Tuesday’s News & Ideas - 6/24/2025

Mideast governments condemn suicide bombing of Syrian church as death toll rises to 25
The Associated Press: The attack Sunday on the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox church during a Divine Liturgy in Dweil’a, near Damascus, was the first of its kind in Syria in years.

Zohran Mamdani is running to be New York mayor. How his Muslim faith stirred the race.
Religion News Service: Mamdani’s focus on kitchen table issues has drawn interest across the Muslim spectrum, but his progressive positions on Gaza may alienate voters from other religious communities.
ARC: Zohran Mamdani and the making of a “Muslim Menace”

‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago — and ever since
The Conversation: As historian Edward J. Larson observed in “Summer for the Gods,” his Pulitzer Prize-winning book: “Like so many archetypal American events, the trial itself began as a publicity stunt.”

Court blocks Louisiana law requiring schools to post Ten Commandments in classrooms
NPR: A panel of three federal appellate judges has ruled that a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in each of the state’s public school classrooms is unconstitutional.

Giant statues to return to Notre Dame’s spire in latest stage of restoration
The Guardian: The copper-coated figures will be hoisted on to the cathedral’s reconstructed spire.

The Spark

Is he still alive? The mystery of DB Cooper — the hijacker who disappeared
In 1971, a man held a plane to ransom for $200,000, then parachuted out in his suit and dress shoes, never to be seen again, The Guardian says. What happened to him?

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