SPJ joins coalition urging WHCA to defend press freedom at annual dinner Society of Professional Journalists, improving and protecting journalism since 1909

A copy of the letter to the White House Correspondents' Association that lists Donald Trump's attacks on freedom of the press that Rachel mentioned on tonight's show can be found on the web site of the Society of Professional Journalists:
www.spj.org/spj-joins-co...

Maddow: "Do we think our servicemen and women are in good hands? Do we think that there is care being taken in terms of what they're risking their lives for?"

There were sooooo many good old days! Like when she'd travel around the country to cover news... do her shows in bars on election nights & on & on.... I sure miss all those shows! And yeah, cocktail night (we need that more than ever right now LOL).

Maddow DID make it to an after-party of the #WHCD where she bartended, however!

An oldie but goodie with Ana Marie Cox.... #maddow

Maddow's allergic to the #WHCD !!! 🤣

#maddow

GORG!!!

If journalists had any integrity and courage, they would boycott the White House Correspondents Dinner. It should be as empty as a TPUSA event.

!!!

Sen. Chris Murphy on skipping the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which Trump is attending:

“I don’t see any value in attending what is supposed to be a celebration of the free press with a guy who has spent the last year taking a sledgehammer to the First Amendment.”

THE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION MUST SEND A FORTHRIGHT MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP CONDEMNING HIS ATTACKS ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT To the Officers, Board of Directors, and Members of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA): We, the undersigned, call upon the White House Correspondents' