Blogs

Politico. Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers

A Politico investigation found more than 100 open records requests filed at 19 public universities over the past five years, targeting at least 30 climate researchers. The requests come from conservative organizations and seek emails, research drafts, correspondence with law firms and other documents. Legal experts call many of them "fishing expeditions." Reporters built the count from universities' online records portals and interviewed more than a dozen targeted academics.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). CPJ condemns Israeli threats against 'NAZA' filmmakers

CPJ condemned senior Israeli officials — including Culture Minister Miki Zohar and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir — for threatening legal action and possible citizenship revocation against filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over their Gaza documentary "NAZA." The film, which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice, alleges Israeli forces used AI-powered targeting systems in civilian killings, and CPJ warned that such threats from senior officials risk chilling critical journalism.

CNN. America's courts keep defending the First Amendment as Trump tries to silence critics

Brian Stelter argues that U.S. courts keep upholding the First Amendment despite Trump's efforts to crack down on free speech and the press, calling it a glass-half-full reading of the media landscape after two judges ruled against Trump this week. One of those rulings came in DC and the other in Iowa. He places them in a longer record of judges rebuking the administration for violating the First Amendment rights of ICE critics, silencing Voice of America, and sending secret subpoenas to news outlets.

Committee to Protect Journalists. Leading news outlets issue statement in defense of a US free press

AP, Bloomberg, the New York Times, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post joined a CPJ-organized statement after Trump barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The statement says the ban sets a dangerous precedent in which the president decides what Americans can know and from whom they can learn it.

Washington Post. CNN, MS NOW access unresolved as White House bars some journalists from state dinner event

Reporters from the three outlets got back in hours after the judge's order. CNN and MS NOW said some of their staff were still kept out of Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival ceremony.

Havana Times. Nicaraguan Journalist Luis Galeano Released on Bail in USA

The Café con Voz director was released after posting $10,000 bail, following 12 days in ICE custody after his arrest in Orlando while driving for Uber. His case isn't over: he has an immigration court hearing on Oct. 2.

WV MetroNews. Marshall alum at center of Stars and Stripes battle says free press is crucial for military personnel

Former publisher Max Lederer says some Pentagon actions against the paper amount to viewpoint discrimination and censorship, including an order to stop using independent wire services like AP and the Washington Post. The fight dates to January, when Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell attacked the paper's "woke distractions" and promised to return it to its "original mission."

Broadcast Law Blog. This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: September 21, 2026 to September 25, 2026

FCC Chairman Carr pushed back on Democratic lawmakers who said the agency lacks authority to require content warnings on TV shows with transgender characters or topics. Commissioner Gomez also commented on a settlement between state attorneys general and Paramount that is expected to clear Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Politico. Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers

A Politico investigation found more than 100 open records requests filed at 19 public universities over the past five years, targeting at least 30 climate researchers. The requests come from conservative organizations and seek emails, research drafts, correspondence with law firms and other documents. Legal experts call many of them "fishing expeditions." Reporters built the count from universities' online records portals and interviewed more than a dozen targeted academics.

PBS News (AP). Trump administration lowers fuel economy standards, critics say at a significant environmental cost

New fuel economy standards loosen requirements on automakers to limit pollution from gas-powered cars and light trucks, and they advance Trump's pledge to undo policies that encouraged electric vehicles. DOT projects that yearly oil consumption in 2050 will be about 1.3 billion barrels lower than in 2024. But when the 2024 standards took effect, NHTSA estimated they would avoid burning 14 billion gallons of gasoline by 2050, and environmental groups warn of higher CO2 output.

The Guardian. Decades of fossil fuel influence paved way for Trump's assault on university research, study says

A new study argues that the Trump administration's attacks on universities build on decades of work by libertarian donor networks, fossil fuel companies and conservative think tanks to reshape university governance, leaving climate and energy research especially exposed to corporate interests. The piece cites the 2025 research-funding freezes and investigations of 75 institutions, and it points universities to model gift-acceptance policies that make donor agreements public.

