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Chapter 1: What is the significance of Memorial Day?
Lawmakers in Texas are poised to approve legislation to allow for periods of prayer and Bible readings in public and charter schools. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports the measure is heading for Governor Greg Abbott's desk for signature.
Senate Bill 11 would let school districts and charter school governing boards decide whether to allow for periods of prayer or Bible readings during the school day. Republican Representative David Spiller stressed the bill was written to protect the religious freedom both of those who wish to pray and of those who don't.
Chapter 2: What new legislation is being proposed in Texas schools?
There's been a lot of misinformation about this and indicating that it's compulsory and so forth, and it's not. It's purely voluntary, and we've protected the rights of those that choose not to participate.
Nevertheless, Democratic opponents raised concerns that students may feel pressured to participate that could lead to a court challenge of the measure on First Amendment grounds. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.
Chapter 3: What are the concerns about the new prayer bill in Texas?
An Israeli airstrike killing nine children from a single family is sparking outrage and an Israeli inquiry into the attack. NPR's Ayat Betrawa reports Israel's military says it struck combatants in the area but says it is reviewing the incident.
Dr. Alaa Al-Najjar is a pediatrician in the emergency ward of Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza. She was on her shift three days ago when she received word that the charred remains of all but one of her 10 children were in the morgue.
Chapter 4: What happened in the recent Israeli airstrike?
Her brother-in-law, Ali Al-Najjar, tells NPR from Gaza the family's home in Khan Yunis was bombed by an Israeli fighter jet twice, just after the father had prepared lunch for the couple's 10 children. Only the eldest, a 12-year-old boy, survived. He remains in critical condition, along with the father. Israeli media reported that some images circulating of the dead children are fake.
Israel's military did not respond to NPR's request for comment on that report. The military did, however, say the attack took place in a dangerous combat zone and that civilians were told to flee. The brother-in-law demands Israel provide proof of its claims. Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai.
Chapter 5: How are families affected by the conflict in Gaza?
Israeli airstrikes continue to pound the Gaza Strip today. Local health officials say at least 45 people were killed, including 30 people in a school that had been converted into a shelter. Israel says it will continue fighting to destroy Hamas and to gain control of Gaza. Israeli military officials say they targeted the school because it was being used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to plan attacks.
This is NPR News. Sixteen young people from Montana made headlines last year when they sued the state for failing to act on climate change and won. Now, bills backed by conservative state lawmakers to get around the decision have been signed into law. Montana Public Radio's Alice Julin has more.
Last year, Montana's Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. The court ordered the state to consider climate impacts when approving fossil fuel projects and keep track of their greenhouse gas emissions. The new laws appear to thread the needle of the decision.
Montana will now inventory emissions, but it won't regulate them. Olivia Vesevich is one of the plaintiffs.
To watch our legislatures actively dismiss a constitutional ruling is devastating.
Vesevic says the longer the state delays considering climate impacts, the worse the future will look for young people like her. For NPR News, I'm Ellis Ju Lin in Missoula.
Former Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel has died. Rangel was a veteran of the Korean War and spent nearly 50 years on Capitol Hill. He was 94. Congress is in recess for the Memorial Day holiday. When lawmakers return, the Senate is to take up a huge tax and spending bill passed last week by the House.
The legislation would spend more money on defense, unless on Medicaid and other programs that benefit lower-income Americans. Wealthier Americans would benefit more from reduced taxes. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the tax cuts alone would add trillions of dollars to the national debt over 10 years. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.
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