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NFL players write New York Times op-ed on mass incarceration, noting they are exercising their right to speak out on injustice as citizens, apart from their profession. President Trump says First Lady’s jacket message (“I Really Don’t Care. Do U?”) for her trip to the border was intended as an attack on “fake” media. Sinclair Broadcast Group reported to be mandating that its many local news outlets to air segment claiming reports of children separated from their immigrant parents are overblown. New Trump administration directive tells federal scientists from U.S. Geological Survey to get approval from their Department of Interior superiors before responding to most reporters’ questions. –Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

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

U.S.

The N.F.L. is Being Anti-American
“If kneeling is problematic because it seems unpatriotic, the N.F.L.’s response is outrageous because it actually is unpatriotic. By instituting a policy yesterday to punish players who exercise their right of free expression by kneeling, the league is rejecting a basic American value.”
NEW YORK TIMES

Melania Dons Jacket Saying ‘I Really Don’t Care. Do U?’ Ahead of Her Border Visit—and Afterward
As Melania Trump boarded her plane from Andrews Air Force Base, she wore an olive green jacket. The back of the jacket read: “I really don’t care. Do u?” in white graffiti-style lettering. Later, President Donald Trump said the jacket’s message was a shot at the media.
CNN

Sinclair Broadcast Group Pushes Segment Criticizing Child Detention Reports
Sinclair Broadcasting Group is showing a video on its local broadcast news stations across the U.S. in which a political commentator attacks media coverage of the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their families.
NBC NEWS

Trump Administration Tightens Rules for Federal Scientists Talking to Reporters
The Trump administration instructs federal scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey to get approval from its parent agency before agreeing to most interview requests from reporters, according to employees and emails from officials with the Department of the Interior and the United States Geological Survey.
LOS ANGELES TIMES

 
Global

Algeria And Iraq Shut Down Internet To Prevent Exam Cheating
The Algerian government has ordered telecom companies to shut down the internet in the country for several hours every day for the next few days to prevent high school students from cheating. The decision was made to prevent what happened in 2016, when the exam questions leaked online before the exams took place.
MALAYSIAN DIGEST

Street Musicians Disapprove Planned Regulations
Georgian musicians who usually perform in the street do not like the planned changes, according to which, they might need a permit to sing in the street and they will have to follow the list of songs, selected by the City Hall. Street musician, Shota Adamashvili says if the performers have to agree the list of songs with the City hall, it equals to censorship.
GEORGIA TODAY

10 Children’s Books with LGBT Themes Taken Off the Shelves in Honk Kong Public Libraries
Ten children’s books featuring same-sex parents and other LGBT themes have been hidden away from public view at Hong Kong’s libraries after months of pressure from an anti-gay-rights group. The city’s openly gay lawmaker, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, criticized the department for bowing to pressure from the anti-gay-rights group.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

Spanish Court Lifts Ban on Book About Drug Trafficking
A Madrid court has lifted a ban on the sale of a book that investigates drug trafficking in Spain, saying that it comes within laws on the right to inform. The court ruled that the book by the journalist Nacho Carretero was the result of “an in-depth investigation” and contained information that was “trustworthy and truthful.”
TAMPA BAY TIMES

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