CBC News. Speed over species? What experts are saying about Ottawa's new major projects bill

Prime Minister Carney presents Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, as a way to speed up major projects in response to U.S. economic threats. Experts warn it could dismantle environmental safeguards and push endangered species such as caribou toward extinction. The omnibus bill has more than 300 clauses amending over a dozen federal laws, and one new power would let the minister exempt water bodies from oversight when proponents dump material into them.

Santa Barbara Independent. Alumni Gift, Vision Powers Plans for a Multifaceted Climate Solutions Hub at UC Santa Barbara

Alumna Linda Duttenhaver and her late father, Morton La Kretz, have given a major gift to UCSB for the La Kretz Environmental Crossroads, a hub for turning environmental research into practical policy. The site faces the Santa Barbara Channel, where the 1969 oil spill helped launch the environmental movement, and it is meant as a shared space for NGOs, government, nonprofits and the university.

The Guardian. New tool directly links carbon emissions to amount of environmental and economic damage caused

Scientists at the Australian National University and partner groups launched the Carbon Impacts Tracer, which converts fossil fuel emissions into estimated real-world harms across eight factors, including lost food production. It draws on peer-reviewed studies and gives ranges of uncertainty. Applied to the proposed HVO coal mine in New South Wales, the tool estimates the mine's roughly 809 million tonnes of CO2 would expose almost half a million people to unprecedented heat.

Science. White House move to seize control of NIH grant decisions upsets senators and scientists

A proposal would have handed final NIH grant decisions to a new board co-chaired by NIH director Bhattacharya and budget chief Vought, with unanimous approval required, and Bhattacharya reportedly pushed back and defended the agency's grantmaking process. After criticism from lawmakers in both parties, the White House backed off its plan to create the board by executive order, though it could revive the idea in another form.

Inside Higher Ed. Ahead of Fiscal Year End, NSF Over a Billion Behind, IES to Award Funds

NSF has made only 6,200 grants totaling $6.3 billion, compared with 8,600 and $8.1 billion at this point last year. AHRQ has awarded just 61 grants worth $27 million. A former National Science Board member says OMB is effectively running NSF, and a federal judge has ordered the Education Department to report by Sept. 28 on whether $180 million in IES research funds will be obligated before they expire.

NPR. These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump

Six graphics trace how grant terminations and shifts in funding priorities have changed U.S. biomedical research, including a 29% drop, over $1 billion, in minority-health research funding from 2024 to 2025. The piece also notes that by July, three-quarters of the way through the fiscal year, NIH had obligated only about half its budget.

AIP. HHS Seeks Public Input on Wireless Technology Safety, Scientists Urge Caution

HHS published a request for information on Sept. 21 asking for evidence on health effects of radiofrequency radiation from phones, Wi-Fi, wearables, and 5G, with comments due Oct. 21. Epidemiologists including Brown's David Savitz and Penn's Kenneth Foster objected to gathering anecdotal reports alongside controlled studies, and noted that neither WHO nor the FCC has found an established causal link.

Inside Higher Ed. Higher Ed Groups Bash ED Proposal to Allow More Grant Terminations

The Education Department received more than 5,500 public comments on proposed rules that would expand the secretary's power to end grants. I only saw the headline and teaser, so check the article before writing the blurb.

Education Week. Trump's education funding maneuvers were illegal, judges rule

Two Sept. 17 rulings in Massachusetts federal court found that OMB lacked authority to impose policy conditions through apportionment footnotes, and that the Education Department unlawfully terminated 31 SEED and 72 Teacher Quality Partnership grants. These rulings bear directly on the OMB-control theme the blog has tracked since May.

Futurism. How Three Brothers Built an AI Slop Empire by Buying Legitimate News Sites and Turning Them Into Zombie Content Farms

Brown Brothers Media buys publications with an established niche, such as space coverage, parenting advice or business news, and used fake bylines and journalist profiles to publish a huge number of AI-generated articles. Justin Brown told Futurism that before May 2026 its publications used contributor bylines that did not identify real people, some with credentials that were not real, and called that wrong.

Futurism. A Highly Trafficked Space News Site Invented a Fake NASA Engineer and Used Her Name to Publish AI-Generated Slop

After Brown Brothers Media bought the three-decade-old Space Daily, it invented personas to publish slop at scale under bylines that looked like trustworthy experts, and the ESA confirmed that one supposed staffer had never worked there. When Futurism began investigating, the company mass-deleted articles and many of the fake writers.

