Author Targets School Board, Calls Holocaust Book Ban ‘Orwellian'
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ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It’s Friday, Jan. 28. Before you head into your weekend, catch up on the stories we’re following today from across Patch:
Holocaust Novel Banned
A Tennessee school district has voted to ban a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust due to "inappropriate language" and an illustration of a nude woman, according to minutes from a board meeting.
The McMinn County School Board decided Jan. 10 to remove "Maus" from its curriculum, news outlets reported. Written by Art Spiegelman, the book tells the story of his Jewish parents living in 1940s Poland and depicts him interviewing his father about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor.
The decision comes as conservative officials across the country have increasingly tried to limit the type of books that children are exposed to, including books that address structural racism and LGBTQ issues
In an interview, Spiegelman told CNBC he was "baffled" by the school board's decision and called the action "Orwellian." » Holocaust Novel 'Maus' Banned In Tennessee School District, via Across America Patch
High School Shooter To Plead Insanity
Ethan Crumbley plans to plead insanity to charges in connection with the Nov. 30 school shooting that killed four students and wounded seven other people at Oxford High School in Michigan, according to reports. Crumbley faces 24 charges, including terrorism and four counts of premeditated first-degree murder. » Accused Oxford School Shooter To Plead Insanity: Report, via Rochester-Rochester Hills, Michigan, Patch
Artist Pays Homage To Bryant, Daughter
At the crack of dawn Wednesday, artist Dan Medina carried his original 160-pound statue of Kobe and Gianna Bryant to the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball legend and his 13-year-old daughter. "Heroes come and go, but legends are forever," the statue reads, quoting the iconic basketball player. » Artist Pays Homage To Kobe Bryant With Statue At Crash Site, via Calabasas, California, Patch
Gas Stoves Damaging Environment
Gas stoves are contributing more to global warming than previously thought because of constant tiny methane leaks while they're off, a new study found. Even when they are not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons of methane into the air each year. » Gas Stoves Worse For Climate Than Previously Thought: Study, via Across America Patch
More national headlines on Patch, other news websites:
Will COVID Ever Be 'Over'? Most Americans Don't Think So: Poll
Sarah Palin Returns To NYC Restaurant Despite COVID Diagnosis
Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman Gives His First Interview Since Jan. 6, via NPR
Clyburn Calls For Full-Court Press On Voting Rights, via The Hill
Biden Vows To Nominate A Black Woman For Supreme Court By End Of February, via The Washington Post
'Great Honor': Breyer Makes His Retirement Plans Official, via Politico
Around ‘The Patch’
A substitute teacher at an Illinois middle school was reprimanded after requiring students to do physical exercises if they failed to wear their masks properly. » Pushups Used To Punish Illinois Kids For Mask Flubs, via Elmhurst Patch
A Tampa woman who also served as a director of finance at a church has pleaded guilty to hiring a hit man to kill the wife of her ex-lover. » Church Leader Hired Hit Man To Kill Ex-Lover's Spouse, via Tampa Patch
He told his family and a few friends. He dropped hints to a couple of colleagues. So hardly anyone knew that the airline pilot could have — should have — been on board when SpaceX launched its first tourists into orbit last year. But he wasn’t. » He Won A Trip To Space. Then He Gave It Away To A Friend, via Across Florida Patch
More local news:
Dead Birds Found On Venice Beach, via Venice-Mar Vista, California, Patch
Virginia Man Who Wore 'Camp Auschwitz' Sweatshirt In Capitol Attack Pleads Guilty, via Washington, D.C. Patch
Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Retires, via Pittsburgh Patch
Former Libertarian Nominee Poses ‘Significant Danger’: Prosecutors, via Lake Forest, Illinois, Patch
3 Charged With Assault After Death Of South Jersey 19-Year-Old, via Galloway, New Jersey, Patch
Texas Woman Offers Walmart Shopper $500K To Buy Her Toddler, via Houston Patch
Man Shipped 10 Live Rhinoceros Iguanas From Lambertville Post Office, Labeled As 'Toys,' via Lambertville, Pennsylvania, Patch
World's Oldest Male Gorilla, Ozzie, Dies At Zoo Atlanta, via Atlanta Patch
House Hunting
Looking for a historic investment property? This multifamily home for sale in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia — known as the "Stoner Store” — contains seven apartments and was built in 1789.
This Day In History
In 1813, Jane Austen's “Pride and Prejudice” was published anonymously and enjoyed immediate success.
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This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch
