The Pentagon Tells Journalists They Can Only Report Pre-Approved Info; Check Your Freezer for Radioactive Shrimp–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Sept. 22, 2025

Indy Digest: Sept. 22, 2025

Since the Indy Digest last arrived in your inbox, a LOT has happened.

The government has decided the use of Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism! (Even if studies have not shown this to be definitively true!)

Jimmy Kimmel’s show is back tomorrow! But not all ABC affiliates will air it!

The president actually said, at Charlie Kirk’s memorial: “He did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.”

Because of all of this craziness, many people may have missed a critically important news story that broke on Friday—and others who heard the news may not fully grasp how BAD it is.

As explained by The Washington Post:

The Trump administration unveiled a new crackdown Friday on journalists at the Pentagon, saying it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey.

Under the policy, the Pentagon may revoke press passes for anyone it deems a security threat. Possessing confidential or unauthorized information, under the new rules, would be grounds for a journalist’s press pass to be revoked.

“DoW remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust,” the document says, using an acronym for the newly rebranded Department of War. “However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”

If you stop and really think about this for a moment, the truly terrifying ramifications sink in. The Pentagon is telling reporters that they can’t report anything about the Department of Defense unless the Department of Defense says it’s OK.

Here is a portion of a statement from National Press Club president Mike Balsamo regarding this new policy:

If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.

Independent reporting on the military is essential to democracy. It is what allows citizens to hold leaders accountable and ensures that decisions of war and peace are made in the light of day. This pledge undermines that principle, and the National Press Club calls on the Pentagon to rescind it immediately.

This new policy has journalists alarmed. It should alarm you, too.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The state of California has banned federal immigration officers from wearing face coverings while on the job. The feds have announced they will not comply with said ban. KTLA reports: “‘To be clear: We will NOT comply with Gavin Newsom’s unconstitutional mask ban. At a time that ICE law enforcement faces a 1,000% increase in assaults and their family members are being doxxed and targeted, the sitting governor of California signed unconstitutional legislation that strips law enforcement of protections in a disgusting, diabolical fundraising and PR stunt,’ the government agency said in a post on X. The new law is a direct response to federal agents wearing masks while making arrests during immigration enforcement operations, including those across Southern California and Los Angeles that prompted protests this summer.”

• RFK Jr’s vaccine panel is a big, big mess. Wired magazine reports: “On the second day of a pivotal vaccine meeting that was at times heated, confusing, and chaotic, a group of federal advisers chosen by Health and Human Services secretary and longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted against requiring a prescription to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The vote took place after hours of discussion, in which several advisers sowed doubts about the COVID-19 vaccines and went on tangents about their safety and efficacy—both of which have been well-established. The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, was tasked with considering whether state and local jurisdictions should require a prescription for the administration of a Covid vaccine. ACIP has historically provided expert advice to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine usage. The current committee is made of 12 members installed by Kennedy after he dismissed all 17 previous sitting members in June. Several members have expressed anti-vaccine views, and five of them were appointed just this week. Some of the new ACIP members were seemingly unaware that recommendations made by the committee are tied to insurance coverage, and that in many states, they determine what immunizations a pharmacy is allowed to administer.”

• Meanwhile, the Trump administration has decided to stop tracking and measuring food insecurity in the country. The New York Times reports: “Two months after pushing through Congress the largest food stamp cuts in the program’s history, the Trump administration has canceled the government’s annual report measuring household food insecurity. The move by the Agriculture Department strips the government of its main gauge of Americans’ ability to access adequate meals, and will impede researchers’ efforts to track the coming cuts in nutritional aid. … The most recent report found that in 2023, 13.5 percent of households, with 47 million people, were food insecure, meaning that during some portion of the year, not every member of household had access to enough food for a healthy lifestyle. … The Agriculture Department’s statement attacked the food insecurity report as ‘rife with inaccuracies, wrong metrics, zero accountability, and a massive drive for bigger and larger’ government programs. Elaine Waxman, an expert on methods of measuring food insecurity at the Urban Institute, a Washington research group, said in an interview that ‘none of that is accurate.’”

• We here at the Independent have considered becoming a nonprofit news organization. We’re no longer considering it at ALL, at least for now, and here’s why, as reported by Time magazine: “In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination earlier this month, President Donald Trump and members of his administration have openly discussed punishing left-leaning organizations they believe fuel political violence. Experts say one tactic that’s been mentioned could be especially harmful to some of the targeted groups: going after their tax-exempt status. The charge was made most explicitly last Monday, when Vice President J.D. Vance singled out the Ford Foundation and the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations while hosting Charlie Kirk’s podcast. ‘We are going to go after the NGO network that foments and facilities and engages in violence,’ Vance said, referring to non-governmental organizations. … Legal experts say the loss of tax-exempt status would amount to an existential threat to most organizations. But the White House’s ability to revoke any group’s tax-exempt status would be difficult, and could lead to protracted court battles.”

• The president says he’s going to start charging companies $100,000 for new H-1B visas. What could go wrong? #sarcasm Here’s what this all means, as explained by NBC News: “The H-1B visa is a legal immigration program that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire skilled foreign workers in ‘specialty occupations’ across health care, tech and finance industries, among other STEM-related fields. For the purposes of the visa program, a ‘specialty occupation’ is defined as a job that requires at least a bachelor’s degree or higher and the ‘theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge.’ The visa program, created by the Immigration Act of 1990, was originally designed to address critical workforce needs, making it easier for employers to bring in workers with specialized skills that were harder to find in the United States. … According to guidelines the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued this week, the $100,000 fee on H1-B visas is a one-time fee and applies only to new applications.”

• And finally … today’s recall news involves … radioactive shrimp! The Associated Press explains the recall, which is actually an expansion of an earlier recall: “Aquastar Corp. on Saturday recalled nearly 157,000 additional pounds of shrimp because of possible contamination with cesium 137, a radioactive isotope. The new recall includes nearly 50,000 bags of Kroger Raw Colossal EZ Peel Shrimp, about 18,000 bags of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp and more than 17,000 bags of AquaStar Peeled Tail-on Shrimp Skewers. The products were sold between June 12 and Sept. 17 at grocery stores in more than 30 states (including California). They include Bakers, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foodsco, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Gerbes, Jay C, King Soopers, Kroger, Mariano’s, Metro Market, Pay Less Supermarkets, Pick ‘n Save, Ralph’s, Smith’s and QFC.”

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