US appeals court will not lift limits on Associated Press access to White House
AP says it will remained focused on free speech rights
Trump executive order changed name to 'Gulf of America'
By Mike Scarcella
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit kept in place a June 6 decision by a divided three-judge panel that the administration could legally restrict access to the AP to news events in the Oval Office and other locations controlled by the White House, including Air Force One.
The D.C. Circuit order denied the AP's request that it review the matter, setting up a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Associated Press in a statement on Tuesday said it was disappointed by the court's decision and will remain focused on free speech rights as the case continues.
'As we've said throughout, the press and the public have a fundamental right to speak freely without government retaliation,' the AP said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
In a lawsuit filed in February, the AP argued that the limitations on its access imposed by the administration violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of free speech.
Trump in January signed an executive order officially directing federal agencies to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The AP sued after the White House restricted its access over its decision not to use 'Gulf of America' in its news reports.
The AP Stylebook states that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years. AP said that as a global news agency, it will refer to the body of water by its longstanding name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.
Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the access restrictions, which put wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets. Other media customers, including local news outlets with no presence in Washington, rely on real-time reports by the wire services of presidential statements, as do global financial markets.
The Trump administration has said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House.
The AP won a key order in the trial court when U.S. District Judge Treevor McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, decided that if the White House opens its doors to some journalists it cannot exclude others based on their viewpoints, citing the First Amendment.
The D.C. Circuit panel in its 2-1 ruling in June paused McFadden's order. The two judges in the majority, Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, were appointed by Trump during his first term in office. The dissenting judge, Cornelia Pillard, is an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
Small businesses warn of Trump tariff impact on toy industry at Comic-Con
Toy companies have been fretting about the impact of Trump's global tariff blitz on the industry, particularly when it comes to China. Image: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images North America / AFP Small business owners used the festive backdrop of Comic-Con on Thursday to discuss a sobering topic: the negative impact that US President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs are having on the toy industry. "Not the most sexy topic," Jonathan Cathey, chief executive of collectibles company The Loyal Subjects, admitted at a panel titled "Toys, Tariffs, and Trade Wars" at the four-day convention in San Diego, California. "But this ultimately affects you guys, it affects the end user," he said. "Prices will go up, and our rate of sales will go down." Toy companies have been fretting about the impact of Trump's global tariff blitz on the industry, particularly when it comes to China. Of over $17 billion worth of toys imported to the United States last year, more than $13 billion came from China. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading But a rollercoaster tariff row between Washington and Beijing has caused havoc for US businesses and their Chinese suppliers. Panel moderator Daniel Pickett argued that the Trump administration is "imposing truly exaggerated, somewhat crazy, and frightening measures." He said Trump's proposal to impose additional tariffs on imports "has only wreaked havoc on the entire industry." Trump recently dismissed warnings by toy giant Hasbro's CEO Chris Cocks about rising prices if higher tariffs were imposed, defending his trade policy by emphasizing it favors domestic production. But Cathey argued the rhetoric doesn't reflect American reality. He said: "There's like 480,000 manufacturing jobs... that aren't even filled. So we're going to do what, we're going to bring a bunch of factory jobs back that nobody can fill." The business owner suggested that US value-addition lies in innovation rather than manufacturing. "There are industries where tariffs make sense," Cathey continued, highlighting the automotive and mining sectors. "There's a mechanism where tariffs make sense that actually protect jobs, American workers, and our national security. Barbie ain't it." Brian Flynn of Super7, a collectibles and action figures brand, said the Trump administration's shifting tariff policies have caused chaos and uncertainty. "Nobody knows what's going to happen," he said, adding that the triple-digit tariffs Trump has sometimes mentioned would "drive everyone out of the market." Flynn said the impact was already visible at Comic-Con, where he had to limit himself to a small concession stand rather than a larger exhibit space. Consumers will feel the impact in their wallets next quarter, he warned. "And when it hits, that's going to make a big difference for us." AFP
The Citizen
6 hours ago
- The Citizen
Weekly economic wrap: local politics and US tariffs coming next week
While inflation remained low in June, the picture can change from 1 August if the US tariff on South Africa remains at 30%. It was another busy week on the local political front, with a minister fired, while on the international front countries are waiting to see if US president Donald Trump will TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) or stick to his guns and implement the tariffs he recently proposed. Lisette IJssel de Schepper, chief economist at the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) says while it was a big week on the local political front, there was some constructive momentum. President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed higher education and training minister Nobuhle Nkabane who is facing accusations that she misled parliament. After Nkabane's dismissal, the DA agreed to support the departmental budget on higher education, essentially clearing the way for the Appropriation Bill to be passed. 'While this will not be the last test for the government of national unity (GNU), she says it is a welcome sign that Budget 3.0 can now be finalised, allowing attention to shift toward the October medium term budget policy statement (MTBPS),' De Schepper said. ALSO READ: 'Open our eyes and ears' – Ramaphosa on how to tackle US tariff hike on SA cars US tariffs: will Trump TACO? She said that ahead of next week's 1 August deadline, Trump announced another 'massive' trade deal. Japan and the US agreed on a 15% reciprocal tariff, rather than the 25% that Trump initially threatened. 