Good Morning,
A federal judge ruled Thursday that DOGE’s cancellation of more than $100M in NEH grants was unconstitutional (AP) — a win, and a largely moot one. While the case worked its way through court, the administration eliminated more than half the NEH staff, terminated 97% of grants, and fired 22 of 26 advisory board members (Chronicle of Higher Education). The ruling feels beside the point.
The same pattern surfaces in PEN America’s new report on book bans, which finds nonfiction titles are now being removed at twice last year’s rate — activism and social movements the most-targeted theme (The Hill, The Guardian). The legal wins are real. The action is happening upstream of them.
The Venice Biennale is staging its own version. Several major pavilions — Austria, Belgium, Egypt, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea — closed Friday in protest of Israel’s participation (The New York Times). And Hyperallergic reports that the Israeli pavilion artist threatened jurors with personal liability lawsuits days before they all resigned — institutional pressure that didn’t require winning anything in court.
Elsewhere: Chicago Sinfonietta, founded in 1987 specifically to develop diverse talent, is pausing operations until 2027 (WBEZ). Pulitzer-winning critic Manuela Hoelterhoff has died at 77 (The New York Times). And David Attenborough turns 100 — still here, still narrating (AP).
All of our stories below.
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