The White House press secretary makes a multi-try apology on an astounding history rewrite. The Washington Post Fact Checker team asks citizens to send in reports on their Congressional representatives’ town halls during the April recess. The Trump budget director wants federal funding to “sanctuary cities” restricted where the elected leadership declines to enforce federal immigration policies. And political scientists plotting when democracies die finds that older ones rarely collapse—but the data set is small, so could be deceiving. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression

PEN America’s take on today’s most pressing threats to free expression

U.S.

“There can be no joy in such incompetence”: Journalists call for Sean Spicer to be fired following “Holocaust center” comments
White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said his share of controversial statements. But none quite compare to Tuesday’s, when he tried to make Hitler the lesser of two evils and reduced the horror of concentration camps to “Holocaust centers.”
SALON

Dear readers, help us fact-check your congressional district town halls
We want to know what members of Congress are telling their constituents during the April recess. The Washington Post Fact Checker wants to fact-check your Senate and House district town hall—and we need your help.
WASHINGTON POST

Reps For Google, Facebook, And Netflix Back Net Neutrality As A New Battle Looms
Silicon Valley’s major players want federal regulators to ensure “meaningful net neutrality rules that withstand the test of time,” but it’s unclear if the FCC and a Republican-controlled Congress want that too.
BUZZFEED

Trump admin suspends controversial sanctuary city reports
The Trump administration has suspended its weekly reports aimed at putting political pressure on sanctuary cities. President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration called for the so-called “declined detainer” report, and the Department of Homeland Security issued the first one three weeks ago.
CNN

Daily Mail settles libel case with Melania Trump for $2.9 million
The Daily Mail has agreed to settle two lawsuits with Melania Trump stemming from an August article that claimed the first lady once served as an escort. The U.K.-based tabloid will pay approximately $2.9 million in damages and legal costs to settle the suits in both the U.S. and the U.K.
POLITICO

 
Global

Yahoo Is Sued Over $17 Million Fund for Chinese Dissidents
A group of Chinese political activists filed a lawsuit in federal court against Yahoo on Tuesday, saying the company failed to properly oversee a $17 million fund it created a decade ago to help Chinese writers, democracy advocates, and human rights lawyers persecuted for standing up to the country’s government.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Pressure Grows as Hungary Adopts Law Targeting George Soros’s University
Pressure is mounting on Hungary’s right-wing government after it adopted a law that would effectively shut down Central European University, an institution founded by the Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Essex local authority says it will blacklist journalists if their stories ‘do not reflect the council’s position accurately’
A local council has said it will blacklist media organizations that do not accurately reflect its position in news stories. Thurrock Council in Essex has also ruled that only regulated media outlets will be allowed a place in the “media area” for council meetings while all others will be asked to sit with the public.
PRESS GAZETTE

‘Art is my weapon’: meet the Turkish artist taking on Erdoğan
Ekin Onat’s project for the Venice Biennale sensationally exposes police brutality and political revolt in Turkey. As the country prepares for a historic referendum, Onat explains why she faces exile.
THE GUARDIAN

When Do Democracies Die?
There’s a question gripping political scientists that we’re exploring ourselves: How and why do democracies die? The real change in democracy has come just in the past year, with the rise of populist movements in the part of the world considered the most solidly democratic: the West.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

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