Delphine Arnault, the

Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and North Carolina are among the states with versions of Alabama’s existing “Don’t Say Gay” law,, which already prohibits formal class discussion about gender and sexuality that is not “age appropriate” for students below the fifth grade. The proposed law would extend that ban to all grade levels.

was rolled back in a legal settlement last year between civil rights groups and the state education department.Also on Thursday, the Alabama Senate also advanced legislation that would put a politically appointed board in control of thelast year after some lawmakers became upset about the department hosting a 2023 lecture on LGBTQ+ history.

Republican Sen. Chris Elliott, the sponsor of the bill, on Thursday praised the work of the department, but said the change is needed to ensure there is “accountability of the board back to elected officials.”At a recent rally outside of the statehouse, Chuck Poole, who was a Baptist pastor for 45 years across Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, said he feels the recent slate of religious bills in Alabama are part of a broader push to promote Christian nationalism across the country.

“I think it’s rooted in fear, and it’s a fear that America is changing and we are losing power and control,” Poole said.

Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed reporting from Montgomery, Alabama.WASHINGTON (AP) — An information technology specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency was charged Thursday with attempting to transmit classified information to a representative of a foreign government, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors say Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested at a location where he had arranged to deposit sensitive records to a person he thought was an official of a foreign government, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. The identity of the country Laatsch thought he was in communication with was not disclosed, but the Justice Department described it as a friendly, or allied, nation.It was not immediately clear if Laatsch, who was set to make a court appearance Friday, had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The Justice Department said its investigation into Laatsch began in March after officials received a tip that he had offered to provide classified information to another nation. Laatsch wrote in his email that he “did not agree or align with the values of this administration” and was willing to transmit sensitive materials, including intelligence documents, to which he had access, prosecutors said.An undercover agent got in touch with Laatsch, who began transcribing classified information to a notepad and made plans to drop off information that the foreign government representative could pick up in a park.