N.Y. State Budget Offers Strong Support for Charter Schools
Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders hammered out a deal Saturday on a spending plan that would grant New York City charter schools some of the country’s strongest protections for such academies, dealing a seeming blow to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s education agenda, writes The New York Times.
Judge Says Terror Victims Can’t Claim Museums’ Iranian Items
Ruling in a case that has been closely watched by museum officials nationwide, a federal judge said Friday that survivors of a 1997 terrorist bombing cannot seize Persian antiquities from two Chicago institutions to pay a $412-million judgment against Iran for its role in the attack, the Associated Press reports.
Taliban Assaults U.S. Charity’s Guesthouse in Afghan Capital
Residents of a Kabul guesthouse used by California-based nonprofit Roots of Peace emerged largely unharmed from Friday’s attack, part of a surge of violence in the city ahead of this week’s Afghan presidential election, reports The Washington Post.
Appeals Court Upholds Tex. Restrictions on Abortion Clinics
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a Texas law that abortion-rights advocates say has forced nearly half the state’s abortion clinics to shut down does not place an undue burden on women seeking to end pregnancies, reports the Associated Press.
Head of Redskins’ Native American Charity Drew U.S. Scrutiny
The leader of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s new foundation to assist Native Americans runs another nonprofit whose use of nearly $1-million in federal funds was questioned in a 2012 government review, according to USA Today.
Milwaukee Symphony Emergency Campaign Closes Budget Gap
Three months after shrinking its ensemble and office staff to help tackle a $2-million deficit, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has exceeded a $5-million emergency fundraising target to stabilize its finances, the Journal Sentinel reports.
Publisher to Pay for Free Admission for 9/11 Museum Opening
Media company Condé Nast has pledged to cover the $24 admission fee for all visitors to the National September 11 Memorial &Museum on its official opening day May 21, reports the New York Daily News.
Diverse Museum Donor Base Shows Changing Cleveland Giving
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s capital campaign to finance its newly finished expansion and renovation demonstrates how wealth and philanthropy have changed in the city in the last half-century, writes The Plain Dealer in one of a series of articles this week on the state of the institution.
World Vision Backtracks on Hiring Married Gays
Two days after saying it would allow its U.S. offices to employ Christians in same-sex marriages, global aid organization World Vision reversed the decision Wednesday evening amid a backlash from evangelical leaders and supporters, Christianity Today and Al Jazeera America report.
House Lawyers Say Panel Can Pursue Lerner Contempt Case
Lawyers for the House of Representatives concluded a congressional committee has legal standing to bring contempt charges against ex-Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner for refusing to testify about the tax agency’s scrutiny of nonprofit groups’ political activities, reports The Washington Post.