reporters

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud and Ibrahim al Khalili followed Palestinians making their way back to northern Gaza after a ceasefire deal was announced.

Sept. 20 (UPI) — Journalists covering the Pentagon will have to pledge to access only authorized information or lose their press credentials, the Department of War announced Friday.

The new policy enables Pentagon officials to revoke the credentials for any press staff that they might deem a security threat, according to The Washington Post.

War Department officials published a 17-page document explaining the changes for press coverage.

“DoW remains committed to transparency to promote accountability and public trust,” the document says, as reported by NPR.

“However, DoW information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released — even if it is unclassified.”

War Department Sec. Pete Hegseth earlier restricted the media’s ability to freely move about the Pentagon and required an escort from department-approved personnel.

“The press does not run the Pentagon, but the American people do,” Hegseth said Friday on social media.

“Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home,” he said.

The new rules for media drew a rebuke from National Press Club President Mike Balsamo.

“This is a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters the most: the U.S. military,” Balsamo said Friday in a prepared statement.

President Donald Trump recently changed the Defense Department’s official name to the Department of War.

The sound of an Israeli bomb interrupted Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud during a live broadcast as he explained that fighter jets have been striking buildings in Gaza City every 10–15 minutes since this morning. Israel says its forces are “increasing the pace of attacks” on the city.

BEIRUT — A U.S. diplomat apologized Thursday for using the word “animalistic” while calling for a gaggle of reporters to quiet down during a news conference in Lebanon earlier this week.

Tom Barrack, who is the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Syria and has also been on a temporary assignment in Lebanon, said he didn’t intend to use the word “in a derogatory manner” but that his comments had been “inappropriate.”

Barrack visited Beirut along with a delegation of U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss efforts by the Lebanese government to disarm the Hezbollah militant group and implementation of the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest war between Israel and the Hezbollah in November.

At the start of a news conference at the presidential palace, journalists shouted at Barrack to move to the podium after he started speaking from another spot in the room. After taking the podium Barrack told the crowd of journalists to “act civilized, act kind, act tolerant.” He threatened to end the conference early otherwise.

“The moment that this starts becoming chaotic, like animalistic, we’re gone,” said Barrack.

The comment sparked an outcry, with the Lebanese press syndicate calling for an apology and calling for a boycott of Barrack’s visits if none was issued. The Presidential Palace also issued a statement expressing regret for the comments made by “one of our guests” and thanking journalists for their “hard work.”

In an interview with Mario Nawfal, a media personality on the X platform, an excerpt of which was published Thursday, Barrack said, “Animalistic was a word that I didn’t use in a derogatory manner, I was just saying ‘can we calm down, can we find some tolerance and kindness, let’s be civilized.’ But it was inappropriate to do when the media was just doing their job.”

He added, “I should have been more generous with my time and more tolerant myself.”

Barrack’s visit came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces could begin withdrawing from territory they hold in southern Lebanon after the Lebanese government’s decision to disarm Hezbollah. When, how and in what order the Hezbollah disarmament and Israeli withdrawal would take place remain in dispute.

The Israeli army on Thursday launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon that it said were targeting “terrorist infrastructure and a rocket platform” belonging to Hezbollah.

Several hours later the Lebanese army announced that two of its soldiers had been killed while investigating an Israeli drone that had crashed in the area of Naqoura on the southern coast, which then exploded. It was not clear why the drone had fallen or what caused the explosion.

The city of Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to pay $500,000 to two Knock LA journalists who claim their constitutional rights were violated when police arrested them while covering a protest four years ago in Echo Park.

Without admitting wrongdoing, the city agreed Monday to settle a lawsuit brought by the reporters, averting a federal civil trial just before jury selection was set to begin. The payout, which still needs approval from the City Council, would cover damages and attorney fees.

Kate McFarlane, an attorney who argued the lawsuit on the pair’s behalf, said the outcome felt somewhat hollow. The Los Angeles Police Department’s treatment of journalists covering recent protests against the Trump administration shows that the department’s culture has not changed despite the litigation, she said.

“We’ve been seeing journalists in the last few weeks being attacked by LAPD, either by less-lethal weapons or other weapons that LAPD uses to suppress their First Amendment rights to report,” McFarlane said.

An LAPD spokesperson declined to comment. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office did not respond to questions.

Another recent lawsuit filed by several news media advocacy groups after dozens were injured by police actions during protests in June led to a court order that bars officers from targeting reporters with hard foam projectiles and other crowd-control munitions.

The Knock LA case stems from the evening of March 25, 2021. Jonathan Peltz and Kathleen Gallagher, both working for the online news nonprofit organization, were reporting on the removal of a homeless encampment from the banks of Echo Park Lake.

Despite “clearly identifying” themselves as reporters and being among other journalists “engaged in similar conduct,” Peltz or Gallagher said in their lawsuit that they were arrested and booked after the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly. Under state law, journalists are generally allowed to cover police activity even after members of the public have been ordered to disperse.

Among those detained were Times reporter James Queally, Spectrum News reporter Kate Cagle and L.A. Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray. Unlike the two Knock LA journalists, they were were all released at the scene.

Police, however, bound Peltz and Gallagher by the wrists with plastic zip ties. They also searched the pair and their phones, and confiscated their other belongings before placing them on buses with dozens of other arrested protesters. Both remained in custody for more than four hours.

Peltz, the lawsuit claims, was later taken to the hospital, where medical staff said swelling in his arms and hands was the result of a pinched nerve from being held in the zip ties for so long.

None of the more than 180 people arrested that night were charged.

Attorneys for the two journalists argued that their arrests fit a pattern of LAPD officers “obstructing, targeting, and retaliating against” journalists reporting on their actions — particularly those from smaller, nontraditional media outlets —dating to the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

In a text thread disclosed during the litigation, then-LAPD Chief Michel Moore messaged some of his senior staff members on the night of the Echo Park protest, asking about Queally’s detainment. Moore said he had been texted by another Times reporter asking for an explanation.

The thread included former assistant Chiefs Daniel Randolph and Beatrice Girmala as well as deputy Chief Donald Graham, the incident commander that night.

Moore wrote: “Queally posted that he is being arrested. I’ve asked [the public information officer] to support and assist in any way possible. If Queally is in custody it will garner significant attention due to his status with the LAT.”

Graham responded that he would send a spokesperson to the scene to “to identify Queally.”

Moore responded that he “[w]ould recommend you hold transports until figured out.”

The LAPD later released an after-action report that acknowledged some missteps in dealing with members of the news media, but also defended the police response that night, arguing that officers felt threatened and arrests became necessary.

The department said it stepped up its outreach to local media organizations and provided additional training for new sergeants and detectives for identifying journalists at mass demonstrations.

McFarlane, the attorney for the Knock LA reporters, said their case was less about who the LAPD sees as a member of the media and more as a reflection of the department’s ongoing efforts to thwart scrutiny.

“The broader theme is that it’s clear that the LAPD is trying to hide their actions, especially when we know their actions are unlawful,” she said.

On The Crisis Room, we’re following insecurity trends across Nigeria.

Nigeria’s security landscape is a complex and multifaceted one. The dynamics differ according to each region. In Borno State, there is the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency, and complications resulting from the government’s resettlement efforts.

In this episode, we will be hearing the voices of some HumAngle reporters as they offer insight from their respective regions of coverage.

Hosts: Salma and Salim

Guests: Usman Abba Zanna, Saduwo Banyawa, Labbo Abdullahi, Damilola Ayeni

Audio producer: Anthony Asemota

Executive producer: Ahmad Salkida