INTERNACIONAL
‘Bad for parents’: School choice supporters protest exclusion of religious charter in Supreme Court case
Dozens of school choice advocates gathered outside the Supreme Court Wednesday as justices weighed whether public funds could go directly to religious charter schools.
The protesters rallied and held signs that said «all students, all options, all dollars» and «free to learn,» as they advocated for expanded access to alternatives to traditional public schools, especially for students who struggle in those settings.
The case, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond, challenges a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that struck down a contract establishing St. Isidore – a publicly funded, Catholic online school – as a violation of state and federal law. Now before the U.S. Supreme Court, advocates argue that excluding religious schools from state-run charter programs amounts to unconstitutional discrimination.
«The court has time and time again said that the Free Exercise Clause demands that the government treat religious and secular organizations the same, and that’s not what happened here. The state excluded St. Isidore simply because of its religious character, that’s wrong and bad for parents,» said Kate Anderson, an attorney at ADF working on the case.
LIBERAL SUPREME COURT JUSTICES GRILL RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION IN LANDMARK SCHOOL CHOICE CASE
School choice advocates rally outside the Supreme Court building on Wednesday, April 30. (Fox News Digital )
For students like Contina Jones’ son, public schools are not always a good fit. «He was very sad, very emotional every day, he was overstimulated, teachers were in and out, and I needed something that was able to cater to how my son learns,» said Jones, a Mississippi resident who joined the crowd outside the court. «Every child, regardless of zip code, should be able to go to a school that is for them for their families.»
The justices are being asked to weigh whether a religious charter school is entitled to the same treatment and funding as a secular one – a question that could redefine how states draw the line between church and state in public education.
«Charter schools are not public schools in the same way as traditional ones,» said Thomas Fisher, executive vice president of EdChoice. «They’re designed to have curricula other than what public schools provide. The First Amendment protects their free exercise and doesn’t prohibit them from exercising their religion.»
At issue is whether the school should be considered a public school – which have largely been considered as extensions of the state government, and required to be nonreligious under the Establishment Clause – or whether it should be considered private entities or contractors.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican who is running for governor, filed the lawsuit against the school, stating that the establishment of St. Isidore would violate both the Oklahoma Constitution and the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Public funds should not be used to support religious institutions, he emphasized, asserting that such a move could set a dangerous precedent for government endorsement of religion.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON SCHOOL CHOICE CASE INVOLVING CATHOLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
Supporters of St. Isidore hold signs outside the Supreme Court. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed with Drummond’s assessment, ruling that charter schools are public entities and must remain nonsectarian. The court’s decision highlighted concerns that approving St. Isidore as a religious charter school could lead to state-sponsored religious indoctrination, undermining the neutrality of public education.
«The key here is that this school is its own school. This school is not a state school – it’s a charter school. It has the ability to set its own curriculum,» added John Tidwell, Oklahoma state director of Americans for Prosperity.
He called the case a «great test to see what the opportunity is for similar schools all across the country.»
«We’re really excited by this opportunity.»
Erika Donalds, chair of America First Policy Institute’s Center for Education Opportunity, echoed the sentiment, framing the case as a potential expansion of «the free market of education.»
Rev. Shannon Fleck of Faithful America speaks as Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush of Interfaith Alliance listens during a news conference outside the Supreme Court on April 30, 2025. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
«St. Isidore is just one example of many high-quality options that are out there that could be chartered for families,» Donalds said. «The Supreme Court has struck down discrimination against religious institutions in other contexts. If they can offer high-quality education, families should be able to access those options with public funds.»
Donalds emphasized that the choice remains with families. «Parents are not required to choose a religiously affiliated charter school, but they should have the option to do so — so long as financial and academic accountability measures are met.»
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She also pointed to bipartisan support for school choice nationwide.
«We’ve seen polling that shows 70% of Republicans, nearly 70% of Democrats, and Independents all support school choice. This movement has momentum, and it’s not going to stop.»
The court’s ruling, expected by the end of June, could have sweeping implications for charter school policy and religious liberty jurisprudence across the country, and comes at a time when 45 U.S. states currently authorize charter schools.
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
High School,US Education,Education Controversies,Supreme Court Oral Arguments,Supreme Court
INTERNACIONAL
Trump DHS slams more ‘sob story’ reporting after Tren de Aragua gang members send SOS signal
The Trump Department of Homeland Security is slamming Reuters for what it is calling «sob story» reporting about illegal gang members after the outlet reported on suspected Tren de Aragua members forming an «S-O-S» sign at a Texas detention center.
