Summer travel: Threats of terrorism spark warnings for some European destinations
With the summer travel season approaching, the government of Canada has issued advisories or warnings for Canadians who are heading to certain destinations.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, called on the state's school boards to remove books he described as "pornography," a move that comes after at least two state lawmakers have asked officials to investigate books in schools.
Abbot's letter, sent to the Texas Association of School Boards on Monday, did not cite a specific book that contains what he described as "pornography." Last week, Texas Republican lawmaker, Jeff Cason, released a statement calling on the state's Attorney General to investigate books he also described as "pornography." In his statement, he singled out the graphic novel "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe.
This is not the first time Kobabe's book and other LGBTQ2S+ books are targeted by politicians and community members.
Another district in Keller, a city in Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, removed Kobabe's book after receiving complaints that it contained "inappropriate images."
"Illustrations of this sort should never be available in the school environment. Ensuring our curricular materials are appropriate for students is a priority for Keller ISD. We are changing the process we use to review and approve books and related materials to prevent future incidents," the district said in a statement shared with CNN.
In Iowa last week, the Waukee Community School District removed "Gender Queer," and two other LGBTQ2S+ books from the Northwest High School library after a community member read sexual excerpts from the books during an October 25 board meeting, the school district's spokesperson, Amy Varcoe, told CNN over email.
"Gender Queer," a coming-of-age memoir about gender and sexuality, was released 2.5 years ago, and its author Maia Kobabe, only found out it was being challenged in schools this September.
"The thing that alerted me was being tagged in a short Instagram video of one of the school board meetings from Fairfax County, Virginia," Kobabe told CNN.
Since then, Kobabe has found out that "Gender Queer" has been banned or challenged from school libraries in at least seven states.
"The challenges are happening so fast now I can hardly even keep up with them," Kobabe said.
Kobabe wants people who are calling "Gender Queer" pornography to read the whole book.
"Read the whole thing and judge for yourself, don't just go based on the one or two tiny clips you've seen on social media," Kobabe said.
Kobabe said libraries offer a safe space for someone trying to find out about themselves, especially if it's a topic they don't feel comfortable about.
The move to ban LGBTQ2S+-related books from school libraries could push teens to the internet to find out about their identity, something Kobabe warns is dangerous.
"I know we have the internet, but the internet is absolutely rife with misinformation," Kobabe said. "And I think there's a danger if you Google some topics about queerness, that you will land on sites that either are misinformation or coming from a really negative point of view, or it will send you straight to pornography, unfortunately."
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, head of the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, told CNN that this year, and the last couple of months in particular, have seen a real increase across the country in challenges to books written by minority and LGBTQ2S+ authors.
"In September of 2021, we saw a 60% increase in challenges year to year from the previous year," she said.
The ALA is observing a growing number of challenges to materials that are either written by minority or LGBTQ2S+ authors, or books that reflect experiences of marginalized groups, she said.
The ALA relies on voluntary reporting and media reports as its source of data, Caldwell-Stone explained.
Caldwell-Stone said another trend they've noticed is how social media has amplified challenges to a particular title, especially graphic novels that deal with the LBGTQ2S+ experience.
"It goes viral, for lack of a better phrase, and we have actually seen several reports come in that echo the same language and challenges in another part of the country, clearly derived from social media, or viral videos," she said.
"And it's a real question whether the individuals have actually read the book or are just accepting what they're hearing on social media," she added.
With the summer travel season approaching, the government of Canada has issued advisories or warnings for Canadians who are heading to certain destinations.
The man charged with killing a woman by lighting her on fire on a TTC bus two years ago admitted to causing her death, but should not be found criminally responsible due a diagnosis of schizophrenia, prosecutors and defence counsel argued at the outset of his trial in Toronto.
A military plane carrying Malawi's vice-president and nine others went missing Monday and a search is underway, the president's office said.
Chrystia Freeland presented her promised capital gains proposal to Parliament on Monday, setting the stage for a key vote as the Liberals try to wedge the Conservatives on the contentious tax proposal.
Kia will recall more than 20,000 Telluride SUVs in Canada over a fire risk and owners of 2020 to 2024 models are urged to park outside.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating a serious incident after a Harbour Air float plane and a recreational boat collided in Vancouver's Coal Harbour.
Admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s defence lawyers have argued the accused had a history of schizophrenic delusions culminating in ‘catastrophic circumstances,’ while Crown prosecutors say the killings of four vulnerable Indigenous women were driven by Skibicki’s racist views and deviant sexual urges.
The second full week of June is off to a chilly start with wet, cloudy conditions forecast for most of Canada.
The Liberals support an effort to expand the scope of the foreign interference inquiry so it can investigate allegations against MPs, Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Monday.
A dog who spent the first three-and-a-half years of his life suffering and almost a year at a shelter has found his forever home, according to the BC SPCA.
In most families, ringing in a 100th birthday is a massive milestone. Minni Pelman’s family certainly thinks so – as they celebrate her 108th birthday in the park outside her building.
Showing off the latest purchase in his Eaton's collection, Corey Quintaine joked he is rebuilding the former flagship store that used to sit at 320 Portage Avenue one Facebook Marketplace purchase at a time.
After learning about food security at school, 11-year-old Violette Ferguson wants fresh eggs and to change the rules around chickens in the city.
An Ontario powerlifter caught a mild cold last year. Six days later, he was fighting for his life in the ICU.
Marking a milestone, Lakeshore resident Olga White celebrated her 107th birthday in style Wednesday.
The municipality of Tantramar, N.B., is holding a sale to get rid of surplus items it acquired after the Town of Sackville amalgamated with smaller communities last year.
For several weeks, a mysterious social media user has apparently been leaving $50 bills hidden across Metro Vancouver.
A statue dedicated to the Royal Regina Rifles Regiment has been officially unveiled in France just ahead of the 80th anniversary of D-Day.