Devin Nunes Files $435 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN
The California representative has filed three separate defamation lawsuits this year. In his third, Nunes claims that CNN published a “demonstrably false hit piece” about an alleged trip the congressman took to Austria to meet with an ex-Ukranian official.
Federal Judge Says Iowa Can’t Enforce Its Newest Ag-Gag Law
The newest law is the state’s second attempt to stop journalists and activists from going undercover to report on meat processing plants, livestock facilities, and puppy mills. An older version of the bill was struck down as unconstitutional in January.
Snowden Responds to DOJ Lawsuit, Argues Government Selectively Enforces Prepublication Review Rules
“There is a strong likelihood that the government would have subjected Mr. Snowden specifically to such discriminatory treatment,” Snowden’s lawyers wrote. “A whistleblower the government considers to be a traitor would have been seeking permission from the very agencies on which he blew the whistle to speak about his views on surveillance."
Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Defamation Suit Brought by Prominent Climate Scientist
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a defamation suit filed by a climate scientist against the National Review and Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State, sued the magazine and the think tank in 2012 after they accused him of manipulating his climate data.
Google Announces New Policy on Political Advertisements
On November 20th, Google announced that the company will restrict how precisely political ads can target users on its search engine and on YouTube. Political ads can still be delivered according to gender, age, and location, as well according to the content of the website users visit. However, the new policy states that ads can’t be directed to users based on the public voter record or their political affiliations.
Broome County Legislators Want to Criminalize “Annoying” First Responders
Broome County legislators have introduced a bill that would criminalize any behavior that “annoy, alarm, or threaten the safety of any emergency first responder.” According to Scott Baker, a Republican legislator who introduced the bill, it was in response to recent events around the country, including a protest at a Columbus Day parade in the town of Binghamton, NY.
ACLU Sues Trump Administration Over Hostile Treatment of Journalists At Border
The civil liberties groups brought the case on behalf of five photojournalists who traveled to Mexico last year to document migrants' efforts to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition to lengthy interrogation, some of the journalists say border officers compelled them to disclose photographs and notes they had taken as part of their reporting.
Despite His Efforts to Have “Pedo Guy” Case Dismissed, Elon Musk Will Go on Trial
A federal judge in California ruled that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has to go on trial for calling a British cave explorer a "pedophile" and "child rapist,” despite numerous attempts by the tech entrepreneur to have the case dismissed.