• Trump orders military troops to be paid amid…
  • ‘No survivors’ found after explosion at Tennessee plant,…
  • Israel prepares for final hostage release as Gazans…
  • Oscar-winning actor Diane Keaton dies at 79

Be that!

contact@bethat.ne.com

 

Be That ! Menu   ≡ ╳
  • Home
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Contact Us
  • Politics Politics
☰

Be that!

Sept. 27, 2025, 5:15 AM EDTBy Jeremy Mikula and Melinda YaoCal Raleigh joins MLB’s record books, the Trump administration makes an autism claim, and a streamer delays a poignant show’s release. Test your knowledge of this week’s news, and take last week’s quiz here.Jeremy MikulaJeremy Mikula is the weekend director of platforms for NBC News.Melinda YaoI am an intern for data graphics team.Nick Duffy, Kayla Hayempour, Jana Kasperkevic and Christian Orozco contributed.

admin - Latest News - September 27, 2025
admin
14 views 13 secs 0 Comments




Cal Raleigh joins MLB’s record books, the Trump administration makes an autism claim, and a streamer delays a poignant show’s release.



Source link

TAGS:
PREVIOUS
WWII Tuskegee Airmen combat pilot dies at 100
NEXT
Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleSept. 27, 2025, 5:00 AM EDTBy Allan Smith, Sahil Kapur and Shannon PettypieceDemocrats were swept out of power last year as they suffered political pain from rising costs. Now, President Donald Trump is overseeing stubborn inflation, a slowing job market and anxiety over his tariffs, and Democrats are determined to make his party pay the price.With the 2026 midterm cycle on the horizon, the economy is shaping up to once again play a dominant role. Democrats are keenly aware that what sunk them last time could be their ticket back to power.Trump’s own daring promise is complicating the situation for his party after he told voters in 2024, “When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day 1.”That’s a message Democrats will be emphasizing.“He’s promised us this golden age. It’s not happening,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., a member of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. “He promised the renewal of all his manufacturing jobs — not happening. Promised tariffs could restore all this stuff — not happening at all.”Economic anxiety is high. The August jobs report showed only 22,000 new jobs — a paltry total compared to recent years. Prices on a variety of goods and services rose more than expected in August, with year-over-year inflation growing to 2.9%, the highest rate since January.The cost of household staples like coffee and beef are soaring even as the rise in food prices has slowed from the decades-high inflation seen in 2022. Overall, grocery prices were up 2.7% in August compared to a year earlier, the biggest increase in two years. Electricity costs are rising, too, driven in part by the growth of AI data centers. The August NBC News poll found that 45% of voters said rising costs are their top economic concern.Trump has sought to reshape much of the economy, with sweeping tariffs, large tax cuts and pressure on the Federal Reserve and private companies. That formula has coincided with some bright spots Trump and his allies have promoted: The stock market has seen substantial gains, in part because of the AI boom that Trump’s administration has sought to bolster. U.S. gross domestic product grew at a 3.8% annual pace between April and June after shrinking earlier this year, the Department of Commerce said in its second upward revision on Thursday.Yet his opponents say that the president is now trying to shift attention away from the topic. At a White House event on Monday about autism, Trump discouraged reporters from talking about the economy.“Let’s just make it on this subject,” Trump said, referring to the autism announcement. “I’d rather not talk about some nonsense on the economy. I will say this: The economy is unbelievable.”The headwinds have cut into what was long one of Trump’s advantages: Voters trusted him to strengthen the economy. It was a dynamic that helped boost his campaign with voters who were angry with price increases under President Joe Biden and wanted a return to Trump’s pre-Covid economy.Recent polls show voters have soured on Trump’s handling of the economy. A Fox News poll this month found that 52% of voters believe the administration has made the economy worse — the same number who said in January the Biden administration was doing so. Trump’s performance on cost of living was his worst issue, with 67% of voters disapproving. What’s more, 63% disapprove of his handling of tariffs, and 60% of his economic efforts.Now, Democrats are seeking to unify around an economic message they think can bring together their fractured party as they reel from a loss to Trump. But Republicans expressed confidence that once their “big, beautiful bill” starts to sink in, and as uncertainty around tariffs dies down, economic sentiment will turn in their favor.Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic Senate candidate, said she’s hearing economic concerns “all over the state right now.”“I’m hearing this most acutely with young people, people who might have recently graduated from college, have degrees, who just cannot find a job right now, and [are] certainly feeling the tightening economy, but also the impacts of AI,” McMorrow said, adding that she is telling people: “This is not a global pandemic that we’re in right now. This is also not a recession like we saw in 2007-09. The inflation that we are seeing right now is entirely man-made, and it’s caused by Donald Trump.”’Waiting and seeing’There are other potential problems for Republicans.Consumer spending is holding steady but being driven by the top 10% of earners. Young men — a population that played a huge role in Trump’s victory — have been hit hard in the slowing job market. Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 6 jumped by 263,000 — the most since October 2021 — though initial jobless claims fell to 218,000 for the week ending Sept. 20.Americans’ view of capitalism is falling too. A Gallup survey this month showed 54% of Americans hold a positive view of the economic system, the lowest level the poll has recorded.“There is a big cohort of people who voted for Donald Trump because they really, sincerely believed that he was going to bring down the price of their daily necessities,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said. “And almost everything is significantly more expensive.”Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said it’s too early to grade Republicans’ performance on lowering costs because “the economy doesn’t move on a dime.” But she acknowledged that they need to make tangible progress by the 2026 midterms.“The problem right now is the people who are doing well, the people who are consuming the most, are the very wealthy,” Lummis said. “It is the middle class and lower middle class that is not buying because their salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation or interest rates are too high to buy a home. They’re treading water, and so we have to focus on the middle class in order to alleviate concerns about a bad outcome in the 2026 elections.”The White House argued that the economy is in better shape than other measures indicate, pointing to wage increases, a lower rate of inflation than in Biden’s term, a job market they say favors native-born workers, and surging stocks, among other measures.“Joe Biden’s reckless policies destroyed the economy, but President Trump is fixing it in record time to usher in the Golden Age of America — inflation has cooled, wages are on the rise, real consumer spending rose in July, manufacturing jobs are being reshored, and over half a million good-paying jobs have been created in the private sector,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, adding that Americans “will continue to feel economic relief in the months ahead as … massive tax cuts, deregulation, and energy dominance continue to materialize.”The White House has also highlighted a major revision this month from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing job growth was much slower than originally reported between April 2024 and March 2025, saying it shows slower job growth dates back to Biden. Trump fired the head of the BLS — and nominated a MAGA ally in her place — after a particularly weak July jobs report.There has been a steep decline in the immigrant workforce under Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda. Vice President JD Vance and other conservatives have said the exodus of foreign-born workers can explain the weaker job growth, but that it creates more employment opportunities for native-born Americans. The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, argued Trump’s job market has been worse for U.S.-born workers, pointing to BLS data showing an increased unemployment rate among this group.Jared Bernstein, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Biden, said he sees the economy “slowing in ways that are concerning” and warned of the potential for stagflation.“Employers and businesses are in a bit of a hiring freeze and investment freeze,” Bernstein said. “They’re sitting on their hands, waiting and seeing what’s going to come of the trade war, the deportations, the chaos, the Federal Reserve badgering, the DOGE cuts. It’s all unsettling for businesses who like a much calmer environment as a backdrop.”Fed cuts interest rates citing “risks” to jobs market01:44In a move Trump long pushed for, the Federal Reserve last week cut interest rates by 0.2 percentage points. In his news conference after lowering interest rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell tied the cut directly to issues in the labor market.“You see people who are sort of more at the margins, and younger people, minorities are having a hard time finding jobs,” Powell said.He added that the economy is being bolstered by “unusually large amounts of economic activity through the AI build-out and corporate investment.” And he said that while consumer spending numbers exceeded expectations, they appear skewed toward high earners.“So it’s not a bad economy or anything like that,” Powell said, adding: “But from a policy standpoint … of what we’re trying to accomplish, it’s challenging to know what to do.”Trump’s tariffsMuch of the existing economic uncertainty has centered on the president’s tariff agenda. The dust appears to be more settled now: Some tariffs have been lowered, new trade agreements have been reached with key partners, and a number of categories, including some electronics, have been exempted.A White House official said uncertainty on passage of the “big, beautiful bill” and on tariffs has “largely been resolved.”