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Jeffrey Fleishman | (TNS) Los Angeles Times The national furor in recent years around banning books on race and gender in public schools is intensifying as President-elect Donald Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education, emboldening conservatives to end “wokeness” in classrooms. Battles over books in school libraries have become emblematic of the country’s larger culture wars over race, historical revisionism and gender identity. A new report by PEN America found book bans increased by nearly 200% during the 2023-24 school year, including titles on sexuality, substance abuse, depression and other issues students face in an age of accelerating technologies, climate change, toxic politics and fears about the future. Book censorship has shaken and divided school boards, pitted parents against parents, and led to threats against teachers and librarians . It is part of an agenda driven by conservative parental rights groups and politicians who promote charter schools and voucher systems that could weaken public education. The issue goes to the heart not only of what students are taught but how federal and state education policies will affect the nation’s politics after one of the most consequential elections in its history. “It’s not just about taking a book off a shelf,” said Tasslyn Magnusson, an author and teacher from Wisconsin who tracks book censorship across the U.S. “It’s about power and who controls public education. It’s about what kind of America we were and are. We’re trying to define what family is and what America means. That comes down to the stories we tell.” She said she feared Trump’s return to the White House would further incite those calling for book bans: “I don’t have lots of hope. It could get a lot worse.” Over the last year, PEN counted more than 10,000 book bans nationwide that targeted 4,231 unique titles. Most were books dealing with gender, sexuality, race and LGBTQ+ storylines. The most banned title was Jodi Picoult’s “Nineteen Minutes,” about a school shooting that included a short description of date rape. Florida and Iowa — both of which have strict regulations on what students can read — accounted for more than 8,200 bans in the 2023-24 school year. “This crisis is tragic for young people hungry to understand the world they live in and see their identities and experiences reflected in books,” Kasey Meehan, director of PEN’s Freedom to Read Program, said in a statement. “What students can read in schools provides the foundation for their lives.” Trump’s calls to close the Department of Education would need congressional approval, which appears unlikely. Although public schools are largely funded and governed by state and local institutions, the department helps pay to educate students with disabilities, provides about $18 billion in grants for K-12 schools in poor communities and oversees a civil rights branch to protect students from discrimination. But Trump’s election has inspired conservative parental groups, including Moms For Liberty and Parents Defending Education, to strengthen efforts to limit what they see as a liberal conspiracy to indoctrinate children with books and teachings that are perverse, amoral and pornographic. Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, has criticized schools that she says spend too much time on diversity and inclusion when only about one-third of U.S. children are reading at grade level: “We’re talking about public school libraries and content for kids,” Justice told NewsNation after Trump’s victory. “I think it’s very clear that there are certain things that are appropriate for kids, certain things that are appropriate for adults. We’re just getting back to commonsense America.” Trump’s threat to deny federal funding to schools that acknowledge transgender identities could affect curricula and the kinds of books school libraries stock. During his rally at Madison Square Garden in October, Trump — who has has accused schools of promoting sex change operations — said his administration would get “transgender insanity the hell out of our schools.” Vice President-elect JD Vance has accused Democrats of wanting to “put sexually explicit books in toddlers’ libraries.” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told Newsmax that she was excited about Trump’s calls to remake education and “clean up a lot of the mess” he has inherited from the Biden administration. Trump “has centered parental rights back in his platform, which is incredible. He has prioritized knowledge and skill, not identity politics,” she said. “American children deserve better, and it is time for change.” In nominating Linda McMahon to be his secretary of Education, Trump appears to be pushing for more conservative parental control over what is taught and read in classrooms. A former professional wrestling executive, McMahon chairs the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-connected organization that has criticized schools for teaching “racially divisive” theories, notably about slavery and a perspective about the nation’s founding it views as anti-American. “Today’s contentious debates over using classrooms for political activism rather than teaching a complete and accurate account of American history have reinvigorated calls for greater parental and citizen involvement in the curriculum approval process,” the institute’s website says. Culturally divisive issues, including race and LGBTQ+ themes, cost school districts an estimated $3.2 billion during the 2023-24 school year, according to a recent study called “The Costs of Conflict.” The survey — published by the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at UCLA — found that battles over books and teaching about sexuality and other topics led to increased expenses for legal fees, replacing administrators and teachers who quit, and security, including off-duty plainclothes police officers. “Are we really going to spend our tax dollars on these kinds of things?” asked Magnusson. “After Trump was elected, I saw a bunch of middle-class white ladies like me who were saying, ‘This isn’t America.’ But maybe it is America.” One school superintendent in a Western state told the study’s researchers that his staff was often consumed with correcting misinformation and fulfilling public record requests mainly from hard-line parental rights activists attempting to exploit cultural war issues to discredit the district. “Our staff are spending enormous amounts of time just doing stupid stuff,” the superintendent said. “The fiscal costs to the district are enormous, but [so are] the cultural costs of not standing up to the extremists. If someone doesn’t, then the students and employees lose. ... It’s the worst it’s ever been.” The survey found that 29% of 467 school superintendents interviewed reported that teachers and other staff quit their profession or left their districts “due to culturally divisive conflict.” Censoring books in school libraries grew out of opposition to COVID-19 restrictions. A number of conservative parental groups, including Moms for Liberty, which invited Trump to speak at its national convention in August, turned their attention to lobbying against “liberal indoctrination.” Their protests against what they criticized as progressive teaching on sexuality and race were focused on increasing conservative parental control over a public education system that was struggling at teaching children reading and math. That strategy has led to a national, right-wing effort that is “redefining government power to restrict access to information in our schools,” said Stephana Ferrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. “This movement to protect the innocence of our children believes if children never read it in a book they won’t have to know about it and can go on to lead harmonious lives. But books teach us cautionary tales. They instruct us. You can’t protect innocence through ignorance.” School districts across the country have removed “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson, which are about gender identity and include graphic depictions of sex, along with titles by renowned writers such as Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, Maya Angelou and Flannery O’Connor. Related Articles National Politics | Trump promised mass deportations. Educators worry fear will keep immigrants’ kids from school National Politics | Trump team says Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal brokered by Biden is actually Trump’s win National Politics | How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff National Politics | Rudy Giuliani in a courtroom outburst accuses judge in assets case of being unfair, drawing a rebuke Surveys show that most Americans do not favor censorship. The Florida Freedom to Read Project and similar organizations around the country have called for thorough public reviews of challenged books to prevent one scene or passage from being taken out of context. Moderate and liberal parents groups over the last two years have also become more active in school board politics. They have supported school board candidates who have defeated those backed by Moms for Liberty in Texas, Florida and other states. “People say the pendulum will swing back,” said Ferrell. But, she said, conservatives want to “stop the pendulum from swinging back.” Picoult is accustomed to conservatives attempting to censor her. Her books have been banned in schools in more than 30 states. Published in 2007, “Nineteen Minutes” explores the lives of characters, including a girl who was raped, in a town leading up to a school shooting and its aftermath. “Having the most banned book in the country is not a badge of honor. It’s a call for alarm,” said Picoult, whose books have sold more than 40 million copies. “My book, and the 10,000 others that have been pulled off school library shelves this year, give kids a tool to deal with an increasingly divided and difficult world. These book banners aren’t helping children. They are harming them.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The partnership between Gaode Maps, one of China's leading mapping and navigation services, and Lenovo Baiyin, a prominent provider of computer solutions, aims to streamline the process of obtaining technical support and assistance for computer-related issues. Through the integration of Gaode Maps' extensive network and Lenovo Baiyin's expertise in computer services, users can now easily access one-click professional computer services with just a few taps on their smartphones.The intricate details of the skin are a testament to the artist's meticulous attention to detail, as every component of the armor is meticulously crafted to reflect the essence of both Genji and Iron Man. From the glowing repulsors on Genji's hands to the intricate circuitry patterns on his visor, every aspect of the design is a tribute to the rich lore and visual aesthetics of both franchises.
