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U.S. strikes alleged Venezuelan drug smuggling boat

admin - Latest News - October 4, 2025
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Oct. 4, 2025, 12:37 PM EDTBy Jo YurcabaStudents who attend Pentagon-operated schools on or near military bases are among those feeling the effects of the government shutdown, which started just after midnight Wednesday and will leave some federal employees without paychecks and national parks partially closed.The Department of Defense Education Activity, or DoDEA, which operates 161 schools on or near military bases worldwide, has halted all extracurricular activities, including sports, for more than 67,000 students. Dylan McDonald, a 17-year-old senior and co-captain of his soccer team at Kentucky’s Fort Campbell Army base, fears he may have played the last game of his high school career after the government shutdown halted all extracurriculars. He and his mother worry that missing upcoming games, including next week’s district tournament, could hurt his chances of being recruited to play in college. “I put countless hours and blood, sweat and tears into this, and to not be able to finish properly based off of something that is uncontrollable to myself and my teammates and our families, yet still so directly affects us, is truly devastating,” Dylan said of the shutdown’s impact. To further complicate matters, missing the tournament could also cost him a spot at this year’s local all-district team, a roster of top players that he’s been a part of the past two seasons.Dylan McDonald said canceled soccer games means fewer opportunities for college recruiters to see him play.Courtesy Jennifer McDonaldDylan and his mother Jennifer McDonald are among the eight parents and students at DoDEA schools who told NBC News how the government shutdown is affecting them, describing cancellations of sports practices and games, as well as afterschool tutoring and student theater productions. Katie Fox, whose husband is a retired Marine, said her 15-year-old son’s homecoming dance at the DoDEA-operated Stuttgart High School in Germany was supposed to be this weekend. They already paid for tickets, his outfit and provided donations to help support the event. Then, due to the shutdown, it was postponed to later this month — assuming a funding bill is passed by then. She said she’s frustrated, because Congress could pass a targeted appropriations bill to allow for extracurricular activities to continue. “That’s my biggest frustration,” she said. “I know that there’s a solution, but it’s like we’re not being heard.”Katie Fox’s son, who is on the football team, already paid for homecoming tickets and an outfit, but the dance has been postponed.Courtesy Katie FoxFox added that student athletes at DoDEA schools abroad are especially affected when sports games are canceled, because, unlike in the U.S., they can only compete against other DoDEA schools, meaning there are typically fewer games overall. Maribel Jarzabek, whose husband is in the Air Force and based in Belgium, said her daughter Cassie, a junior at the DoDEA-operated SHAPE High School, only has six cross-country meets a year before the championship meet, compared to U.S. schools’ cross-country teams, which have around eight to 10 meets before the championships.This means that Cassie, who is favored to win this year’s DoDEA European championship in cross-country, her mom said, has fewer chances to impress college recruiters than students with longer seasons and more chances to compete. Cassie said she’s afraid the championships, which are scheduled for later this month, could also be affected, which could be devastating for her because they are the most important for recruiters. “As a military kid, we already have to deal with the pressures of moving every couple years and starting completely fresh, not having any friends,” Cassie said. “So this is just another thing added on to the adversity we already have to overcome. It just really hurts.” Cassie Jarzabek said the shutdown has canceled all of her cross-country practices just three weeks ahead of the championships.Courtesy Maribel JarzabekCrystal Noga — whose son Aiden Ward is a senior and a co-captain of Fort Campbell High School’s soccer team alongside Dylan McDonald — said that in the past, she has sent videos of her kids playing sports to their dad when he has been deployed overseas, and now some kids’ parents could be deprived of that, too. She said if the team is forced to forfeit their first district game against their rivals next week, she won’t have any other chances to see Aiden play soccer in high school. “Not only is it taken from them, it’s taken from me as a parent,” Noga said. “Once he leaves high school, that’s it. They’re thrown into the real world. So you’re taking away my last opportunity as well to see my kid be a kid.”Aiden Ward stopped playing football to dedicate more of his time to soccer, his mom Crystal Noga said.Courtesy Crystal NogaDylan McDonald, left, and Aiden Ward, right, had to end their soccer season early due to the shutdown.Courtesy Crystal NogaIn the meantime, team captains like Dylan, Aiden and Cassie have to organize practices for their teams on their own, and they have to emphasize that they are not mandatory, their parents said. At the same time, most of their parents are living on the paycheck they received this week until the government passes a spending bill.As Democrats and Republicans in Congress blame each other for the shutdown, the parents who spoke with NBC News all shared a similar sentiment: They don’t care which party is at fault — they want this fixed for their kids.“If you can’t come to an agreement, putting the burden on other people’s lives, whether it be their paycheck, whether it be sports, whether it be anything, is absolutely unjust,” Noga said. Jo YurcabaJo Yurcaba is a reporter for NBC Out.
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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. 
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