National Notes
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Kentucky passes Ten Commandments bill. The Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill March 29 that would allow schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms and calls for teachers to teach about the influence of Christianity on the country. The bill, which already has cleared the state Senate, now heads to Democrat Gov. Paul Patton.
___ Court upholds bans on nude dancing. In a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court ruled March 29 that communities may ban nude dancing in bars without violating the First Amendment. The court also reinstated a 1994 Pennsylvania law barring nude performances in "taverns, restaurants, clubs and theaters."
___ Kentucky votes to allow guns in church. The Kentucky House of Representatives March 29 approved a bill that allows anyone with a permit to carry a concealed deadly weapon to church, expanding a 1998 law that allowed only pastors or church officials to do so.
___ Church pays to witness to prostitutes. A Catholic church in Chicago has adopted a unique mission. It plans to pay prostitutes and drug dealers to listen to the gospel. "We have to be willing to try radically new ways to reach people," said Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Church in Chicago. Pfleger made the suggestion to his congregation March 26: "Instead of wasting money going to banquets, let's take that $20 banquet ticket, let's go out and find the prostitutes and drug dealers. Let's say, 'We're going to buy your time. But for this half hour, we want to sit down and talk about God's love for you.'"
___ Jury awards $105,000 to Muslim. A jury in Jacksonville, Fla., has awarded a Muslim man $105,216 after his employer fired him when he wanted to leave work early on Fridays to pray, an obligation required of Muslim men. An eight-person jury awarded the money to Fareed Ansari on March 29. Ansari said he was fired from Ray's Plumbing Contractors of Jacksonville in July 1997. The jury used the 1964 Civil Rights Act to uphold Ansari's case. The legislation says employers must make reasonable accommodations for an employee's religious practices.
___ Mormons plan six temples. Mormon church President Gordon Hinckley announced plans April 2 for the construction of six new temples, three in the United States and three overseas. One of the temples will be built in Lubbock. Others are planned for Snowflake, Ariz.; Washington state; Aba, Nigeria; Asuncion, Paraguay; and Helsinki, Finland.
___ "God, the Devil & Bob" cancelled. "God, the Devil & Bob," the controversial animated television program, has been cancelled by NBC.
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