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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save TRENTON — Debra White, the state’s new “homelessness czar,” has been on the job since September, but Tuesday state officials announced the “first-ever coordinated resource effort with the City of Atlantic City, nonprofit organizations, and healthcare providers is underway.” The plan is to end chronic homelessness through collaboration, enhanced services and housing over the next three years, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs said in a news release. “Atlantic City faces distinct challenges in addressing homelessness, including seasonal employment that affects housing stability and a concentration of social services that attract people in need from across the region,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in the release. White, of Atlantic City, was hired at a salary of $110,000, a state spokesperson has said. She has a master’s degree in business administration from Rosemont College and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from LaSalle University. 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Mays Landing's Level Up comic and video game shop to close after 18 years Her previous job was director of business services for the Chelsea Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit that works to improve the quality of life in the Chelsea neighborhood of the city. “We can get to a point where we’re either preventing homelessness before it occurs or addressing it so quickly that a person’s homelessness is very brief and nonrecurring,” DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suárez said in the release. Suarez said White will use real-time data tracking, stakeholder engagement and partnership, and a “laser focus” to find solutions to homelessness. Others joining the effort include Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, AtlantiCare, Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, and the Atlantic County Continuum of Care. Atlantic City is getting some help addressing homelessness — a tough problem that has persisted for decades in spite of the efforts of dozens of nonprofits and government agencies. Mayor Marty Small Sr. said the city has been working hard to address homelessness, and has made some strides, but looks forward to this partnership with the DCA and others. In 2023, the city and its Boardwalk Improvement Group began efforts to make visitors and residents feel safer on the Boardwalk. That effort included starting a homeless outreach initiative that sends social workers out daily to engage with the unhoused. BIG was started by the city, state and Casino Association of New Jersey, Small said at an October 2023 news conference. “We hired 10 full-time people and a plethora of trucks and other equipment to give us the tools (to succeed),” Small said as he stood on a section of Tennessee Avenue between Atlantic and Pacific avenues during the news conference. It’s an area frequented by folks who loiter and panhandle, Small said. “These people are not ‘Atlantic City homeless.’ These people just happen to be in Atlantic City,” Small said at the time. “I say it all the time, it’s Greyhound therapy.” That’s a term used to describe other municipalities sending their neediest to Atlantic City on buses for help. Keeping the Atlantic City Boardwalk safe and clean is a 24/7 job, and now city workers have a Boardwalk Improvement Group behind them whose work is in full swing, Mayor Marty Small Sr. said during a Monday news conference. “Why? Because we have supreme social services,” Small said. About 3 in 10 people contacted by city workers actually want to be helped, said Kenneth Mitchem, city director of community services. The others decline services. The effort is funded by Clean and Safe funds, part of the amended casino payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bill, Small said. A July news conference updated the public on what the city was doing to address safety on the Boardwalk after a series of damaging fires there, some of which were started by homeless encampments. “We’ve brought all the departments of the city together,” Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Evans said at the time. “The first time — I’ve been here 37 years — in my memory that we have every single department and outside agencies together working from a single playbook.” The fires were threatening the Boardwalk’s future as the city was embarking on a $26 million Boardwalk rebuilding project. City workers were not only clearing homeless encampments from under the historic structure, they also were clearing encampments citywide, and encouraging those living in them to accept help, officials said then. The news conference started at New Jersey Avenue and the Boardwalk, between the Ocean and Hard Rock casinos, where public works employees routinely clear up encampments and Health and Human Services employees and police regularly engage with the homeless. As Atlantic City continues to deal with homeless people living under and around its iconic Boardwalk, the mayor says the new Boardwalk Improvement Group has been working since early this year to make visitors and residents feel safe there. Watching the news conference was “AC Batman” Curtis Douglass Bordley, who said he chooses to be homeless in the summer in Atlantic City, where he dresses as Batman and accepts donations from people in exchange for photos. “I’ve had life-and-death encounters,” Bradley said of being attacked while on the street. “I’ve had my jaw wired, been hit in the head with a bike lock.” But he said he now sleeps where there are cameras and he feels safer. White REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Staff Writer Author twitter Author email {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.The upcoming re-trial of this case presents an opportunity for justice to be further served and for the victims and their families to seek closure. It is a chance for the legal system to re-examine the evidence, hear new testimonies, and ultimately deliver a fair and just verdict.WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name. Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial when he was accused — but not convicted — of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden. She has been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers. Bondi is from Tampa and spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor. She was Florida’s first female attorney general. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. People are also reading... WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer. The announcement caps a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth , who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," he added. Hours later, Gaetz posted on social media that he looks “forward to continuing the fight to save our country,” adding, “Just maybe from a different post.” Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” He did not immediately announce a new selection. Last week, he named personal lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer to senior roles in the department. Another possible contender, Matt Whitaker, was announced Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. The withdrawal, just a week after the pick was announced, averts what was shaping up to be a pitched confirmation fight that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to support Trump’s Cabinet picks. The selection of the fierce Trump ally over well-regarded veteran lawyers whose names had circulated as possible contenders stirred concern for the Justice Department's independence at a time when Trump has openly threatened to seek retribution against political adversaries. It underscored the premium Trump places on personal loyalty and reflected the president-elect's desire to have a disruptor lead a Justice Department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him. In the Senate, deeply skeptical lawmakers sought more information about Justice Department and congressional investigations into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls, which Gaetz has denied. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers were taken aback by the pick of a partisan lawmaker with limited legal experience who has echoed Trump's claims of a weaponized criminal justice system. As Gaetz sought to lock down Senate support, concern over the sex trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating. In recent days, an attorney for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18. "They’re grateful for the opportunity to move forward with their lives,” Leppard said Thursday of his clients. “They’re hoping that this brings final closure for all the parties involved.” Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department’s investigation ended last year with no charges against him. Gaetz’s political future is uncertain. He had abruptly resigned his congressional seat upon being selected as attorney general, a move seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He did win reelection in November for the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, 2025, but he said in his resignation letter last week to House Speaker Mike Johnson that he did not intend to take the oath of office. He transmitted a similar letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the state launched a special election process to fill the vacancy. Republicans on the House Ethics Committee declined this week to release the panel's findings, over objections from Democrats in a split vote. But the committee did agree to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 to discuss the matter. As word of Gaetz's decision spread across the Capitol, Republican senators seemed divided. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, called it a “positive move." Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.” Others said they had hoped Gaetz could have overhauled the department. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close ally of Trump, said he was “disappointed. I like Matt and I think he would have changed the way DOJ is run.” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he hoped that Trump will pick someone “equally as tenacious and equally as committed to rooting out and eliminating bias and politicization at the DOJ.” Gaetz is not the only Trump pick facing congressional scrutiny over past allegations. A detailed investigative police report made public Wednesday shows that a woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth, the former Fox News host now tapped to lead the Pentagon, after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he was meeting with senators to build support for his nomination. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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Mr. Chen's simple yet profound gesture serves as a powerful reminder that empathy and altruism can transcend boundaries and touch the lives of those in need. His readiness to help the elderly man without expecting anything in return exemplifies the true essence of humanity – a willingness to extend a helping hand to those facing adversity and a belief in the innate goodness of others.Nazarbayev University Crisis: Shigeo Katsu Demands Audit TransparencyOne of the key points raised in Evergrande's response is its commitment to reducing its debt levels through various means, such as asset sales, equity financing, and cost-cutting measures. The company has also pledged to adhere to a more conservative financial strategy moving forward, focusing on sustainable growth and prudent risk management.
