The Texas State Board of Education voted to approve a new curriculum that incorporates Bible teachings into elementary school lessons, despite concerns that it could blur the line between religion and public education.

Eight out of the 15 board members at The Texas State Board of Education gave their preliminary approval and voted in favor of keeping the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum.

The curriculum — designed by the state’s public education agency — would allow teachings from the Bible such as the Golden Rule and lessons from books such as Genesis into classrooms. Under the plan, it would be optional for schools to adopt the curriculum though they would receive additional funding if they did so.

Lore Segal, an esteemed Austrian American author and translator, has died at 96.

The Board’s next regular meeting is September 10-13

Oklahoma’s Bixby school district has lots to show off for a fast-growing Tulsa suburb, including a state-of-the-art new high school and plans for a $12 million upgrade to its football complex.

Some secular groups and members of other faiths say the curriculum could give schools too much control over how children are taught religion.

Proposed lesson plans could improve student performance and help teachers, Texas education officials say. Not all district leaders and education advocates are convinced.

Palm Sunday will be celebrated by Christians worldwide this Sunday.

In March 2020, a tornado destroyed the Rev. Jacques Boyd’s Nashville church.

The head of the Catholic church in China has begun a trip to Hong Kong at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, marking the first official visit by a Beijing bishop in history.

Texas State Senator Phil King says Senate Bill 1515, which he wrote, would require the 10 Commandments to be prominently displayed in every single classroom, in every public school in the state.

House Republicans have renewed an investigation into the art dealings of Hunter Biden, pushing for details as part of the party’s long-promised probe of President Joe Biden and his family.

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention say that several of their denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Top Southern Baptists have released a previously secret list of hundreds of pastors and other church-affiliated personnel accused of sexual abuse.

A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House.

An internal investigation has determined that the decision to clear racial justice protesters from an area in front of the White House last summer wasn't influenced by then-President Donald Trump’s plans to stage a Bible-toting photo opportunity at that spot.

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 11, 2019 file photo, Janene Cates Putman of Athens, Tenn., holds a sign during a demonstration outside the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)Emily Snook is the daughter of a Southern Baptist pastor. For many SBC women, even those committed to staying, the topic of gender became more volatile this month when popular Bible teacher Beth Moore said she no longer considered herself Southern Baptist. Yet she is among a number of SBC women publicly sharing their dismay about sex abuse and the vitriol directed at Moore. But she says many Southern Baptist women, including students of hers, were unsettled by the criticism of Moore.

All rights reservedNEW YORK – The first inaugurations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama were the only ones to exceed Joe Biden's in popularity among television viewers over the past 40 years. Reagan's festivities in 1981 drew 41.8 million viewers, and Obama's 2009 inaugural reached 37.8 million, Nielsen said. CNN was the most popular network for inaugural viewers, Nielsen said. ABC had 3.4 million, Fox had 2.7 million, NBC had 2.5 million, Univision had 1.2 million, while Ion Television and Telemundo each averaged 1.1 million viewers. MSNBC had 2.67 million, Fox News Channel had 2.56 million, TNT had 1.19 million and HGTV had 1.1 million.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)Here are things to know for Thursday, Jan. 21:1. ‘My whole soul is in it’: Read Biden’s inaugural address as the 46th presidentPresident Joe Biden’s inaugural address Wednesday, as provided by CQ Transcripts:Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris. Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, and my distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, this is America’s day. Biden jeopardizes Keystone XL project on first day in officePresident Joe Biden signed 15 executive orders and actions within his first few hours in office. But the one catching the attention of Houstonians and the energy industry targets the Keystone XL pipeline.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)Joe Biden and Kamala Harris showcased American designers at their inauguration Wednesday, and Harris gave a nod to women's suffrage, Shirley Chisholm and her beloved sorority in pearls and purple. Pearls had a strong fashion showing, in line with a social media campaign that had inauguration watchers donning strands in support and celebration of Harris. “If there’s a message to be taken from today’s inauguration fashion, it’s that those who attended are signaling faith in unity and bipartisanship, as well as restoring truth and trust,” Torgerson said. Another inauguration fashion star on Twitter was Nikolas Ajagu, the husband of Harris' niece, Meena Harris. It was updated on January 21, 2021, to correct the fact that Meena Harris is Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece, not her sister.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)HOUSTON – President Joe Biden and Madam Vice President Kamala Harris have officially been inaugurated. Former President Barack Obama offered congratulations to his former VP, tweeting “Congratulations to my friend, President @JoeBiden! This is your time.”Congratulations to my friend, President @JoeBiden! pic.twitter.com/LXzxGnBAfz — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 20, 2021Former President Bill Clinton also congratulated the incoming president and vice president ahead of the inauguration. Today is the start of a new chapter & I look forward to our close cooperation!

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as their children Ashley and Hunter watch. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Biden and first lady Jill Biden watched the end of the day’s events from a balcony in the White House on Wednesday night. The Senate has voted to confirm Avril Haines as the new director of national intelligence, giving President Joe Biden the first member of his Cabinet. Workers removed the giant sign from the department’s C Street lobby on Wednesday shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated. ___5:20 p.m.President Joe Biden has signed a series of executive orders from the Oval Office hours after his inauguration. ___4:55 p.m.President Joe Biden has directed that federal agencies halt all rulemaking until his administration has time to review proposed regulations.

Kamala Harris is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)WASHINGTON – Vice President Kamala Harris broke the barrier that has kept men at the top ranks of American power for more than two centuries when she took the oath Wednesday to hold the nation's second-highest office. With Trump absent from the inauguration, Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, took on the symbolic duty of escorting former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, out of the Capitol. To celebrate the historic day, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the nation’s oldest sorority for Black women, which Harris joined at Howard University, declared Wednesday as Soror Kamala D. Harris Day. “Today, we mark the swearing in of the first woman in American history elected to national office, Vice President Kamala Harris.

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – History was made during Monday’s swearing-in ceremony as two women take up two county positions never been held by a woman before. The county swore in Jennifer Bergman, who was elected as District Attorney and Tammy Bishop as Constable Precinct #1, the county said in a news release. “This is history, ladies and gentlemen...It is history that is long, long, long overdue.”In total, 13 candidates were sworn in on Monday, five of then being newly-elected officials. “I look forward to serving the citizens of Liberty County,” she said in a statement. I am blessed to call Liberty County my home and I look forward to doing everything I can to make you proud.”

(Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via AP)WASHINGTON – Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as the Supreme Court's ninth justice, her oath administered in private by Chief Justice John Roberts. The court is weighing a plea from President Donald Trump to prevent the Manhattan district attorney from acquiring his tax returns. Northeastern Pennsylvania's Luzerne County filed legal papers at the court Tuesday arguing that Barrett should not take part in the Pennsylvania case. The court put off acting on both cases before Barrett joined the court, without offering any explanation in the Mississippi case. As she settles into her new office at the court, Barrett will be joined by four law clerks, usually recent law school graduates who have experience working for federal judges.

Hannah Carson reads from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes inside her Charlotte, N.C., apartment on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. At 90-year-old, Carson reads her Bible daily, particularly her favorite verse detailing the different seasons of life. As soon as she received her absentee ballot in the mail six weeks ago, she filled it out and sent it back to her local election office. (AP Photo/Sarah Blake Morgan)