Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news. I have another road show for you today, which if you're new here just means it's the same show, but I come to you from exotic locales like non-descript room where it looks like maybe I'm in witness protection. But it is Tuesday and there's a lot to talk about starting with this. This is crazy. Washington Post, the Times, NPR, the Guardian, hell, even Newsmax and the Washington

Examiner, they're all kissing the Pentagon goodbye. Right, outlets across the political spectrum,

they're refusing to sign the Pentagon's new rules for members of the press. And you may remember

we talked about this a few weeks ago when the first version of the new rules were drunk.

They demanded that journalists promised to not use any information that hasn't been expressly approved for release, even if it's unclassified. And any journalist who refused would risk having their press badge and Pentagon access revoked. And you know, you had the biggest, manliest dude bro in charge beat Heggseth saying at the time, the press does not run the Pentagon, the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. a badge and follow the rules or go home. And as you can imagine, or at least as some would hope, that was met with a good deal of pushback, with many saying that these rules are a blatant violation of the First Amendment, and we saw leaders and organizations like the National Press Club saying, If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reported.

It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.

And with that said, in response to that outcry, there were negotiations between the Pentagon and the press association.

But then a new list of rules being dropped last week, clarifying that journalists don't need to submit their pieces to the Department of Defense before publication.

But the rules still made it clear that reporters cannot solicit or obtain any information that the department doesn't expressly approve,

which is included in the list of rules that journalists have to follow or risk being labeled a security risk and lose their access.

Notably, the Pentagon also clarified that any reporter who wants access has to sign the policy acknowledging that they understand it, quote,

even if I do not necessarily agree with such policies and procedures.

But these changes, they didn't solve the key issues and the Pentagon Press Association was less than pleased, releasing a statement,

saying, unfortunately, those negotiations have not been as successful as we hoped.

We acknowledge and appreciate that the Pentagon is no longer requiring reporters to express agreement

with the new policy as a condition for obtaining press credentials.

But the Pentagon is still asking us to affirm our understanding of policies that appear

designed to stifle a free press and potentially expose us to prosecution for simply doing our jobs.

And outlets and journalists have until 5 p.m. today to sign the pledge or turn in their press credentials by tomorrow. But the reason that we're talking about this today is because the general consensus has been a whopping hell no, Hegset. We're with statements from the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian, all confirming they won't be signing a damn thing. Also, generally agreeing that it's an egregious violation of the First Amendment. And you saw things like an opinion piece by veteran NPR reporter Tom Bowman saying, signing that document would make a stenographer's parrot saying press releases, not watchdogs holding government officials accountable. And again, you even saw refusals from right-leaning sources like Newsmax and the Washington Examiner. With a spokesperson for Newsmax saying they have, quote, no plans to sign the letter and adding, we are working in conjunction with other media outlets to resolve the situation. We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous and hope that the Pentagon will review the matter further. And in fact, reportedly at this time, the only outlet that has signed at this point is One American News. Right, and with that, you had their president Charles Herring, saying in a statement yesterday that his staff had signed the revised rules after, quote, thorough review by their attorney. Then, as far as the response from Hegg Seth and Team Trump, it's kind of what you'd expect. With Heg Seth using the waving emojis in response to the outlet statement about refusing to sign. And then adding in a tweet, Pentagon access is a privilege, not a right. And you also had a spokesperson for the Pentagon laying the blame all on the outlets and the reporters, accusing them of moving the goalpost. And saying that the policy does not ask for them to agree just to acknowledge that they understand what our policy is. And saying this has caused reporters to have a full-blown, crying victim online. We stand by our policy because it's what's best for our troops and the national security of this country. So right now, it's not looking like the Pentagon's going to be reconsidering these restrictions. But what we do know is that if they don't, there could be a lawsuit on the horizon. The Pentagon Press Association reportedly retaining legal counsel and lawyers for news organizations that have been deeply involved in the whole situation from the beginning. You've got CNN reporting that some outlets are said to be considering taking that plunge.

But then next up in the news, Charlie Kirk is getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom today.

And today would have been his 32nd birthday in Congress actually approved resolutions declaring today a national day of remembrance for Kirk.

And so while it's not actually a national holiday, for many, especially those on the right,

...