UN News. United Kingdom announces action on disinformation and global AI standards

In his first UN General Assembly address, new Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK will fight disinformation at home and abroad and work toward global AI safety standards. He said Russian agencies had used bots, fake websites and falsified newspaper articles, and forged the branding of 28 British organizations, including universities and the BBC.

France 24/AFP. AI political ads warp reality ahead of US midterms

A political ad shows a US Senate hopeful talking about God and gender while scribbling in a Bible with a crayon, but he never filmed it; the clip is an AI-generated video from a rival. Talarico condemned the ad as lying about a candidate and said he supports banning deepfakes in political campaigns.

Scientific American. Major COVID study that fueled vaccine skepticism retracted over ‘misinformation’

BMJ Public Health retracted a 2024 study of 47 Western countries that reported more than three million excess deaths from 2020 to 2022, a paper vaccine skeptics had cited to argue COVID vaccines likely killed millions. The journal found its discussion of causes of death imbalanced, lacking rigor and containing misinformation, and a separate inquiry by the Netherlands' Princess Máxima Center found the authors cherry-picked supporting data and ignored contrary evidence.

LOOKOUT. LOOKOUT Named 2026 LION Business of the Year

LOOKOUT, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit newsroom, won LION Business of the Year in the micro/small revenue tier, a prize announced Sept. 10 at the Independent News Sustainability Summit in San Diego. Judges credited its accountability reporting and the business infrastructure behind it, including its first two full-time hires, standardized employment policies, employer-paid benefits, and expanded reader support, as it grows from Colorado into the wider desert Southwest.

Editor & Publisher. Building local news instead of mourning it: Inside Alabama Newswire's growth strategy

Alabama Newswire launched as a digital local news site and expanded into print less than a year later, despite a climate of closures and growing news deserts. Founder Scott Centers, a broadcaster for more than three decades, and publisher Jackson Kimbrell explain why they see local journalism as a real opportunity for entrepreneurs.

The Zebra. The Washington Sun Launches: A New Digital Newsroom

An independent Alexandria publisher writes about the relaunch of NOTUS as The Washington Sun, a privately backed digital outlet whose newsroom has grown to a reported 110 journalists, including at least 28 former Washington Post staffers. The subject isn't a small publication, but the piece is a small publisher arguing that new newsroom investment benefits the whole local news ecosystem.

The Boston Globe. Spectrum News NECN formally launches new regional network

Spectrum News has launched a six-state New England network and is hiring photojournalists, producers, and meteorologists across the region, aiming for 50 staff by year's end.

Poynter. Want to invest in journalism's future? Start with student journalists

In this commentary, Mike Canan, who led journalism strategy at the Scripps Howard Fund from 2021 until returning to the newsroom this month, argues that journalism schools often fail to prepare students for newsroom deadlines and pace, so the industry loses journalists early in their careers. He tells funders that student journalists are among the best long-term investments they can make, drawing on his own experience editing Ohio University's student paper during 9/11.

Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN). Strategies To Seek Funding For Investigative Journalism

This is a GIJN Academy webinar, led by former Institute for Nonprofit News CEO Sue Cross, that offers individual journalists new to fundraising a decision-tree approach to finding story and project funding in their region or beat.

Storyboard18. CNN-News18 senior journalist Payal Mehta dies at 46 in Mumbai, PM Modi pays tribute

Payal Mehta, 46, was visiting Mumbai when she felt unwell around 2 a.m.; she was rushed to a hospital but died before she could be treated. She was known for covering Parliament, the government and the BJP, and Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were among the leaders who paid tribute.

The Rio Times. Zuenir Ventura Dies at 95: The Reporter Who Explained Modern Brazil

The Brazilian journalist and author died of pneumonia at his home in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 22, at 95. His books on 1968 and on violence in Rio shaped how Brazilians understand the dictatorship era and their divided cities, and he lay in state at the Brazilian Academy of Letters before burial.

