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Firm that prepared notorious Trump dossier cites First Amendment grounds, among others, for refusing to comply with House Intelligence Committee subpoena. NFL owners meet to discuss player protests amid continued pressure from President Trump. To Kill a Mockingbird removed from a Mississippi school because language in book “makes people uncomfortable.” Charlottesville counterprotester charged with assault and battery for igniting and brandishing a spray can. -Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director

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

U.S.

Firm behind Trump dossier refuses to comply with Russia probe subpoena
Fusion GPS, the political consulting firm behind an infamous dossier alleging ties between President Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, refused to comply with a subpoena from the House intelligence committee.
USA TODAY

Finding an Anthem Protest Compromise at NFL Meetings Will Be Seminal Moment for Roger Goodell
NFL owners will gather and hear from players and NFL Players Association representatives on the contentious matter of players standing at attention for the national anthem. The league has said it will try to devise a plan that would build a bridge with players and assist on their social-justice causes so they’ll stand as one.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Removed From School in Mississippi
Eighth graders in Biloxi, Mississippi, will no longer be required to read To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about racial inequality and the civil rights movement that has been taught in countless classrooms and influenced generations of readers.
NEW YORK TIMES

Charlottesville Counterprotester Who Ignited Spray Can Is Charged
A counterprotester who wielded an improvised flamethrower in a dramatic confrontation at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville was charged with assault and battery. Under Virginia code, the charges are Class 1 misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail.
NEW YORK TIMES

 
Global

Murdered Panama Papers journalist’s son attacks Malta’s ‘crooks’
“My mother was assassinated because she stood between the rule of law and those who sought to violate it, like many strong journalists,” Matthew Caruana Galizia wrote in a Facebook post. “This is what happens when the institutions of the state are incapacitated: the last person left standing is often a journalist. Which makes her the first person left dead.”
THE GUARDIAN

SPECIAL REPORT: How a Nigerian law is suppressing citizens’ freedom on the Internet
Experiences like Emenike Iroegbu’s are becoming increasingly common as jurisdictions across the country have embraced expansive powers of the Cybercrime Act as a tool for curbing potentially critical speech of citizens on the internet.
PREMIUM TIMES

Anger as Chinese media claim harassment is just a western problem
China’s flagship English newspaper has come under fire over the publication of a commentary claiming the type of sexual harassment allegedly perpetrated by Harvey Weinstein could never happen in China because of its cultural traditions.
THE GUARDIAN

People protest during the national anthem at sporting events in Hong Kong, too. Soon they will face jail.
Hong Kong’s soccer fans have been booing the Chinese national anthem for at least two years. In Beijing, China’s government responded by passing a new law that threatens anyone disrespecting or mocking the national anthem with 15 days’ detention, with the possibility of further criminal charges.
WASHINGTON POST

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