Washington plans to keep piling pressure on Russia through additional sanctions in a bid to force hard choices in Moscow, a senior US official tells CNN.

Anupgiri Gosain has been described as possibly the most successful mercenary of the late 18th century.

First came Toys R Us' roller coaster revival, and now Babies R Us is experiencing its own rebirth, too.

A school district and school board in Florida’s Escambia County were sued in federal court by free expression group PEN America and Penguin Random House, one of the largest book publishers in the world, and several prominent authors and families following dozens of challenges to books and materials discussing race, racism and LGBT+ people. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court on 17 May, argues that school officials have joined 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. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has ushered through sweeping laws to control public school education and lessons and speech he deems to be objectionable while characterising reporting on the impacts of such policies as a “hoax” and a “fake narrative” manufactured by the press. In Escambia County alone, nearly 200 books have been challenged, at least 10 books have been removed by the school board, five books were removed by district committees, and 139 books require parental permission, according to PEN America. Challenging such materials is “depriving students of access to a wide range of viewpoints, and depriving the authors of the removed and restricted books of the opportunity to engage with readers and disseminate their ideas to their intended audiences” in violation of the First Amendment, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also argues that singling out materials by and about nonwhite and LGBT+ people is an intentional violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment “This is no accident,” according to the lawsuit. “The clear agenda behind the campaign to remove the books is to categorically remove all discussion of racial discrimination or [LGBT+] issues from public school libraries. Government action may not be premised on such discriminatory motivations.” Two Penguin Random House Titles – Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Push by Sapphire – have been removed. And several other Penguin titles – including Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five – are currently under review. “Books have the capacity to change lives for the better, and students in particular deserve equitable access to a wide range of perspectives,” Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya said in a statement. “Censorship, in the form of book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our constitutional rights.” Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, added: “Children in a democracy must not be taught that books are dangerous.” “In Escambia County, state censors are spiriting books off shelves in a deliberate attempt to suppress diverse voices,” she added. “In a nation built on free speech, this cannot stand. The law demands that the Escambia County School District put removed or restricted books back on library shelves where they belong.” Titles from authors who joined the suit – including Sarah Brannen, David Levithan, George M Johnson, Ashley Hope Perez and Kyle Lukoff – have either been removed or faced restrictions for students to access them. “As a former public high school English teacher, I know firsthand how important libraries are,” Ashley Hope Perez, author of Out of Darkness, one of the books targeted by the school district, said in a statement. “For many young people, if a book isn’t in their school library, it might as well not exist.” The book removals followed objections from one language arts teacher in the county, and in each case the school board voted to remove the books despite recommendations from a district review committee that approved them. The teacher’s objections appear to be lifted from a website called Book Looks, founded by a member of Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group aligned with Governor DeSantis, to pressure school boards and libraries to remove content it deems objectionable, largely around LGBT+ rights, race and discrimination. The basis for that teacher’s challenges “are nakedly ideological”, according to the lawsuit. In one instance, she admitted that she had never heard of the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower but included the title and a “parental book rating” and excerpts that appear to have been lifted from Book Looks. Her challenge to Race and Policing in Modern America, a nonfiction book for middle school readers, claims that the book promotes “the idea that all police are bad” and that “non-blacks are racist” and its purpose is to “race bait”. She did not include any specific examples of objectionable content, and “her sole objection was that the book addresses a topic – the intersection of race and policing – that she did not consider suitable for discussion in schools”. The Independent has requested comment from Escambia County school board members. The district is unable to comment on pending litigation. There have been 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. 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. More than 100 bills in state legislatures across the country this year threaten to cut library budgets, implement book rating systems, regulate the kinds of books and materials in their collections, and amend obscenity definitions that preempt First Amendment protections, according to a database from EveryLibrary. Read More The book ban surge gripping America’s schools and libraries 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 John Green on book bans, bad faith, and the ‘history of folks trying to control what other folks can read’

Frank Elaridi claims that the incident took place when he was 24 years old and assigned to interview Love at Coachella while working for Nightline

Bronny James was on the court with his No. 23 Southern California teammates for pregame warmups for the second straight game, although he mostly watched from under the basket, did some rebounding and then took three shots from the corner

Alabama is again top dog in the Southeastern Conference — and perhaps headed to the College Football Playoff

Amanda Serrano retained her featherweight titles against Danila Ramos in the first women’s world title fight held over 12, three-minute rounds since 2007. Serrano won by unanimous decision after dominating the contest in Orlando to maintain her grip on the WBO, WBA and IBF world featherweight titles and put herself in contention for a rematch against Katie Taylor, who has a rematch of her own with Chantelle Cameron next month. The 35-year-old's WBC title was not on the line as the sanctioning body refuses to extend the length of rounds in women's boxing, citing "safety and well-being" concerns. Women's bouts are usually contested over 10 two-minute rounds, with 16 years since the last time women contested a bout over three-minute rounds, when Layla McCarter defeated Donna Biggers and Melissa Hernandez in 2007 in fights scheduled for three-minute rounds. But despite the extra workload, Serrano insists she could not tell the difference on the night, though Ramos was unable to push her to the limit. "I went through the whole fight and I still have the energy to hold all my belts," said Serrano, who won all 12 rounds. "This was a historic night. I hope it's just the beginning, because I know there are a lot of women coming after me. I know the future is bright for us. "In the sixth round, I was like, is it really three minutes or did they go back to two minutes? "I felt good. I was in really good shape. I trained really hard for this fight knowing I had to go out there and prove to everybody, prove people right or prove people wrong, that women can do whatever they put their minds to." Some fans have called for three-minute rounds with the theory that more time spent in the ring will increase the probability of a knockout and therefore make the bout more exciting. PA contributed to this report Read More ‘Middle of 2024’ predicted for Savannah Marshall’s rematch with Claressa Shields How much money are Fury and Ngannou earning for fight tonight? How many rounds is Fury vs Ngannou and do knockouts count tonight?

A group of the Premier Hockey Federation’s more high-profile players issued a unifying message by saying they’re eager to join forces in helping launch a new women’s professional hockey league in January — even as it comes at the expense of their league

TL;DR: Prime Video is hosting the Cincinnati Open in 2023. You can watch for free

Igor Sechin, the boss of Russia’s state oil company and longtime associate of Vladimir Putin, celebrated New Year’s

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