Sep 19, 2026
A federal judge declined to stop the Pentagon from terminating three Stars and Stripes journalists who claim they were illegally disciplined for speaking out about the military newspaper's editorial independence.
US District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was illegal retaliation for the AI company's public criticism, granting Anthropic summary judgment on First Amendment, due process and Administrative Procedure Act claims.
Three Stars and Stripes journalists filed a lawsuit challenging their recent firings by the Pentagon, accusing the Trump administration of violating their First Amendment rights after the outlet reported on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
ABC filed a formal complaint accusing the Trump administration's FCC of unfairly targeting ABC and ABC-owned stations in retaliation for news coverage, calling it attempted censorship meant to intimidate the entire media industry.
The Trump administration's Justice Department issued then withdrew subpoenas compelling national security reporters from The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to testify before a federal grand jury in a leak investigation. The subpoenas were withdrawn after legal challenges from the news organizations.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Alan Dershowitz's request to revive his $300 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, while Justice Clarence Thomas issued a statement calling for the court to reconsider the landmark 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan ruling that makes it difficult for public figures to sue for libel.