The DHS released a statement on Wednesday saying that «the mainstream media’s latest attempt at a criminal gang sob story includes a self-admitted member of Tren de Aragua» and that «the real story here is that the previous administration was releasing gang members into American communities.»
Tren de Aragua – also known as «TdA» – is a brutal international criminal group linked to Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro. The group is linked to some of the most high profile migrant crime cases in recent years including the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and the seizure of an entire apartment building in Aurora, Colorado. The Trump State Department has declared Tren de Aragua a «foreign terrorist organization.»
Reuters reported on Wednesday that 31 Venezuelan illegals and suspected TdA members formed an SOS sign in the yard of the Bluebonnet illegal immigrant detention center in Anson, Texas.
TRUMP TO NAME HAITIAN GANGS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: REPORT
The Trump Department of Homeland Security is slamming Reuters for what it is calling «sob story» reporting about illegal gang members after the outlet reported on suspected Tren de Aragua members forming an «S-O-S» sign at a Texas detention center. (Trump-Vance Transition Team/DHS)
According to the outlet, the men at the facility are facing possible deportation and had been set to be deported to the high-security Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in El Salvador before a judge’s ruling delayed that fate. Despite this, Reuters wrote that the «Venezuelan detainees in Texas fear the Trump administration will send them to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT maximum security prison.»
The outlet identified two of the migrants in the detention center as Diover Millan Leon, 24, and Jeferson Escalona Hernandez, 19. Reuters interviewed Escalona Hernandez, who claimed, «I fear for my life here» and «they’re making false accusations about me.»
Reuters also reported Millan Leon’s wife saying, «he is desperate» and that he «sat down and looked at the sky and asked God to get him out of there soon.»
DHS pushed back against this characterization of the situation, identifying both men as confirmed members of Tren de Aragua.
‘PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT’: TRUMP CELEBRATES FIRST 100 DAYS IN OFFICE WITH HIGH ENERGY MICHIGAN RALLY
Reuters reported on Wednesday that 31 Venezuelan illegals and suspected TdA members formed an SOS sign in the yard of the Bluebonnet illegal immigrant detention center in Anson, Texas.
The statement said that Escalona Hernandez is a «self-admitted Tren de Aragua member» who illegally entered the U.S. in 2024. DHS said that the Biden administration «released this gang member into our country» and that he was later arrested for felony evading arrest with a vehicle and put in a Denton County, Texas, jail.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE
Meanwhile, DHS said that Millan Leon is a documented member of Tren de Aragua who illegally entered the U.S. on an unknown date and location. The department said that U.S. Border Patrol arrested Millan Leon on May 3, 2023, near Brownsville, Texas, but he was given a notice to appear and released on his own recognizance. Nearly two years later, ICE officers operating under the Trump administration arrested Millan Leon in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on March 12, 2025.
Commenting on the story, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that «Tren De Aragua is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth,» adding that «they rape, maim, and murder for sport.»
FORMER DEA AGENT WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA GANG ‘SPREADS LIKE A VIRUS’
17 members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang and members of the MS-13 gang, who were deported to El Salvador by the US in San Salvador, El Salvador on March 31, 2025. (El Salvador Press Presidency Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«The previous administration released these gang members into our communities,» she went on. «President Trump and Secretary Noem have ended catch and release and will not allow criminal gangs to terrorize American citizens.»
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McLaughlin called Reuters’ reporting «irresponsible,» asking: «Why do they continue to peddle the sob stories of these gang members but ignore their American victims?»
Fox News Digital reached out to Reuters for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Migrant Crime,Illegal Immigrants,Immigration,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Javier Cercas: “Francisco fue un hombre muy consciente de sus propios defectos y luchó para vencerlos”
Javier Cercas estaba en el Salón del Libro de Turín firmando libros cuando se le acercó su editora y le dijo: “Hay alguien del Vaticano que te está esperando”. La oferta era alucinante: acompañar al papa Francisco en un viaje a Mongolia, un país budista con 1500 católicos, y contarlo todo, con libertad. Nunca había ocurrido algo así, nunca un escritor había tenido tal oportunidad. Pero había un problema: Cercas es ateo.
“Ningún escritor en su sano juicio lo hubiera rechazado”, dice ahora, en el streaming de Infobae en la Feria del Libro de Buenos Aires, entrevistado por Guillermo Pintos y Patricia Kolesnicov.
Fruto de esa propuesta, de varias conversaciones y recorridos y de un arduo trabajo de escritura, surge El loco de Dios en el fin del mundo, un libro que, en palabras del propio Cercas, es una novela.
“Soy ateo. Soy anticlerical. Soy un laicista militante, un racionalista contumaz, un impío riguroso”, comienza el libro, a modo de introducción. Ya en la primera página deja en claro su posición. ¿Por qué, entonces, ese interés genuino por Francisco?
