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☆ ‘Should have been done yesterday’: Rural, older Americans could get hurt as affordable internet program runs out of cash
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Brian Fung | Jason Carroll | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

But in just a few weeks, her internet bills, and those of other Americans like her, could skyrocket by hundreds of dollars a year. The program is heavily used by Americans over age 50, military veterans and low-income working families nationwide, according to FCC data. Amira Karaoud/Reuters/FileRural and older usersThe ACP has quickly gained adoption since Congress created the program in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. Large swaths of the ACP’s user base trend older; Americans over 65 account for almost 20% of the program. The FCC’s Lifeline program, which dates to the Reagan administration, similarly gives low-income households a monthly discount on phone or internet service.

Persons: Cindy Westman, —, I’ll, ”, Westman, ’, Westman —, Gigi Sohn, “, Biden, Allison Bailey /, Cynthia George, George, ” George, Marc Veasey, They’re, Geoffrey Starks, “ It’s, ” Starks, Amira Karaoud, Walter Durham, I’m, ” Durham, Michelle McDonough, McDonough, she’ll, doesn’t, “ I’m, ” McDonough, Kamesha Scott, Louis, Megan Janicki, ” Janicki, Reagan, Mike Johnson, Blair Levin, Johnson didn’t, Levin, Jonathan Blaine, ” Blaine, they’re Organizations: CNN, Program, Social, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Capitol, Getty, MSN, White, ” Texas Democratic, “, Comcast, ACP, Navy, American Library Association, Lifeline, Republicans, Republican, New, Research, ” Bills Locations: Eureka , Illinois, America, Dallas, Las Vegas, Kentucky, San Diego, United States, Maine, St, Vermont

☆ ACP, a digital lifeline for millions of Americans, is in jeopardy. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Cynthia George is one of millions of Americans in jeopardy of losing their home internet access. Yet Congress is nowhere close to approving the $6 billion that President Joe Biden says would renew the ACP and avert calamity for tens of millions of Americans. Courtesy Michelle McDonoughLike George, McDonough also expects she’ll have to cut back on groceries if the ACP goes away. The FCC’s Lifeline program, which dates to the Reagan administration, similarly gives low-income households a monthly discount on phone or internet service. “You’re taking ACP away from the farmers that can check the local produce prices and be able to reasonably negotiate their prices with retailers.

Persons: Cynthia George, Cynthia George George, Joe Biden, Pedro Ugarte, ”, Gigi Sohn, “, George, ” George, Michelle McDonough, McDonough, she’ll, doesn’t, “ I’m, ” McDonough, Mandel Ngan, Gary Johnson, Paul, —, Kamesha Scott, Louis, Scott, Megan Janicki, ” Janicki, Reagan, Biden, ” Blair Levin, Bill Clark, Levin, Jonathan Blaine, ” Blaine, Blaine Organizations: Washington CNN, MSN, Federal Communications Commission, Program, Lawmakers, ACP, FCC, Getty, CNN, ”, White, Comcast, George, Congress, Paul Bunyan Communications, American Library Association, Lifeline, House Republicans, New, Research, Republican, ” Lawmakers Locations: Washington ,, AFP, United States, Maine, Washington , DC, Minnesota, St, “, Lake Havasu City, Ariz, Vermont

☆ Biden administration announces focus on ‘flooding the zone’ with life-saving overdose reversal medicine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration launched an initiative Wednesday that it describes as a nationwide call to increase training on and access to life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications, dubbed the Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose. Naloxone, sometimes sold under the brand name Narcan, is a medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Although the number of overdose deaths in the US has held steady recently, the nation has many more than other high-income countries, research shows. Almost half of adults in the US say they personally know at least one person who died from a drug overdose, according to a survey released this year. Drug overdose deaths reached a significant high in 2022 with more than 109,000, according to provisional data from the CDC, and fentanyl had been a significant factor contributing to the rise.

