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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! This is Paolo Confino, filling in for Emma. Texas governor Greg Abbott sends a bus containing migrants to Vice President Kamala Harriss D.C. residence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will introduce stock trade restrictions for Congress, and Edward Jones managing partner Penny Pennington shares the best advice shes received in her career.

Career advice. Every day, do something that terrifies you.

Those words come from Edward Jones CEO Penny Pennington, who considers this the best advice shes received in her 22-year career. Getting comfortable with new challenges invited me to raise my own hand from time to time and to say to my sponsors and my mentors, Ive never been at that table before, but Ive got something to say,' she tells Fortunes Susie Gharib in a wide-ranging interview about how she built her career and Edward Jones approach to navigating periods of volatility.

Its an approach to self-advocacy thats paid off for Pennington whos one of only 44 women CEOs on the Fortune 500. (Thats a paltry 8.8% of companies headed by women.) Within finance, Pennington is even more of a rarity. Shes just one of five women leading a brokerage firm with at least $1 trillion in assets under management on the Fortune 500.

Its a representational shortcoming thats prevalent across all leadership levels in financial services. Although women have achieved gender parity at the entry-level, commanding 52% of these jobs, according to a McKinsey study, their representation dips to 45% as soon as they move into their first management roles. The trend only worsens as they advance up the corporate ladder so that by the time they get to the C-suite, women make up only 27% of executive positions. For women of color, the drop-off between entry-level and C-suite jobs is even more drastic at 80%.

There are many women who say stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and mathnot my thing, Pennington tells Gharib. But this industry is fundamentally about knowledge and empathy. [Its about] helping families have possibilitiesThats when deep, empathetic people of all genders say, Thats something I want to be a part of.'

Hiring more women is a priority at Edward Jones, she says, where only 22% offinancial advisors are women. The company is targeting 30% by 2025.

We need more women in financial services because we need a womans perspective on how women are living today and what theyre concerned about. We need it as financial advisors and as senior decision-makers to make the best decision about the guidance we share with our clients and the products and services we want to build, Pennington explains.

Though Pennington, who was appointed CEO in January 2019, hasnt indicated she is considering stepping down from the firm, she is reflecting on her legacy. I want to be a purpose-driven, human-centered, courageous leader that helps foster the conditions where peoples minds are blown about the lives they get to have, she says.

Paolo Confinopaolo.confino@fortune.com@paolo1000_

The Broadsheet is Fortunes newsletter for and about the worlds most powerful women. Todays edition was curated by Paige McGlauflin. Subscribe here.

- Migrant crisis. Two buses carrying migrants arrived outside of Vice President Kamala Harriss residence in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, apparently sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Their arrival follows Wednesday's news that Abbott unexpectedly directed a plane containing 50 migrants from Venezuela to Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. CNN

- Selling stocks. House Democrats will introduce legislation placing new restrictions on lawmakers ability to buy and sell stocks this month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Wednesday. Pelosi declined to provide details on the legislation other than calling it very strong. But the announcement comes after months of increased scrutiny on members of Congress and their families trading stocks that could create conflicts of interest with their public duties. New York Times

- Dress recode. The Washington State Human Rights Commission has accused Alaska Airlines of discriminating against nonbinary and gender nonconforming employees through its strict policy requiring employees to choose between masculine and feminine uniforms.Reuters

- Popular opinion. Over 70% of Americans dont believe politicians are informed enough about abortion to craft related policies, a recent study from the 19th* and SurveyMonkey found. Over 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, including 36% of Republicans. Most religious groups surveyed support abortion rights with the exception of Mormons and evangelical Christians. 19th*

MOVERS AND SHAKERS:Former Williams Sonoma chief financial officer Julie Whalen is joining Expedia Group as chief financial officer. Pinterest has named Wanji Walcottchief legal officer and general counsel. Health care company Thirty Madison has hired Quan Zhang as chief financial officer. Former Citadel chief communications officer Julie Andreef Jensen has launched advisory firm Jasper Advisors with former 2U chief strategy and engagement officer David Sutphen. Direct-to-customer healthcare company Getlabs has hired Amanda Souders as vice president of people and Karen Maher as general counsel.

