New Jersey has become the third state, with Illinois and Michigan, to stop schools and public libraries from banning books.

Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed the Freedom to Read Act earlier this month on December 9, at the Princeton Public Library. The act keeps age-appropriate books available to students at public schools and libraries.

“The Freedom to Read Act cements New Jersey’s role on the forefront of preventing book bans and protecting the intellectual freedom of our educators and students. Across the nation, we have seen attempts to suppress and censor the stories and experiences of others. I’m proud to amplify the voices of our past and present, as there is no better way for our children to prepare for the future than to read freely,” Murphy said.

READ MORE: Tim Walz Mocks Anti-LGBTQ Book Bans During HRC Speech

The law also protects librarians from being sued in criminal or civil court. This is in clear contrast to laws in other states like Idaho, where libraries that allow young patrons to check out a book deemed inappropriate are given a mandatory $250 fine. Idaho’s law also allows libraries and individual librarians to be sued, with no cap on the amount of damages that can be awarded.

The New Jersey law will make school boards and libraries establish curation policies and set up a review system to address concerns over individual materials. That said, books cannot be banned because of an author’s identity or background, or their personal or political views. Banning books based on the offensiveness of content is not allowed either, unless it’s developmentally inappropriate.

For example, while one could—and should!—ban a preschooler from checking out a collection of Tom of Finland artwork because it’s clearly for adults, they’re free to get And Tango Makes Three, the children’s book about gay penguins.

“The freedom to read and to freely access information is an essential part of a quality education and a core component of our democracy,” New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari said. “This law will help New Jersey libraries guard against politically-inspired censorship and protect librarians from harassment for simply doing their job.”

This is another departure from other states’ bans, which are often written so vaguely to leave librarians in a lurch. The Idaho law officially bans “obscene materials” but defines it very broadly. “Homosexuality” is included in the definition of “obscene materials,” without clarifying if it means queer characters in a book or explicit sex. To avoid prosecution by an overzealous activist, one Idaho library even prohibits anyone under 18 from entering the adult section without their parent or guardian signing a form on every visit. Another small library had to go adults-only.

While three states have prohibited banning books, the Associated Press reports that over 15 states have introduced bills this year that would punish librarians for “inappropriate” books being given to patrons.

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On Tuesday, Denmark earmarked $1.5 billion in defense spending for Greenland after incoming President Donald Trump again made overtures to buy the autonomous territory.

The exact amount of defense funding for Greenland is not known, but the BBC reports that Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced it as in the “double digit million” amount of krone, which would place the minimum U.S. dollar equivalent at $1.5 billion.

The money is likely to be used to increase the amount of military personnel at Arctic Command and one of the country’s airports, the BBC reported, as well as to purchase two ships, two long-range drones and two dog sled teams.

Poulsen said the deal had been pre-planned, and the timing of Trump’s comments was merely “irony.”

READ MORE: Donald Trump Isn’t the First President to Try to Buy Greenland

Trump has suggested that the U.S. should purchase Greenland, an autonomous territory owned by Denmark. It was an occasional topic during his first term as well, though most thought the president was joking, at least initially.

Trump’s current interest was first declared on Sunday when he announced Ken Howery will be the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. He declared that “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” in the announcement.

On Monday evening, RNC Chair Michael Whatley discussed with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade the potential price of such a deal, according to Mediaite.

“Well, I think from a national security perspective, as he said, certainly [it’s] a place that is very rich in minerals and is, uh, you know, geopolitically important for him,” Whatley said. “And it’s a conversation that we wanna have with Denmark about being able to use the resources up there.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna cost about $1.5 trillion, but it probably will pay off,” Kilmeade responded.

While Kilmeade has placed a price tag on Greenland, it is unlikely Denmark would agree to sell. Denmark has repeatedly declined offers to buy the territory. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede invoked the country’s desire for independence in shutting down Trump’s overtures.

“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said Monday, according to Reuters.

Greenland passed a law in 2009 which gave the territory more power to self-govern. Part of that law includes a provision for independence if the citizens vote for it. However, Greenland currently gets a block grant from Denmark that makes up one-quarter of the territory’s gross domestic product. If Greenland were to become fully independent, it would lose that money.

While citizens of the territory are in favor of independence, according to polling, just not at the expense of a drop in the standard of  living. In response to this, those fighting for independence have worked to diversify Greenland’s economy.

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The day after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 inmates on death row, incoming President Donald Trump doubled down on his commitment to the death penalty.

Trump took to his Truth Social account to condemn Biden and promote the death penalty on Tuesday morning.

“Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country. When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Trump wrote.

READ MORE: Biden Ignores Military Death Row In Commutation Spree

Not quite three hours later, he had more to say:

“As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump added, alongside a screenshot of a tweet by the New York Post promoting their article about the commutations, with the headline “Biden commutes death sentences of child killers and mass murderers 2 days before Christmas.”

Though Biden initially promised to pass a law banning federal executions, once elected, he backtracked on that promise, according to NBC News. His administration did, however, halt all federal executions during his term. Monday, he gave all but three inmates on death row life sentences without parole instead. The three exceptions were Dylann Roof, the man who killed nine at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooter; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. In his statement announcing the move to commute the sentences, he said the only exception were those convicted of “terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

Biden’s move comes after Trump campaigned on increasing the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty. The ACLU warned that Trump would “kill everyone on death row,” if given the chance. During his first term, Trump executed 13 federal inmates, with the last execution happening five days before Biden’s inauguration, according to the Associated Press.

Though Grover Cleveland is best known as the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms as president, he has another thing in common with Trump. Trump’s 13 federal executions is the highest number in the modern era, while Cleveland is the president who executed the most federal prisoners. In Cleveland’s first term, 23 prisoners were executed, and another 24 were killed in his second, for a total of 47.  Only Ulysses S. Grant and James Monroe have more executions than Trump, at 23 and 20 respectively.

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