内容摘要：, a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China that shopping sites have taken advantage of for years. This week’s deal between the U.S. and China

, a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China that shopping sites have taken advantage of for years. This week’s deal between the U.S. and China

But in past weeks, the bills have drawn vocal protest from religious leaders around the state who believe the slate of religious legislation will violate the First Amendment and create a hostile environment for religious minorities in Alabama public schools.Steve Silberman, a rabbi who has worked at a synagogue in Mobile for 35 years, testified at a March committee hearing that he is concerned the Ten Commandments bill “unfairly sidelines Alabamians who may have diverse views of religious traditions.”

On Thursday, many legislators came forward in support of the bill.“If you look around our nation, if you look around the world, we see so much of our Western civilization crumbling because we have forsaken the roots and foundations upon which we were built,” Republican Rep. Ernie Yarbrough said.On the same day, representatives also swiftly passed two separate bills that would ban drag performances at public schools and libraries without parental consent, and ban teachers from displaying pride flags or facilitating formal discussion on LGBTQ+ issues.

Rep. Neil Rafferty, Alabama’s only openly gay legislator, testified against the bill.“When we ban their identities from the classroom, we are telling them that the best they can hope for is silence,” Rafferty said.

He added, “I won’t help silence them, because I’ve been there, because I know what that silence feels like.”

Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina are among the states with versions of Alabama’s existing “Don’t Say Gay” law,Matt Metzger, a Marine Corps combat veteran, harvests and places Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms into a dehydrator to prepare for microdosing Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Matt Metzger, a Marine Corps combat veteran, harvests and places Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms into a dehydrator to prepare for microdosing Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)One small study suggests any psychological benefits come from users’ expectations — the placebo effect. But the science is still new and research is ongoing.

The substances are illegal in most places, but the wave of scientific research focused on the benefits of supervised hallucinatory experiences has spurredto legalize psychedelic therapy. Further opening the door to microdosing, a handful of cities have officially directed police to make psychedelics a low priority for enforcement.