Master of Science

Florida's state-run public pension fund and the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, have sued the New York Times in a Manhattan state court, seeking to inspect corporate records to determine whether the paper's board is allowing biased anti-Israel editorial coverage. Both petitioners are Times shareholders and argue New York law entitles them to review the records, which the Times refused to provide.

The petition cites factual errors in Times reporting and claims from an unnamed former newsroom employee who says complaints about alleged anti-Israel bias dating to 2019 were dismissed by management. Florida officials, including Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, both SBA trustees, back the action. The Times called the suit meritless and an attempt to pressure and chill independent journalism. The case adds to broader disputes over media independence, including Trump's recent ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, which those outlets are separately challenging in court.

Florida's pension fund and a conservative think tank sue the New York Times, seeking records on alleged anti-Israel editorial bias.

CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) and Politico filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration after their reporters' White House press credentials were disabled over the weekend, calling the move an illegal "viewpoint discrimination" violating the First Amendment. Trump had announced he was barring the outlets over coverage he called "fake news," and reporters from all three organizations were turned away and had their badges deactivated on Saturday.

CNN was also removed from its rotating pool duties covering the president, and the broader TV pool said no replacement would cover presidential events in its place. The White House countered that access is "a privilege, not a right," while Vice President JD Vance called the outlets' coverage "far-left propaganda" and said the ban did not restrict their ability to report. Trump defended the move on Truth Social as targeting "fake news" rather than a free press he claims to "cherish." The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, follows similar litigation by the Associated Press over prior access restrictions. Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson is so far the only Republican lawmaker to publicly criticize the ban, though Mediaite reports others privately call it problematic.