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Lawyers associated with President Trump reported to be considering legal action to stop 60 Minutes from airing Stormy Daniels interview. School districts differ on how to handle student walk-out protest against gun violence planned for Wednesday. After President Trump tweets that it “purposely wrote a false story,” New York Times stands by reporting on his discussions with a lawyer about joining the White House to handle the Russia special counsel inquiry. The AP reports on how other politicians are taking up the president’s smear of “fake news” to urge supporters to ignore substantiated journalism. At campaign rally, President Trump makes profane attack on the news media, including a NBC news anchor by name. Anti-opioid activists protest the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, named for a family connected to the drug OxyContin. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

The most pressing threats and notable goings-on in free expression today

U.S.

Trump Lawyers Are Considering A Challenge To Stop “60 Minutes” From Airing A Stormy Daniels Interview
Any litigation aimed at stopping CBS News from airing the interview would be an uphill battle, given protections for press freedom against prior restraints. The Supreme Court has a long history of opposing efforts to stop publication in advance, ruling that prior restraint was an inappropriate way to deal with alleged press abuses.
BUZZFEED

Student walkout over guns poses balancing act for schools
Some schools have taken a hard line, promising to suspend students who walk out, while others are using a softer approach, working with students to set up places on campus where they can remember the victims of the Florida shooting and express their views about school safety and gun control.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trump Disputes Times Report on His Legal Team
In a pair of tweets, Mr. Trump wrote that The Times “purposely wrote a false story stating that I am unhappy with my legal team on the Russia case and am going to add another lawyer to help out.” In a statement, The Times said, “We stand by our reporting, which was confirmed by multiple people close to the president.”
NEW YORK TIMES

‘Fake news’ smear takes hold among politicians at all levels
Experts on the press and democracy say the cries of “fake news” could do long-term damage by sowing confusion and contempt for journalists and by undermining the media’s role as a watchdog on government and politicians. They say it’s already exacerbated the lack of trust in media by conservatives and contributed to hostility.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trump rips NBC’s Chuck Todd: ‘He’s a sleeping son of a b—-‘
At a campaign rally in support of Republican candidate Rick Saccone, Trump laid into other news networks during his remarks, saying that CNN has worse ratings than Fox News and harshly criticizing NBC and MSNBC. Trump’s remarks came just hours after he tweeted criticism of the media’s coverage of his North Korea meeting.
THE HILL

Opioid Protest at Met Museum Targets Donors Connected to OxyContin
Anti-opioid activists unfurled banners and scattered pill bottles on Saturday inside the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which is named for a family connected to the powerful and widely abused painkilling drug OxyContin. The protest was organized by a group started by the celebrated photographer Nan Goldin.
NEW YORK TIMES

 
Global

China clears way for Xi Jinping to rule for life
Another major constitutional change approved Sunday was the creation of an all-powerful national anti-corruption agency. The National Supervision Commission can target anyone who exercises public authority, instead of just Communist Party members, providing Xi with further power to crush any political disloyalty.
CNN

The woman taking on Duterte in a press freedom fight in the Philippines
Over the past two months the online news organization Rappler has been at the forefront of a battle against eroding press freedom in the Philippines. Duterte’s spokesperson-in language eerily evocative of Donald Trump’s White House-declared that “not only is Rappler’s news fake, it being Filipino is also fake.”
THE GUARDIAN

Russian Propaganda Remains on Reddit
Uploaded at a frenetic pace during 2016, the posts link predominantly to the websites DoNotShoot.US and BlackMattersUS.com, both of which are still active and were created by Russia’s Internet Research Agency not only to spread divisive propaganda, but to collect identifying information about American citizens who visited the sites.
WIRED

In Egypt’s presidential election, a strongman’s only challenger is barely campaigning
Sissi’s “campaign” is the latest sign of what critics say is the farce unfolding ahead of this month’s presidential elections. In the recent crackdown, Egypt’s top prosecutor has accused outlets of spreading false news and has threatened legal action against any that sought to undermine the country’s reputation with negative coverage.
WASHINGTON POST

BBC urges UN to act over harassment of journalists in Iran
The move follows years of alleged persecution and harassment by the Iranian authorities of journalists and their families. The BBC said the problem escalated last year when Iranian authorities opened a criminal investigation claiming the work of BBC Persian Service journalists was a crime against Iran’s national security.
THE GUARDIAN

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