Persons: CNN —, Neera Tanden, Biden, Tanden, naloxone, ” Tanden, ” Ryan, Brian Murray, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Biden, US Food and Drug Administration, White, “, Ryan Companies, American Library Association, Southwest Airlines, Los Angeles Unified School District, CNN Health, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC

☆ Robie Harris, Often-Banned Children’s Author, Is Dead at 83
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Adam Nossiter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Robie Harris, a children’s book author and former teacher whose writing about sexuality made her among the most banned authors in America, died on Jan. 6 in Manhattan. Her death, in a hospital, was confirmed by her sons David and Ben Harris. Ms. Harris’s most well-known book, “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, and Sexual Health” (1994), with its explicit illustrations, has been pulled from library shelves all over the country and has regularly made the American Library Association’s list of Frequently Challenged Children’s Books. The book has been fought over from Virginia to Idaho, with detractors calling it pornography and supporters saying it is merely a frank and honest guide to sexuality for children and teenagers. It is geared for children 10 and up.

Persons: Robie Harris, David, Ben Harris, Ms, Harris’s, “ Organizations: American Locations: America, Manhattan, Virginia, Idaho

NEW YORK (AP) — Lorrie Moore, Naomi Klein and the Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji are among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle awards. Honorary prizes are going to Judy Blume and to a longtime ally of Blume's in the fight against book bans, the American Library Association. On Thursday, the critics circle announced nominees in seven competitive categories, ranging from fiction to debut book to best translation. The other fiction nominees are Justin Torres' “Blackouts,” winner of the National Book Award last fall; Teju Cole's “Tremor,” Daniel Mason's “North Woods”; and Marie NDiaye's “Vengeance Is Mine,” translated from the French by Jordan Stump. The book critics circle, founded in 1974, consists of hundreds of reviewers and editors from around the country.

Persons: — Lorrie Moore, Naomi Klein, Ahmed Naji, Judy Blume, Blume's, Moore, “, Justin Torres, ” Daniel Mason's “, Marie NDiaye's, Jordan Stump, Grace E, Tina Post's, ” Nicholas Dames, ”, Myriam Gurba's, Naji, Katharine Halls, Matthew Zapruder's “, ” Susan Kiyo Ito's, David Mas, Patricia Wakida, Jonathan Coe's Martin Luther King, Gregg Hecimovich, Hannah Crafts, Anna, Rachel Shteir's, Betty Friedan, Jonny Steinberg's, Winnie, Nelson, Saskia Hamilton's “, ” Kim Hyesoon's, ” Romeo Oriogun's, Robyn Schiff's, Kareem Abdulrahman, Natascha Bruce, Dorothy Tse's ”, Don Mee, Kim Hyesoon's, ” Todd, ” Maureen Freely’s, Tiffany, Indonesian Norman Erikson Pasaribu's, John Leonard, Ariana Benson's, ” Emilie Boone's, ” Victor Heringer's “, ” Tahir Hamut Izgil's, Donovan X, Martin J, Siegel's, Blume, Becca Rothfield, Marion Winik Organizations: American Library Association, Rotten, PEN America, U.S, Washington Locations: Egypt, Indonesian

NEW YORK (AP) — Dave Eggers is now an award-winning children’s author. Eggers’ “The Eyes & the Impossible,” the great adventure of a very fast dog, has received the John Newbery Medal for the year’s best children’s book, an honor previously given to Beverly Cleary, Neil Gaiman and Lois Lowry among others. Last fall , “Big” was a National Book Award finalist. The awards were announced Monday by the American Library Association. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Persons: — Dave Eggers, Eggers ’, Newbery, Beverly Cleary, Neil Gaiman, Lois Lowry, Eggers, ”, Caldecott Organizations: American Library Association, Associated Press

She is one of this year's winners of an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, presented by the American Library Association. The fiction medal was awarded to Amanda Peters for her novel “The Berry Pickers,” a multi-generational story centered around the disappearance of a young Mi’kmaq girl from a blueberry field in Maine. “Amanda Peters’ stunning prose and evocative narrative enraptured us with the grief and longing of her characters. “I was 16 and sitting in the library and it changed the trajectory of my reading career," said Peters, who read the book at home. The Carnegie Medals were established in 2012 with the help of a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Persons: Roxanna Asgarian, ”, Andrew Carnegie, Roald Dahl's, Asgarian, Hart, Amanda Peters, “ Amanda Peters, Christina Wong’s, Daniel Innes ’, Jake Bittle’s “, Darrin Bell’s “, Peters, John Steinbeck's, “, ” Peters, ” Asgarian, Jennifer Egan, James McBride, Bryan Stevenson Organizations: —, Las Vegas, American Library Association, Carnegie, Dalhousie University, Acadia University, New York Public Library, History Research, Town, Carnegie Corporation of New Locations: Las, Dallas, America, Maine, San Diego, United States, Falmouth , Nova Scotia, Wolfville , Nova Scotia, New York City, New York, Carnegie Corporation of New York

