The Hound | Feb. 26

Hi there,

It’s Thursday. House Democrats are demanding answers from the Justice Department to explain why Trump-related Epstein files are missing. Trump’s Surgeon General pick deflected questions from Senators at her confirmation hearing on vaccines and birth control. The EPA repealed a power plant regulation to reduce mercury in fish. And Minnesota-based journalist Georgia Fort is still fighting a federal indictment after covering an anti-ICE protest in January.

Journalist Georgia Fort’s arrest while reporting raises urgent questions about press freedom and the protection of reporters covering matters of public concern. When journalists face detention or intimidation for documenting events that affect communities—especially children and vulnerable families—the issue is larger than one individual case. It is about whether reporters can safely do their jobs without fear of retaliation. Silence sends a dangerous signal that press freedom is conditional—defended loudly for major networks but treated as expendable for reporters without corporate backing.

🖊️ Add your name to call on corporate media leaders to publicly stand with Georgia Fort, demand transparency around her arrest, and reaffirm that journalists must be protected—not punished—for reporting. Press freedom cannot depend on network affiliation or corporate scale. Democracy requires solidarity across the profession when any reporter is threatened for telling the truth.

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

‘My children are here’: How journalist Georgia Fort’s arrest impacted her daughters (The 19th News)

Top House Dem wants Justice Department to explain missing Trump-related Epstein files (NPR)

Fact-checking Trump's claims in his State of the Union address (PBS News)

Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Proves Devoted to MAHA’s Dangerous Talking Points (Mother Jones)

Cuban Border Guards Attacked by Florida Speedboat (The Intercept)

Grand jury rejects indictment over federal officer’s shooting of US citizen (The Guardian)

Netflix CEO to Visit White House as Republican A.G.s Turn Against Him (The New Republic)

EPA Repeals Power Plant Regulations That Reduce Mercury in Fish (Civil Eats)

Democrats Demand Answers for Federal Prison Staffing Shortage After Corrections Officers Flee for ICE Jobs (ProPublica)

NYU Professors Vote to Strike After Bosses Stonewall for Months (The American Prospect)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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