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Trump is continuing to block CNN from his press pool in defiance of a federal court order. He told TIME magazine he would consider issuing preemptive pardons to members of his own administration. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered a rambling address to a silent crowd of service members that included transphobic slurs. And the family of Renee Good, the Minneapolis mother of three who was killed by an ICE officer, has filed a federal lawsuit.
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Trump Removes CNN From Press Pool Again Despite Court Order
A federal judge told the president he could not ban CNN from the White House, so the president stopped going to the White House.
Trump again blocked CNN from the White House press pool Thursday morning, removing the network’s journalists from his upcoming trip to Texas and Oklahoma. CNN was scheduled to fly on Air Force One to cover his visit to a truck manufacturing plant in Denton and a speech in Durant.
CNN was also prevented from traveling with the president last Saturday when he flew to Knoxville, Tennessee to attend a college football game. The White House replaced CNN with Real America’s Voice, a conservative network.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued an order prohibiting Trump from blocking CNN, Politico, and MS NOW from the White House grounds. Trump’s decision to ban CNN from the travel pool is not technically a violation of that narrow order, but it is a violation of the First Amendment and due process.
All three media outlets asked a federal court Monday to continue blocking Trump from restricting their access. They warned that the administration would immediately reinstate a total ban if given the opportunity, which today’s events confirmed.
Trump Is Considering Pardoning His Administration Members
Most bosses just offer retirement benefits.
Trump told TIME magazine that he would think about pardoning members of his administration before leaving office. When asked directly if he was considering it, the president said yes.
Trump pointed to former President Joe Biden’s blanket pardons for family members and administration officials as a reason for doing so. Biden’s pardons came months after Trump publicly threatened to investigate and prosecute his political enemies and after Trump’s allies in Congress called for criminal referrals against administration officials.
The comments come as Congress continues to investigate the conduct of many members of Trump’s administration. Several Cabinet officials, especially those who oversaw mass firings of federal workers and the withholding of congressionally appropriated funds, may face prosecution after Trump leaves the White House.
On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 January 6 defendants, and has used clemency to reward allies facing federal charges. He’s the first president to consider preemptive pardons to members of his own administration while they’re still carrying out government policy.
Hegseth Delivers Bizarre “State of the Force” Address to Silent Room
Pete Hegseth spent a decade at Fox News before deciding that journalists are a threat to national security.
The defense secretary stood before roughly 600 service members at Marine Corps Base Quantico on Wednesday and gave a speech that included testosterone testing, transphobic slurs, and attacks against the First Amendment.
Hegseth boasted about firing longtime military leaders and said generals who didn’t support his agenda would no longer be working at the Pentagon. He then repeated a transphobic slur he has used at several previous public appearances as he listed the types of people he says are no longer welcome in the military.
“It’s worth saying again, so that the fake news understands it,” Hegseth said. “We are no longer the ‘woke’ department, or the ‘weak’ department. Simple translation of that? No fatties, no tr*nnies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors. Just tough, ready, committed troops … the ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in—with testosterone testing on top.”
The defense secretary also attacked the American press, claiming that the U.S. media is worse than Iranian state media. He accused journalists of undermining service members by criticizing the president.
The comments come as Hegseth faces eight articles of impeachment for waging an illegal war in Iran without the approval of Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the chamber home early to avoid a vote on the resolution, which has been delayed until after the midterm elections.
Family of Renee Good Files Federal Lawsuit Over ICE Shooting
Usually, killing someone and stealing their car lands you in prison.
The family of Renee Good has filed a lawsuit against ICE and the federal government over the killing of the 37-year-old mother during Operation Metro Surge. The family is represented by lawyers from Romanucci and Blandin, the same firm that secured a $27 million settlement for the family of George Floyd.
The lawsuit claims federal immigration officers shot and killed Good on Jan. 7 while she was attempting to comply with agents’ orders. Video recorded by witnesses and the officer who shot her, Jonathan Ross, showed Good starting to drive away before he fired.
The Department of Justice has refused to open a civil rights investigation into Good’s killing, despite an FBI agent’s recommendation. The DOJ also confiscated Good’s vehicle, preventing the family’s attorneys from performing their own forensic examination.
The department has refused to investigate Ross, instead opening an investigation into Good’s widow, Becca, and into activist groups that had been monitoring ICE activity in Minneapolis.
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POSITIVE STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Judge Permanently Dismisses “Vandalism” Charge Against Former Olympian. A Washington judge has permanently dismissed the criminal case against a 67-year-old three-time Olympic canoe racer the Trump administration accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot refile the charge. Trump had slammed U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for abandoning the case in July, saying she “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.” Pirro’s own office had conceded in a court filing that the damage to the pool was caused by a botched contractor installation and a rush to finish the project before the America 250 celebration.
Legislation Would Block Renaming of Aircraft Carrier Honoring Black WWII Hero. Senator Tim Kaine has introduced a provision in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would make it harder for the Secretary of the Navy to change a ship’s name once it’s been announced. The measure is a direct response to reports that the Navy is considering removing the name of Doris Miller, a Black World War II hero who earned the Navy Cross during the attack on Pearl Harbor, from an aircraft carrier under construction and replacing it with Trump’s. The USS Doris Miller was announced during Trump’s first term and would’ve been the first carrier named after an African American and the first named after an enlisted sailor.
New Jersey Eliminates $90 Million in Medical Debt for Nearly 20,000 Residents. The New Jersey Department of Health announced Sept. 17 that it will provide a ninth and final round of medical debt relief through a partnership with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, clearing $90 million in medical bills for nearly 20,000 state residents. Since its inception in 2023, the state’s debt forgiveness program has erased over $1.6 billion in medical debt for close to 900,000 New Jerseyans. Residents who qualify will receive a letter in the mail and do not need to take any action. Governor Mikie Sherrill said the state will continue fighting to lower healthcare costs at a time when federal changes to Medicaid could result in more than 300,000 residents losing their coverage.
California Bans Employers From Using AI to Monitor Workers’ Brain Activity. Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday prohibiting California businesses from collecting data on their workers’ brain activity or using AI-powered surveillance tools to infer their emotional states. The law, AB 1883, restricts employers’ use of systems such as video and audio monitoring, continuous time-trackers, and electromagnetic tracking when those systems use artificial intelligence to collect neural data or recognize emotions. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $500, with enforcement handled by the state labor commissioner and public prosecutors. California is one of the first states to ban specific AI surveillance technologies in the workplace.