☆ ‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. Crusade
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Nicholas Confessore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +44 min

‘America Is Under Attack’: Inside the Anti-D.E.I. “In support of ridding schools of C.R.T., the Right argues that we want nonpolitical education,” Mr. Klingenstein wrote in August 2021. In a 2023 exchange, Dr. Yenor and two associates discussed how to defend Amy Wax, a conservative law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Yenor and his allies bristled at the conventions of academic life as overly solicitous toward female and nonwhite students. Samuel Ginn, Claremont donor“The president then told him, ‘Things will change,’” a Claremont fund-raiser wrote to Dr. Yenor and other officials there.

Persons: “ wokeism ”, Chancellor Sharp, Sam Ginn, DeSantis, !, Searle, Scott Yenor's, Alabama Jeff Sessions, peter thiel, thiel, Dan Patrick, Patrick, Texas Long, Claudine Gay, Harvard’s, Trump, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Heather Mac Donald, ”, Scott Yenor, “, ” Scott Yenor, Claremont, Critics, George Floyd, Donald J, Trump’s, Thomas D, Thomas Klingentstein, ” Mr, Klingenstein, Yenor, Christopher Rufo, fromScott Yenor, Floyd, Mao Zedong’s, Ryan P, Williams, Jack Miller, Ryan Williams, Miller, zealots, Mao Zedong's, ” Claremont, Taube, tothe, Arthur N, Chris Ross, Dockweiler, Elizabeth Ailes, Roger Ailes, Daniel C, Searles, fromChris Ross Ryan, I'd, Dorian Abbot, Mr, Ross, Dr, Amy Wax, Wax, Wax’s, David Azerrad, . Azerrad, fromScott, Azerrad, —, ’, Mac Donald, Mac Donald1 —, fromDavid Azerrad Heather, that's, Thiel —, Thiel’s, bristled, Riffing, Bill Burr, hadn’t, Burr, George W, Bush, ” Tennessee’s, Susan Kaestner, Jeff Sessions, Samuel Ginn, Christopher B, Roberts, Roberts “, Ginn, ” Bowdoin, Thomas Klingenstein, Janet Mills, Mills, ‘, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kevin Stitt, he’d, fromThomas, Glenn, sputtered, retool, didn’t, Jim Banks, Banks’s, Banks, Gay, Elise Stefanik Organizations: MIT, Trust, Texas, Claremont, Republicans, Senate, The New York Times, Republican, Claremont Institute, Gov, D.E.I, New, Manhattan Institute, Maine Policy Institute, ”, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Equity, Jack Miller Family, Jack Miller Family Foundation America, Capitol, Freedom Trust, Rupe Foundation, Scaife, Fox News, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Hillsdale College, Boise State University, Boise, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Trump, Boise State, University of Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama, Auburn, Bowdoin College in, NAS, Bowdoin, Democratic, Mr, Maine Public Radio, American, Association, Maine Department of Education, Indiana Republican, Education, Harvard, New York Republican Locations: Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, Montana , Utah , Oklahoma , Texas, South Carolina , Florida, Louisiana, America, defund, Alabama, Tallahassee, Union, California, Florida, Maine , Tennessee, Idaho, New York, Florida , Louisiana, North Carolina , Oklahoma , Tennessee, Wisconsin, Darling, Dallas, Utah, C.R.T, United States, Hillsdale, Eau, India, Boise State, Boise, Manhattan, Canadian, Dixie, Maine —, Bowdoin College in Maine, Colonial America, ”, Maine’s, la, Portland, Northern Maine, Arkansas, Yenor, Indiana, Israel

PELLA, Iowa (AP) — Voters in a small Iowa city narrowly decided not to support giving their City Council more power over their local library. Just over half the voters in Pella rejected an advisory vote on whether the City Council should have more power over how the library spends its money and whether it pulls certain books from shelves, the Des Moines Register reported Wednesday. Opponents of the Pella measure persuaded voters that it's better to keep the library somewhat insulated from politics. Like in many Iowa communities, the City Council-appointed library board has control over spending, who to hire as director and whether to remove books that are challenged. A group of residents asked the library board in late 2021 to either remove “Gender Queer” or put it behind the checkout counter where kids can't get it.

