A group of Florida students and the authors of an award-winning children’s picture book about the true story of a penguin family with two fathers have argued that a Florida school district unconstitutionally restricted access to the book under what opponents have called the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. A lawsuit filed in federal court on 20 June argues that the Lake County school district’s decision to pull And Tango Makes Three “cited no legitimate pedagogical reason for its decision” and was restricted only for “illegitimate, narrowly partisan and political reasons.” Last year, Lake County officials announced that the title was “administratively removed due to content regarding sexual orientation/gender identification” prohibited under the “Parental Rights in Education Act,” what critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” law. That measure, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis last year, broadly prohibits “classroom instruction” on issues related to “sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade” or “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards” in other grades. Mr DeSantis signed a measure this year that explicitly expands the law to cover all school grades. Opponents have warned its broad scope could effectively block discussion of LGBT+ people, history and events from state schools, and be weaponised against students, staff and their families under threat from potential lawsuits against school districts over perceived violations. The lawsuit from the book’s authors Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and the families of several young students argues that such restrictions violate First Amendment protections, including the authors’ right to freedom of expression and students’ rights to receive information. And Tango Makes Three “tells a true and heartwarming story, and it teaches students about animal behavior, adoption, diversity among family structures, and responsible family values,” the lawsuit states. “The authors wrote Tango to spread a message of tolerance and equal treatment. They have a sincere and strongly held desire to ensure that Tango is available to children learning about animal behavior, adoption, and family structures, whether similar to or different from their own – and the student plaintiffs wish to read Tango to learn about those very subjects,” the plaintiffs wrote. The book was listed among free expression group PEN America’s most-banned picture books of the last school year. Last year, a record high of more than 1,200 attempts to remove books from schools and libraries were reported to the American Library Association. There were at least 1,477 attempts to ban 874 individual book titles within the first half of the 2022-2023 school year, according to PEN America. The figures mark a nearly 30 per cent spike from book challenges over the previous year. Book ban attempts have largely targeted books by and about LGBT+ people, titles written by or involving people of colour, or materials featuring honest discussions of race and racism, according to PEN America. Mr DeSantis and his administration have repeatedly rejected characterising such restrictions as “book bans” and have accused media outlets of manufacturing a “hoax” and a “fake narrative” surrounding them. The state has been at the centre of book challenges and legal battles over school and library materials as the DeSantis administration implements a sweeping agenda targeting public education and lessons and speech he deems objectionable. PEN American and Penguin Random House, one of the largest book publishers in the world, and several prominent authors and families have also sued a separate school district and school board in Florida’s Escambia County. A lawsuit filed in US District Court last month argues that school officials have pursued an “ideologically driven campaign to push certain ideas out of schools” against the recommendation of experts. “This disregard for professional guidance underscores that the agendas underlying the removals are ideological and political, not pedagogical,” the lawsuit states. The Independent has requested comment from the state’s Department of Education. Read More A zoo, Black History event and university funding: Ron DeSantis under fire after vetoing local funding because lawmakers didn’t endorse him DeSantis wants to model America after Florida. Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm on his ‘hostile’ agenda The school librarian in the middle of Louisiana’s war on libraries ‘They were trying to erase us’: Inside a Texas town’s chilling effort to ban LGBT+ books Biden condemns ‘hysterical’ threats to LGBT+ Americans as White House pushes back on book bans Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups

The United Arab Emirates, the host of this year’s United Nations climate summit, pledged $4.5 billion to help

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 1, 2023--

UPDATE: Aug. 8, 2023, 5:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with new picks

