(NEW YORK) — Rite Aid has shuttered all of its stores after more than six decades in business.
The pharmacy chain made the announcement in a post on its website, stating, “All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support.”
ABC News has reached out to the company for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Despite its long history in the pharmacy industry, Rite Aid has faced mounting financial challenges in recent years. The company most recently filed for bankruptcy protection in May, just eight months after emerging from a previous Chapter 11 filing in September 2024.
At the time, Rite Aid — which operated more than 1,200 stores across 15 states from California to Vermont — said it planned to keep stores open while selling off assets to avoid disrupting customers’ prescription services.
The company also announced it had secured $1.94 billion in new financing from existing lenders to stay operational during bankruptcy proceedings.
Rite Aid had first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023, allowing it to reduce billions in debt and close hundreds of underperforming stores. Alongside declining sales, the company has also faced more than 1,000 federal, state, and local lawsuits alleging its pharmacies improperly filled prescriptions for painkillers, according to the New York Times.
In March 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint accusing Rite Aid of filling “unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances” that showed multiple red flags for misuse — allegations the company has denied.
As part of its first bankruptcy reorganization, Rite Aid reached a settlement with the Justice Department in June 2024 resolving those allegations under the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act. Under the settlement, the company agreed to pay the government $7.5 million and have a general unsecured claim in Rite Aid’s bankruptcy case, which are being handled through the court process. Rite Aid did not admit to any wrongdoing.
The company’s second bankruptcy filing in May 2025 paused most of the remaining opioid-related lawsuits including cases brought by state and local governments as well as individual plaintiffs which are now being handled through the bankruptcy’s claims process while Rite Aid works through its wind-down plan — a plan that remains under court review amid ongoing objections from the U.S. Trustee.
Rite Aid has denied the allegations in those lawsuits and in a statement in 2023 said it sought an “equitable” resolution of opioid claims through the Chapter 11 process.
Founded in 1962 as Thrift D Discount Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Rite Aid grew into the nation’s third-largest standalone pharmacy chain before its final closure.
Police intervene the protesters, at least 56 demonstrators were arrested after blocking traffic to the Brooklyn Bridge to end the Israeli attacks and establish a ceasefire in Gaza, following the Yom Kippur 2025 gathering at Brooklyn Borough Hall hosted by Rabbis for Ceasefire in New York City, United States, on October 2, 2025. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(BROOKLYN, N.Y.) — Almost 60 protestors were arrested on Yom Kippur after blocking traffic on New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge, authorities confirmed to ABC News.
The hundreds of people present at Thursday’s protest were members of the Rabbis for Ceasefire group that is comprised of Rabbis and Rabbinical students who support the free Palestine movement, according to the group.
The protest comes amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas War in Gaza that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, as reported by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, sparking demonstrations and protests all over the world calling for a ceasefire.
After being called to the scene of the Brooklyn Bridge demonstration, NYPD officers arrested almost 60 protestors as they clapped and sang in Hebrew, according to social media videos shared by protesters.
NYPD could not confirm if all of the protestors have been released from custody yet, or if they will be criminally charged.
The protest began a few hours earlier at Brooklyn Borough Hall, according to the group’s social media, with a Yizkor service, which is a special Jewish ceremony for those who have died. Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, also known as the “Day of Atonement.”
NYPD told ABC News the protestors blocked all lanes of traffic on the bridge for one hour.
Rabbis for Ceasefire seeks to “collaborate with the broad Jewish Left ecosystem and multiracial, interfaith coalitions to practice a Judaism we can be proud of for future generations. R4C creates space for our communities to be with our horror, outrage, grief, shame, and fear while speaking spiritual and political truth,” according to their website.
The group sought to use the holiday to shine a spotlight on their activism, the website said.
“This Yom Kippur, though our grief, outrage, and despair, let us turn our most holy of holy days into a mass mourning, collective atonement, and dignified action,” the group wrote on their page about the protest.
The ongoing Gaza war erupted after Hamas led a surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people there and taking 251 others hostage, according to figures from the Israeli government.
In this screen grab from a video released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, 31-year-old Thomas Brown is shown after his arrest. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
(MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz.) — A suspect has now been arrested after two teenagers were found fatally shot in May on an isolated hiking trail in Arizona, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said Thomas Brown, 31, has been arrested on two counts of first-degree murder in the killings on Mount Ord, a popular remote hiking and camping area.
