BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana has become the first state to require the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom under a bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Wednesday.

The GOP-drafted legislation mandates that a poster- size display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” be required in all public classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities.

Opponents question the law’s constitutionality, warning that lawsuits are likely to follow.

Proponents say the purpose of the measure is not solely religious, but that it has historical significance.

In the law’s language, the Ten Commandments are described as “foundational documents of our state and national government.”

The displays, which will be paired with a four-paragraph “context statement” describing how the Ten Commandments “were a prominent part of American public education for almost three centuries,” must be in place in classrooms by the start of 2025.

The posters would be paid for through donations.

State funds will not be used to implement the mandate, based on language in the legislation.

The law also “authorizes” — but does not require — the display of the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance in K-12 public schools.

Not long after the governor signed the bill into law, civil rights groups and organizations that want to keep religion out of government promised to file a lawsuit challenging it.

The law prevents students from getting an equal education and will keep children who have different beliefs from feeling safe at school, the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation said in a joint statement Wednesday.

Similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other states, including Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. However, with threats of legal battles over the constitutionality of such measures, no state besides Louisiana has had success in making the bills law.

Season’s first named storm: Tropical Storm Alberto formed Wednesday in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the first named storm of what is forecast to be a busy hurricane season.

Alberto, which is bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall and some flooding along the coasts of Texas and Mexico, is expected to make landfall Thursday in northern Mexico.

Winds could get up to 50 mph, said Michael Brennan, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

New Mexico wildfires: Thousands of southern New Mexico residents fled a mountainous village as a wind-whipped wildfire tore through homes and other buildings, and killed at least one person. Officials warned the danger isn’t over.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency that covers Ruidoso and neighboring tribal lands and deployed National Guard troops to the area.

A top-level fire management team is expected to take over Wednesday, and winds will continue to challenge crews, officials said.

The governor’s office confirmed the fatality but said it had no other details.

More than 500 structures have been destroyed or damaged, but it’s unclear how many were homes.

A flyover to provide more accurate mapping and a better assessment of damage was planned Tuesday night, Lujan Grisham said.

Houthi rebel attack: A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said Wednesday. It was the second ship sunk in the rebels’ campaign targeting Red Sea shipping.

The sinking of the Tutor marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of attacks on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The attack comes despite a monthslong U.S.-led campaign in the region that has seen the Navy face its most intense maritime fighting since World War II, with near-daily attacks targeting commercial and military vessels.

The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned-and-operated Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning to sailors in the region.

The Tutor came under attack about a week ago by a bomb-carrying Houthi drone boat in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have launched more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and fired off other missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed a total of four sailors.

Texas pastor resigns: Robert Morris, the founder of a Texas megachurch and a faith adviser to the Trump White House, has resigned from his job as its senior pastor, the church said Tuesday, days after he was accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1980s.

The Board of Elders of Gateway Church, based in Dallas, said in a statement it had accepted Morris’ resignation.

The board said it had hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the abuse allegations made public last week by a woman who is now 54.

The statement did not say if any related charges had been filed against Morris, whose church says it has more than 100,000 attendees.

The accusation was reported last week by The Wartburg Watch, a Christian watchdog publication. The website said that Morris had sexually abused a girl, beginning when she was 12 years old.

Stonehenge protest: Two climate protesters who sprayed orange paint on the ancient Stonehenge monument in southern England were arrested Wednesday after bystanders appeared to intervene and stop them.

The latest act by Just Stop Oil was condemned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a “disgraceful act of vandalism.”

The incident came a day before thousands are expected to gather at the roughly 4,500-year-old stone circle to celebrate the summer solstice — the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

English Heritage, which manages the site, said curators were investigating the damage.

Just Stop Oil said the paint was made of cornstarch and would dissolve in the rain. Just Stop Oil is one of many environmental groups around Europe that have received attention — and blowback — for disrupting sporting events, splashing paint and food on famous works of art, and interrupting traffic to draw attention to global warming.

The protesters were identified as Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21.