Persons: Maia Kobabe’s, Donald Trump, ”, Anne McCullough Kelly, “ It’s, equitably Organizations: — Voters, Council, Des Moines Register, American Library Association, City Council Locations: PELLA , Iowa, Iowa, Pella, City

And for that, Suzette Baker was fired as a library director in a rural county in central Texas. She and two other librarians who were similarly fired have filed workplace discrimination claims with the U.S. Reached through the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the settlement requires her former employer to give librarians more say in decisions involving library programs. After her firing in 2022, Baker filed an EEOC claim against her employer, the Llano County Library System in Kingsland, Texas. Like Baker, Lesley had trouble finding work after being fired from the library system she directed in Gillette, Wyoming.

Persons: —, Suzette Baker, ”, Baker, Brooky Parks, Iris Halper, “, Terri Lesley, Halpern, Rathod Mohamedbhai, David Lopez, ” Baker, ” EEOC, Victor Chen, Lesley, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Robie Harris, Robert Pitman, Lesley's, ” Lesley Organizations: U.S, Commission, American Library Association, Erie Community Library, Colorado Civil Rights Division, High Plains Library District, University of Denver, Public, System, Rutgers University, “, American Terrorist, Sexual, ”, ” Texas U.S, District, Supreme Locations: Texas, Kingsland , Texas, Erie, Denver, Llano County, Campbell, Gillette , Wyoming, Tennessee, Kingsland, ” Texas, U.S, Llano

As a result, books like “Call Me Max” have been challenged or outright removed from schools and libraries in Florida, as well as other states — and though some believe book bans lead to more book sales, authors say the effect of those bans is devastating for their careers. These bans “overwhelmingly” target books about race and racism, as well as books with LGBTQ characters, PEN America said in its September study on school book bans. The MoveOn Banned Book Mobile stops for an event with local authors and teachers on October 1, 2023 in Decatur, Georgia. “(A book ban) would make news, and people would say, ‘I’ll buy this book just to show them,’” Lukoff said of the once-common result of book bans. Lukoff said his first high-profile bans occurred in early 2021, in Austin and Salt Lake City, when book bans first started to accelerate.

Persons: CNN —, Ron DeSantis, Max, ”, ‘, ” DeSantis, Max ”, Kyle Lukoff, Newbery, “ I’ve, —, ” Lukoff, “, ” Kyle Lukoff's, Marvin Joseph, Phil Bildner, ” “, Bildner, PEN America, Tasslyn Magnusson, Read, Derek White, Magnusson, ” Laurie Halse Anderson’s, George M, Deborah Caldwell, Stone, Angie Thomas, “ Maus, “ Maus ”, ” Magnusson, Lukoff, BookScan, Juno, Mike Curato’s “, John Green’s “, Samira Ahmed, Laura Gluckman, Armando L, Sanchez, Maus, ’ ” Lukoff, … that’s, they’re, she’s, haven’t, “ It’s, isn’t, Ahmed, ” Bildner, Caldwell, J.K, Rowling, Harper Lee, Art Spiegelman, ‘ Maus, ’ ”, Torrey Maldonado, ” Maldonado, who’ve, Eileen T, ’ ” Magnusson, ’, ” Ahmed, it’s, “ I’m, I’m, Maldonado, They’re Organizations: CNN, Florida Gov, Washington Post, PEN America, Liberty, Utah Parents United, Mobile, American, Association’s, Intellectual, ”, Association of American Publishers, Women, Chicago Tribune, Getty, America Locations: Florida, bookshelves, Rye, PEN, Utah, Decatur , Georgia, Tennessee, Alaska, Chicago, Sandmeyer's, Austin, Salt Lake City

☆ Opinion | America’s Top Librarian on the Rise of Book Bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Public libraries around the country have become major battlegrounds for today’s culture wars. In 2022, the American Library Association noted a record 1,269 attempts at censorship — almost double the number recorded in 2021. Emily Drabinski is the president of the American Library Association and an associate professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies. This conversation unpacks the political and cultural anxieties fueling the attacks on libraries. Postal Service, how censorship attempts fit in the broader landscape of anti-queer and anti-trans legislation and much more.

