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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri Republican lawmaker wants every public and charter school classroom in the state to display the Ten Commandments, sparking concern from at least one Kansas City area school district. A bill filed this month by Rep. Hardy Billington, a Poplar Bluff Republican, would require public school districts and charter schools to display copies of the Ten Commandments, a set of ethical directions from the Old Testament, in every building and classroom. The legislation is part of a broader push to inject religious teachings into schools and comes as a growing number of Republicans nationally have openly embraced arguments that American politics and culture are rooted in the Christian faith. Billington’s bill also follows similar legislation in other GOP-led states, such as Louisiana , which recently passed a law to require the Ten Commandments in schools. A federal judge last month blocked the Louisiana law on constitutional grounds. “The Ten Commandments is basically throughout our country, right?” said Billington, who serves as majority whip in the House. “I think that would be a good thing for kids to see, not that they got to promote it, or do anything about it, but it’s good to be there, right? To, you know, walk by and see it in the hallway.” “If we all obeyed the Ten Commandments, wouldn’t our country be a lot better off? Be a lot safer, wouldn’t it?” he added. Billington’s legislation would allow, but not require, school boards to pay for displays of the Ten Commandments. It would also allow the districts to accept donated copies. School boards and charter school governing boards would have the power to determine “the nature of the display.” However, Billington’s legislation would set some requirements. Each classroom display would have to be a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches large. The text of the Ten Commandments would also have to be the central focus of the display and printed in a “large, easily readable font.” The displays would be required to include the full text of the Ten Commandments, which begins with the phrase “I AM the LORD thy God” followed by the commandments. The displays would include phrases such as: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” “Thou shalt not kill,” and “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Kelly Wachel, a spokesperson for the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, said the legislation raised a number of questions, including whether the bill supports the ability for school boards to make decisions about what’s best for students of all backgrounds, religions and beliefs. “How does this legislation impact the enshrined rights in our U.S. and state constitution around keeping church and state separate?” Wachel said in an email. In addition to those concerns, Wachel said her district wants lawmakers to focus on crafting legislation that addresses several issues that currently affect schools such as: increased funding, access to resources and opportunities for students, money to support safety measures to protect students and staff, and teacher development. Billington filed the legislation ahead of the upcoming legislative session, which begins next month. While it’s still unclear how much attention the bill will receive throughout the year — particularly among members of Republican leadership — at least two Republican lawmakers expressed general support. “I would be supportive of that legislation,” said Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican. “We have not discussed it as a caucus yet, but I know that other states recently have decided to do that.” Seitz added that he felt the bill was “wholly appropriate. There’s nothing offensive in the Ten Commandments.” But Billington’s legislation would also certainly face legal challenges if lawmakers pass it this upcoming session, just as the law in Louisiana has. Tom Bastian, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Missouri, ripped the legislation as unconstitutional in a statement. He pointed to a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. “Public schools are meant to provide students with equal access to education, free from discrimination based on religion, race, and ethnicity, or the official endorsement of any religion,” Bastian said. “The use of political power to force students to adopt the preferred religious beliefs of a state representative is the proselytization of our children and a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.” Billington, however, appeared to signal that he felt his bill would hold up in court. He pointed to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has grown more conservative in recent years. “Everybody disagrees with some point, but I think it’s something the Supreme Court would agree with now,” he said. “We got a very — a lot more conservative Supreme Court than we’ve had in the past.” ©2024 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.United States of America has the world's oldest democracy but the country is yet to get a female President. ET Year-end Special Reads Corporate Kalesh: Top family disputes of India Inc in 2024 The world of business lost these eminent people in 2024 Fast, faster, fastest: How 2024 put more speed into your shopping Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., don't agree on much. Yet, recently the ideological adversaries found some common ground on a political question that has quietly endured over nearly two decades. Yes, a woman can win the White House, they agree. But she's probably going to be conservative, NYT News Service reported. "Are there women out there, governors, Republican, Democrat, that can be the next president of the United States? Absolutely," Graham said in an interview on Capitol Hill this month. "If you have a Republican female nominee, they would have a good shot of being the first woman president." A few days earlier and several hundred miles north, Clinton -- whose wife tried and failed twice to win the White House -- made a similar argument, as per a report on NYT News Service . 