Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 | Back issues

Media

Comcast plans to split into two public companies by spinning off NBCUniversal and Sky

Associated Press / June 29, 2026

Monday’s move arrives just months after the company officially completed its separation of Versant Media Group, which is the new home of networks like USA, CNBC and MSNBC (now MS NOW).

WhatsApp will allow users to go by usernames instead of phone numbers, closing a privacy blind spot

Associated Press / June 29, 2026

While Americans still prefer text messaging to WhatsApp, the app is widely used in much of the rest of the world.

Trump impeachment lawyer snubbed by SCOTUS in challenge to press freedom ruling

Kelsey Reichmann / June 29, 2026

The justices shut down a request by Alan Dershowitz to hear his claim that CNN deliberately misconstrued the attorney's remarks about impeachable offenses.

‘Life of a Klansman’ prison ban

Brief / June 26, 2026

BOSTON, Mass. — The Massachusetts Court of Appeals vacated a judgment in favor of a prison in a prisoner’s lawsuit over prison officials’ decision that the book “Life of a Klansman” by Edward Ball was contraband and that the inmate wasn’t allowed to have it. The inmate’s “complaint plausibly alleges that the [prison officials] are violating his constitutional rights by allowing inflammatory media against one race to be distributed, while not allowing [him] to possess anti-racist material that may be perceived as inflammatory against another race.” He also alleged that the prison played videos of Louis Farrakhan “advocating hate of White People” and held books titled with racial epithets in its library.

Death penalty remains on the table in Charlie Kirk murder case

Alan Riquelmy / June 26, 2026

Tyler Robinson had sought to remove the possibility of death, saying a prosecutor made improper statements to the media.

Australia plans to strengthen laws banning children from social media

Associated Press / June 26, 2026

A study published Wednesday found 85% of a group of Australian 12- to 17-year-olds were using restricted platforms.

Newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft for mass copyright infringement

Josh Russell / June 25, 2026

The digital theft and copying of hundreds of thousands of copyrighted articles to train AI apps like ChatGPT is a “death knell” for the already fragile local journalism industry, the publishers say.

Maricopa County won’t face class action over mugshot site

Brief / June 25, 2026

PHOENIX — An appeals court in Arizona agreed with the lower court’s decision not to certify a class in a complaint brought by a man who was arrested and says the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office posted his mugshot, birthdate and other personal information on a website that did not explain that people appearing on the site had not been convicted of a crime and were presumed innocent. False light claims require defendants to publish “a major misrepresentation” about the plaintiff; determining whether the publication of arrestees’ mugshots misrepresented them would likely require individualized facts.