First Look From Toni Morrison to Ta-Nehisi Coates, book bannings surge The American Library Association reports 2023 as a likely record-breaking year for book challenges in school and public libraries. The ALA’s opposition to bannings has prompted a county in Wyoming and a library in Texas to withdraw their memberships. | View caption Hide caption…
Tags: Law
Terry Kirkman, the Association singer and founding member, dies at 83
Singer-songwriter Terry Kirkman, a founding member of the 1960s folk-rock band the Association, has died. He was 83. Kirkman’s death was confirmed on Sunday through a statement on the Association’s official Facebook page: “We’re saddened to report that Terry Kirkman passed away last night, RIP Terry. He will live on in our hearts and in the music he…
Poland stops arming Ukraine in grain feud
Poland is no longer arming Ukraine as it is focusing on building up its own stocks of weapons, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as Warsaw’s stance toward Kyiv shifts just weeks before an election. Poland is only carrying out previously agreed arms deliveries to Ukraine, a government spokesman said on Thursday, amid souring bilateral…
Louisiana town to repeal rule that barred vulgar anti-Biden flag
A small town in Louisiana will rescind an ordinance and allow a contractor to fly anti-Biden flags with vulgar language from his truck under a settlement Friday in federal court. The agreement affecting the town of Grand Isle states that Ross Brunet of Cut Off was “wrongfully cited for engaging in constitutionally protected speech of…
Alabama must redraw congressional map to include more Black voters
First Look Alabama must redraw congressional map to include more Black voters A panel of three federal judges blocked Alabama’s new congressional map Tuesday after lawmakers failed to create a second district where Black voters at least came close to comprising a majority. Twenty-seven percent of Alabama’s residents are Black. | View caption Hide caption…
FBI arrests Jan. 6 rioter they say assaulted officers with a speaker, a shoe and a lamp
WASHINGTON — The FBI has arrested a Jan. 6 rioter who attacked police officers using a variety of items including a metal baton, a floor lamp and a shoe, according to court records. Curtis Logan Tate, known to online “Sedition Hunters” as #ShinyCircleTattoo because of a distinct tattoo on his hand, was arrested in North…
South Carolina’s all-male Supreme Court upholds 6-week abortion ban
Just months after the exit of its sole female justice, the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld restrictions that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy. The 4-1 decision means the state’s abortion ban, which Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law in May, can go into effect. The decision brings…
What Is the Comstock Act? Texas Judge Cites 1873 Anti-Obscenity Law to Halt Abortion Pill Approval
Hunter Biden misdemeanor tax charges are dismissed — for now
A federal judge in Delaware formally dismissed misdemeanor tax charges against Hunter Biden on Thursday, but the president’s son is expected to face the same charges — or new ones — in the near future. The decision by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika had been expected following a failed plea agreement last month between federal…
Niger general declares himself country’s new leader following coup
A Niger general who runs the country’s presidential guard declared himself the country’s new leader on Friday, two days after he led his soldiers in a coup d’etat that overthrew the nation’s president. General Abdourahmane Tchiani made the announcement during a speech on Niger’s state television, calling himself president and saying the coup was necessary “to preserve our…