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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In an 8-7 vote today, the Texas State Board of Education has approved a controversial K-5 curriculum that incorporates Bible stories.
As Bill Zibel of member station KERA reports, the materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Critics of the Texas Education Agency-sponsored Blue Bonnet Learning Curriculum, which weaves religious tales into daily lessons, say too many stories come from the Christian Bible.
Even after adding Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu tales, State Board of Education member Rebecca Belmedero is unconvinced. It seems to me like it is trying to place a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Still, hers was the minority view. School districts don't have to use Blue Bonnet, but they get additional money from the state if they do.
I'm Bill Zibel in Dallas. There still could be other choices, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting today Wall Street financier Kevin Walsh is on President-elect Donald Trump's shortlist as a possible nominee for Treasury secretary. The journal also positing that Trump could later appoint Walsh, a former Fed governor, to take over Fed Chair Jerome Powell's job at the end of his term in 2026.
Trump is also said to be considering another possible Treasury pick. Billionaire investor Scott Besant, head of the National Economic Council, overworsh has been a critic of protectionist trade policies and was asked about his stance on tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter.
FBI Director Chris Wray has more than two years left in his term, but his days in the job may be numbered once Donald Trump returns to the White House. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports the FBI director is offering thanks and praise to his employees. At a benefit in Washington to support scholarships and donations for FBI families in need of extra support, Chris Wray says his confidence in the FBI workforce remains unwavering.
Since he was named to lead the Bureau in 2017, Ray's presided over dozens of graduations at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, personally greeting more than 40 percent of the agents on the job today. Natalie Barra, president of the Agents Association, says Ray's been the calm in the storm and drowned out noise with facts. President-elect Trump's considering candidates to replace Ray, and has said he wants to clean house at the FBI and the Justice Department.
Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Congestion pricing after initially being shot down is back in New York City. It takes effect in early January. That's after the U.S. Transportation Department approved the state's plan to impose a $9 congestion charge for driving into Manhattan below 60th Street.
The first-of-its-kind congestion charge was revived last week by Governor Kathy Hochul after the idea was put on hold earlier this year. With implementation of the toll, New York City joins London, Stockholm, and Singapore in implementing congestion pricing. U.S. financial markets ended another week on an up note. The Dow climbed 426 points today. You're listening to NPR.
Ukrainian members of NATO will hold emergency talks next week following Russia's use of a new hypersonic ballistic missile in the now 33-month-old war. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a nationally televised address this week said the use of the intermediate-range missile was in retaliation for Kyiv's use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has dismissed the possibility of further dialogue with the U.S. Sun pair's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul that talks between the U.S. and North Korea broke down in 2019 and have not resumed. Kim said in a speech that North Korea had gone to every length in negotiations with the U.S., but it had only confirmed what Kim called the U.S.'s unchanging, invasive and hostile policy towards the North. Kim spoke Thursday at an arms exhibition where North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic and hypersonic missiles were on display.
North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown since 2019, and it now has stronger backing from Russia. South Korea's National Security Advisor Shin Won-shik said Friday that Russia has provided North Korea with anti-aircraft missiles as payment for North Korea sending troops to Russia to help it fight Ukraine.
Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. Archaeologists say they've discovered a series of ancient canals in what is now Belize. They appear to have been used even before the Mayans built temples on the Yucatan Peninsula. Ancient canals, which weren't in existence for about a thousand years, were apparently used to channel and catch fish. Archaeologists used drones and Google Earth imagery to confirm their findings. The research was published in the journal Science Advances. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.
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