The New Times (Rwanda). BBC journalist Mark Doyle who reported on Genocide against the Tutsi dies at 67

The veteran BBC Africa correspondent died after a short illness; he joined the BBC in 1986, became East Africa correspondent in 1993, and made his name covering the 1994 genocide. For a time he was the only foreign journalist in Rwanda during the genocide, and he later covered Sierra Leone's civil war and Liberia's post-war period as West Africa correspondent from 1997 to 2002.

Legacy.com. John Baer, a longtime Pennsylvania political journalist, dies at 79.

Mr. Baer covered state government for the Philadelphia Daily News for about a dozen years, then wrote a column for the paper for another 20 years.

Le360. Moroccan journalist Hamid Barrada dies at 87

The Moroccan journalist died early Saturday, Sept. 26, at 87. He hosted the 2M program "Mais encore" from 2007 to 2018 and left a lasting mark on Moroccan and French media.

CNBC. Paramount and state AGs settle lawsuit, allowing Warner Bros. merger to proceed

The settlement lets Paramount Skydance's $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery go ahead. Without it, the lawsuit could have delayed the deal until mid-2027 and cost Paramount hundreds of millions in fees, and CEO David Ellison told employees in a memo that he expects to close in about two weeks.

Yahoo News UK. BBC to cut 41 roles within its sports department

The BBC will cut 41 sports roles and create five new ones, a net loss of 36 jobs, saving about £2.6 million, and has opened a voluntary redundancy window. It is part of a BBC-wide plan to cut up to 2,000 roles and save £500 million over two years, the corporation's largest round of job cuts in almost 15 years.

Press Gazette. Financial Times grows business to record revenue of £566m for 2025

According to internal figures seen by Press Gazette, FT Group revenue rose 5% to a record £566 million in 2025 and operating profit rose 23% to £51.8 million. The group says about 3.5 million people now pay for its content and events, passing its 2028 target of 3 million early.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). CPJ condemns Israeli threats against 'NAZA' filmmakers

CPJ condemned senior Israeli officials — including Culture Minister Miki Zohar and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir — for threatening legal action and possible citizenship revocation against filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor over their Gaza documentary "NAZA." The film, which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice, alleges Israeli forces used AI-powered targeting systems in civilian killings, and CPJ warned that such threats from senior officials risk chilling critical journalism.

PBS. CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters have access restored to White House after judge orders ban lifted

Three news organizations banned from the White House for days were back Thursday after a judge handed CNN, MS NOW and Politico a reprieve in an extraordinary showdown between President Donald Trump and outlets whose coverage he dislikes.

Human Rights Watch. Another Journalist in Mali Sentenced to Prison

A national cybercrime court in Mali on September 14 sentenced a prominent journalist, Abdramane Keïta, to two years in prison on bogus charges, in the military government’s latest attack on media freedom.

RSF. India: investigative journalist Ravi Nair denied interim release faces legal harassment over Adani Group investigations

On 23 September, investigative journalist Ravi Nair was denied interim release. He has been held in judicial custody at Sabarmati Central Jail in the state of Gujarat since 17 September in connection with a criminal defamation case brought by Adani Enterprises Limited.

RSF. Türkiye: Tuğba Tekerek detained as press freedom suffers in LGBTQ+ crackdown

Journalist Tuğba Tekerek was arrested as part of the nationwide “Ailem Güvende” (“My Family Is Safe”) raids targeting LGBTQ+ organisations and has been held in pre-trial detention since 15 September. She is being investigated for her 2024 journalistic article published on the LGBTQ+ news site Kaos GL on the queer community in Georgia. Two reporters covering protests against the raids were also temporarily detained.

BBC. CNN, MS NOW and Politico file lawsuit against Trump's White House ban

Major US networks later suspended White House TV coverage of Trump as he heads to New York for the UN summit.

Guardian. MS Now, CNN and Politico say their reporters have been denied access to White House

Journalists from three US outlets were denied access to the White House grounds on Saturday morning a day after Donald Trump said he would ban them from the executive branch complex in a move that has prompted outrage and shock from free-speech advocates.

Mediaite. Reporters “were barred from recording video” of Mitch McConnell as he returned to the capitol

Punchbowl’s senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio noted on Monday that reporters “were barred from recording video” of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as he passed through the U.S. Capitol following a three-month absence.