Persons: Emily Drabinski, “, Ezra Klein, Tressie McMillan Cottom Organizations: American Library Association, Queens College Graduate School of Library, Information, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google, U.S . Postal Service

☆ For John Green, the Battle Over Access to Books Has Gotten Personal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Alexandra Alter | More About Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For about as long as he’s been a published author, John Green has faced efforts to censor his books. His debut novel, “Looking for Alaska,” a coming-of-age story that includes references to drug use and sex, has been challenged in schools for at least 15 years, and has frequently landed on the American Library Association’s most banned books list. Last year, it received more than 50 challenges in schools across the country. But a recent dust-up over whether his books are appropriate for teens feels more personal, and like an escalation of a growing movement to ban and restrict access to books, Green said. A public library in his home state of Indiana implemented a new policy earlier this year requiring library staff to remove any books with sexually explicit content from the children’s and teens section and re-shelve them in the adult collection.

Persons: John Green, Green, Judy Blume, Laurie Halse Anderson, ” Organizations: American, Hamilton East Public Library Locations: Alaska, ”, Indiana, Indianapolis

☆ Publishers, booksellers sue Texas over public school book ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 26 (Reuters) - A coalition of booksellers, authors and publishers has sued Texas seeking to block a new state law that bans "sexually explicit" books from public schools. Vendors that do not participate will be barred from selling any books to Texas schools. Any books rated explicit cannot be sold to public schools and must be recalled from libraries. Republican Governor Greg Abbott has said the Texas law protects children, declaring that it "gets that trash out of our schools" when he signed it in June. In May, the writers' group PEN America and others sued a Florida school district for banning books dealing with LGBTQ and race issues.

Persons: Greg Abbott, Joseph Ax, Colleen Jenkins, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Republican, Texas Education Agency, PEN America, American Library Association, Thomson Locations: Texas, Austin, Florida, Arkansas

☆ Illinois becomes first state to pass law curtailing book bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed the historic measure into law on Monday in a Chicago library. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, the governor's office said in a statement. "Here in Illinois, we don't hide from the truth, we embrace it," Pritzker said. Under the new law, Illinois public libraries can only access state grants if they adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which stipulates that "materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval." Other states may choose to embrace prejudice and divisive ideologies, but our state is going in a better direction," said Democratic State Representative Anne Stava-Murray, who represents Downers Grove, in support of the Illinois measure.

Persons: J.B, Pritzker, shouldn't, Laura Hois, We're, Representative Anne Stava, Murray, Maia Kobabe, Toni Morrison, Amanda Gorman, Joe Biden's, Brendan O'Brien, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Illinois, American, Association's, Republican, PEN America, American Library Association, ALA, ABC, Democratic, Representative, Downers, Thomson Locations: Illinois, United States, Chicago, U.S, Florida, Texas, Downers Grove, Utah , Missouri, Miami, Dade County

☆ To Fight Book Bans, Illinois Passes a Ban on Book Bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Orlando Mayorquin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Taking a new tack in the ideological battle over what books children should be able to read, Illinois will prohibit book bans in its public schools and libraries, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker calling the bill that he signed on Monday the first of its kind. The law, which takes effect next year, was the Democratic-controlled state’s response to a sharp rise in book-banning efforts across the country, especially in Republican-led states, where lawmakers have made it easier to remove library books that political groups deemed objectionable. “While certain hypocritical governors are banning books written by L.G.B.T.Q. The law directs public libraries in the state to adopt or write their own versions of a library bill of rights such as the American Library Association’s, which asserts that “Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.”

Persons: J.B, Pritzker, L.G.B.T.Q, Mr, ” Organizations: Gov, Democratic, Republican, Harold Washington Library Center, American Locations: , Illinois, Chicago

☆ Penguin Random House and Florida parents sue school district over book bans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A selection of books including "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison, that have been the subject of complaints from parentsPenguin Random House, authors, parents and an advocacy group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a Florida school district for removing 10 books related to race and the LGBTQ community after a high school teacher complained. In addition to the publishing house, PEN America, a nonprofit group that advocates for free expression in literature, five authors whose books have been removed from the district, and two parents whose children go to school in the district filed the suit against the Escambia County School District and the Escambia County School Board in Pensacola, Florida. "The clear agenda behind the campaign to remove the books is to categorically remove all discussion of racial discrimination or LGBTQ issues from public school libraries. Neither the district nor the school board immediately returned requests for comment. More than 100 other titles are restricted and require parental approval for access.