- Funeral arrangements. Wondering how to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral from across the pond? The funeral will take place in London on Monday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT). The major networks like NBC News, CNN, ABC, and Fox News will air the funeral. NBC News Now on Peacock, Apple TV, and YouTube will stream the service online. Harper's Bazaar

- Indiana abortion ban. The first abortion ban passed by a state legislature post-Roe took effect in Indiana on Thursday. Lawmakers passed legislation banning abortions with limited exemptions for rape, incest, and some medical complications and emergencies in early August. NPR

- Sweden elections. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson resigned Wednesday after conceding defeat in the countrys tight election. Anderssons party, the Social Democrats, still holds the most parliamentary seats at 30% but lost to a slim multi-party right-wing coalition led by the far-right Sweden Democrats. Guardian

- Out of date. Texas health officials are delaying the publication of the states first updated count of pregnancy-related deaths until next summer, after missing a key window. State legislators will likely not be able to use the data in their upcoming biennial session, meaning the analysis wont be used until 2025. The most recent data available is nine years old. Houston Chronicle

The shaky future of a post-Roe federal privacy law Wired

Rommy Hunt Revson, creator of the scrunchie, dies at 78 New York Times

Let the woman rest The Cut

Johnson & Johnson and a new war on consumer protection New Yorker

I think people are so quick to associate women with being vulnerable, but theres nothing wrong with that. I think thats also part of toxic masculinity. We should be able to be vulnerable, and we should be able to feel emotional and be able to express ourselves.

-British singer Dua Lipa.

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Penny Pennington, one of few Fortune 500 women CEOs, shares the best career advice shes received - Fortune

"When you look at the data, and especially our 63 million MAUs in the US and Canada, it is clear to me that Rumbles growth is one of the reasons that Big Tech platforms have stagnated," said Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski.

"In recent years, our user growth came primarily from consumers of news and political content. As new content creators come to Rumble, we are seeing growth from the Gen Z demographic, a massive new audience for our platform."

Rumble went public in December 2021. A Canadian company, Rumble merged with CF Acquisition Corp VI (CFVI.O) with an initial enterprise value of $2.1 billion. Donald Trump joined the platform in June 2021.

Rumble describes itself as a "high-growth neutral video platform that is creating the rails and independent infrastructure designed to be immune to cancel culture. Rumbles mission is to restore the Internet to its roots by making it free and open once again."

Read more:
BREAKING: Rumble Sets New Record for Traffic, Gen Z User Growth Surges ...

Uphold the First Amendment! Several House lawmakers apparently seek to do just that by introducing a bill to make government-sponsored censorship illegal.

House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH), House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer (R-KY) and House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced the "Protecting Free Speech from Government Interference Act," according to a press release Wednesday by House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans.

The bill would prohibit Biden administration officials and federal bureaucrats from authorizing censorship either by promoting it themselves or pressuring social media companies to censor users.

The legislation is an apparent attempt to make the federal government fulfill its obligation andprotect the constitutional right to free speech.

The Biden Administration is using the heavy hand of government to pressure social media companies into censoring Americans free speech and news shared on their platforms, Comer said in a statement. From COVID-19 to Hunter Biden, Biden Administration officials are quick to label facts that dont fit their narrative as disinformation and then pressure social media companies to suppress content on their platforms. This threatens Americans First Amendment rights.

McMorris Rodgers added that "any effort to erase people from these digital spaces simply for not adhering to the woke liberal agenda is unconstitutional."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted last week that his platform censored the Hunter Biden laptop scandal at the FBIs bidding before the 2020 election, censorship that the Media Reserach Center found helped stealthe election in favor of Joe Biden. The FBI said after Zuckerbergs statement that the bureau routinely works with social media companies to censor. The press release cited the FBI-Facebook censorship as justification for introducing the bill.

The bills co-authors cited several other instances of the Biden administration pressuring Big Tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Spotifyto censor users.

During a July 2021 press conference, then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration was flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.

The Biden administration last week officially terminated its Orwellian Disinformation Governance Board, but the federal governments censorship workcontinues behind the scenes.

Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide transparency and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTracks contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.

More here:
FINALLY: A Bill to Make Federal Govt Censorship ILLEGAL

Fights about free speech can feel rhetorical until they are not. Heres what censorship looks like in practice: A student newspaper and journalism program in Nebraska shuttered for writing about pride month. The state of Oklahoma seeking to revoke the teaching certificate of an English teacher who shared a QR code that directed students to the Brooklyn Public Librarys online collection of banned books. A newly elected district attorney in Tennessee musing openly about jailing teachers and librarians.

In Florida today it may even be illegal for teachers to even talk about who they love or marry thanks to the states Dont Say Gay law. Of course, it goes far beyond sex: The sunshine states Republican commissioner of education rejected 28 different math textbooks this year for including verboten content.

Acts of censorship are often tacit admissions of weakness masquerading as strength. This weakness is on full display with the imposition of so-called educational gag orders, laws which restrict the discussions of race, gender, sexuality and American history in K-12 and higher education. A political project convinced of the superiority of its ideas doesnt need the power of the state to shield people from competing ideas. Censorship is the desperate rear-guard action of a movement that has already lost the fight for hearts and minds.

This year alone, 137 gag order bills like these have been introduced in 36 state legislatures. Thats a sharp increase from 2021 when 54 bills were introduced in 22 states, according to a report released last month by PEN America, a free speech organization. Only seven of those bills became law in 2022, but they are some of the strictest to date, and the sheer number of bills introduced reflects a growing enthusiasm on the right for censorship as a political weapon and instrument of social control.