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"But I think a woman can be elected president. I do." Their similar predictions are the latest in a conversation that has frustrated and foiled two generations of female candidates. For Democrats still scarred by Hillary Clinton 's loss to Donald Trump in 2016, Vice President Kamala Harris ' defeat at the hands of the same man in November has only deepened anxieties over gender bias and prompted a fresh round of debate over the electability of women to the nation's highest office. For decades, advocates for female political leaders argued that if more women ran for president, their presence in American politics would become normalized and one would eventually win the White House. Since Clinton's first attempt to break what she called "that highest, hardest glass ceiling" in 2008, nine other women have vied for a major party's nomination. Those candidates have been conservative and liberal, racially diverse, and from big cities, small towns and across the country. Some campaigned on an economic message, others focused on social issues. Only two -- Clinton and Harris, both Democrats -- captured their party's nomination. As they process the second defeat of a female nominee, Democrats are divided over the question of how much Harris' gender actually contributed to her loss, making it hard to divine what exactly that could mean for their party in 2028. Two weeks before Election Day, Harris openly dismissed concerns that sexism could hurt her chances, saying in an interview with NBC News that the country was "absolutely" ready to elect a female president. FAQs Q1. Who is President of USA? A1. President of USA is Joe Biden. Q2. What is current designation of Donald Trump? A2. Donald Trump's current designation is US President-elect. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Friday he faced a "Himalaya" of a challenge to tackle France's deficit, with opponents' lukewarm reactions to his appointment underlining the difficulty of the job he faces. President Emmanuel Macron earlier named Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024, tasking his centrist ally with steering France out of its second political crisis in six months. He replaces Michel Barnier, who was ousted by lawmakers last week for trying to pass a cost-cutting 2025 budget. Bayrou, a three-time presidential candidate who has long warned of French fiscal profligacy, inherits the same rowdy parliament that felled Barnier. His proximity to the deeply unpopular Macron may also hurt him. In a speech alongside Barnier on Friday, Bayrou acknowledged the challenge. "Nobody knows the difficulty of the situation better than I do... I am not unaware of the Himalaya that stands before us," he said. "I believe that this issue, the deficit and debt, is an issue that poses a moral problem, not just a financial one." Efforts to rein in the deficit, expected to close the year at over 6% of gross domestic product, lie at the heart of France's political malaise. The festering crisis has raised doubts about whether Macron will complete his second presidential term until 2027, lifted French borrowing costs and left a power vacuum in the heart of Europe, just as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. Bayrou's immediate priority will be passing a special law to roll over the 2024 budget, with a nastier battle over the 2025 legislation looming early next year. Bayrou told reporters he wanted to move quickly, but France's stark political divisions mean even the basic task of naming his cabinet could drag on. The Socialists, irked that the president ignored their demands for a leftist prime minister in favour of a "Macronista", said they would not join Bayrou's coalition, and could even seek to topple him if he tries to ram through the budget. The pro-Barnier centre-right said it would wait to see Bayrou's proposals before deciding whether to join him, Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the Republican Right grouping in the National Assembly, wrote on X. Far-left France Unbowed party leaders said they would be immediately seeking to remove Bayrou, while far-right National Rally (RN) party chiefs said they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. IMPOSSIBLE JOB? Bayrou, the founder of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party which has been a part of Macron's ruling alliance since 2017, has been the longtime mayor of the southwestern town of Pau. His rustic roots are a key component of his political character. The mixed reactions to Bayrou's appointment suggest he will likely be living day-to-day, at the mercy of Macron's opponents, for the foreseeable future. Barnier's three-month premiership was the shortest in modern French history. Macron will hope Bayrou can stave off no-confidence votes until at least July, when France will be able to hold a new parliamentary election. But getting there won't be easy. An early test will come with the 2025 budget bill negotiations, expected to start in January. Barnier's bill, which aimed for 60 billion euros ($63 billion) in savings to assuage investors increasingly concerned by France's deficit, was deemed too miserly by the far-right and left. The government's failure to find a way out of the gridlock has seen French borrowing costs push higher. XTB Research Director Kathleen Brooks said Bayrou's appointment was unlikely to have a major impact on French bonds. However, she said the CAC 40 French stock index is underperforming German stocks by a three-decade margin. "With France still mired in political turmoil, narrowing this gap is an uphill struggle, even with a new PM," she wrote. Macron named Bayrou as justice minister in 2017 but he resigned only weeks later amid an investigation into his party's alleged fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants. He was acquitted of fraud charges this year.In a significant diplomatic development, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced the reopening of the Turkish Embassy in Syria's capital, Damascus, marking the first operational presence since its suspension in 2012 due to security concerns from the civil war. This development coincides with a major shift in Syrian governance, as insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took control of Damascus, marking the end of the Assad regime's decades-long rule. Thousand of Syrians gathered for Friday prayers, celebrating the insurgents' victory. International attention has turned to the next steps for Syria's future. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the need for an 'inclusive, non-sectarian' interim government, as Turkey voiced its desire to prevent terrorism and stabilize the region swiftly. Coordinated efforts between Turkey and the United States are underway. (With inputs from agencies.)
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