Politico. DOJ seeking reporter’s LinkedIn records in secretive First Amendment court fight

The fight comes at a sensitive moment for national media, which has seen reporters targeted by subpoenas and search warrants in leak probes.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). ADC urges Supreme Court to set national standard as unchecked device searches put First Amendment rights in jeopardy

ADC filed an amicus curiae brief with the US Supreme Court on behalf of journalist Max Blumenthal, in support of certiorari in Anibowei v. Blanche. In the brief, ADC urges the Court to resolve an irreconcilable split between several federal circuit courts of appeal over when government agents may search Americans’ smartphones and other electronic devices at the border.

NYT. Judge blocks Trump rule aimed at international students and journalists

Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV wrote that the administration’s reasons for a rule limiting the length of stay for academics and journalists were “exceptionally weak.”

Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ). CPJ and its partners urge China to ensure #MeToo journalist Sophia Huang’s freedom as jail term nears end

Huang, whose reporting on human rights and sexual abuse helped spark China’s #MeToo movement, is due to be released on September 18 after serving a prison term on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power.”

International Foundation of Journalists. Egypt: Sudanese journalist released one week after arrest

On 15 September, the Egyptian authorities released Attaf Mohamed Mokhtar, a Sudanese journalist and the editor-in-chief of the Al-Sudani newspaper. He had been arrested at his home in Cairo a week earlier and taken to an undisclosed location, reportedly in connection with a social media post criticising Sudan's internal affairs.

Alt A Review. Future of Media Awards 2026 Winners

The Times and The Belfast Telegraph were named winners of the national and regional websites of the year at Press Gazette’s Future of Media Awards 2026.

Reuters. White House restricts access for journalists to press secretary's office

The White House move follows restrictions put in place earlier this month for reporters at the Department of Defense, a move that prompted dozens of journalists to vacate their offices in the Pentagon and return their credentials.

The Hill. Blanche blasts through norms as Rose Garden “press secretary”

Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke to reporters in the Rose Garden, mixing together commentary on legal matters, praise of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s prosecution of the Iran war, jabs at the Biden administration, an insistence the United States had to win the AI race and even some careful comments about the recent wedding of Donald Trump Jr.

Fact Check. Paxton’s AI-heavy ad leaves out context of Talarico remarks about Christianity

In a statement to us about the ad, JT Ennis, a Talarico campaign spokesperson, said, “Ken Paxton and his billionaire backers in DC know they can’t rely on facts to win this race — so their only answer is to literally put words in James’ mouth with AI deepfake videos to try and fool Texans. Dark money groups are lying about James Talarico because they’re scared of the people-powered movement we’re building to fix this broken, corrupt political system.”

Snopes. 18 rumors about mail-in ballots, examined

President Trump, who has attempted to restrict mail-in ballots, often makes misleading claims about the voting method.

NBC News. 3 dead after news helicopter reporting for NBC LA crashes while covering fatal bus collision

The victims aboard the chopper were identified as journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw. One of the deceased was on the ground at the time of the crash, officials said.

Prison Policy Initiative. Note to President Trump: No, 2% of the population doesn’t account for all crime

Crime is more complex than the president claims. Pinning blame on a tiny subset of the population is rhetorically useful, but both crime and criminalization are widespread in the US.

Guardian. Trump administration changes how it counts measles deaths amid Pennsylvania outbreak

CDC announces changes to how it reports measles deaths as Pennsylvania continues to confirm more cases.

Center for Science in the Public Interest. Researchers challenge NIH screening of grants for disfavored viewpoints

The class action lawsuit seeks to stop censorship and termination of federally funded scientific research.

Inside Climate News. In Tampa, community gardeners say they need more funding, not more information, to feed neighbors in need

A new “equity-first” model claims to show where Tampa Bay should grow food for those who lack it. But what happens to the needs of gardens that already exist?

Dataindex. Why seemingly arcane process changes to the decennial census would be catastrophic for all Americans

This proposed rule upends nearly 250 years of history, ignores Constitutional mandates, will make life harder for all Americans, and proposes to codify all of those changes into the Code of Federal Regulations (rather than, as is traditional, Census Bureau policy).

