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Hard Numbers: Books attacked, Trump trial looms, migrant children drown off Greece, Evergrande crisis deepens, redheads celebrate

August 28, 2023
Alex Kliment
NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery, Ala., displays books that have been banned by some schools, including "Charlotte's Web" and "Captain Underpants."
NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery, Ala., displays books that have been banned by some schools, including "Charlotte's Web" and "Captain Underpants."
USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect
21: With the US culture wars raging, requests to remove specific books from library shelves surged last year to the highest level in 21 years, according to the American Library Association. There were more than 1,000 such requests, with books about LGBTQ themes the most targeted.

2: Donald Trump’s election-interference trial will begin in March 2024, two years earlier than he and his lawyers had requested. The date selected by a federal judge on Monday means the proceedings will begin right smack in the middle of the Republican primaries — and just a day before Super Tuesday. Trump still holds a commanding lead in the race to be the GOP’s 2024 presidential nominee, but others are gaining a little ground.

4: Four migrant children drowned off the Greek coast on Monday while trying to cross the Aegean Sea from neighboring Turkey in a boat. The dead ranged in age from 11 months to 8 years. Some 12,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by sea this year — in July, hundreds died when a boat capsized.

2 billion: Chinese real estate firm Evergrande, AKA the world’s “most indebted property firm,” lost more than $2 billion in market cap on Monday amid ongoing concern about its ability to pay back its loans. The firm’s fate is intricately tied to broader concerns about China’s economy, which has relied heavily on property investment to boost growth in recent years. See our explainer here.

5,000: Ginger banger alert! Some 5,000 redheads gathered in the Netherlands for the annual Redhead Days Festival, which celebrates pheomelanin pride. Only about 2% of the world’s population has natural red hair.

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