These new measures are far more punitive than past efforts, with heavy fines or loss of state funding for institutions that dare to offer courses covering the forbidden content. Teachers can be fired and even face criminal charges. Lawsuits have already started to trickle through the courts asking for broad interpretations of the new statutes. For the first time, the PEN report noted, some bills have also targeted private schools and universities in addition to public schools.

It wasnt all that long ago that Republican lawmakers around the country were introducing laws designed to protect free speech on college campuses. Now, theyre using the coercive power of the state to restrict what people can talk about, learn about or discuss in public, and exposing them to lawsuits for doing so. Thats a clear threat to the ideals of a pluralistic political culture, in which challenging ideas are welcomed and discussed.

How and what to teach American students has been contested ground since the earliest days of public education. The content of that instruction is something about which Americans of good will can respectfully disagree.

The Supreme Court has also recognized limits on the censorship of school libraries, if not curriculums. Local school boards may not remove books from school libraries simply because they dislike the ideas contained in those books and seek by their removal to prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, a plurality of justices wrote in a 1982 decision.

Despite the moral panic over teaching about gender and race, American parents say they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the instruction their children receive. A poll from National Public Radio and Ipsos earlier this year found that just 18 percent of parents said their childs school taught about gender and sexuality in a way that clashed with their familys values, while 19 percent said the same about race and racism. Only 14 percent felt that way about American history.

And yet, some Republican candidates are using the threat of censorship as a show of strength, evidence of their power to muzzle political opponents. Last year in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin won the governorship of that state after a campaign in which he demagogued the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Beloved by the Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison. Other candidates are looking to make it a centerpiece of their pitch to voters in the midterm elections in races from Texas to New Jersey.

Some want to extend censorship far beyond the classroom. In Virginia, a Republican state representative tried to get a court to declare as obscene two young adult books frequently banned in schools, Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah Mass. The case was dismissed this month, but if it had been successful, it could have made it illegal for bookstores, libraries to carry the books or for private citizens to sell or share them everywhere in the state.

Right-wing lawmakers are also looking to restrict what Americans can say about abortion. Model legislation from the National Right to Life Committee, which is circulating in state legislatures, aims to ban Americans from giving instructions over the telephone, the internet, or any other medium of communication regarding self-administered abortions or means to obtain an illegal abortion. That prohibition extends to hosting websites that contain such information.

Even when such bills fail to censor they can easily cascade into vigilantism. Across the country, libraries in small towns are being closed and library staff are being harassed and intimidated. The Times reports that librarians have been labeled pedophiles on social media, called out by local politicians and reported to law enforcement officials. Some librarians have quit after being harassed online. Others have been fired for refusing to remove books from circulation. The American Library Association has documented more than 1,600 books in 700 different libraries or library systems that have faced attempted censorship.

Political factions on both the left and the right are insecure enough in their ideas that theyve tried to muzzle those with whom they disagree. But only right-wing legislators are currently writing censorship into law and enforcing it with the power of the state.

For a vocal minority to ban discussion of certain facts or topics because they make some people uncomfortable or simply to score political points is deeply undemocratic, particularly in a nation founded on a commitment to free speech and the open exchange of ideas. Free expression isnt just a feature of democracy; it is a necessary prerequisite.

Originally posted here:
Other voices: Government censorship? Weakness masquerading as strength - St. Paul Pioneer Press

New numbers show increasing efforts to ban books

Attempts to ban books in schools and public libraries are surging this year, according to preliminary data from the American Library Association. National "Banned Books Week" begins Sunday. Some local libraries, including in the District, will be taking part.

Attempts to ban books in schools and public libraries are surging this year, according to preliminary data from the American Library Association (ALA).

"Were seeing an unprecedented and unremitting wave of book censorship in schools and libraries across the country," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of ALAs Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Through August of this year, the group said theyve documented 681 attempts to ban or restrict books, with 1,651 unique titles being targeted. Both numbers are on pace to exceed record-highs set in 2021.

Caldwell-Stone said most of the efforts target marginalized or historically underrepresented voices.

"Now were seeing individuals at school board meetings, library board meetings, with a list of 25, 35, 50 books and demanding that they all be removed en masse," she explained.

Similar efforts to ban books have been made in recent years in Fairfax County, Spotsylvania County, and just this week in Fauquier County, to name a few.

"I guess we live in a world now that public schools would rather have kids read about gay pornography than Christ," Spotsylvania County School Board member Rabih Abduismail said at a public meeting in November 2021.

"Its perfectly fine for a parent to guide their childs reading," Caldwell-Stone told FOX 5 Friday. "Everyone should have the ability to make choices about what they read and about what their family reads. I dont think that they should be able to impose those choices on other families."

National "Banned Books Week" begins Sunday. Some local libraries, including in the District, will be taking part.

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Banned books: Parents push for censorship on the rise - FOX 5 DC