Science. The Media Bias Detector (MBD): A framework for annotating and analyzing the news

News organizations introduce bias into their coverage via the choices they make about which topics to cover (or ignore) and how to frame the issues they do decide to cover. MBD can uncover correlates of bias in news coverage.

Reuters Institute. Changing definitions of news in a digital environment: How the public defines news across six countries

Rather than appearing in dedicated spaces like newspapers or news bulletins, on digital platforms news is often presented in largely undifferentiated feeds alongside entertainment, lifestyle, and personal content, among many others.

Local News Initiative. The Medill Survey 2026: How the Chicago area gets its news

Three years of data capture sharp decline in local broadcast audiences. Respondents distrust AI news, but maintain strong overall interest in local news.

The Wrap. Refurbished 60 Minutes debuts to a 19% ratings drop

The CBS newsmagazine’s audience fell 33% in the key 25-to-54 demo, according to preliminary Nielsen data.

Pew Research Center. Americans value press freedom but differ on its limits

Many Americans say some restrictions are OK when weighed against concerns about false information or national security.

Press Gazette. Reach plc, one of the UK’s largest news publishers, to cut editorial team by further 160 jobs as key metric becomes “active engaged time”

Reach plc, owner of more than 120 sites including Mirror, Express, Daily Record and Daily Star, proposes also includes closure of Kent Live, Aberdeen Live and Galway Beo websites.

Poynter. Freelance journalism can be brutal. Here’s how successful writers make it work

Successful freelancers balance steady, reliable work with stories they really want to tell — and put serious work into the pitches that get them there.

Global Issues. US plans to restrict foreign journalists trigger rising protests

The proposed restrictions may also affect scores of journalists covering the UN, including those who are part of national delegations scheduled to arrive in New York for the high-level segment of the 81st session of the General Assembly, with over 130 world political leaders in attendance.

Guardian. Wall Street Journal publisher convicted in Hong Kong of deterring reporter from union role

Dow Jones was convicted of one count of deterring Selina Cheng from role at Hong Kong Journalist Association but cleared of second charge.

UA.news. Amnesty International condemns police raid on media outlets in Nigeria

Amnesty International has condemned a police raid on JKD TV and Hamada Radio Network in Millennium City in the city of Kaduna, Nigeria. The human rights organization also called the declaration of journalist Zainab Yabagi unlawful. According to its statement, the station’s general manager, Charles Abaha, and a security guard were detained during the raid.

Guardian. Democrats to train tens of thousands to monitor polls amid election interference fears

The project will prepare volunteers across the US to monitor polls, encourage early voting and respond to disinformation.

NY Times. How Trump is wielding power to stifle speech

President Trump has harnessed agencies across the government to curtail press freedoms, a sweeping campaign that free speech advocates say will have lasting effects.

Natra News. Bangladesh proposes 10 years in prison for online “rumours”

Draft amendments to the Cyber Protection Act, obtained by Netra News, would criminalize unverified information, remove judicial checks on content blocking, and shield the officials who enforce it.

CNN. There’s an old-school newspaper war brewing in DC — and we all stand to benefit

Most days there are only two kinds of news about newspapers: Bad and worse. But in Washington, DC, there’s something unexpected happening: A new-age version of an old-school newspaper war, with feisty competition between two formidable newsrooms, the entrenched Washington Post and the upstart Washington Sun.

Nieman Lab. “Many have said it couldn’t be done”: Local news site Lookout Santa Cruz is profitable thanks to ads and memberships 

Six years after launching Lookout Santa Cruz, CEO Ken Doctor writes, the local news org is “thriving.”

The Wrap. Washington Sun launches with 28 Washington Post veterans

The outlet formerly known as News of the United States (NOTUS) expands to a 110-person newsroom.

LatAm Journalism Review. Panamanian prosecutor rejects businessman's bid to halt newspaper investigation

Prosecutor Katia Atencio refused to impose precautionary measures to prevent the newspaper La Prensa and its associate deputy director, Rolando Rodríguez, from investigating and reporting on the business activities of Vicente Carretero Napolitano.