'Reports suggest that the European Union and the US are nearing a deal, also for 15%, but this has not been confirmed. Unlike other nations or regions, the EU already announced that it has a retaliatory package ready to implement, if necessary, which puts the global economy at additional risk should negotiations fail. 'Trump has said that 15% will probably serve as a floor for reciprocal tariffs, which means the UK was 'lucky' to have been able to settle at 10% early on. In addition to Japan, a deal was reached with the Philippines, with tariffs at 19%, in line with Indonesia and just below Vietnam's 20%.' ALSO READ: JSE All Share Index hit 100k points Oil and gold lower as risk appetite increases Bianca Botes, Citadel Global director, commenting on commodities, says Brent crude breached $69/barrel as markets cheered progress on a US-EU trade agreement, anticipating that reduced tensions would spur global growth and oil demand. 'Supply-side forces further bolstered prices, including constrained Russian exports and tighter diesel markets due to new EU import restrictions and talks of sanctions on Russian oil. These factors offset demand concerns and underpinned the week's rally,' she said Botes saidgold hovered near $3 360 per ounce, consolidating earlier gains after a midweek pullback as risk appetite improved. 'Easing of global trade frictions and equity records prompted some investors to rotate out of safe haven assets, but gold still managed a 0.6% rise for the week, benefiting from lingering uncertainty around US Fed policy and geopolitics.' ALSO READ: Economists lower GDP growth forecast due to global and domestic risks Rand firmed against the dollar this week Turning to the rand, Botes says it firmed against the dollar, moving in tandem with rising JSE equities and elevated commodity prices. 'Steadiness in domestic bond yields, resilient mining sector profits and improved global risk appetite provided support for the currency, despite local growth and fiscal headwinds.' Busisiwe Nkonki and Isaac Matshego, economists at the Nedbank Group Economic Unit, said the rand gained strength on Wednesday, trading at R17.55/$ against the dollar, as inflation increased slightly, suggesting the Reserve Bank (Sarb) may proceed with further interest rate cuts. 'Renewed optimism on the GNU also supported the local unit. All parties in the GNU supported the 2025 Appropriation Bill, dampening earlier fears of a deadlock after the DA threatened to oppose the bill if the president did not act against a truant cabinet minister. 'However, the local unit surrendered some of the gains this morning to trade around R17.77/$ this afternoon.' ALSO READ: Inflation still low enough for repo rate cut, but only in September – economists Inflation edged up to 3% in June as expected Inflation edged up to 3% in June from 2.8% in May, driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages that increased by 5.1% and housing and utilities that increased by 4.4%. The increase in food inflation was mainly driven by an acceleration in meat prices (6.6%) amid supply chain issues due to avian flu and foot and mouth disease, Tshepiso Maroga, economist at the BER, says. Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, Thanda Sithole and Koketso Mano, economists at FNB, say they see headline inflation rising to 3.6% in July, as utility and food costs ratchet up and fuel deflation moderates. For the year, they forecast average headline inflation of 3.5%. Nkonki and Matshego also said the increase was in line with their expectations. 'The food price increases were caused by temporary restrictions on poultry imports from Brazil due to avian flu, some tightening in local red meat supplies due to new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and the lingering impact of earlier floods on vegetable and fruit supplies.'
TimesLIVE
12 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
White House picks mining expert to head a national security office, sources say
The White House has chosen a former mining executive to head an office at the National Security Council (NSC) focused on strengthening supply chains, three sources said, as a pared down NSC zeroes in on a few of President Donald Trump's most oft-stated priorities. David Copley, who was chosen earlier this year to serve as the top mining official at the US National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC), an inter-agency body chaired by the interior secretary, is now a senior director at the NSC, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss non-public personnel moves. The shift in roles reflects the White House ramping up its efforts to gain ground against China in a critical minerals arms race that touches a broad swath of global industries. China recently demonstrated its leverage by withholding exports of rare earth magnets, upending global markets and forcing US officials back to the negotiating table, before reversing course. At the NSC, Copley will focus on strengthening US supply chains and boosting US access to the critical minerals that are often vital components of advanced military technology, two of the sources said. A White House official said Copley, who did not respond to a request for comment, will be overseeing the NSC's 'international economics' component. Copley's precise title was not immediately clear, nor was it clear if he has formally left the NEDC. The decision to identify a mining expert for a top NSC position offers a window into how national security priorities have shifted under US President Donald Trump. The NSC has been sharply downsized in recent months. Offices overseeing Africa and international organisations have been among those shuttered or downgraded, in line with the administration's scepticism of multilateral institutions. A special forces veteran was recently favoured to head the Latin America office, a move that comes as Trump has openly considered unilateral action against Mexican drug cartels. But Trump's focus on obtaining critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel has never waned and China's near-total control of the critical minerals industry has long rankled the president. In May, Reuters reported Copley was among a clutch of officials who had been working on plans to pull Greenland deeper into America's sphere of influence, in part to ensure access to the island's vast deposits of rare earths. One of the sources said Copley's remit is, broadly speaking, 'geostrategic affairs'. Geostrategy is a field of international relations that focuses in part on the interplay of resource wealth and security, a matter of particular relevance for an administration that has made securing access to foreign resources a central element of its foreign policy. In April, the US and Ukraine signed a deal to give the US preferential access to Ukrainian minerals. An economist by training, Copley is an intelligence officer with the US navy reserve and he worked on Iraq-related issues for the state department during Trump's first term. He previously held roles at minerals producer US Silica. Copley consulted for Boston Consulting Group earlier in his career and served as an intelligence officer with the Defence Intelligence Agency, a component of the US department of defence. Copley until recently had worked in a strategic development role for Denver-based Newmont, the world's largest gold miner by production with a market value of $54bn (R957.57bn).
