Bob Bauer | Can Freedom of the Press Survive David Pecker?

12 February 19 AM It's Live on the HomePage Now: Reader Supported News IF YOU ARE GOING TO STAY, YOU HAVE  TO HELP - The budget is too thin to do this.  We have many, many more readers than  donors and it is breaking the process down.  We understand that we will lose some  readers.  Although we haven’t lost many yet, if we do,  we do. If you stay, we need your help and we  need it now. / Marc Ash, Founder Reader  Supported News Sure, I'll make a donation! Bob Bauer | Can Freedom of the  Press Survive David Pecker?  Bob Bauer, The Atlantic Bauer writes: "By passing over from the pursuit  of news to corporate bullying for self-interested  purposes - or, in the campaign-finance case,  coordinated political activity with a candidate -  a media organization risks forfeiting the  constitutional protections normally working  in its favor." READ MORE A protester in front of the U.S. Capitol Building during the federal government shutdown that lasted from December 22, 2018 until January 25, 2019. (photo: Larry Downing) Lawmakers Say They Have Reached  an 'Agreement in Principle' to Avoid  Government Shutdown Erica Werner, Damian Paletta and Sean Sullivan,  The Washington Post Excerpt: "Key lawmakers announced a tentative  deal late Monday that would avert another  government shutdown at the end of the week  while denying President Trump much of the  money he's sought to build new walls along the  U.S.-Mexico border." READ MORE People cast their ballots ahead of the Tuesday, November 6, general election at Jim Miller Park, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018, in Marietta, Georgia. (photo: Mike Stewart/AP) Thousands of Black Votes in  Georgia Disappeared and No One Can  Explain It Michael Harriot, The Root Harriot writes: "The nonprofit group, Coalition  for Good Governance, discovered that  approximately 127,000 Georgia voters simply  did not have a recorded vote for lieutenant  governor." READ MORE Protesters rallying against Donald Trump's travel ban policy. (photo: NBC News) A New Muslim Ban Challenge Seeks  to Answer the Questions the Supreme  Court Didn't Settle Sirine Shebaya, Slate Shebaya writes: "Although the Trump v. Hawaii  decision was a setback, the Supreme Court did  not settle the question of whether the ban violates  the Establishment Clause in that decision.  Instead, it sent it back to the lower courts, where  we and our plaintiffs are renewing our legal  challenge." READ MORE People protest against a proposed bill that would remove parents' ability to claim a philosophical exemption to opt their children out of the MMR vaccine in Olympia, Washington, on 8 February. (photo: Ted S. Warren/AP) Health Experts Pressure Facebook to  Halt Rise of Anti-Vaccination Groups Ed Pilkington and Jessica Glenza, Guardian UK Excerpt: "The threat posed by the Facebook  groups was put in stark relief by the World  Health Organization (WHO), which lists 'vaccine  hesitancy' - reluctance to vaccinate - as one  of the top 10 global health threats in 2019." READ MORE Demonstrators and police in Spain. (photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP) Trial of Catalan Separatists Begins  in Madrid Amid Protests Aritz Parra and Joseph Wilson, Associated Press Excerpt: "The trial, arguably Spain's most  important in four decades of democracy, began  as the future of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's  minority government hinges on last-minute  negotiations with Catalan pro-independence  parties to back his 2019 budget." READ MORE Jason shows the iron waste that has accumulated around his water filtration system. (photo: BBC) A Toxic Crisis in America's  Coal Country Gareth Evans, BBC Excerpt: "In the shadow of some of  America's most controversial coal mines, where  companies use huge amounts of explosives to  blow the tops off mountains, isolated communities  say their water has been poisoned." READ MORE Contribute to RSN Update My Monthly Donation