Hold the Manishevitz. This is not your bubbe’s Shabbat. Gen Z and Millennial New Yorkers are eschewing the traditional Friday night Jewish dinners for buzzy Shabbat-themed parties at trendy bars and restaurants with DJs, chef-driven food, free-flowing booze and dancing into the wee hours. “If you want a traditional Shabbat dinner that’s great, there are a million synagogues who can do that,” said Rabbi Igael Gurin Malous, who goes by “Rabbi Iggy” and is the official holy man for Hot & Shabbat, a recurring party held at a different venue several times a year. “But if you want something else, you now have that too. This is what Judaism is about, the constant reinvention of ourselves and finding out who we are,” Hot & Shabbat’s mid-20s-something founder, Liv Schreiber, said she wanted to find a way to show young people the “love and light” of the holy day— on their own terms Last Friday, she hosted about 300 cocktail attire-clad young professionals at Mesiba, a Williamsburg Mediterranean restaurant. Some in attendance weren’t even Jewish. “It’s about uniting people,” Schreiber told The Post. “We, as Jews, have only survived because we have allies. We will only continue to survive because we have people to support us.” Showgirls and a magician greeted attendees. Rabbi Iggy kicked off the night with a meditation to encourage people to leave the work week behind and welcome the weekend. There was an open bar, shots, a DJ and a buffet dinner of Israeli fare. Tickets for such events are $89 and, according to Schreiber, sell out in five to 10 minutes. Edoardo Comazzi, 26, who lives in Hudson Yards and works as an interior designer, wasn’t sure exactly what he’d purchased a ticket for, but he was enjoying himself. “I am not Jewish. Actually, it’s the first time I’ve heard about the term Shabbat, so I don’t even know what it means,” he told The Post. A group called Jew.York.City that collects information about Jewish events happening across the city, listed almost 20 different Shabbat dinners and parties for last Friday night. Hot Girls Do Shabbat — a women-only dinner that leads into a co-ed dance party — was having a shindig at members club Maxwell Social in Tribeca. Hot and Holy was throwing an open-bar bash at the Public Hotel in Nolita that went until 4 am. “I think it’s a mix of Jewish people wanting community after October 7 and the boom of IRL events as a whole,” said Morgan Raum, a 27-year-old who works in tech and started her own event series, Shabbat Club, in October 2023. “There are so many Shabbat groups now, and the best part of it is that sometimes we will all be hosting on the same Friday and none of us have problems filling the room.” “There are so many competing events,” added Jessica Brown, a 34-year-old who works for a non-profit and lives on the Upper East Side. “None of them are in shuls or even run by organizations. They are like social clubs.” Last Friday, Brown opted to go to Gertie, a modern diner in Williamsburg that launched a Shabbat supper club in June. Guest chefs whip up a three-course dinner for $75. Guests were blown away by the food and drink offerings — which included Moroccan apricot chicken tagine, Malagasy vegetable salad, a turmeric negroni and a roasted honey-and-pickle brine margarita. “Normally when I think of shabbat I think of Manischewitz and I don’t think about the food. But this is exciting,” said a 33-year-old entrepreneur from Boreum Hill who attended the dinner alone and declined to give his name. “Who doesn’t want interesting cocktails and good wine at Shabbat or really any meal?” Not everyone, apparently. Raum said she’s gotten “so much hate” for her group’s Shabbat-ish events, which have included bottomless schnitzel dinners, wine bar meetups and blind date parties. Sometimes they’re on the traditional Friday night, but other times they’re not. On TikTok, commenters have criticized her for holding events where phones are used, as electronics are traditionally not allowed to be used on he Jewish sabbath. “They make me so mad,” she said. “I’m catering to a non-religious crowd, and people who are religious or have a problem with it have places they can go and feel included and do their thing.” She continued, “I am very happy for them that they have those spaces, and I am happy people have mine.”Joe Burrow’s home broken into during Monday Night Football in latest pro-athlete home invasion
The advent of the NCAA transfer portal has made it so college football players can change schools on an annual basis, and many do. That makes it so when one decides to stick with the school he joined out of high school it’s quite notable, especially when that player is a captain and defensive standout. is reporting that defensive back has withdrawn from the portal and will return to Arizona for the 2025 season, his sixth with the Wildcats. He joined the program during the COVID-shortened 2020 season as a walk-on and becomes the third UA player to remove their names from the portal to come back to Tucson for a final year. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound Stukes has appeared in 42 games for Arizona and started 28, including 15 in a row before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Big 12 opener at Utah in September. Stukes was one of three defensive captains for the UA who needed surgery after getting knocked out for the year this fall, though the other two—linebacker and safety —opted to transfer to Washington and Kansas State, respectively. Stukes has 154 tackles for his career, along with three interceptions. This past season he served as Arizona’s nickel corner, known as the Star, and has started at both regular cornerback positions and played safety at times. His return, along with those of safeties and after they also withdrew from the portal, will be a huge boost for a UA defense that was decimated by injuries in 2024. Arizona has also added three defensive backs from the portal and returns part-time starters and , while full-time starting corner remains in the portal.In the midst of the autumn and winter seasons, when the air turns crisp and the leaves fall gracefully from the trees, many individuals find themselves drawn to the idea of bringing a touch of nature indoors. For some, this means purchasing fresh cut branches to adorn their living spaces, while for others, it may entail investing in a trendy color-changing houseplant. However, recent experiences have left many questioning the true value of these choices, as a high price tag and disappointing results have led some to wonder if they have fallen victim to a so-called "tax on intelligence."
Bengals optimistic heading into new month, meeting vs. SteelersIn the midst of the turmoil and uncertainty, moments of joy and triumph such as this one serve as beacons of hope and inspiration. The resilience and determination of the Syrian people, as demonstrated by the man in the video, remind us of the enduring human spirit that perseveres in the face of unimaginable adversity.