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Rumble, a streaming platform created to ‘protect free and open internet’ in response to cancel culture, has grown exponentially in recent months, signing exclusive deals with creators and streamers such as Russell Brand and Andrew Tate. It's most recent deal to be reached is with Kai Cenat and IShowSpeed. The pair signed to Rumble to produce a handful of exclusive livestreams a month. Whilst the pair will still stream on YouTube and Twitch, the signing with Rumble comes after both streamers have faced numerous bans from YouTube and Twitch for content violations. Speed is currently facing a permanent ban on Twitch for ‘spam or deceptive practices’, despite Cenat trying to negotiate with Twitch to unban him. Cenat, who himself has faced bans from both Twitch and YouTube, has threatened to leave Twitch permanently if faced with another ban. The first exclusive live stream show will premiere on May 26, named The Kai ‘n Speed Show. The creators say they’re grateful to have full creative control on this new platform. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Cenat is the fourth most subscribed Twitch streamer, with 5.2 million followers. Speed boasts 16 million subscribers on YouTube. The pair recently collaborated on a song together titled Dogs. The exclusive show follows a string of deals made between Rumble and creators. In September 2022, Rumble announced an exclusive show with Russell Brand after Brand claimed he was being ‘censored’ on YouTube for spreading Covid misinformation. During the announcement, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski told users “Russell is known for his unfiltered opinions, and we are proud to serve as the technology platform where he can grow his audience.” Similarly, in late 2022, Rumble signed a $9 million deal with Andrew Tate after he was banned on both TikTok and YouTube. As a result of this long line of deals with controversial creators, Rumble has subsequently been associated for being a place for outspoken creators to flock to when they get banned from mainstream platforms. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Beijing-based firm has denied Chinese Communist Party members were allowed to access user data.

TikTok prankster Mizzy has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, a court has heard. The star, real name Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, appeared at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in east London on Thursday morning after he was accused of posting videos on social media without the consent of the people featured in them. He was due to stand trial on four counts of breaching a criminal behaviour order but his defence lawyer Paul Lennon applied to adjourn the hearing after telling the court that O’Garro had been arrested on October 16 on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. O’Garro’s main witness in the case, who was due to give evidence on Thursday, was also arrested and both were released on bail under the condition that they do not contact each other “directly or indirectly”, Mr Lennon explained. Without his evidence, Mr Lennon said, O’Garro would not be able to have a “fair trial”. He told the court: “It was hoped that the sole witness in his (O’Garro) favour would be able to attend court to provide evidence in support of the defence. “That is no longer possible. “Last week Mr O’Garro and his first and only witness were arrest on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. “Both were released on bail with the condition not to contact each other directly or indirectly. “Had he (the witness) not been arrested on a very serious allegation he would have been here to give evidence on behalf of Mr O’Garro. “It was hoped as of yesterday that the matter would not be proceeded with. “Instead, he (O’Garro) was bailed until January 2024.” Judge Matthew Bone rejected the defence’s submission and chose to proceed with the trial, telling the court: “The witness’s unavailability was known on or before October 16. “I am not prepared to adjourn this case. “The trial will proceed today.” O’Garro’s case was previously adjourned at the same court as he was accused of engaging in further “criminal activities”, according to a joint submission by prosecution and defence lawyers at a hearing in September. The trial will proceed later on Thursday.

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IRVING, Texas, & TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

The lives of hundreds of students at a small university in West Virginia have been turned upside down after the school announced just before the start of fall classes that it plans to cease operations

Elon Musk is making another big change to Twitter and this one might be the most significant yet - its name. The latest alteration the South African billionaire is making to the site, which he payed $44 billion for in 2022 is to rebrand it as 'X.' No, that's not a typo or a placeholder for a name we've forgot to put in, that's literally what Musk is planning to call Twitter from now on. It follows in Musk's long-standing obsession with the word (Space X, Tesla Model X his own child X Æ A-12) having already brought the X.com domain name which just redirects you to Twitter. Musk announced on Sunday "X.com now points to twitter.com. Interim X logo goes live later today." At the time of writing the change hasn't gone ahead but the switch shouldn't come as a surprise as Twitter's company name was changed to X Holdings Corp in April. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter On Sunday, Linda Yaccarino, the current Twitter CEO (or should that be X CEO) tweeted: "It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square." This new update to Twitter is likely to cause more confusion and unrest about Musk's influence on the site, especially with competitors like Threads growing exponentially. That being said one thing that X is still good for is memes, especially those at Musk's expense. Twitter: 2006 - 2023 Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.