“Me he embarcado en este avión para preguntarle al papa Francisco si mi madre verá a mi padre más allá de la muerte, y para llevarle a mi madre su respuesta (…) He aquí un loco sin Dios persiguiendo al loco de Dios hasta el fin del mundo”, escribe.
“Fue el primer papa en muchas cosas”, dice en este diálogo. “El primer papa latinoamericano, el primer papa jesuita, y también el primer papa llamado, increíblemente, Francisco. Esa decisión dice mucho de él. Francisco por Francisco de Asís, quien se llamaba a sí mismo ‘el loco de Dios’. Y también estoy yo, como narrador: el loco sin Dios, como tantos otros”, explica.
Javier Cercas estaba en su casa cuando se enteró de la muerte de Francisco. “Me cayó un alud de periodistas”, cuenta. Todos querían tener su opinión. En algún punto se lo imaginaba: “Era un hombre con una salud muy frágil y desde hacía mucho tiempo. Él tenía un trozo de pulmón cortado, de muy joven, por eso no pudo ser lo que él quería ser, que era misionero. Era un hombre mayor. En algún momento tenía que ocurrir”.
“Aunque no fue un sorpresa, lo lamenté. Lo sentí como una pérdida”, reconoce. “Este libro me ha cambiado todo: mi forma de ver la Iglesia, el cristianismo, el mundo, de verme a mí mismo”.
Para el autor de libros como Anatomía de un instante y El impostor, el hombre que lloró tanta gente en los últimos días en realidad son dos: “Uno es el Bergoglio persona, luego está el papa. Son dos cosas distintas. Se entrecruzan, pero son distintas. La impresión que yo tuve es que era un tipo normal, un hombre de carne y hueso. Al principio pensabas: joder, este tío es el papa. Pero después se te olvidaba”.
“Si tengo que definirlo —arriesga el escritor— diría que es un hombre en lucha consigo mismo. Nada que ver con la imagen plana y unidimensional que daban los medios de comunicación. Un hombre muy consciente de sus propios defectos y flaquezas que luchó a muerte para vencerlas y ser el mejor que podía ser”.
Cercas recuerda cuando lo nombran papa a Bergoglio en la Capilla Sixtina. Sus palabras fueron: “Sí, acepto, pero soy un pecador”. “Me permito corregirle: debería haber dicho: ‘sí, porque soy un pecador’. La iglesia no es el lugar de los ricos y los triunfadores, es el lugar de los desgraciados. Cristo no elige papa a Superman, lo elige a Pedro, que lo traicionó tres veces en una tarde noche. Casi de récord mundial”.
“Este papa fue criticado en todas partes. Tuvo una gran oposición”, dice Cercas y señala un gran ejemplo: “En Roma, desde el principio de su papado, también desde España, habían sacerdotes se reunían para rezar para que se muriese”.
¿Fue un papa revolucionario? Cercas matiza la respuesta: “Si por revolución entendemos que este hombre cambió la doctrina cristiana, es falso: este hombre no cambió nada. Pero si entendemos por revolución otras cosas, la cosa cambia”.
“Este papa es el primero en ser hijo del Concilio Vaticano II, que propone una gran revolución: volver al cristianismo primitivo, la iglesia de los pobres. Cristo era un tipo peligroso. Lo crucificaron porque decía cosas peligrosísimas. Era subversivo”, agrega.
“Si tengo que resumir su papado, ha sido un intentado de regresar al cristianismo primitivo, a la iglesia de Cristo”, concluyó el autor español.
[Fotos: Maximiliano Luna]
INTERNACIONAL
Marchas en todo el mundo por el Día del Trabajador, entre el miedo y la furia por la guerra comercial de Donald Trump
Preocupación por los aranceles de Donald Trump
Reclamos de derechos laborales y fin de la guerra comercial, en la marcha por el Día del Trabajador en Vigo, España. Foto: EFE
La marcha por el Día del Trabajador en Amsterdam, Países Bajos. Foto: EFE
Por un error se supo cuando correrá Franco Colapinto en Alpine
Trump DHS slams more ‘sob story’ reporting after Tren de Aragua gang members send SOS signal
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POLITICA1 día agoPolémica con Santiago Caputo luego de que le tomara una foto a la credencial de un reportero gráfico
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POLITICA2 días agoJavier Milei escala sus embestidas contra la prensa: “La gente no odia lo suficiente a los periodistas”
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INTERNACIONAL3 días agoApagón en España: Pedro Sánchez afirmó que «no vamos a descartar ninguna hipótesis» y la Justicia investiga si fue un sabotaje