"The books objected to in Gillette included “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, “How Do You Make a Baby” by Anna Fiske, “Doing It” by Hannah Witton, “Sex is a Funny Word” by Corey Silverberg, and “Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy” by Andrew P. Smiler."
"Data shows that most violent crime around the US has declined in recent years. In Chicago, for example, police data shows that homicides were down 31% to 278 from the start of 2025 to the end of August compared with the same time period last year."
"The growth comes as prisons are grappling w/ another demographic shift: a rapidly aging population. In 2023, nearly 1 in 4 prisoners were 50 or older. That trend is expected to continue, some experts say, w/ projections that by 2030 as much as one-third of the US prison population will be over 50."
"In August, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would also end the Solar for All program. The agency said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act halted future funding for the program, including money that had already been set aside for tribes."
"Cemeteries are overflowing. Mass graves dot the strip. Israeli airstrikes have killed entire families in their homes. More than 2,000 people seeking food have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry."...
"Books with LGBTQ themes and characters — like “Gender Queer” and “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” — are consistently among the most banned books highlighted in the annual reports of PEN America and the American Library Association, and this year is no different."
"The WIC program, which has long had bipartisan support, aids those who are pregnant, mothers and children under age 5. Research has tied it to lower infant mortality, healthier birth weights, higher immunization rates and better academic outcomes for children who participate."
"Only about a third of immigrants in Wisconsin with upcoming hearings in federal immigration court have legal representation. Unlike courts operated by the federal judiciary, immigration courts – part of the U.S. Department of Justice – do not provide free representation."
"According to the CGIL union, 300,000 people marched through the streets of Rome alone, while the national average participation in the general strike stood at around 60%, halting all the main services in key sectors including transportation and schools."
..."Traditionally, drug-trafficking has also not been considered an “attack” under the United Nations Charter, which establishes a right to “self-defence if an armed attack occurs.""
"Legal experts, however, have warned that the attacks appear to violate international law, which largely prohibits extrajudicial killings outside of combat."...
"For the people detained inside the facility, they describe not receiving adequate food or water, and having to use the bathroom in public. One person described to a Chicago Sun-Times reporter, not having soap or toothpaste and dealing with severely overcrowded conditions."
"The antidote, Weingarten writes, is two-fold: emancipatory education that brings diverse groups of students together to investigate and probe subjects such as history, culture, literature, and science; and trade unions that bring workers together to build their collective power."
"Several soldiers involved in the massacre later wrote or testified about that day, including some who admitted to firing on women and children after the order to cease fire. One soldier said he “expected a court-martial” for his actions but found himself instead being praised."
"A new law in Minnesota... ...bars landlords from interfering in tenant organizing. They can’t take down flyers or stop tenants from holding meetings in the building. They also can’t retaliate against tenants who join a union by raising their rent or decreasing services."
"The DNR is alleging 27 total violations that include exceeding emission limits for multiple pollutants under its permit, as well as failing to conduct required sampling and monitoring."
"The facility, titled the South Texas Family Residential Center, is run on behalf of ICE by the private corrections and detention company CoreCivic, which expects to make $180m annually in revenue from the property through at least March 2030."
..."A study released in July by the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles said that the cuts could result in more than 14 million additional global deaths by 2030."
"Researchers and humanitarian groups have warned that the aid cuts will have dire consequences for people in developing countries and global public health."...
"Palmyra is also the only Wisconsin department that has applied for the Task Force Model. About a dozen sheriff’s offices around the state have signed on to aid ICE through a warrant service or jail enforcement models."