The broad-based rally in A-shares today indicates a favorable investment environment where a wide range of sectors and industries are experiencing upward momentum. Technology stocks, such as those in the semiconductor and e-commerce sectors, continue to stand out as top performers, driven by strong consumer demand and the ongoing digital transformation of the economy. Meanwhile, traditional industries, including finance, real estate, and manufacturing, are also seeing gains as the economy rebounds from the impact of the pandemic.MUMBAI: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) appears to have broken ranks with the opposition on the issue of alleged EVM manipulation during the recently concluded assembly elections. The party’s working president Supriya Sule stated on Wednesday that she had won four elections in Baramati with the EVM and did not find it appropriate to make allegations about tampering without concrete proof. Sule also said that she was the one who asked Yugendra Pawar, the NCP (SP) Baramati candidate, to withdraw his application asking to verify the burnt memory in the microcontroller of the EVMs. The MP’s statement is contradictory to the stand taken by the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). The two parties have blamed EVM manipulation for their crushing defeat in the assembly elections. “It is either a technological issue or the voter list has been changed, I don’t know which,” Sule told reporters on Wednesday. “But I believe it is inappropriate to make allegations until we have concrete proof.” The MP, however, added that lots of changes had been made in the voter lists, which was pointed out by her colleagues and even by Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief and former Delhi chief minister during her recent meeting. “Kejriwal was of the view that there is a disparity in the voter lists,” she said. “Major additions and deletions have been made in the lists between the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections, which is disturbing,” she said adding that she had received a letter from Biju Janata Dal leader Amar Patnaik, who had taken up the issue and pointed out discrepancies in the poll data in Orissa. “I have to look into it,” she said. However, not only Sule’s allies but NCP (SP) leaders too said that they did not agree with her views. MLA Jitendra Awhad responded, “Everyone has their own opinion. She may think otherwise but in my opinion EVMs have been tampered with in order to win the Maharashtra elections.” When questioned, Sule told HT, “My colleagues believe that EVMs have been tampered with, and I stand by them. But there could be several other reasons such as changes in the voter list. The poll numbers too are not matching, which is alarming.” The MP’s remarks have put the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on the backfoot, with the Congress pointing out what she really meant. “The crux of her statement was that some manipulation is on, and the BJP is winning because of that but she does not have any proof,” said Atul Londhe, the Congress’ chief spokesperson. “She mentioned that manipulation is happening in elections by referring to BJD leader Amar Patnaik’s letter.” The Shiv Sena (UBT) was cautious about commenting on Sule’s remarks. “I guess it was her individual stand, but as part of the MVA she has the same opinion that we all have,” said MLC Sachin Ahir. “Her remarks should not be taken against the spirit in which they were made. NCP (SP) leaders too are pursuing the EVM issue.” Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde taunted the opposition and Congress over Sule’s remarks and said that they should stop blaming EVMs only after losing the polls. “She was right,” Shinde told reporters in Delhi. “For the Lok Sabha elections and the state assembly elections held in Jharkhand, Karnataka and Telangana, where they won, EVMs were tamper-proof. They started blaming EVMs only when they were defeated.” Even allies of the Congress have asked the party to stop blaming EVMs, and Shinde referred to the statements made by Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah and Trinamool Congress MLA Abhishek Banerjee’s. Both have dismissed the Congress’ allegations of EVM-tampering.
Trump’s promises to conservatives raise fears of more book bans in USTitle: Mysterious Wall Street Funds Profited 1 Billion RMB by Investing in Chinese Assets! Foreign Capital Predicts MSCI China Index to Rise by Approximately 5% in 2025
On the other hand, Arsenal and Manchester City have both suffered setbacks in their recent matches, leading to a drop in their respective title probabilities. Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side, after a bright start to the campaign, have hit a rough patch of form, dropping points in crucial matches and losing ground in the title race.Since its debut a quarter of a century ago, "Death Comes Again" has captivated audiences around the world with its chilling and suspenseful tale of a mysterious force that comes to claim the lives of those whose time has come. The series has become a staple of the horror genre, known for its innovative storytelling, terrifying imagery, and unexpected plot twists.
Title: "Are You Still Planning to Buy an MPV When They're Priced Under 200,000 RMB for the Masses?"
As we eagerly await the announcement on New Year's Day, one thing is certain – the reveal of the new couple will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the ever-enthralling saga of D Society. Love, power, influence, and intrigue – all will come together in a captivating display of social dynamics, setting the stage for a year filled with excitement, drama, and perhaps even a hint of scandal.
The national furor in recent years around 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 have become emblematic of the country’s larger culture wars over race, historical revisionism and gender identity. A 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 . It is part of an agenda driven by conservative parental rights groups and politicians who promote 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.In conclusion, ByteDance's donation of 25 million RMB to support Peking University's "Ru Zang" project is a commendable effort to preserve and promote China's cultural heritage. This collaborative initiative between a tech giant and a prestigious academic institution sets a positive example for industry-academia partnerships and demonstrates the importance of investing in cultural preservation and scholarly research. With continued support and collaboration, projects like "Ru Zang" will pave the way for a deeper appreciation and understanding of traditional Chinese culture and philosophy in the modern world.The progress of the new expressway project underscores the government's dedication to enhancing infrastructure and fostering regional connectivity in Jiangxi. The initiative showcases a strategic vision for the province's long-term development and underscores the importance of investing in transportation networks to support economic growth and improve quality of life for residents.
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 vows tariffs over immigration. What the numbers say about border crossings, drugs and crime 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 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.
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