The victims had been identified as 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and 17-year-old Evan Clark.
Both teens were shot multiple times, according to law enforcement.
“What a senseless, violent act, the murder of two young teenagers while out camping,” Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said at a press conference Friday.
The suspect admitted to having an interaction with the two teens while they were hiking, but there is “no evidence” to suggest there was any association between the teens and the suspect.
“They were likely complete strangers,” Capt. David Lee said at the press conference.
“I can’t find the words to express how sorry we are for what they’ve gone through and for the continuing victimization that a crime like this causes those families,” Lee said.
The teens were first reported overdue on May 26 after a woman told law enforcement that her daughter was out camping with friends and her last known location was Mount Ord, between the cities of Mesa and Payson, Lee said.
A responding sergeant found a vehicle in the area — later identified as Clark’s — and tried to make contact with occupants but was unable to. The sergeant then requested backup, Lee said.
The additional deputies continued their search until they found a campground further up the mountain, Lee said.
“In that campsite, they noticed conditions that suggested there was evidence of something being dragged away from that camp area. They would then locate the bodies of Pandora Kjolsrud and Evan Clark, who were pronounced deceased on the scene,” Lee said.
The sheriff’s office at the time said the deaths were being treated as “suspicious.”
In the following days, detectives received many tips, including one that Brown was camping on Mount Ord on that day. Another tip from a different group of campers said they encountered an individual “acting very strangely,” Lee said.
“The tip from those campers detailed some very specific observations that caused our detectives to heighten our focus and focus our detective’s investigative efforts into Thomas Brown’s involvement,” Lee said.
Brown told law enforcement he was camping on Mount Ord from the May 23 to 26, saying his wife was with him, but that she left the morning of May 25 and he stayed behind, Lee said.
Police believe Brown acted alone, Lee said.
Brown provided law enforcement “false and misleading information” regarding his involvement with evidence and the comparison of his statements and physical evidence led to his apprehension, according to Lee.
Simone Schultz, Kjolsrud’s mother, spoke at the press conference, describing her daughter as a “beautiful, brilliant light in this world.”
“The light and love and beauty she gave us will be in our hearts forever, and the darkness that she encountered on that day when she met her killer will not define her life; his darkness will never overcome her light,” Schultz said.
“I have full faith in our judicial system to evaluate the evidence in this double homicide and find the perpetrator guilty of the violent murders he committed against two innocent teenagers,” she said. “My daughter’s life matters, and I look forward to the day the perpetrator is convicted and punished for his crimes.”
The two teens were students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, according to a letter the principal wrote to parents at the time.
“This last week Evan was taken from me, and my level of grief feels insurmountable. I find myself at a complete loss to imagine a life without him,” Sandra Malibu Sweeney, Clark’s mother, said in a statement shortly after he was found dead. “It is a small comfort to share some things about this boy who was on his way to becoming a wonderful man.”
She continued, “Evan wasn’t a typical teenager. He was funny, bright, kind and entrepreneurial. He was an old soul who was sensitive and loving. Evan wrote me letters, the last of which he gave me on Mother’s Day that was so touching it made me both laugh and cry. He was special. He deserved a long life.”
(GRAND BLANC, Mich.) — Body camera footage released Friday shows the chaotic moment when local police confronted the man accused of driving his truck into a Michigan chapel before firing on hundreds of worshipers and burning the church to the ground.
The video, released at a Friday press conference, shows two officers running toward the suspect in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, telling him to drop his weapon, yelling “shoot him” and “get back” before firing at least eight shots.
The suspect’s body can be seen on the ground at the end of the short video.
The press conference comes almost a week after Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, allegedly killed four people and injured eight others during his rampage before being shot dead by the two local officials who responded to the scene.
While officials did not take questions at the press conference, they did reveal a new timeline for the police response.
The first call to Genesee County 911 came from someone who got shot in the stomach at 10:25 a.m., with that patched to officers 16 seconds later, police said during the press conference. A Michigan Conservation officer arrived just short of 2 minutes later and then the Grambling Township officer arrived one minute later, which is when the body camera footage picked up.
The names of the officers, who have been placed on desk duty, are not being released and the investigation is being conducted by the Michigan State Police.
“We will never forget this incident, but I promise you we will not let this define Grand Blanc. We will strive, and we will be better together,” Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said. “Our condolences go out to everyone in this nation who has been affected by this particular incident.”
