nuh). It’s happening because the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine is threatening to swallow the town. Thousands of visitors descended on the small metropolis north of the Arctic Circle to watch the Kiruna Swedish Lutheran church’s relocation this week atop a giant wheeled platform. The vicar kicked off the move with a blessing Tuesday morning and the journey was completed by Wednesday afternoon. The church was constructed in 1912. Its neo-Gothic exterior is considered the town’s most distinctive building.