“You can now plan around what the tariff rate is going to be,” this person said. “We’re not in flux anymore.”So far, Trump’s vow to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. has yet to materialize, with industry continuing to cut back on the number of workers. The U.S. lost 12,000 manufacturing jobs in August amid a wider slowdown in the labor market, according to BLS data. The Trump administration has pointed to manufacturing investments, noting factories can’t open overnight.Trump’s tariffs have weighed on manufacturing companies now having to pay tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, along with imported machinery and parts. Companies have also continued to ramp up automation, requiring fewer workers to make the same amount of goods.Federal Reserve data released Sept. 16 showed a mixed picture for the manufacturing sector last month, with factory production ticking up in August after declining in July. The increase was driven by a rebound in auto production while other areas, like companies making machinery and metal products, saw declines.Steve Moore, a senior economic adviser to Trump in his first term, believes the economy is in a good spot, pointing to similar data points as the White House. But he cautioned that “at some point, some of these [tariff] costs are going to be passed down to consumers, no question about it,” though he said the country could still see benefits down the road.There is an economic uncertainty that has the president and his allies concerned: a case before the Supreme Court that could lead to his tariffs being overturned. Moore said the White House is “very keyed into” the case.“I think it’s going to be disruptive,” Moore said if the court overturns the tariffs. “And I don’t think anybody really knows what would happen. Will they have to return the money to the people who paid that? Will they pay the taxes? And what happens to trade deals? It would be havoc.”’You can’t fool people on the economy’Democrats want to frame a straightforward economic argument for the midterm elections: Trump promised to lower prices immediately upon taking office, and yet costs are rising.“What we must do is not just compare this economy to Biden’s,” Beyer said, “but compare it to what Trump said he was going to do.”In a memo marking Trump’s first six months in office, the Democratic National Committee mentioned lowering prices as the top promise Trump had broken upon taking office. A memo this month from the Bipartisan Cost Coalition, an anti-Trump group launched by former aides to Biden and President George W. Bush, said 2026 candidates “can succeed in this environment by having the courage to challenge Trump’s dishonest narratives and draw a line between chaos and the rising cost of living.”Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said GOP prospects in 2026 will turn on whether they can sell Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and improve voters’ confidence in their finances.Republicans are eager to promote the bill’s new tax cuts and credits, including tax breaks on overtime and tipped wages as well as expensing and deduction provisions they believe will encourage new investment in the U.S. and grow the job market.“It’s going to depend on whether or not we can actually see the benefits and get the information on the benefits out about what the reconciliation package did,” Rounds said.So far, Trump himself has not taken to the trail to promote the landmark legislation, though Vice President JD Vance has been visiting key battlegrounds to do so.The legislation’s cuts to health insurance programs already threaten hundreds of thousands of jobs. This month, a hospital chain in Virginia announced a consolidation it said is in part necessitated by “the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the resulting realities for healthcare delivery.”A Republican operative working on Senate races said Trump’s legislative package will give business leaders certainty on taxes over the next few years. But this person was mindful of how the job market looks now, particularly for younger voters struggling to find entry-level jobs.“Trump realizes that you really need to gas this thing up to get people hiring and get confidence in the market,” this person said. “So it’s not an overnight switch that the president could flip to get people hiring young men into the economy.”A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted this month found that while just 40% of voters approved of Trump’s handling of the economy, Republicans still held a 7-point edge over Democrats on which party voters trust more on the issue.Pennsylvania’s new Democratic Party Chairman Eugene DePasquale said he wants to get Keystone State Democrats to “focus like a laser” on economic issues.“But it’s one thing to have people be upset about Trump,” DePasquale said. “It’s another thing for them to vote for us. … We’ve also got to show we’re listening and putting real ideas on the table to try to win him back.”Moore said Republicans will need “to remind people of how bad things were under Biden” while framing the president’s signature legislation not as a tax cut but as a job creation bill.“Look, you can’t fool people on the economy,” Moore said. “People know what’s going on. They know what it costs to buy groceries. They know what jobs are available. When Biden was saying, ‘Oh, [inflation is] transitory,’ and so on, it didn’t fool people. So these policies have to be shown to be working.”Allan SmithAllan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.Sahil KapurSahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.Shannon PettypieceShannon Pettypiece is senior policy reporter for NBC News.