“We’re not going to allow this incident to define our community, but our response it is what we we’re going to be defined by,” Grand Blanc Township Supervisor Scott Bennett, said at the press conference Friday.
Investigators said that Sanford is from Burton, Michigan, which is about 8 miles north of Grand Blanc, and he is Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War.
People who knew Sanford told ABC News that he held contempt for the religion from his experiences dating a Mormon woman in Utah a few years prior to the shooting and said he had even considered converting to the religion himself.
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the U.S. ordered a strike on another alleged drug boat that left Venezuela.
“Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, and no U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. The strike was conducted in international waters just off the coast of Venezuela while the vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people,” Hegseth said in an X post, which included footage of the attack.
The defense secretary didn’t give more details about the attack, and only claimed that intelligence “confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route.
This is now the fourth strike off the coast of Venezuela in what the Trump administration insists are international waters.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration told Congress that it believes it’s engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and that it believes anyone smuggling illegal drugs should be considered “unlawful combatants.” The term is a legal one used during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by the government to justify lethal force by military troops as well as indefinite detention.
Putting drug runners in the same camp as al-Qaida fighters on the battlefield has prompted skepticism among legal experts who say the legal rationale is a stretch. It’s also unclear which groups are being targeted. President Trump has insisted the first boat strike included members of the Tren de Aragua gang, but the administration hasn’t said who was killed in subsequent boat strikes, including the one on Friday.
One official on Capitol Hill told ABC News this week that lawmakers were interpreting the latest notice on the strikes as the administration “essentially waging a secret war against secret enemies, without the consent of Congress.”
U.S. officials have long claimed that Venezuelan cocaine shipments contribute to overdose deaths in the U.S. — and they accuse the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, of facilitating drug trafficking, which he denies. The Trump administration has placed a $50 million bounty on his head for his arrest.
Earlier this year, the administration designated all drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” which officials say gives them the legal authority to go after them without due process.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ian Andre Roberts’ booking photo. Polk County Sheriff
(DES MOINES, Iowa) — The Des Moines Public Schools board announced Friday it intends to pursue legal action against a consulting firm it hired in 2023 to conduct a search for a new superintendent, claiming the firm failed to “properly vet candidates” after the district’s now-former superintendent was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week.
Federal authorities said the superintendent, Ian Roberts, is not in the U.S. legally and has not had any work authorization in the U.S. since 2020. He had served as the superintendent of the Des Moines district since July 2023 until his resignation this week following his detainment.
“Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist, and if we knew what we know now, he would never have been hired,” Des Moines Public Schools board chair Jackie Norris said after the board emerged from a closed session Friday morning.
Norris claimed it has become clear that the consulting firm failed to turn up information “of a negative nature” about Roberts that it should have flagged to the school board.
“It’s clear that people are identifying and finding information in a matter of hours,” Norris said, in reference to public reporting on Roberts since his arrest by ICE last week. “And so it’s probably something that they should have caught, and that was our expectation.”
Norris said the search firm, in its contract with the school board, was responsible for advertising, recruitment, application and resume review, public domain search, complete reference checks and presentation of qualified candidates. It also said it would conduct comprehensive reference calls on each applicant to include the verification of all related employment experiences, and would sub-contract with another company for a comprehensive criminal, credit and background check, she said.
“We are pursuing legal action as allowed by law. This is about accountability, taxpayer dollars, and we are seeking accountability,” Norris said. “As the facts revealed themselves over the past several days, it was crystal clear that the search firm did not do its job,” Norris said.
ABC News has reached out to the consulting firm for comment.
Roberts, 54, entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa that has since expired, and a judge issued a final order of removal against him in May 2024, according to federal authorities.
He resigned as superintendent on Tuesday, a day after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners said it revoked Roberts’ administrator license and the Des Moines School Board voted unanimously to put him on unpaid administrative leave and to provide proof he is authorized to work in the U.S. or face termination. He did not provide the board with that information, according to Norris.
Norris had previously said the Des Moines School Board was not aware of Roberts’ immigration issues at the time of his hiring and that the board is “also a victim of deception by Dr. Roberts, one on a growing list that includes our students and teachers, our parents and community, our elected officials, and Iowa’s Board of Educational Examiners, and others.”
