Author: Dave Schultz

A new report from the American Library Association says attempted book bannings and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022 NEW YORK (AP) — Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association being released Thursday. More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago. “I’ve never seen anything like this,”…

A gunman who killed 10 people in a racially-motivated shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket last year has been sentenced to life in prison at a dramatic hearing. Payton Gendron, 19, pleaded guilty to 25 counts, including first-degree murder and terrorism motivated by hate. Ahead of the sentencing on Wednesday, a family member rushed towards Gendron but was constrained by security. Family members shared emotional impact statements. Barbara Massey, whose sister Katherine was killed, said to the gunman: “You are going to come to our city and decide you don’t like black people. Man, you don’t know a […]…

The three people killed in a shooting at Michigan State University included a 19-year-old aspiring surgeon and an athlete studying biology. Their identities were released by police on Tuesday. Five others who were injured in Monday night’s attack remain in a critical condition. All of the victims were students at the university, police said. Arielle Diamond Anderson, 19, had dreams of becoming a paediatric surgeon. “She was working diligently to graduate from Michigan State University early to achieve her goals as quickly as possible,” her family said in a statement, adding that she “was sweet and loving with an infectious…

For the first time in his administration, President Joe Biden hosted the dinner for members of the National Governors Association at the White House WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, hosting both Republican and Democratic governors for a black-tie affair at the White House, raised his glass for a toast. Standing under a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, he told the people in the room to remember who they were. “We’re the United States of America. We can get big things done if we do it together.” “Cheers!” the crowd replied, as the clink-clink of glasses rippled about the State Dining…

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. military said late on Saturday a radar anomaly prompted the temporary closure of airspace to civilian airplanes in Montana but no threatening object was detected. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) sent fighter aircraft to investigate but the aircraft “did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.” Earlier on Saturday, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada, the second such shootdown in as many days. Canada and the United States have been on heightened alert following…

This year’s Oscars “class photo” has been released – and as usual there are several eye-catching details. Film fanatics have welcomed the triumphant return of the Academy Awards’ yearbook snapshot after a pandemic-induced hiatus. Here are some of the things we spotted from an annual tradition that has been described as “endearingly awkward”. 1. Brendan Fraser having a ‘whale’ of a time Everyone loves a good comeback story, but even the best screenwriter couldn’t have written a better story arc for Brendan Fraser. After all but disappearing from the big screen in the mid-noughties, Fraser is the frontrunner for this year’s…

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of U.S. weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday. The official, speaking to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States was holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine at this time, amid a controversy with Germany over tanks. President Joe Biden, who approved a new $2.5 billion weapons package for Ukraine this week, told reporters…

The finding is in line with a trend showing that people in all regions of the world have been eating more calories since the year 2000, with the highest spike, in Asian countries in 2021. Europe and North America consumed most calories last year – at 3,540 per day – while African nations consumed the least: 2,600. Oceania’s calorie count was closest to the United States’ and Europe’s, at around 3,150. Heat is on Data from the UN agency also indicates that average temperatures in 2021 were more than 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer, than between 1951 and 1980. Europe experienced the highest…