Related Post
October 3, 2025
Oct. 2, 2025, 6:10 PM EDTBy Chloe MelasWhen Harvey Weinstein, Luigi Mangione and NXIVM cult leader Keith Raniere faced hard time, among the first people they called was Craig Rothfeld.Rothfeld is the founder and owner of Inside Outside Ltd., a company that helps clients, including the aforementioned three, navigate the unnerving world of life behind bars.With only about a half-dozen prison consulting firms in the United States, Rothfeld is part of a little-known niche industry spawned around the criminal justice system that caters to big-name and no-name clients, all with the same goal.“I’m advocating for their human rights,” Rothfeld said.Rothfeld said he knows firsthand the misery and anguish prisoners experience because he was once incarcerated himself. He served 18 months after he was indicted for various financial crimes and was released in 2017.He said he started his company later that year to help others get through the challenges he faced. “Somebody needs a CPAP machine. They can’t breathe or sleep without it. How do I arrange for that CPAP machine to be able to be brought into either a federal prison or a state prison with them?” Rothfeld said. Luigi Mangione at his arraignment at Manhattan criminal court on Dec. 23.Curtis Means / Pool via Getty ImagesWhen someone hires him, Rothfeld gives the person a list of do’s and don’ts based on the 40 questions clients most often ask him, he said. “Never sit on somebody else’s bed. … Do not go into their cell unless you’re invited. You do not join a conversation that you’re not a part of,” he said. Rothfeld, whom Weinstein granted permission to talk about his experience behind bars, said Weinstein’s first questions before he was locked up were the same as those of other, nonfamous clients. “How am I going to talk to my family? Where am I going? And where do you think I’m going, and how are we going to deal with all of my medical conditions and medical needs?” Rothfeld said.Weinstein, who has chronic myeloid leukemia, or bone marrow cancer, is serving time at Rikers Island in New York City as he awaits sentencing stemming from a sexual assault conviction in June.One of his attorneys, Jennifer Bonjean, said prison consultants are important advocates for people entering the system. “As lawyers, we depend heavily on them to help our clients adjust to prison in all manner of ways, whether it’s to help resolve a medical concern, assist with a disciplinary issue or to advocate for a placement in a facility,” Bonjean said this week.Craig Rothfeld.NBC NewsArthur Aidala, Weinstein’s longtime criminal defense attorney, said he refers clients to Rothfeld because the “fear of the unknown” is overwhelming.”Preparing to enter prison, and then crossing that threshold, is an experience whose horror is truly indescribable,” Aidala said this week. “For most people, it feels insurmountable.”In the case of Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in federal prison in 2019 on sex trafficking and child pornography charges, Rothfeld’s first task was to get him out of solitary confinement, he said. Raniere was confined to solitary in 2022 after he was allegedly assaulted by another inmate.“If you spent 280 days in the SHU [Special Housing Unit] with no explanation whatsoever and you have feces on the floor and the walls, yeah, your human rights are being violated,” he said.One of Raniere’s attorneys, Ronald Sullivan, said navigating the federal Bureau of Prisons requires knowledge of a “byzantine set of regulations, the understanding of which can make a tangible difference in time served.”He said that regulations change frequently and that relationships with prison officials often determine how quickly or slowly requests are granted.Rothfeld said conditions at Rikers Island and the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City are “deplorable.” “Some days you have cold water, and that’s it. Sometimes you don’t get to shower for the week,” he said. “The food is inedible. Quite often, there’s leaks coming from the ceiling. There’s broken lights in cells, there’s mice, there’s cockroaches. It is completely inhumane.”Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court for his retrial as the jury deliberates at Manhattan Criminal Court on June 10 in New York.Michael Nagle / Getty Images fileOfficials at Rikers Island, a jail that is operated by the city of New York, did not respond to a request for comment.The federal Bureau of Prisons, which oversees the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, said that it makes every effort to ensure inmates’ physical safety and health and that their treatment is humane. It also said the detention center provides nutritionally adequate meals.Rothfeld said he charges a flat fee for his services but would not provide specifics. He said celebrity clients account for only about 2% of his business. “I don’t cost what an attorney costs. I don’t cost six figures. I don’t cost what a brand-new, fancy sport car costs,” he said. “I work with families to meet them where they’re at.”It is not publicly known whether Sean “Diddy” Combs, the former music mogul who is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, has hired a prison consultant. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 11 years and three months in federal prison after he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center for over a year. Rothfeld said Combs can expect better conditions in a federal prison than at the detention center.“He’ll be able to go outside,” he said. “There’ll be a yard of access to fresh air. He’ll be able to work out if he wants to work out. The second thing is the nature of his living quarters. In all probability, he will be in a dorm-like setting. Anything is nicer or better, relatively speaking, than the MDC.”Rothfeld speaks alongside Diana Fabi Samson and John Esposito, attorneys for Harvey Weinstein, outside Queens criminal court in New York last year. Julia Nikhinson / APRothfeld said he encourages his clients to become voracious readers. “I always recommend that people read fantasy,” he said. “Speaking from personal experience, I read ‘Game of Thrones’ when I was in prison, and it got me outside of where I was.”For the victims of the crimes his clients have committed, Rothfeld said he is not an arbiter of morality. “It’s not my job to judge; it’s not my job to argue. It’s my job to advocate. And as I tell people, the punishment is prison,” he said. “I believe, no matter who you are, famous or not — most of my clients no one’s ever heard of — you should have humane living conditions. Your civil rights should be honored when you’re incarcerated.”Chloe MelasChloe Melas is an entertainment correspondent for NBC News. Emily Lorsch contributed.