☆ Efforts to Ban Books Nearly Doubled in 2022, Report Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Participants gathered for a rally against book bans in Tallahassee, Florida, this week. Attempts to ban books in U.S. libraries nearly doubled in 2022 from a year earlier, according to a new report from the American Library Association. The organization said Thursday it identified 1,269 efforts to censor books and resources in libraries last year. That is the most recorded in the more than two decades the American Library Association has tracked these trends, and a jump from 729 in 2021.

☆ An Oklahoma teacher faced death threats after she helped students access banned books. She says she's more scared for students than for herself.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Yelena Dzhanova | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An Oklahoma teacher who helped students access banned books faced death threats. Summer Boismier left her teaching job and now works at the Brooklyn Public Library. The threats still rattle her, but she's more worried that teens and kids are losing access to books. Boismier resigned from her teaching job and moved 1,500 miles away from her home to Brooklyn, New York, where she began working for the Brooklyn Public Library. That alone shows how much of a demand there is for legislators to stop censoring books, Boismier said.

☆ 'No Straight Lines' unearths the hidden history of queer comic books
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dan Avery | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Independent Lens“No Straight Lines” also profiles Mary Wings, who is credited with publishing the first known queer comic book, “Come Out Comics,” in 1973. San Francisco, where Wings now lives, was home to many of the earliest LGBTQ comic books and strips — most of which were made by queer women. “Stuck Rubber Baby” was one of the first queer comics to get mainstream critical acclaim. His generosity of spirit and intellect brought this community together.”Cruse died of cancer in 2019, while “No Straight Lines” was still in development. “It’s very exciting.”“No Straight Lines” premieres on PBS’ “Independent Lens” Monday at 10 p.m.

☆ North Dakota weighs ban of 'sexually explicit' library books
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers began considering Tuesday. Though supporters of North Dakota’s bill repeatedly called the sexual content “obscene,” opponents said the material in question is not actually considered legally obscene. Library Director Christine Kujawa at Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library said the library has a book with two little hamsters on the cover. Bills to restrict mature content in school libraries became laws last year in Tennessee, Utah, Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma. The investigation followed a complaint by the ACLU and appeared to be the first based on a nationwide movement to ban school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.

When it comes to queer books, the loudest headlines may be about bans and censorship, but a quieter truth about the state of LGBTQ books reveals the resilience of their authors and commitment of their readers. The queer titles debuting in 2023 are as full of joy as they are examples of resistance, and those in the industry say LGBTQ writers are only getting more ambitious. And while queer young adult books are often the target of book-banning efforts, these titles drove the highest gains in the category, the report found. When it comes to considering a queer future, and what’s next for queer books, that’s something that’s been on the mind of Suzi F. Garcia, the editor of Lambda Literary, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ books and authors. She described the book as having a “queer core” and a sense of hope while discussing issues critical to LGBTQ and Black communities.

☆ 2 Colorado libraries close after meth contamination
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the second time in a month, a Colorado library has closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination. The city of about 33,000 just south of Denver decided to test for the drug after officials in the nearby college town of Boulder closed its main library after finding meth contamination, Harguth said. The group declined to comment on whether drug use has been increasing in libraries, citing a lack of up-to-date data. They also pointed out that standards for how much meth contamination is acceptable were developed with an eye toward homes, where frequent exposure is more likely than in public buildings. The Englewood library has made some changes to help homeless people who go there.

☆ A reckless version of free speech is spreading across America, partly because of unchecked rhetoric by Elon Musk, Kayne West, and Kyrie Irving. We can't be complicit.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk and Ye are among multiple notable figures embracing a misguided notion of free speech. And it's likely to get worse amid a growing, misguided movement for free speech. Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Ye (previously known as Kanye West), and the basketball star Kyrie Irving have become strange bedfellows in a growing fight for so-called free speech. Americans are on the precipice of accepting hate speech as free speech, and nobody is stepping up to say, "This is wrong." Speaking out on social media against unbound free speech, or withholding your business from a company, sends a message to executive board rooms.

☆ Hate in America is on the rise. It's making it more dangerous for everyone from politicians to librarians to do their jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Politicians, poll workers, and even librarians report growing harassment, threats, and attacks. "I'm scared for this country," Ringer told Insider. B-A-D," George Rattay, the chair of the Democratic Party in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, told Insider. Poll workers and even librarians face violenceThere have been multiple reports of increasing threats and violence targeting poll workers. The breadth of the threats to politicians, poll workers, and other civic employees like librarians indicates hate in America has become prolific.

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