The Hound | Feb. 17

Hi there,

It’s Tuesday. I hope you had a good long weekend! The NAACP is asking a judge to protect against the misuse of voter data seized by the FBI in Fulton county, a Kansas mayor who voted for Trump as noncitizen faces felony charges, and power companies are likely overestimating the AI boom at the public’s expense. But most notable was new censorship from Bari Weiss’ CBS News, the network pulled Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico amid pressure from the FCC.

When Texas State Rep. James Talarico appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he delivered pointed criticism of Donald Trump and the administration’s conduct. It was a substantive, newsworthy interview that reflected the kind of democratic debate viewers deserve. What followed was corporate hesitation, signaling that CBS may be yielding to political pressure rather than standing firmly behind its programming. That dynamic weakens journalists, chills future guests, and signals that editorial decisions can be influenced by the very officials the press is supposed to hold accountable.

🖊️ Add your name to call on CBS leadership to stand unequivocally behind the Talarico interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and make clear that political pressure will not dictate coverage. Corporate media cannot claim independence while quietly accommodating power. Democracy depends on institutions willing to withstand intimidation—not comply with it.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

Colbert Exposes CBS for Collaborating With the Trump Administration (The New Republic)

Real Talk About Lobbyists Buying the Justice Department (The American Prospect)

Palantir Gets Millions of Dollars From New York City’s Public Hospitals (The Intercept)

NAACP asks judge to protect against ‘misuse’ of voter data seized by FBI in Georgia’s Fulton County (AP News)

Kansas Mayor Who Voted for Trump as Noncitizen Faces Felony Charges (The New Republic)

U.S. troops arrive in Nigeria to help train soldiers, country's military says (PBS News)

Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons (Mediaite)

Trump lashes out at California governor’s green energy deal with UK (The Guardian)

Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow (NPR)

These Utilities May Be Wildly Overestimating the AI Boom—at Public Expense (Mother Jones)

ICE Is Buying Warehouses. Communities Are Fighting Back. (The Marshall Project)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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