BET says 'audio malfunction' caused heavy censorship of Usher's speech at the 2024 BET Awards

Usher's acceptance speech of the BET Awards' lifetime achievement award was heartfelt, occasionally profane and lengthy — and few people got to hear it. The 13-minute speech was largely censored by the network, leaving viewers at home curious to know what Usher said. A BET...

The Supreme Court casts doubt on Florida and Texas laws to regulate social media platforms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday kept on hold efforts by Texas and Florida to limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users in a ruling that strongly defended the platforms' free speech rights. Writing...

Groups oppose veto of bill to limit governor’s power to cut off electronic media in emergencies

A local media watchdog, a TV and radio trade organization and a nonprofit that promotes government transparency are each expressing serious concerns with one of the bills Hawaii’s governor has threatened to veto. House Bill 2581, currently awaiting action by Gov. Josh Green, would...

2 Algerian journalists arrested for publishing video showing businesswomen protesting

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian authorities arrested two journalists for publishing a video showing businesswomen protesting how they were treated at a government-sponsored event. Journalists in Algeria have faced mounting repression since President Abdelmadjid Tebboune came to...

Pennsylvania Senate passes bill to bar universities and pension funds from divesting from Israel

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Senate approved legislation Thursday that would block state aid from going to any university that boycotts or divests from Israel, following pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country that included demands for divestment. ...

Racial justice, free speech groups join fight against potential TikTok ban

A dozen social and racial justice groups said Thursday that the federal effort to require a sale or ban of TikTok would suppress speech from minority communities by disrupting a critical tool many use to establish connections online and advocate for causes. The legal brief,...

Judge stops parents' effort to collect on $50M Alex Jones owes for saying Newtown shooting was hoax

A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday stopped an effort by the parents of a boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to begin collecting on some of the $50 million they won in a lawsuit against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over his false claims that the massacre was a hoax. ...

Wisconsin Supreme Court says an order against an anti-abortion protester violated First Amendment

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an order barring an anti-abortion protester from coming close to a Planned Parenthood nurse violated his First Amendment free speech rights and must be overturned. The court, controlled 4-3 by liberals, ruled...

He flipped off a trooper and got charged. Now Vermont is on the hook for $175,000

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (AP) — Vermont has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit on behalf of a man who was charged with a crime for giving a state trooper the middle finger in 2018, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday. The lawsuit was filed in 2021...

Julian Assange says he broke US law by encouraging classified leaks, but says the law violates free-speech rights