■ Beyond Kimmel, there is a bigger struggle between free speech and the Federal Communications Commission, concluded Tom Wheeler, a visiting fellow with the Brookings Institution.
■ President Trump made claims that critical TV coverage of him is “illegal” and not protected by free-speech rights.
■ The push from the FCC and the Trump administration to revoke broadcaster licenses for expressed on-air views they dislike could run afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court.
■ FCC Chair Brendan Carr now has targeted ABC’s “The View,” questioning its qualification as a bona fide news program.
Dismissals challenged. Educators who were fired for social media comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk have filed First Amendment lawsuits challenging their terminations.
Pledge fight. News outlets have geared up to do battle with the Pentagon over reporting restrictions being demanded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
■ Calling the complaint “tedious and burdensome,” a federal judge dismissed President Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
■ The media must stop firing black journalists whose voices are vital to democracy, asserted commenter and podcaster Perry Bacon in a New Republic commentary.
■ The deportation of an Atlanta journalist detained by ICE can proceed, an immigration appeals court ruled.
■ Struggling to pay its bills after federal government funding cuts, NPR reported that it has plans to cut millions from its annual budget.
TikTakeover? Pending federal approval, tech giants, including Oracle, will handle the oversight of TikTok security and algorithms under a new U.S.-China deal.
■ Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie said he had the needed petition signatures to force a House vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
■ The push from the FCC and the Trump administration to revoke broadcaster licenses for expressed on-air views they dislike could run afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court.
■ FCC Chair Brendan Carr now has targeted ABC’s “The View,” questioning its qualification as a bona fide news program.
Dismissals challenged. Educators who were fired for social media comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk have filed First Amendment lawsuits challenging their terminations.
■ Tennessee employers quick to fire employees over social media posts could use more restraint when dealing with First Amendment matters, a Vanderbilt University professor wrote in a recent commentary.
■ Foreign adversaries, including Russia and China, spread disinformation online about America devolving into civil war only hours after the Charlie Kirk shooting, the Associated Press reported.
■ CNN examined the U.S. Supreme Court precedents that the Trump administration’s targeting of “hate speech” would violate.
■ Harvard University’s court victory over President Trump’s threat to cancel billions of dollars in research funding for the school was a win for the First Amendment as well.
Down shift. Remember when Donald Trump and Elon Musk pledged free-speech absolutism? Apparently, they don’t, according to a CNN analysis.
■ Judges have pushed back on Trump administration efforts to test the durability of the First Amendment this year.
■ The FBI agent who was fired for sending anti-Trump texts has lost his First Amendment case to get his job back.
■ CNN examined the U.S. Supreme Court precedents that the Trump administration’s targeting of “hate speech” would violate.
■ Harvard University’s court victory over President Trump’s threat to cancel billions of dollars in research funding for the school was a win for the First Amendment as well.
Down shift. Remember when Donald Trump and Elon Musk pledged free-speech absolutism? Apparently, they don’t, according to a CNN analysis.
■ Judges have pushed back on Trump administration efforts to test the durability of the First Amendment this year.
■ The FBI agent who was fired for sending anti-Trump texts has lost his First Amendment case to get his job back.
■ A federal judge has overturned parts of a Florida bill banning books, saying it violates students’ First Amendment right of free access to ideas.
Pledge fight. News outlets have geared up to do battle with the Pentagon over reporting restrictions being demanded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
■ Calling the complaint “tedious and burdensome,” a federal judge dismissed President Trump’s $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
■ The media must stop firing black journalists whose voices are vital to democracy, asserted commenter and podcaster Perry Bacon in a New Republic commentary.
■ The deportation of an Atlanta journalist detained by ICE can proceed, an immigration appeals court ruled.
■ Struggling to pay its bills after federal government funding cuts, NPR reported that it has plans to cut millions from its annual budget.
TikTakeover? Pending federal approval, tech giants, including Oracle, will handle the oversight of TikTok security and algorithms under a new U.S.-China deal.
■ Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie said he had the needed petition signatures to force a House vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
■ A new petition law in Florida may jeopardize November ballot measures on Medicaid expansion and recreational marijuana.
■ Tennessee has appealed a 2024 court decision that essentially blocked a state “abortion trafficking” law from taking effect.
■ Tennessee has appealed a 2024 court decision that essentially blocked a state “abortion trafficking” law from taking effect.
