Biden admin can no longer 'collude' with social media companies
Lawsuit alleges the federal government suppressed conservative-leaning speech on social media platforms.
Early this morning, we analyzed 513 news articles across 31 outlets and located the primary sources for the most important stories. Here's what's happening today.
The news in numbers
30 - years before the batch releases of Fukushima wastewater will be complete
1km - distance from Japanese coast wastewater will be released
5 - Ukrainian drones Russia says it shot down over Moscow
5 - rockets fired from Gaza into Israel in latest exchange
Japan to release Fukushima wastewater into sea
The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has completed its assessment of Japan’s plans to release treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, following nearly two years of work by an IAEA Task Force.
The report states: “Based on its comprehensive assessment, the IAEA has concluded that the approach to the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea, and the associated activities by TEPCO, NRA, and the Government of Japan, are consistent with relevant international safety standards.”
An Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) will be used to remove almost all radionuclides from the water. After treatment, the water will be gradually released from a tunnel about 1km off the Japanese coast over a period of about 30 years.
Russia says they intercepted Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow
The Russian Defense Ministry reported they had successfully thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack on targets in the Moscow region.
Four Ukrainian drones were shot down by Moscow air defense forces while a fifth was “suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed on the territory of Odintsovo district of the Moscow region,” the Russian Defence Ministry said. The Mayor of Moscow posted on telegram that “No casualties or injuries have been reported, and emergency services are on the scene.”
“The Kyiv regime’s attempt to attack an area where civilian infrastructure is located, including the airport, which incidentally also receives foreign flights, is yet another act of terrorism,” said Maria Zakharova of Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Zakharova added that the U.S., U.K., and France — all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — “are financing a terrorist regime.”
Judge says Biden admin can no longer ‘collude’ with social media companies to ‘suppress disfavored viewpoints’
A federal judge decided that several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration should be prohibited from interacting with social media companies on matters related to the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana partially granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by Louisiana and Missouri. The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration “have colluded with and/or coerced social-media platforms to suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and content on social media platforms.”
The suit alleges that social networks “suppressed conservative-leaning free speech” during the COVID-19 pandemic by “suppressing speech about the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin; suppressing speech about the efficiency of masks and COVID-19 lockdowns: suppressing speech about the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines.” The lawsuit also cited evidence that the federal government “suppressed speech about election integrity in the 2020 presidential election.”
Judge Doughty wrote: “The evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario.” He added, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’”
Sen. Eric Schmitt — who served as Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed — tweeted that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”
A White House official explained their actions as such: “This Administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections.”
Arab nations condemn Israeli military operation
The Israeli raid on the West Bank entered its second day on Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported, “Yesterday, we operated to extract armed gunmen who were using a Mosque as a cover for terrorist operations. Today, soldiers completed the mission by confiscating the hundreds of different weapons and ammunition and eliminating the underground pits and shafts used by the terrorists underneath the Mosque.”
The Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called for an end to the destruction of infrastructure and homes in the Jenin refugee camp. “It is the Palestinian people that have the right to self-defense. There is no such right for an occupying power,” Shtayyeh wrote on Twitter.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the “innocent civilian casualties in the excessive and indiscriminate use of force” in the operation. Jordan’s Foreign Affairs also called for international cooperation to end the “disastrous consequences of the Israeli aggression on Jenin.”
The IDF also conducted airstrikes in apparent retaliation to rocket attacks fired from Gaza. They say the strikes targeted an underground weapons manufacturing facility used by the Hamas terrorist organization. “The IDF holds Hamas responsible for all activities emanating from Gaza and will face the consequences of security violations against Israel,” the military force wrote on Twitter.
Quote of the day
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’”
- U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty