Trump’s anti-DEI movement comes for AI; Politico, April 27, 2026

 AARON MAK , Politico ; Trump’s anti-DEI movement comes for AI

"The legal crusade against affirmative action is coming for artificial intelligence.

On Friday, the Justice Department intervened in xAI’s challenge to Colorado’s “Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence” law. In its complaint, the DOJ argues the law’s provisions curbing algorithmic bias violates people’s 14th Amendment right to be treated equally under the law.

The intervention is in some ways an outgrowth of the movement to eradicate all race-conscious policies after the landmark Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in 2023 struck down affirmative action in college admissions."

Book bans and culture wars came for libraries. They’re still standing strong. ; The 19th, April 24, 2026

 Nadra Nittle , The 19th; Book bans and culture wars came for libraries. They’re still standing strong. 

During National Library Week, librarians throughout the country fight for books, jobs and truth.

"When students ask why books with LGBTQ+ themes need to be included in the collection, DeMaria tells them to consider the limited number of movies, books and other media that portray queer people. 

LGBTQ+ students “deserve that representation,” she said. “If it sits on the shelf because at that moment I don’t have a student who needs that mirror, that’s where it stays until I do.”"

Canadian astronaut’s bon mots help heal wounds from French language row; The Guardian, April 19, 2026

 Leyland Cecco , The Guardian; Canadian astronaut’s bon mots help heal wounds from French language row

"On day three of the mission, as the Integrity spacecraft hurtled towards the moon, Jeremy Hansen turned to a camera. “Bonjour tout le monde,” he said from nearly 125,000 miles away – a greeting with a literal translation that captured the immensity of the journey: hello all of the world.

“For the first time in history, our language, the French language, was expressed en route to the moon,” posted a Canadian parliamentarian. “Never had French been spoken from so far away.”

Hansen’s decision to speak French, during the mission and at a Nasa press conference on his return to the Earth, came shortly after a linguistic row – and public relations nightmare – for Canada’s flagship airline, that underscored how deeply the language is linked to the country’s politics and culture.

The Air Canada chief Michael Rousseau was forced to resign last month amid a storm of indignation after he spoke just two words of French in a video tribute to two pilots killed in a fatal collision. One of the pilots was a native French speaker, and Air Canada is based in Montreal, and Rousseau’s failure to speak the language – despite having a francophone mother and wife – has been seen as a snub to the 80% of Quebec’s population who do...

Upon return to Earth, the Artemis crew appeared moved by the deeply human experience of leaving the planet. Hansen later said it made him realize humans were “small and powerless – yet powerful together”.

Recent developments in artificial intelligence and wearable technology have led some to suggest that learning a second language is no longer important. But the Canadian astronaut’s decision to deliberately speak French, with the world watching reflected the deep cultural component embedded in learning and respecting another language.

“Of course, language is a tool of information, exchange and communication. But it’s so much more than that. Anyone who decides to learn to speak another language than their own, realizes the extent to which any language comes with a specific conception of the world and the universe around us,” said Chouinard. “It’s really a way to learn to see the world – our world – through a different lens.”"

Minnesota authorities investigate arrest by ICE of a Hmong American man as a possible kidnapping; AP, April 13, 2026

 MARK VANCLEAVE AND STEVE KARNOWSKI , AP; Minnesota authorities investigate arrest by ICE of a Hmong American man as a possible kidnapping

"A Minnesota county is investigating the arrest of a Hmong American man by federal officers that was captured on video as a potential case of kidnapping, burglary and false imprisonment, officials announced Monday. 

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and Sheriff Bob Fletcher said at a news conference they are pursuing information from the Department of Homeland Security that they need for their investigation into the arrest of ChongLy “Scott” Thao, 56, on Jan. 18. Ramsey County includes the state capital of St. Paul. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers bashed open the front door of Thao’s St. Paul home at gunpoint — without a warrant as far as Choi and Fletcher have been able to determine — then led him outside in just his underwear and a blanket in freezing conditions.

“There are many facts we don’t know yet, but there’s one that we do know. And that is that Mr. Thao is and has been an American citizen. There’s not a dispute over that,” Fletcher said. “There’s no dispute that he was taken out of his house, forcibly taken out of his home and driven around.”"

Ugandan human rights leader Frank Mugisha to be awarded 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize; Case Western Reserve University, April 3, 2026

  Bill Lubinger, Case Western Reserve University; Ugandan human rights leader Frank Mugisha to be awarded 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize

"Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), has devoted his life to advocating for basic human rights for all people—not only in his home country, but globally.

A recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize, Mugisha has been recognized internationally for his activism and courage. He was a 2014 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, chosen one of Fortune magazine's 2017 World's Greatest Leaders, and named among the 100 Most Influential People of 2024 by TIME magazine. 

And now, add one more honor to the list: The Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellenceat Case Western Reserve University will award Mugisha with the 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize. 

"It is truly humbling to be recognized alongside the inspiring work of previous Inamori Ethics Prize recipients,” Mugisha said. “This recognition inspires me greatly and means so much—not only to me personally but also to the communities I have the privilege to serve. It strengthens our resolve to continue advancing human rights, equality and ethical leadership.”

Mugisha will be awarded the prize, deliver a free public lecture about his work, and participate in a symposium panel discussion during the 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize events Sept. 17-18 on the Case Western Reserve campus.

“Mr. Mugisha’s dedication to and advocacy for human rights is inspiring. Driven by impact and propelled by purpose, Mr. Mugisha is changing lives around the world,” said Case Western Reserve President Eric W. Kaler. “We look forward to hearing about his life’s work this fall and honoring him as the 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize winner.”

The Inamori Ethics Prize has been awarded since 2008 to honor outstanding international ethical leaders whose actions and influence have greatly improved the condition of humankind.

“Frank Mugisha reflects the very spirit of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence—grounded in human dignity, global awareness, and moral courage. His leadership challenges us to see beyond differences and to strengthen our common humanity,” Provost and Executive Vice President Joy K. Ward said.

Grassroots movement

Mugisha has led the grassroots movement to save thousands of LBGTI Ugandans from persecution, incarceration, and death.

During his undergraduate studies, Mugisha founded Icebreakers Uganda in 2004, an organization created as a support network for LGBTI people who are out or in the process of coming out to family and friends. 

Icebreakers Uganda offers counseling, suicide-prevention, and education services to those who are sexual minorities and open about their identity—because it is viewed by law and some public opinion in that country as criminal. 

Mugisha has expanded his efforts while at SMUG, now an umbrella organization of over 40 groups, including the first and only LGBTI health center in Uganda. 

In addition to promoting equality for the LGBTI community in Uganda, Mugisha and his team at SMUG have been fighting legal and ideological battles with Ugandan Parliament and championed legal efforts in U.S. District Court against anti-LGBT activists for years. 

Mugisha has led the movements to abolish Uganda’s anti-homosexuality and sexual-offense legislation which makes it a crime to identify as queer, considers all same-sex conduct to be nonconsensual, and allows for the death penalty in certain cases. 

Ugandan courts upheld the large majority of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2024. However, SMUG’s advocacy efforts did convince legislators to eliminate sections that restricted healthcare access for LGBTI people, criminalized renting premises to LGBTI people, and required alleged acts of homosexuality to be reported. Mugisha and advocates continue to seek a full annulment of the Act before the Supreme Court of Uganda.

Mugisha was 14 when he told his brother he was gay. Both brothers were born and raised in a strict Catholic family in suburban Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where anti-LGBTI laws are among the harshest in the world. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say “coming out” in the East African country could draw a beating, land you in prison, or even cost your life.

“Frank Mugisha embodies moral courage in its highest form,” said Inamori Center Director Eileen Anderson, Inamori Professor in Ethics and the Anne Templeton Zimmerman, MD Professor of Bioethics at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “For more than two decades, he has led the fight for human dignity and equality in Uganda, transforming personal risk into global impact.”"

Trump administration agrees to return rainbow Pride flag to New York’s Stonewall monument; AP, April 13, 2026

 JENNIFER PELTZ AND MICHAEL R. SISAK, AP;  Trump administration agrees to return rainbow Pride flag to New York’s Stonewall monument

"The Trump administration said Monday it will resume flying a rainbow Pride flag on a federal flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, reversing course after removing the banner in February.

The government revealed the decision in court papers as it agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups who had sought to block the removal. A judge must still approve the deal.

The Interior Department and National Park Service “have confirmed their intention to maintain a Pride flag at Stonewall,” lawyers for the government and the groups wrote in a joint court filing."

Texas Considers Required Reading List for Schools, Which Includes the Bible; The New York Times, April 7, 2026

 Sarah Mervosh, The New York Times; Texas Considers Required Reading List for Schools, Which Includes the Bible

"Texas education officials are considering sweeping changes to English and social studies instruction that would put readings from the Bible on a new state-required reading list for millions of public school students...

A draft of the list, proposed by the Texas Education Agency, outlines more than 200 texts, with widely recognized classics such as “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle for kindergartners, “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle for seventh graders and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for eighth graders.

But it also includes passages from the Bible in middle and high school, raising questions about the separation of church and state.

A second proposed list, from Will Hickman, a Republican member of the state board, would require fewer books overall and include biblical passages starting in elementary school.

Supporters say the Bible excerpts, which include the story of David and Goliath from the Old Testament and a meditation on love from First Corinthians, have important literary value...

Democratic members of the state board have criticized the list for a lack of diversity in a state where Hispanic and Black students represent a majority of public school children. The state agency’s version includes texts from Black historical figures such as Langston Hughes and Frederick Douglass, for example, but has relatively few Black and Hispanic authors overall."

[Video] Library's teen advisory board creates "Community Closet" to help those in need; CBS News, April 10, 2026

 [Video] CBS News; Library's teen advisory board creates "Community Closet" to help those in need

"The South Park Township Library has a new program that helps provide necessary items for the community at large to use free of charge. But it's the group behind it that makes it such a special project. Josh Taylor reports on this week's On A Positive Note."

Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules; Associated Press via The Guardian, April 6, 2026

 Associated Press via The Guardian; Iowa can restrict LGBTQ+ books and topics at schools, appellate court rules

Ruling, vacating lower court’s temporary block, applies to classrooms and libraries up to sixth grade 

"Iowa can enforce a law that restricts teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ topics with students in kindergarten through the sixth grade and bans some books in libraries and classrooms, an appellate court said on Monday.

The decision for now vacates a lower court judge’s temporary blocks on the law.

The measure was first approved by Republican majorities in the Iowa house and senate and the Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, in 2023, which they said reinforced age-appropriate education in kindergarten through 12th grades. It has been a back-and-forth battle in the courts in the three years since lawsuits were filed by the Iowa State Education Association, major publishing houses and bestselling authors, as well as Iowa Safe Schools, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization."

‘Proactively fall in line’: Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office; Politico, April 5, 2026

 IRIE SENTNER, Politico ; ‘Proactively fall in line’: Holocaust Memorial Museum quietly changed content after Trump returned to office

Two former employees said they believed the museum was altering its content preemptively to avoid unwanted negative attention from the Trump administration.

"In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington quietly removed from its website educational resources about American racism and canceled a workshop about the “fragility of democracy.”

The changes, which have not been previously reported, came as Trump cracked down on what he called “corrosive ideology” at the Smithsonian Institution, demanding a slew of alterations at the world’s largest museum network to more closely align its content with his worldview. They also coincided with the administration’s efforts to remove content related to diversity, equity and inclusion from federal websites...

The museum pulled from its website a page called “Teaching Materials on Nazism and Jim Crow” at some point after Aug. 29, 2025, the last time the page was captured on the Internet Archive. That page provided lesson plans and resources about the connections between American de jure racism and the Nazi regime, including links to sites about “African American Soldiers during World War II” and “Afro-Germans during the Holocaust,” among other topics.

It also linked to a 2018 video on the museum’s YouTube channel featuring a conversation between a Holocaust survivor and a woman whose father was lynched in Alabama. That video is now unlisted, meaning it does not show up on the USHMM’s YouTube page but is still accessible via direct URL.

Leaders at the museum also renamed a one-day civic education workshop designed for college students from “Fragility of Democracy and the Rise of the Nazis” to “Before the Holocaust: German Society and the Nazi Rise to Power.” In an email, obtained by POLITICO, between a senior staff member at the museum’s Levine Institute for Holocaust Education and a staffer planning the workshop, the senior staff member said the change was necessary due to “concerns regarding how the term fragility may be perceived or interpreted in the current climate.”"

Library Director in Tennessee Fired for Refusing to Move Gender-Themed Books; The New York Times, April 2, 2026

 Emily Cochrane and Sonia A. Rao, The New York Times ; Library Director in Tennessee Fired for Refusing to Move Gender-Themed Books

The director, Luanne James, was fired at a board meeting for the Rutherford County Library System on Monday after she refused to move certain books to the adult section.

"It is still an uncertain moment for Ms. James, who had taken the position believing it would be where she would finish out her career. And she remains overwhelmed by both the scrutiny and public attention, even if there is nothing she would do differently.

“I’m just a librarian,” she said. “That’s who I am.”"

xTennessee librarian fired for refusing to move LGBTQ books from children’s to adult section; The Hill, April 1, 2026

 LEXI LONAS COCHRAN, The Hill; Tennessee librarian fired for refusing to move LGBTQ books from children’s to adult section

"The Rutherford County Library Board in Tennessee fired its top librarian for refusing to move LBGTQ books out of the children’s section.  

The board voted 8-3 Monday to fire library system director Luanne James after she said she would not move more than 100 LGBTQ books from the children to the adult’s section, The Associated Press reported."