All posts tagged: Bans

Elizabethtown (PA) Students Protest Book Bans

Elizabethtown (PA) Students Protest Book Bans

Published by Jenni Sidey

Students aren’t taking it quietly, either. Like their peers in Central York High School–a 40 minute drive south of Elizabethtown–students have been protesting the board’s censorship agenda. The protests began in the dead of winter, the weather far from amenable for being outside. But students showed up, their voices and beliefs in an education free from bias and far-right indoctrination more important than anything else. Among the students who have been showing up is Kylee Wood. Rather than tell the story of Wood and her peers, Wood has offered her personal insights into the ongoing efforts to suppress student education by the school board. She’s also spoken with her fellow students, offering insight into what’s going on and the impact that censorship has on their right to education. Kylee Wood is a high school junior at Elizabethtown Area High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is the co-founder of the EAHS Student Activism Collective. Her favorite book is Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. Literary Activism News you can use plus tips …

Australia bans a neo-Nazi network under new law that criminalizes hate groups

Australia bans a neo-Nazi network under new law that criminalizes hate groups

Published by Sam Flores

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia identified a neo-Nazi network as the second organization being banned under its new law criminalizing hate groups and support for them. The group, formerly known as the National Socialist Network and sometimes called White Australia, said it would disband after the government in January passed the law allowing certain organizations to be banned. The law was in response to the antisemitic attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach in December in which 15 people were killed. The National Socialist Network “changed their name, but didn’t change the fact that they were still an organization and were still engaging in the same sort of behavior that met the thresholds for this legislation,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Friday. Members of hate groups face 15 years in prison The ban, which would take effect at the end of Friday, makes it illegal to support, fund, train, recruit, join or direct the group, including if it reformed under a new name, Burke said. Breaking the …

Robophobic Airline Bans Humanoid Robots From Flights After Disruption

Robophobic Airline Bans Humanoid Robots From Flights After Disruption

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Southwest Airlines appears to have become the first airline to enshrine a no-robots policy into their rulebook, after a Dallas business owner tried to take his 3.5-foot robot for a jaunt through the clouds. First reported by CBS News, Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of robot-rental company the Robot Studio, was on his way home from a trip to Las Vegas with his robot pal “Stewie” in tow. Rather than shipping the humanoid-robot or checking it as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat, presumably to draw out a little publicity. It wasn’t even the first such incident on a Southwest flight. Just days prior, a different humanoid robot passenger caused an hour-long delay on another Southwest flight, this one out of Oakland, California. In that episode, flight attendants went through a thorough checklist to ensure the robot would behave and that its battery didn’t pose a flight hazard. The pair of incidents apparently caused such a stir that …

What We Know About Book Bans After Five Years of Data and Documentation

What We Know About Book Bans After Five Years of Data and Documentation

Published by José Betancourt

Welcome to The Best of Book Riot. Here’s your weekend highlight reel of the week’s most popular stories. But as we roll into our fifth year of ongoing book censorship, what do we actually know about the books being targeted? Pulling from both ALA and PEN’s Top Ten Lists, as well as the titles on the official state banned lists from Utah and South Carolina between 2021 and 2026, here’s some insight of note. Florida’s unofficial list is not included here because it is not official state documentation; however, the books that have been banned as a result of the unofficial list are incorporated in both ALA and PEN’s data. Note that ALA’s data covers five full years, while PEN’s accounts cover four full school years. Their fifth year of data, covering the 2025-2026 school year, will be released in the fall. A total of 11 lists were evaluated: five from ALA, four from PEN, one from Utah, and one from South Carolina. The word “banned” is used to describe all of these books, as …

Judge bans reporting on trial of six men accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls in Bristol

Judge bans reporting on trial of six men accused of sexually assaulting teenage girls in Bristol