October 5, 2025
Oct. 5, 2025, 7:00 AM EDTBy Brooke SopelsaThe most commonly banned books in U.S. schools include LGBTQ titles, international bestsellers, teen romantasy novels and a 1962 classic, according to a new report that compares modern-day censorship to Cold War-era McCarthyism.More than 6,800 book bans were enacted during the 2024-25 school year in 87 public school districts across 23 states, according to a report released Wednesday by PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for free expression. The report was released ahead of Banned Books Week, which starts Sunday.“Censorship pressures have expanded and escalated,” Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said in a news release. “A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years.”The organization’s annual “Banned in the USA” report says the current environment of “unfettered book banning is reminiscent of the Red Scare of the 1950s.” It defines a school book ban as “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by governmental officials” that leads to the book being removed or restricted.The latest report found that 3,752 unique titles were affected by bans in the school year that ended in June. The most banned titles included “A Clockwork Orange” and “Wicked,” while the most banned authors included Stephen King, Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult. More than 80% of all bans originated in just three states: Florida, Texas and Tennessee.This past school year saw fewer total bans than in 2023-24, at more than 10,000, though the number is far above where it was in 2021-22 (more than 2,500 bans), when PEN America first started to compile an annual report. Since July 2021, PEN America has tracked 22,810 book bans across 45 states.One reason the total number of book bans may have dipped this year is that some titles are being pre-emptively taken off the shelves.“This functions as a form of ‘obeying in advance’ to anticipated restrictions from the state or administrative authorities, rooted in fear or simply a desire to avoid topics that might be deemed controversial,” the report states. Another potential reason, as author Malinda Lo pointed out, is that previously banned titles have not returned to shelves. Lo, whose book “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” was No. 4 on PEN America’s new list, said on Instagram that her 2021 novel made the cut “partly because all of the usual titles like ‘Gender Queer’ have already been banned and removed.”“Once a book is banned, it’s gone,” she wrote on Wednesday. “This is why we have to keep fighting these attacks on our first amendment rights.”“Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir that debuted in 2019, was No. 1 on PEN America’s Most Banned Books List in 2022, though it didn’t even make the top 15 on this year’s list.Books with LGBTQ themes and characters — like “Gender Queer” and “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” — are consistently among the most banned books highlighted in the annual reports of PEN America and the American Library Association, and this year is no different.Here are the 15 most banned books this past school year as tracked by PEN America, ranked in order of those banned by the most public school districts across the country:“A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess.W. W. Norton & Company‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Anthony BurgessBurgess’ dystopian satire about a sociopathic, Beethoven-obsessed teen gang leader was banned in 23 districts in the 2024-25 school year. The 1962 novel was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971 and was named one of Time’s 100 best English-language novels and one of Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels.“Breathless” by Jennifer Niven.Knopf Books for Young Readers‘Breathless’ by Jennifer NivenNiven’s 2020 novel is a coming-of-age love story that was banned in 20 school districts. On her website, the bestselling author describes “Breathless” as “the book I needed when I was sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. A frank take on sex and love, parental divorce, finding yourself, and the importance of writing your story. Of writing your life.”“Sold” by Patricia McCormick.Little, Brown Books for Young Readers‘Sold’ by Patricia McCormickMcCormick’s young-adult novel, about a girl from Nepal who is sold into sexual slavery in India, was banned in 20 school districts in the last school year. This 2006 title was a National Book Award finalist and was on the Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of the Year list and the ALA’s Top Ten Books for Young Adults list.“Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo.Dutton Books for Young Readers‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’ by Malinda LoLo’s young-adult historical novel about love and duty in 1950s San Francisco was banned in 19 school districts in the 2024-25 school year. The critically acclaimed 2021 novel won a long list of awards, including a National Book Award, Stonewall Book Award and Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.