NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Tennesee’s Republican governor said Tuesday he will let a bill become law that protects teachers who allow students in their classrooms to criticize evolution and other scientific theories, such as global warming. Gov. Bill Haslam had said previously he would probably sign the bill. On Tuesday, he disclosed he would let the law take effect April 20 without his signature, saying he believes the legislation doesn’t change scientific standards currently taught in Tennessee’s public schools. Tennessee... Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennesee’s Republican governor says he will let a bill become law effective April 20 that protects teachers who allow students in their classrooms to criticize evolution and other scientific theories, such as global warming. Gov. Bill Haslam had said previously he would probably sign the bill. On Tuesday, he disclosed he would let the law take effect without his signature, saying he believes the legislation doesn’t change scientific standards currently taught in Tennessee’s public schools. Tennessee... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors in a landmark U.S. church sex abuse trial were presented Tuesday with the troubled career of a priest who was convicted on child pornography charges yet remained in ministry for years. Prosecutors introduced decades of documents from the Philadelphia archdiocese’s secret archives that outlined how Edward DePaoli, after being convicted in federal court in 1986, went through psychological treatment and a half-dozen church assignments before he was defrocked in 2005. DePaoli is not a defendant in... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders received nearly 600 credible clergy sex abuse claims last year. All but a few of the allegations involve wrongdoing from decades ago that are only being reported now. The findings released Tuesday are part of an annual child safety report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Auditors check compliance with the discipline plan bishops adopted in 2002 at the height of the abuse scandal. Church officials say they... Read more

ATLANTA (AP) — After fourth-grade teacher Jarretta Hamilton went to the principal of her Christian school with the news she was pregnant, he responded: You’re fired. Her lawsuit against the school came before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, and the three-judge panel is wrestling with its decision. A lawyer for Hamilton argued that she’s the victim of discrimination, that the principal fired her because she was pregnant and her maternity leave was going to be inconvenient... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors in a landmark church sex-abuse trial were presented with documents Tuesday outlining the troubled clerical career of a priest who was convicted of child pornography charges yet remained in ministry for years despite similar and repeated complaints. Prosecutors presented years of correspondence from mental health facilities, therapists and church officials regarding Edward DePaoli when he was a priest. The documents, kept in the archdiocese’s secret archives, outlined how DePaoli, after being convicted in federal court of... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors in a landmark church sex-abuse trial were presented with documents Tuesday outlining the troubled clerical career of a priest who was convicted of child pornography charges yet remained in ministry for years despite similar and repeated complaints. Prosecutors presented years of correspondence from mental health facilities, therapists and church officials regarding Edward DePaoli when he was a priest. The documents, kept in the archdiocese’s secret archives, outlined how DePaoli, after being convicted in federal court of... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors in a landmark church sex-abuse trial in Philadelphia are hearing about a priest who was convicted of child pornography charges but wasn’t defrocked until years later. Prosecutors presented a chronology of the Rev. Edward DePaoli on Tuesday as they continue building their case against a high-ranking official in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. DePaoli was convicted in 1986 but served as a priest until 2002. He was defrocked in 2005. DePaoli isn’t a defendant in the trial... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s fugitive vice president was in Turkey on Tuesday, his third stop in a regional tour that risks complicating Baghdad’s relations with its neighbors. A statement issued late Monday by the office of Tariq al-Hashemi, the top Sunni official in Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government, said he arrived in Istanbul and plans to meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss developments in the region. Istanbul is the third stop on a trip that has also taken him... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — The candidate for Egypt’s most influential political force, the Muslim Brotherhood, warned Tuesday that the country’s upcoming presidential race may be rigged, a sign of rising tensions as his group faces off against one of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak’s most powerful deputies. Khairat al-Shater, who is also the Islamist group’s chief strategist and financier, said that vote fraud might lead to the election of a “new Mubarak” who would spark a “new revolution.” The 61-year old multimillionaire... Read more