Published by Sam Flores

Six men have gone on trial at Bristol crown court accused of grooming and sexually assaulting vulnerable teenage girls in the city. They were allegedly part of a large group of men who abused girls over several years. All six men deny the charges against them, which involved “multiple complainants”. The trial is expected to last 12 weeks but reporting restrictions mean full details, including the defendant’s names, cannot be revealed. After a challenge to the restrictions by media organisations including the Guardian, Judge Macmillan, who is overseeing the trial, allowed some information about the case and the nature of the charges to be reported, acknowledging there was a public concern about “grooming gangs”. She said: “There is a particular public interest at the present in information about serious sexual offending carried out by ‘grooming gangs’ and in issues of transparency about such matters. These issues are, quite properly, subjects of significant public comment and concern.” Earlier this year, the prosecution applied for a postponement of all reporting of the trial until all verdicts had …

School cellphone bans are growing. But scientists aren’t sure if they work yet

School cellphone bans are growing. But scientists aren’t sure if they work yet

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Schools across the country have taken action to ban student cellphone use in recent years, with the hope of stopping bullying and improving America’s increasingly poor academic performance. Now, new research examining the practice at over 40,000 U.S. schools between 2019-2026 shows there have been benefits – but maybe not as many as lawmakers had hoped. While locking phones in pouches throughout the day helped kids cut back on phone time, test scores did not rise and there was “little evidence” that it helped with online bullying, attendance or attention in class, the paper, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, showed. Within the first year of bans, suspension rates also increased by 16 percent and student well-being fell, the researchers wrote in the largest study of its kind. However, over time, students saw their well-being rebound: reinforcing the idea that getting …

Oscars bans AI actors and writers

Oscars bans AI actors and writers

Published by Sam Flores

Actors and writers created by artificial intelligence may be able to write and appear in films, but they will not qualify for Oscars under new rules issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which address the use of AI for the first time. The role of artificial intelligence was one of the central concerns behind the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike several years ago. Daniel Quinlan has more. Keywords for this article Source link

U.S. Senate bans prediction market trading for members in unanimous ethics vote

U.S. Senate bans prediction market trading for members in unanimous ethics vote

Published by skeptic

The U.S. Senate has moved quickly to prohibit its own members from trading on prediction markets, citing growing concern over insider advantages and ethical gray areas tied to the fast-expanding platforms. In a unanimous April 30 vote, lawmakers approved a rule barring senators, staff, and Senate officers from participating, with immediate effect. Rising scrutiny over prediction market access Pressure had been building as watchdogs and policymakers raised concerns that access to sensitive or nonpublic information could provide an unfair edge in markets where users trade on real-world outcomes such as elections and geopolitical events. Even indirect insights into policy or global developments could translate into profitable positions. Bipartisan push gains momentum Sen. Bernie Moreno led the bipartisan effort, arguing the measure is necessary to maintain public trust. Lawmakers across party lines have increasingly warned about the risks of combining public service with speculative financial activity in fast-moving markets. Broader regulatory efforts take shape The Senate’s move aligns with a wider push in Washington to tighten rules around financial activity by public officials. Concerns over congressional …

Cricket club bans social media comments to protect players’ mental health | Cricket News

Cricket club bans social media comments to protect players’ mental health | Cricket News

Published by Sam Flores

English basement county, Kent, are led by former international Adam Hollioake, who is concerned for players’ well being. Published On 1 May 20261 May 2026 The English cricket club Kent has suspended comments on their official social media accounts, with head coach Adam Hollioake suggesting players’ mental health could be damaged by stinging criticism. Kent have made a bad start to the season and are currently at the foot of the second and bottom division of the County Championship following three matches. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Their form has led to some cutting online comments from frustrated Kent fans. Hollioake, in a statement released before Kent’s latest game against Derbyshire, which began at Canterbury on Friday, accepted the team’s performances had not been “anywhere near the standards we expect of ourselves”. But Hollioake, a close friend of former Surrey and England teammate Graham Thorpe, who took his own life in 2024, said he had a “duty of care” to protect the Kent squad. “Throughout my career in cricket as a player …