Breaking News

This page features brief excerpts of stories published by the mainstream media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in each source note. Quotation marks are not used.

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• 
• SOURCE: The Guardian
  1/31/2023
  

  Exhibition: Church of England's Links to Slavery

  The exhibition is an acknowledgment of the church's investments in the transatlantic slave trade, but critics argue that the church remains obligated to pay reparations. 

• 
• SOURCE: Independent
  2/1/2023
  

  I'm a Florida Teacher. This is What's Happened to My Classroom Library

  "We have been told that this is a temporary move as the district works toward compliance with this law, but with only one person to vet thousands of books, it doesn’t feel very temporary."

• 
• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  1/31/2023
  

  Florida's Higher Ed Policy Push Gets Bigger

  by Francie Diep and Emma Pettit

  Tenure, diversity and equity programming, and the diversion of resources to favored programs devoted to "the actual philosophy which shaped Western civilization" are among the features of the state's higher ed agenda. 

• 
• SOURCE: Why Are We Like This?
  1/28/2023
  

  The Case of the Disappearing Libraries Feat. Judd Legum

  Journalist Judd Legum has been following the story of Florida teachers whose districts have told them Florida's new educational laws require them to close or remove their classroom libraries unless all the books are specifically approved by the state. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/1/2023
  

  UNC Trustees Sidestep Faculty to Launch "School of Civic Life and Leadership"

  Faculty believe, based on statements by politically appointed Trustees, that the school will be a landing place for appointing conservative scholars to the campus without typical shared governance. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washingtonian
  2/1/2023
  

  New Graphic Fiction Asks: What if January 6 Had Succeeded?

  Harvard Law professor Alan Jenkins collaborated with a group of artists and writers to explore what might have happened if a mob attacking the Capitol had made a right turn instead of a left. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  1/30/2023
  

  The Latest SCOTUS Case to Privilege Religion Over Civil Society

  by Linda Greenhouse

  Historically, the Supreme Court has viewed workplace accommodations for religious workers in terms of protecting minority faiths and relieving undue burdens on employers and coworkers. A pending case brought by a Christian postal worker promises to upend that balance. 

• 
• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  1/31/2023
  

  A Look Back at the 747 as Boeing Delivers Last Jumbo Jet

  Company historian Mike Lombardi says Boeing's giant jetliner "gave wings to the world." 

• 
• SOURCE: The Baffler
  1/25/2023
  

  The Tradition of Overambitious Public Works in Mexico

  Mexico's public works projects have often seen ambitious design outpace the will and capacity for maintaining them. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  1/29/2023
  

  Dutch Villagers Find Hunt for Nazi Treasure Less and Less Charming With Passage of Time

  The recent declassification of a map drawn by a German soldier in 1945 has brought treasure hunters to Ommeren. The 751 residents have mixed feelings. 

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  1/27/2023
  

  Review: New Book Worships the False Idol of the Responsible Corporation

  The idea of corporate social responsibility is an artifact of the domination of society by big business, a domination so powerful as to make alternatives exceedingly difficult to imagine. A new book internalizes that difficulty. 

• 
• SOURCE: HuffPost
  1/29/2023
  

  Inside the Neonazi Homeschool Community

  "A concerted, decades-long campaign by right-wing Christian groups to deregulate home schooling has afforded parents wide latitude in how they teach their kids — even if that means indoctrinating them with explicit fascism."

• 
• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  1/29/2023
  

  Ron DeSantis Battles the College Board—and History

  by Jelani Cobb

  "It’s scarcely surprising that a discipline built on an interest in exploring Black humanity would find itself in the crosshairs. That such a thing would happen in Florida is even less so."

• 
• SOURCE: The New Republic
  1/27/2023
  

  If Conservatives Want to Use "Choice" to Punish Schools for "Wokeness", What Happens to the Kids?

  The annual "School Choice Week" has always been about trashing public schools and teachers unions. This year, it's also trying to scare parents about "woke indoctrination." 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/31/2023
  

  Florida Districts to Teachers: Hide Your Books or Risk Felony Charge

  After requiring that both classroom libraries and school libraries have their contents vetted by trained media specialists, Florida delayed publishing the training for six months; amid uncertainty two school districts have told teachers to cover up their books. 

• 
• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  1/30/2023
  

  What's Actually Happening in Florida Education?

  by Francie Diep and Emma Pettit

  Ron DeSantis has moved quickly on multiple fronts to alter the landscape of higher education in Florida. What are the facts behind the headlines? Will these actions be repeated in other states?

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  1/31/2023
  

  What's Behind DeSantis Push to Erase Black History?

  by Janai Nelson

  "Mr. DeSantis’s “Stop WOKE” law relegates the study of the experiences of Black people to a prohibited category. The canceling of any students’ access to accurate, truthful education that reflects their diverse identities and that of their country should chill every American."

• 
• SOURCE: WBEZ
  1/31/2023
  

  The Story of one of the Few Black Members of Chicago's Secret Abortion Rights Underground

  Recent attention to the Jane Collective's pre-Roe activities to help women obtain abortions has passed over the work of a small number of Black women like Marie Leaner within the group, and the struggle to connect reproductive and racial justice politics. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/29/2023
  

  100 Years After Rosewood, Just One House Remains

  The home of John Wright, a white merchant who helped shelter Black residents from mob violence, is all that remains of the former town of Rosewood. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  1/27/2023
  

  Florida's Vague Content Laws are Being Used to Intimidate Librarians

  The DeSantis administration has declined to issue clarification of the requirements of the "Don't Say Gay" and "Stop Woke" laws, which leaves school librarians fearful of potential prosecution if they leave books on their shelves.