RELIGION HEADLINES MON 5-26-25

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(  )  The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the U.S. from Moldova.  This followed his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children.  The 21-year-old from the republic of Georgia has been arraigned before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence.  The man is named as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to neo-Nazi ideology and promotes violence against Jews.

(  )  Four of the six Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa and four in Minnesota will shut down in a year.  The Midwestern affiliate operating the clinics is blaming a freeze in federal funds, budget cuts proposed in Congress and state restrictions on abortion.  The clinics closing in Iowa include the only Planned Parenthood facility in the state that provides surgical abortions.  Planned Parenthood officials say they will lay off 66 employees.  After the closings, Planned Parenthood North Central States will operate 10 clinics in Minnesota, two in Iowa, two in Nebraska, and one in South Dakota.

(  )  Abortion advocates have filed suit against Arizona to unravel several laws regulating abortion in the state.  The lawsuit was filed by two providers in the state and the Arizona Medical Association.  It comes more than six months after voters enshrined abortion in the state constitution up to fetal viability, which is the point at which an unborn baby can survive outside of the womb.  The advocates are seeking to undo laws including those that bar abortions sought based on genetic abnormalities, require informed consent in-person at least 24 hours before the procedure and offer an opportunity to view the ultrasound.

(  )  A push to put the 10 Commandments on display in all Texas public school classrooms is closer to reaching Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.  The proposal cleared a major hurdle Saturday by winning preliminary approval in the state’s Republican-controlled House.  The measure will likely to draw a swift legal challenge from liberal critics who consider it a constitutional violation of the so-called “separation of church and state”.  A federal court last year blocked a similar law in Louisiana.  The Texas plan is expected to get a final vote in the house in the next few days.  The governor has indicated he will sign it.