“A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas.Bloomsbury Publishing‘A Court of Mist and Fury’ by Sarah J. MaasThis bestselling adult romantasy novel, which was banned in 18 districts in the 2024-25 school year, is the second book in Maas’ wildly popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series. Maas, the only author with more than one title on this top 15 list, also has the distinction of being one of the most banned authors this year, with 162 total bans, behind only Stephen King and “Crank” author Ellen Hopkins.“Crank” by Ellen Hopkins.Margaret K. McElderry Books‘Crank’ by Ellen Hopkins Hopkins’ 2004 young-adult novel was banned in 17 school districts. On her website, the author revealed this bestseller is loosely based on her “older daughter’s story of addiction to crystal meth.” She said “Crank” began as “a personal exploration of the ‘why’s’ behind my daughter’s decisions, and what part I might have played in them.”“Forever…” by Judy Blume.Atheneum Books for Young Readers‘Forever…’ by Judy BlumeBlume’s award-winning 1975 young-adult novel, which was banned in 17 districts in the last school year, has been a target of censorship for 50 years, according to PEN America. Blume said she wrote the book — which was named one of NPR’s 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels and Time’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time — because her daughter “asked for a story about two nice kids who have sex without either of them having to die.”“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.MTV Books‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Stephen ChboskyChbosky’s 2009 coming-of-age novel about an observant “wallflower” navigating the “strange world between adolescence and adulthood” was banned in 17 school districts in the 2024-25 school year. The No. 1 New York Times bestseller — which deals with topics including first dates, family drama, sex, drugs and suicide — was adapted into a 2012 film starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.“Wicked” by Gregory Maguire.William Morrow Paperbacks‘Wicked’ by Gregory MaguireThis No. 1 New York Times bestseller, which debuted in 1995 and is a reimagined prequel to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” was banned in 17 school districts. The story of “Wicked,” however, is perhaps best known due to its adaptation into a Tony-winning Broadway musical and an Oscar-winning musical film starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.“All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson.Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ by George M. JohnsonJohnson’s 2020 memoir-manifesto about coming of age as a queer Black man was banned in 16 districts in the last school year, and it also topped the ALA’s list of 10 most challenged library books of 2024. In an interview with NBC News last year, Johnson said the real book censorship danger lies in the “soft-banning”: “We can track the books that are being banned, but we can’t track books that are not being ordered.”“A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas.Bloomsbury Publishing‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J. MaasThe first book in Maas’ internationally bestselling five-book romantasy series was, like the remaining books on this list, banned in 16 school districts. The central character in 2015’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses” is 19-year-old Feyre, a moral huntress who is dragged to a magical land and falls for her immortal captor.“Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold.Clarion Books‘Damsel’ by Elana K. ArnoldThis dark and twisted fairy tale, a 2019 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book, is, on the surface, about a damsel who is rescued from a dragon by a handsome prince. Prior to “Damsel,” Arnold’s book “What Girls Are Made Of” was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature.“The DUFF” by Kody Keplinger.Poppy‘The DUFF’ by Kody KeplingerIn Keplinger’s 2010 young-adult novel, 17-year-old Bianca discovers her high school’s “slimy school hottie” has given her an offensive nickname — DUFF, or Designated Ugly Fat Friend — but she still ends up in a “closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship” with him. Keplinger was only 17 herself when she wrote this bestselling book, which was adapted into a 2015 film.“Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult.Atria Books‘Nineteen Minutes’ by Jodi PicoultThis No. 1 New York Times bestseller is about the aftermath of a school shooting in a small New Hampshire town. Published in 2007, this is one of 29 novels written by Picoult, whose other works include “My Sister’s Keeper,” “Small Great Things” and “The Pact.”“Storm and Fury” by Jennifer L. Armentrout.Canary Street Press‘Storm and Fury’ by Jennifer L. ArmentroutArmentrout’s 2019 romantasy novel is the first book in her three-book “Harbinger” series. “Storm and Fury” is centered on 18-year-old Trinity Marrow, who “may be going blind” but “can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits,” according to Armentrout’s website.Brooke SopelsaBrooke Sopelsa is the editorial director of NBC Out, NBC News’ LGBTQ digital destination. 
October 1, 2025
Video shows South Carolina deputy point gun at teens
October 7, 2025
White House looks for a loophole in the law ensuring federal workers get paid after a shutdown
Comments are closed.
Scroll To Top
  • Home
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Contact Us
  • Politics
© Copyright 2025 - Be That ! . All Rights Reserved