New York Times sues Pentagon over new reporting restrictions – US politics live

NYT accuses Pentagon of infringing on the constitutional rights of its journalists

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon on Thursday, accusing the defense department of infringing on the constitutional rights of its journalists with its new reporting restrictions.

The restrictions, which went into effect in October, require reporters to sign a pledge that they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official – a stark departure from previous guidelines. In a summary of the filing, the New York Times called this policy “exactly the type of speech- and press-restrictive scheme that the Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit have recognized violates the First Amendment.”

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown continues as federal agents descended upon New Orleans on Wednesday, sending fear through the region’s Latino community and prompting businesses to close. Gregory Bovino, the border patrol chief who has become the face of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, was spotted leading a group of masked agents through the historic French quarter as one woman heckled the agents.

The operation in New Orleans came as Donald Trump continued his xenophobic attacks on Somali immigrants, telling reporters on Wednesday that “those Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country” and that congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be “thrown the hell out”.

In more immigration news, an Amnesty International report published Thursday found that detainees at the Florida immigration detention facility, “Alligator Alcatraz,” face “harrowing human right violations.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is also in the process of creating a new internal database of non-US citizens who are “employed or affiliated” with the government department, a sensitive memo leaked to the Guardian has revealed.

Trump also announced on Wednesday that he is repealing the Biden-era federal fuel economy standards.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

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