The Irish Times. Ex-60 Minutes head says dismissed journalists had “refused to be accomplices” in show’s destruction

Guy Campanile says facts “increasingly treated as items in a buffet, chosen depending on specific appetite and ideological tastes.”

Semafor. Inside the US Treasury secretary’s tense relationship with financial media

The secretary had been a regular on Bloomberg’s TV programming and in its reporting for years, first as the founder of a hedge fund, and increasingly as he rose in Donald Trump’s circle to become the most powerful financial official in the now-president’s Cabinet.

The Atlantic. The inside story of what happened at Stars and Stripes

For generations, the newspaper has served American military families. That work must continue. And it must remain editorially independent.

The American Bar Association. Debunking the voter fraud myth, again

Claims of widespread voter fraud are unsupported by evidence and are being used to erode public confidence in elections. Election systems are protected by multiple safeguards, while disinformation has fueled lawsuits, intimidation of election officials, political interference, and even violence.

US News & World Report. US Judge Dismisses Suit by British Anti-Disinformation Activist Against Deporting Him

A ⁠federal ⁠judge in New York dismissed ⁠a lawsuit by British anti-disinformation campaigner Imran Ahmed that challenged the Trump ​administration's ability to detain and deport him.

CNN. Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention

Trump claimed that there were “no empty seats” in the Dallas arena as he spoke Thursday, which was visibly untrue. Trump also baselessly claimed that Democrats would “defund the police” and give “voting rights and welfare to 25 million illegal aliens” if they won the midterms.

MS Now. A Russian disinformation campaign is doctoring celebrity videos to meddle in the midterms

The Kremlin-backed operation, known as Matryoshka, has Hollywood actors telling voters to disavow the Democratic Party and vote Republican.

Guardian. Deepfakes are wrecking influencers’ credibility, one fake ad at a time

Influencers aren’t just battling competitors for brand deals. They’re now battling AI versions of themselves.

The Washington Post. Remembering Roger Simon, a political journalist with toughness and wit

Called “a craftsman of the first order,” Simon, who wrote for Chicago newspapers before becoming Politico’s chief political columnist, died last Thursday at 78.

AP. Longtime AP bureau chief Victor Simpson, who covered 5 popes, dies at 84

During a 46-year AP career, Simpson covered many of the defining stories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, from the 1967 Newark, New Jersey, race riots and war in the Middle East to the papacy of Pope John Paul II, whom he accompanied on dozens of trips.

UC Irvine. Large-scale study finds no link between crime and unauthorized immigration

A UCI study found that, “neighborhoods where the share of undocumented residents grew actually saw greater reductions in property crime and no significant change in violent crime…” The study used Census data tied to residence, which the administration has proposed changing in order to exclude undocumented immigrants.

Whyy. Preserving the Academy of Natural Sciences

Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences is slated to close at the end of the month. But can the 200-year-old museum be saved?

Guardian. Food-borne illnesses, funding cuts and layoffs: Maha movement’s glaring limitations are now showing

Policies enacted by RFK Jr have not delivered the expected results, but have instead hindered people’s ability to eat healthy.

ProPublica. EPA to loosen methane rules, boosting pollution from oil and gas wells

The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing a rule that’ll drastically weaken restrictions on “stripper wells,” which tend to be old, poorly maintained and prone to leaking methane, the highly potent greenhouse gas.

govexec.com Trump is staffing up agencies with political appointees. They’re not sticking around, new analysis finds

Despite installing new political appointees at much-higher rates, the current administration is losing them at double the rate of the Obama and Biden administrations. This constant staffing churn is contributing to erosion of federal agencies’ effectiveness under Trump, according to the the Partnership for Public Service.

NYT. RFK Jr. Hires Army Doctor Who Opposed Covid Shots to Investigate if They Killed 2,500 Troops

“In a legal deposition, the doctor, Theresa Long, compared immunizing service members against Covid to Nazi doctors experimenting on concentration camp prisoners,” reports the NYT. This characterization conflicts with a previous Pentagon report that found zero deaths had resulted from the immunization of 96% of service members.

FPF. The Iran war is unpopular. Hegseth thinks more secrecy will help

Along with removing a “priceless historical archive” from public access, the Pentagon is restricting its own staff from internal strategy documents related to the Iran war.