Published Monday, April 22, 2024 | 11:32 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, April 23, 2024 | 12:05 a.m.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — At a time when book bans have soared to their highest levels in decades, a countertrend is emerging. Lawmakers in several Democratic-leaning states are now pursuing bans on book bans. The Washington and Maryland legislatures have already passed them this year, while Illinois did so last year. Minnesota is one of several states across the country that are actively considering varying degrees of prohibitions on book bans. Activists say books by LGBTQ+ and authors of color are among those most frequently banned. Conservative parents argue that the books are too sexually explicit or otherwise controversial, and are inappropriate especially for younger readers.
The final letter that George Mallory wrote to his wife before he vanished on Mount Everest a century ago has been digitalized. The letter was published on Monday by Cambridge University. In it, he tried to ease her worries, though he said his chances of reaching the world’s highest peak were “50 to 1 against us.” He also expressed a mix of optimism while describing his exhaustion and the difficulties his expedition encountered on their quest to be the first party to conquer the peak. It remains a mystery whether Mallory and climbing partner Andrew Irvine reached the summit before they perished in 1924.
HOUSTON (AP) — A legal battle over a lack of air conditioning in Texas prisons is bringing together advocates on the issue and one current inmate who says his health is being endangered by the state’s hot prisons. That inmate is the former mortician whose murder case inspired the movie “Bernie.” Advocates for Texas prisoners asked Monday to join a federal lawsuit filed last year by Bernie Tiede (TEE'-duh). He’s alleging his life is in danger from being housed in a stifling prison cell without air conditioning. The advocacy groups want to expand the lawsuit on behalf of all Texas prisoners. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice declined to comment.
