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Nashville public school excuses Muslim students for daily prayer time during Ramadan

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A Nashville public school allows Muslim students to leave class to pray in a reserved space on campus during the school day, offering the accommodation daily during Ramadan and once a month during the rest of the year, according to local reports.

According to a report published Tuesday in the Nashville Banner, John Overton High School in South Nashville also supports Muslim students during Ramadan by offering food-free classrooms during lunch for students who are fasting.

In the afternoon, students who signed up received electronic hall passes allowing them to leave class for 15 minutes to pray in a reserved space on campus. More than 80 students signed up, according to the Banner.

Ten teachers also volunteered to make their classrooms a food-free space for Muslim students during the lunch hour during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk.

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Al-Nadir Muhammad, a member of the school’s support staff, oversees the student prayer period and is responsible for assuring students are following the rules. He also offers support to Muslim students on campus, the Banner reported.

The report noted how students met in a foyer, laid paper towels down for makeshift prayer mats and put a divider between girls and boys before one student led a prayer and recited verses from the Quran.

The outlet previously reported that outside of the month of Ramadan, Muslim students are permitted to leave class to pray on campus once a month.

Muslim teacher Revas Barwari told the Banner the school’s treatment of Muslim students was a stark contrast to her own experience growing up in Nashville public schools, where she felt she had to hide that she was fasting.

“What school do you know that actually changes their whole bell schedule to work around students being able to go pray?,” she told the outlet. “I don’t think the kids really even understand how important that is or see that like, ‘Wow, my school’s doing this for me.’”

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The report noted that the school has worked to refine the prayer system after students and staff suggested to the administration several years ago that they provide a daily time and space for prayer.

The American Muslim Advisory Council also reportedly sent a letter to Metro Nashville Public Schools asking educators to support Muslim students during Ramadan by giving students a reserved space for lunch and to skip heavy physical activities during the fasting period.

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“It is a Muslim’s right to fast and receive reasonable accommodations at school or work,” the letter stated, according to the report.

The U.S. Department of Education says public schools must permit constitutionally protected student prayer and religious expression, including private prayer during the school day, but may not sponsor, organize, coerce or favor religious activity.

In February, the agency released guidance on prayer in public schools, saying schools should allow members of the school community to “act and speak according to their faith” as long as others’ rights are respected, the school itself is not engaging in religion, and the school does not favor one faith over another.

John Overton High School Principal Kelby Garner did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Trump greeted at UFC 327 in first sporting event appearance since start of Iran war

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President Donald Trump was greeted by a packed crowd at UFC 327 in Miami Saturday night during the president’s first appearance at a sporting event since the start of the Iran war. Fans in attendance erupted into raucous applause as Trump walked into the venue. 

Trump made his way out with UFC CEO and president Dana White and went around to the announcers and had an exchange with Joe Rogan, who was sitting at the announcers’ table. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was standing nearby the seats right before Trump walked out, then leaned in to Trump and started whispering very closely to the president, cupping his hands over his mouth and they each exchanged a few words. Trump then turned around, pumping his fist to those sitting behind him, smiling and waving, then pointed a few times to the crowd. 

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Trump has been a frequent fixture at UFC and other combat sports events during his presidency, during his 2024 campaign and even dating back to his first term.

In 2025, Trump attended UFC 316 and Miami fight night. In 2024, he attended UFC 302 in June and UFC 309 in November.

In 2019, he attended UFC 244.

Before Saturday, the last major sporting event Trump attended was the College Football Playoff national championship game between Indiana and Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19.

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Trump was notably absent from this year’s Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Italy and didn’t attend any other events after the Iran war broke out.

But after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, Trump has returned to sport. Trump addressed the ongoing situation with Iran at the White House before departing for Joint Base Andrews to travel to Miami for the UFC event.

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump told reporters. “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the fake news or not.”

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Heather Graham says classmates dismissed her as ‘nerdy’ before Hollywood breakthrough proved them wrong

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Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.

The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.

“I was nerdy. … You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson.” 

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“So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’

“[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”

Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.

“It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”

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Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”

She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”

Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.

Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.

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The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.

Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they’re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox … and a bunch of lasery things.”

“Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”

The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”

“I feel like some people get facelifts and they just kind of end up looking like … I mean, there are people that get it, and it’s good. But I just don’t want to be one of those people that got it and look freaky,” she said. “But I don’t know if [when] I got older, I wouldn’t completely rule out. Who knows, in the future.”

Graham also tries to maintain a balanced diet and get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. She said she uses yoga as a way to stay in shape and manage stress, calling it “so cathartic.”

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Seven-foot statue unveiled honoring Magawa, award-winning rat who found more than 100 landmines in Cambodia

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A landmine-sniffing rat who won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a massive stone statue.

Magawa, a rat who gained fame in the country for sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square feet) in his five-year career — more than any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and died at age 8 in 2022.

The African giant pouched rat was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO to use his keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.

In Cambodia, more than 1 million people live and work in areas dotted with landmines, according to BBC News.

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In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, which recognizes heroism in animals.

He was the first rat in the organization’s history going back to 1943 to win the award.

Magawa was able to walk over areas with land mines safely because of his light weight and would alert his handlers to a mine by scratching the surface, according to Smithsonian magazine. He would then receive a treat.

“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in 2022, while announcing his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing life or limb.”

Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.

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APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia.”

The statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, just in time for International Day for Mine Awareness April 4.

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