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L.A. schools remove donated Korans

Los Angeles - School board officials in Los Angeles have pulled nearly 300 translations of the Koran from school libraries after discovering that commentary in the books was derogatory toward Jews. Copies of "The Meaning of the Holy Koran" were donated by a local Muslim foundation to promote religious understanding after Sept. 11. The books are a 1934 translation of the Muslim holy text, and describe Jews as "illiterate" and "men without faith." School officials said they would form a committee, made up of history teachers and local Jewish and Muslim leaders, to review the books.

Chattanooga, Tenn. - A judge last week ordered a halt to public school Bible-study classes in the same Tennessee county where the landmark Scopes "monkey trial" favored the teaching of biblical creationism over evolution 77 years ago. US District Judge Allan Edgar ruled that the weekly classes for students in grades K-5 in three Rhea County public schools amounted to "proselytizing," and violated the US Constitution's separation of church and state.

Washington - President Bush, seeking to bridge the political gap with minorities, said he would keep his promise to deliver big funding increases to black and Hispanic colleges "even in a time of recession and war." His spending plan includes more than $350 million, an increase of more than $12 million over current levels, by 2005. Recently, Bush has come under fire from Democrats, including many prominent black lawmakers, for proposing deep cuts in domestic programs in order to fund more tax cuts and the military.

Washington - Minorities are walking away from business schools in droves, says a recent study. In 1998, only 21 percent of blacks earning bachelors degrees majored in business compared with 26 percent in 1989, according to the Diversity Pipeline Alliance in Washington. The figures for Hispanics and American Indians declined from 23 percent in 1989 to 19 percent in 1998.