Tomorrow is the first day of autumn, and you know what that means (nope, PSL season apparently started weeks ago): It's Fat Bear Week. This year's finalists are here in all their pre-hibernation glory. I tend to vote with my heart, and Bear 284 — with her bold personality and deep respect for personal space — is speaking to me. Before you cast your vote, here are some paw-sitively essential words to live by. I will also be celebrating Dolly Day (very appropriately on 9/25) by wearing pink and practicing random acts of kindness. And finally, I'm late to the party on Whistler, but ready to dive in. Author Ann Patchett just spoke with theSkimm and shared the important lesson she learned from fellow icon Barbara Kingsolver. Now, let's get to the news...
— Marina Carver / Senior Editor / Brooklyn, NY
Freedom of the Press
What Would Woodward and Bernstein Do?
What's going on: Talk about a news dump. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump barred CNN, Politico, and MS Nowreporters from the White House over negative coverage. He called them “fake news,” and promised, “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow.” The three outlets, along with the White House Correspondents' Association, released statements asserting that journalists have a First Amendment right to cover the White House. Even former President Barack Obama weighed in, saying, “I’m trying to think what would have happened if I’d said, ‘You know what Fox News, get out of here.’ It’s unimaginable.” But Trump appeared to celebrate on Sunday by posting a seemingly AI-generated image that showed three trash bags labeled with the names of the news orgs on the White House lawn.
This isn’t the first time: Trump has issued similar bans in the past, including against the Associated Press and former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta. In both cases, the courts restored their access (though the White House is still appealing the AP case). A leading First Amendment lawyer told NPR that this latest ban is similarly unconstitutional. Trump is open to welcoming the outlets back. He said, “Maybe they can get better and we’d like to have them in,” apparently offering access in exchange for more favorable coverage. It’s an approach critics have compared to government-controlled media in countries such as China and Russia. “We are on the path to having a state media-like system in this country,” Acosta told MS Now on Friday.
