National News Orgs Unite to Oppose Trump’s Restrictions; the State OKs Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Sept. 21, 2026

Indy Digest: Sept. 21, 2026

Bad (if completely predictable) news: As the midterms approach, President Trump is escalating his restrictions on media sources he does not like.

Good (and not completely predictable) news: The national news media is coalescing to push back against these restrictions.

The Washington Post (gift link) reports:

News organizations responded strenuously Monday to President Donald Trump’s decision to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, filing a lawsuit in federal court and banding together to halt video coverage of the president until further notice.

In the suit filed in federal district court in Washington, CNN, MS NOW and Politico are alleging violations of news outlets’ First Amendment free press rights and due process under the Fifth Amendment. They are requesting that a federal judge hear the case on an expedited basis.

Soon after the lawsuit was announced, ABC, CBS, Fox News and NBC said they would halt TV coverage of presidential events, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post, over the White House’s ban of CNN, which is one of the five members the White House television pool. The Post on Monday shared it will not publish any photographs of the day’s presidential events—including Trump’s departure from the White House and his events at the United Nations in New York—until midnight Eastern time, joining a collective effort with photographers in other newsrooms covering the White House in a show of support of the banned outlets.

“This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,” Bryan Boughton, the Fox News Washington bureau chief and rotational chair of the TV pool, wrote in a memo to the White House press corps that was obtained by The Post. “… There will be no replacement pool put in place. All other pool coverage will continue as normal, including Congress, VIPs, and selected events in Washington and around the country.”

In a joint statement Monday, the five members of the rotating TV pool wrote: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.”

The New York Times and other media orgs joined The Washington Post in its 24-hour photo ban, among other protests by national media oulets.

And here’s how the president reacted:

Bleh.

One day, these actions by the president will be looked upon with near-universal scorn and condemnation … but we’re going to endure a LOT of pain between now and then.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state AGs have settled with Paramount Skydance—allowing the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to move forward. Is it a good deal—or did Bonta and co. cave? The Los Angeles Times says: “California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison have reached an agreement to end the state’s antitrust fight, paving the way for Ellison to complete his $111-billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, Bonta and Paramount confirmed Monday. … As part of the deal, Paramount agreed to pay a penalty and to divest the Miramax film studio if the company fails to make good on a promise to distribute 30 films per year in theaters for the first two years of the combined company, and 32 films per year for the three years after that. … The studio also pledged not to sell or close its Melrose Avenue lot or Warner Bros.’ Burbank lot and to operate them ‘in a manner consistent with past practices,’ according to the consent decree. Additionally, the settlement includes a requirement for Paramount to establish a board to ensure editorial independence for CNN and CBS News, though it was not clear how the board would be able to enforce its recommendations. Opponents of the merger said California’s state leaders caved to Paramount’s threat to leave California.”

• According to the Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton … yeah, it was a cave: “Thanks to a timely reallocation of his father’s money, (David Ellison) set to be one of the biggest news media moguls in American history. Having already taken control of CBS News—with little to show for it audience-wise but plenty ideologically—he now seems clear to add CNN to his roster of outlets. His acquisition, through Paramount, of Warner Bros. Discovery has been held up by a lawsuit filed by blue-state attorneys general over antitrust questions. One reported goal of the AGs was to have Ellison sell CNN in order to close the deal, though California’s Rob Bonta labeled that speculation. But this morning, those AGs appear to have thrown in the towel. … So while another major national news outlet will be under the control of a major Donald Trump ally … at least there’ll be ‘a board of journalists to ensure (its) editorial independence’! (That this is all happening while the president Ellison supports bans all CNN reporters from the White House adds a tragicomic character to it all.) If this particular move sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been a part of past news company acquisitions where concerns about antitrust or editorial control end up being downshifted into similar (and mostly toothless) ‘boards.’ Their effectiveness has been, to be generous, extremely limited.”

• Something finally has Republicans in Congress worried. Restrictions on press freedoms? Nah. We’re talking about high diesel prices! The Washington Post (gift link) reports: “Congressional Republicans have grown increasingly concerned about the impact of high diesel fuel costs on their constituents, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who wrote on social media on Saturday that the prices were ‘killing farmers income.’ In his post on X, Grassley, a corn and soybean farmer, questioned why President Donald Trump has not pursued an export ban, as was done during a surge in prices in the 1970s. ‘We need our family farmers who feed&fuel the world 2b on the strongest footing possible no matter what’s happening across the globe,’ he said in a post on Sunday. The price of diesel, which powers everything from combines to tractors to 18-wheelers, has hit a record high in the United States, hovering near $6.45 per gallon.”

• The governor has signed legislation restricting data centers in the state. Our partners at CalMatters report: “Facing growing public backlash and a pivot from his own past vetoes, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of seven bills on Monday that aim to force the data center industry to pay its own way in California. Three of the new laws shift electric infrastructure costs away from residential customers and toward data center operators, three more mandate disclosures of water usage and other resources, and the last one makes data centers ineligible for environmental review exemptions. Newsom in a written statement contrasted the new regulations with President Donald Trump’s hands-off approach to data centers and artificial intelligence. … Newsom’s signature on the new laws represents a significant departure from his actions on data centers last year, when he vetoed a water disclosure bill over concerns that regulation could stifle AI growth and signed into law only a single stripped-down environmental study bill.”

• Today’s recall news involves … Walmart fettuccine! People reports (via Yahoo! News): “A popular frozen pasta sold at Walmart has been recalled, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Gias Foods of New York recalled two lots of Bettergoods Authentic Italian Lemon Alfredo Fettuccine on Sept. 15 for potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination, according to a company announcement published on the FDA website. The bacteria ‘can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,’ according to the announcement. ‘Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.’ No illnesses stemming from consuming the frozen pasta have been reported to the FDA yet.”

• And finally … the FBI warned male ICE agents to be wary of women who might want to date them. This equal parts hilarious and very, very sad. The Guardian (U.K.) reports: “The FBI internally warned that a group of women were creating fake online dating accounts with ‘tradwife’ aesthetics in an effort to lure US immigration agents and ‘dox’ them. The FBI in Chicago disseminated a brief memo to other law enforcement officials across the U.S. on the potential threat to agents in February, warning that ‘as of late January 2026, a small group of women allegedly were creating fictitious online dating profiles with the purpose of attracting and then doxxing law enforcement participating in immigration enforcement.’ The report, which was shared with the Guardian, provided few details about the alleged scheme and did not explain the source of the information. … Property of the People, a government-transparency non-profit, obtained the document through a public records request, one of many internal records the group has collected revealing internal law enforcement concerns about activists organizing against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The FBI’s ‘situational information report’ did not list the dating sites allegedly used by the women or where they were located, nor did it specify whether agents had actually been exposed. The memo aimed ‘to raise awareness’ about this doxing ‘technique,’ the FBI wrote.”

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