■ Texas college students have asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency ruling to allow them to host a charity drag show on campus.
■ A Buffalo man who cursed a police officer in 2016 has continued his winding free-speech battle that has reached the upper echelons of federal courts.
■ Americans believe that free speech is heading “in the wrong direction” when it comes to expressing views, a national survey has found.
■ Nashville’s Metro Council vowed to keep fighting a free-speech lawsuit brought by a firefighter demoted over “racially inflammatory” social media posts.Dangerous game. Tech founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised for an AI legal battle where everyone loses, a Reuters commentary declared.
■ Lawmakers, with the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, advance a bill that could make TikTok unavailable in the United States.
■ The Princess of Wales has issued an apology for editing an official photograph of her and her children after concerns were raised by news agencies.
■ Sunshine Week is an annual reminder of the importance of keeping public records and meetings open to the public, proclaimed Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
■ Sunshine Week is an annual reminder of the importance of keeping public records and meetings open to the public, proclaimed Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.
■ The Freedom of the Press Foundation has joined a legal brief filed in San Diego arguing that journalists must be able to cover this country’s incarcerated.
Crushing change. The challenges of top educators in teaching journalism during times of harsh economic realities plaguing news companies was examined in an NPR perspective piece.
■ With the belief that solving the country’s local-news crisis requires reinventing community journalism at the grassroots level, entrepreneurs will have to lead the way.
■ A commitment to free speech makes the United States vulnerable to disinformation campaigns, claimed MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade.
■ An Oklahoma law has teachers fearful of teaching a book that is the foundation of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” an Oscar-nominated film about the true story of white settlers who murdered members of the Osage tribe in the 1920s.
■ A Tennessee high schooler has launched a free-speech club to fight back against library book bans.Walk, can’t run. The First Amendment does not protect Oregon lawmakers who walked out in protest and now cannot seek re-election, a judicial panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed.
■ Facing charges that he joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a conservative media writer has surrendered to federal authorities.
■ A union of immigration judges that regularly advocates in interviews and public forums has now been ordered to get Department of Justice approval before speaking publicly.
■ New Jersey legislation that would represent the most significant change ever to the Open Public Records Act may hinge on governor’s signature.
Swift response. Attorney Lynn Greenky in an analysis warned the college student tracking Taylor Swift’s flight information that the First Amendment protects free speech but not stalking.
■ A federal judge held veteran journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge a confidential source.
■ The publishing of an investigative story about Hamas’ use of sexual violence in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel has divided The New York Times newsroom.
■ The pivotal Times v. Sullivan libel case turns 60 this month and News/Media Alliance has re-examined the watershed Supreme Court ruling.