Robert now also faces a federal firearms charge. After he was detained by ICE agents on Sept. 26, a loaded handgun was found in his vehicle, and three additional firearms were located in his residence, according to a federal criminal complaint charging him with being an “illegal alien in possession of firearms.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
In this screen grab from a video released by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, 31-year-old Thomas Brown is shown after his arrest. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
(MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz.) — A suspect has been arrested after two teenagers were found fatally shot in May on an isolated hiking trail in Arizona, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said Thomas Brown, 31, has been arrested in connection to the murder investigation at Mount Ord, a remote hiking and camping area.
Law enforcement officials said they would provide more details at a Friday press conference.
On May 27, deputies responded to Mount Ord, between the cities of Mesa and Payson, to find “two deceased individuals,” according to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office at the time said the deaths were being treated as “suspicious.”
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and 17-year-old Evan Clark, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The two teens were students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, according to a letter the principal wrote to parents at the time.
“This last week Evan was taken from me, and my level of grief feels insurmountable. I find myself at a complete loss to imagine a life without him,” Sandra Malibu Sweeney, Clark’s mother, said in a statement. “It is a small comfort to share some things about this boy who was on his way to becoming a wonderful man.”
She continued, “Evan wasn’t a typical teenager. He was funny, bright, kind and entrepreneurial. He was an old soul who was sensitive and loving. Evan wrote me letters, the last of which he gave me on Mother’s Day that was so touching it made me both laugh and cry. He was special. He deserved a long life.”
In May, the sheriff’s office said they were conducting a “comprehensive and meticulous investigation to ensure justice for the victims and their loved ones.”
“We are coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners and ask for patience and respect for the investigative process as we work through the facts,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
A massive fire is seen erupting at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, California, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2025. (KABC)
(LOS ANGELES) — Firefighters were battling a blaze at a Chevron refinery in Southern California late on Thursday, company and government officials said, after a massive fireball erupted at the facility.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which was burning in El Segundo, a city in Los Angeles County.
“All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for and there are no injuries,” Allison Cook, a Chevron spokesperson, told ABC News.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was briefed on the fire, his office said.
“Our office is coordinating in real time with local and state agencies to protect the surrounding community and ensure public safety,” the office said in a statement.
The sprawling refinery, which is located just south of Los Angeles International Airport, has its own fire department on site, according to its website. Chevron’s firefighters were joined by emergency personnel from El Segundo and Manhattan Beach in responding to the “isolated” fire within the facility, the Chevron spokesperson said.
“No evacuation orders for area residents have been put in place by emergency response agencies monitoring the incident, and no exceedances have been detected by the facilities fence line monitoring system,” the spokesperson said.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said she’d been briefed on the fire. She also said she’d spoken with Holly J. Mitchell, the supervisor who represents El Segundo.
“LAFD stands at the ready to assist with any mutual aid request. There is no known impact to LAX at this time,” Bass said on social media. “We will continue to monitor this situation.”
A 3-hour shelter-in-place order was issued for areas within the Tree Section of Manhattan Beach, according to Alert SouthBay. “Bring all people and pets indoors,” the alert said. In an earlier social media post, the alert system said, “There is NO PUBLIC threat at this time and NO evacuation orders in place at this time.”
The fire department in nearby Torrance, California, issued an alert, saying it was aware of the fire, but there was “no impact” to the city.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Naomi Vanderlip contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Sean “Diddy” Comb’s former assistant — who testified at trial under the pseudonym “Mia” — will be allowed to speak during the rap mogul’s sentencing on Friday, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Judge Arun Subramanian granted prosecutors’ request for “Mia” to deliver a victim impact statement, over the objections of Combs’ lawyers. Subramanian wrote, “Though the defense argues that Mia has been discredited, it doesn’t explain why she should be excluded given that the defense will of course be afforded a ‘fair opportunity to respond’ to any remarks that Mia offers.”
“Mia” worked as Combs’ personal assistant between 2009 and 2017. During trial, she described abusive work conditions and said Combs sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Defense lawyers argued that “Mia” lied about the alleged abuse.
In July, a jury found Combs guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura, and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution in connection with another ex-girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym “Jane.”
In a letter to the judge on Wednesday, defense attorney Marc Agnifilo had argued against letting “Mia” speak, saying, “She is not a victim of anything.”
Federal prosecutors conceded that “Mia” is not a victim of transportation for the purposes of prostitution.
The defense called “Mia” a liar, saying she testified at trial “with a made up voice and demeanor” and now wants to “sully” the sentencing hearing.
“Moreover, that she is so eager to return to court, when she plainly does not have to, and is not even entitled to, puts her proffered fear of testifying at trial into clear relief. This was a show for her,” Agnifilo said.
The lawyers representing “Mia,” Shawn Crowley and Mike Ferrara, said in a statement to ABC News, “Mia was incredibly brave to walk into a public courtroom and testify truthfully about the worst events of her life, and stand up for herself, her friends, and abused women everywhere.”
While the music mogul was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, he was found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge. He was also found not guilty of both charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion in connection with Ventura and “Jane.”
Combs will be sentenced on Friday. Federal prosecutors argue Combs deserves at least 11 years in prison, while Combs’ attorneys are seeking time served. Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest.
(NEW YORK) — Books bans in public schools have become a “new normal” in the U.S., escalating since 2021, according to one advocacy group. In a new report, PEN America said the federal government has emerged in 2025 as the newest force fueling campaigns to restrict materials related to race, racism and LGBTQ+ issues.
There were 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts in the 2024-2025 school year, the report said. PEN America works to promote freedom of expression in the literary space.
According to the report, which was released on Wednesday ahead of Banned Books Week (Oct. 5 to 11), Florida had the highest number of book bans with 2,304, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622.
“A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years. The result is unprecedented,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program.
The bans, some of which are temporary while others are indefinite, have hit 2,308 authors, with “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess, “Breathless” by Jennifer Niven, “Sold” by Patricia McCormick, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo and “A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas topping the list of most banned books in the 2024-2025 school year.
Other frequently banned titles include “Forever … ,” by Judy Blume, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson and “Damsel” by Elana K. Arnold.
The bans largely target books about race and racism in the U.S. or books featuring people of color and LGBTQ+ people and topics, according to the report, as well as some books for young adults that include sexual references or discuss sexual violence.
“Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country,” the report said.
It noted that the bans, which it said are driven by advocacy groups that champion conservative viewpoints, are reminiscent of the Red Scare of the 1950s — a period of intense anticommunist fear in the U.S., which prompted censorship efforts.
“Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide,” the report said. “Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, even threatening public funding to exact compliance. Never before has access to so many stories been stolen from so many children.”
There were nearly 23,000 cases of book bans across 45 states in the U.S. and 451 public school districts since 2021, according to PEN America. They started documenting book bans in 2021 as special interest groups lobbied school boards across the country to remove books based on content.
Four years later, the practice has become “normalized,” the report found, with efforts to ban books expanding. It said some state legislatures passed laws restricting certain materials and state departments of education issued directives for schools to remove materials. It also highlighted “do not buy” lists issued by some school districts, banning educators from choosing certain books for libraries and school curriculums.
According to the report, under the Trump administration in 2025, the federal government has emerged as a new “vector” for book ban campaigns across the country, largely through President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
Although the executive orders do not specifically mention book bans or target certain books, they threaten to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools that “[imprint] anti-American, subversive, harmful, and false ideologies on our Nation’s children.”
PEN America highlighted “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which was signed by Trump on Jan. 29. In it, the administration cited themes of race, racism and transgender ideology as examples of “radical indoctrination,” and argued that introducing this content to children in public schools usurps parental rights.
“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics,” the executive order said. “In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.”
PEN America noted that the “parental rights” argument is central to the Trump administration’s federal policies limiting certain content in schools. This movement, which was sparked in 2021 and championed by conservative groups like Moms for Liberty, has been utilized by advocacy groups to fight for book banning in states like Florida and Texas.
In June 2023, then-President Joe Biden appointed a “book ban coordinator” in the Department of Education’s office for Civil Rights. On Jan. 24, 2025, after Trump returned to the White House, the Department of Education dismissed 11 complaints related to “book bans,” calling them a “hoax.”
“By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a statement at the time. “The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities.”
According to the PEN America report, the public pressure from federal and state officials to restrict certain content in schools prompted so-called “preemptive bans” and censorship. The group said school administrators and educators often opt not to fight and instead remove books from shelves or decide against potentially objectionable materials.
“No book shelf will be left untouched if local and state book bans continue wreaking havoc on the freedom to read in public schools,” Sabrina Baêta, senior manager of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, said in a statement. “With the Trump White House now also driving a clear culture of censorship, our core principles of free speech, open inquiry, and access to diverse and inclusive books are severely at risk.”
