How school libraries became a cultural battleground in Texas

To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts Today's Top Stories from NBC News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022 Good morning, NBC News readers.     Today we take an in-depth look at the battle over school libraries in Texas, including a list of 50 books parents want to ban. Plus, the latest on the Joe Rogan story and the Ukraine-Russia standoff.   Here's what we're watching this Tuesday morning.     Banned: Books on race and sexuality are disappearing from Texas schools in record numbers School libraries have become battlegrounds after an unprecedented effort by parents and conservative politicians in Texas to ban books dealing with race, sexuality and gender from schools, an NBC News investigation has found.   Hundreds of titles have been pulled from libraries across the state for review, sometimes over the objections of school librarians, several of whom told NBC News they face increasingly hostile work environments and mounting pressure to pre-emptively pull books.   Records requests to nearly 100 school districts in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin regions revealed 75 formal requests by parents or community members to ban books from libraries during the first four months of this school year. In comparison, only one library book challenge was filed at those districts during the same time period a year earlier, records show.    "There have always been efforts to censor books, but what we're seeing right now is frankly unprecedented," said Carolyn Foote, a retired school librarian in Austin who's helping lead the #FREADom campaign.   Read the full article here. Also on this today, here are 50 books Texas parents want banned from school libraries, nearly all related to titles dealing with racism, gender or sexuality. And for more on this story, watch NBC's "Nightly News with Lester Holt" tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT. Tuesday's Top Stories Judge who rejected deal in Arbery hate crime case likely thinks it was too lenient, experts say A former prosecutor and civil rights lawyer called the decision to reject the agreement "highly unusual." READ MORE After bitter public clash between U.S. and Russia, Ukraine focus shifts to diplomacy Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to speak to his Russian counterpart after Monday's fractious United Nations showdown. READ MORE Joe Rogan forces Spotify into a tightrope act akin to Netflix, Facebook The streaming company's pact with the incendiary podcast host has forced it to wrestle with a version of the knotty issues that have lately plagued the tech and media industries. READ MORE OPINION Celebrating Lunar New Year as an Asian living in the West felt like playing tug-of-war Celebrating non-Western holidays broadens what it means to be American, says writer Kuan-lin F. Liu. READ MORE Also in the News Time for Iran to make 'tough decisions' on whether to revive 2015 nuclear deal, says U.S. official The GOP's midterm playbook: Flip the script on Covid Rachel Maddow taking hiatus from MSNBC show to work on other projects Senate introduces bill to allow farmers to fix their farm equipment 477-mile lightning bolt spanning 3 states sets world record 'The Walking Dead' actor Moses J. Moseley dies at 31 Editor's Pick 'The situation is dire': Inside Afghanistan's 'fast unraveling' humanitarian crisis Some 23 million people — more than half of Afghanistan's population — are in dire need of assistance, according to the United Nations.  READ MORE Select KN95 masks are manufactured to offer 95 percent protection from particulate matter, like the N95 mask. But they're harder to shop — here's what to know. One Fun Thing  Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are reportedly expecting their first child together Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are reportedly expecting their first child together. The news was first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by outlets including E! News, which is a subsidiary of NBC News' parent company, NBCUniversal.   Over the weekend, the couple were photographed in the snowy streets of New York City, where Rihanna revealed her baby bump underneath an unbuttoned, oversized pink jacket.   Read more here. Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.    If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: patrick.smith@nbcuni.com. If you're a fan, please forward it to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.    Thanks, Patrick Smith     FOLLOW US     Want to receive NBC Breaking News and Special Alerts in your inbox? SIGN UP HERE Check out all of NBC Newsletters here.     Get the NBC News Mobile App   30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112 View in browser | Unsubscribe | Manage Subscription | Contact | Privacy