First Florida. Then Alabama. Now, lawmakers in Ohio and Louisiana.
Across the United States, at least a dozen states are considering legislation that mimics Florida's new controversial law, referred to by some opponents as "Don't Say Gay."
The specific details regarding the bills vary between states. But overall, they seek to prohibit schools from using a curriculum or discussing topics of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state's "Parental Rights in Education" bill, barring public school teachers from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. It drew immediate nationwide controversy.
Florida's law is only the most recent expression of attempts to curb classroom discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity across the country, said Ames Simmons, a Duke law senior lecturing fellow.
Both Simmons and David Brown, legal director for the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, say the legislative activities taking place across the country are targeting other groups.
🧵 One of the U.S.’s wealthiest corporations — worth over $400 billion — is using bankruptcy to derail, and potentially permanently halt, tens of thousands of lawsuits claiming wrongdoing.
Johnson & Johnson faced some 38,000 lawsuits claiming trace amounts of asbestos contamination in its baby powder caused cancer — that is, until the company found a way to stop the legal process dead in its tracks.
It involved a complex legal maneuver called the Texas two-step.
One of those frozen lawsuits was filed by Hanna Wilt, who accused J&J executives of hiding the baby powder's risk from customers.
A college athlete, she used the powder daily to feel comfortable during New Jersey summers.
🧵Within the past two years, 200 journalists have been arrested or detained while doing their jobs in the U.S.
In LA, one night of chaos encapsulated the fraying police-media relationship, as well as spurred reforms in California. n.pr/3wQ0sYR
A year ago this month, as police prepared to sweep Echo Park Lake of homeless encampments, protests broke out. The reporters who descended on the scene to record it were caught in the middle, as police were unable or unwilling to distinguish between reporters and activists.
The Los Angeles Police Department is facing legal challenges stemming from officers' actions that night and would only address in broad terms how it treats the press.
If you’re feeling your body contracting or overheating, step away from whatever you’re doing and take a deep breath.
🏃Get moving
Do something that feels good for your body and gets you out of your head. Go for a walk, jog or run. Take a moment to do a deep clean or comfort decorating to create a cozier space, or even learn a new skill.
🧵 Thread: If you’re looking to better understand the Russia-Ukraine crisis, here are 4 articles that break it down. 👇
Our timeline traces the pivotal moments in Ukraine that got us to this moment — from its break from the Soviet Union to now. npr.org/2022/02/12/108…
This explainer breaks down the eastward expansion of NATO over the 1990s and early 2000s — and how Ukraine got caught between an aggressive Russia and overtures from the West. npr.org/2022/01/29/107…
The CDC has reported that in a single 12-month period, fatal overdoses claimed 101,623 lives.
Researchers and drug policy experts say the grim toll obscures an important and hopeful fact: Most Americans who experience alcohol and drug addiction survive. n.pr/3fsGuJI
Americans often see the more destructive side of addiction, drug crime, people slumped in doorways and family members who are spiraling downward.
Less visible are the people who survive the illness and rebuild their lives.
A study published by the CDC and the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2020 found 3 out of 4 people who experience addiction eventually recover.
"I think it kind of goes against our cultural perception that people never get better," said Dr. John Kelly.
Racial covenants — language that barred Black people and other minorities from living in white neighborhoods — are still on the books across the U.S.
They're unenforceable now, but remain an ugly reminder of the nation’s racist past.
And they can be shockingly hard to remove 🧵
Experts estimate there are millions of racist covenants still on the books across the U.S.
“I’d be surprised to find any city that did not have restrictive covenants,” says LaDale Winling, an expert on housing discrimination.
Another historian, Colin Gordon, argues that racist covenants are the “original sin” of segregation in America — and are largely responsible for the racial wealth gap that we see today. npr.org/2021/11/17/104…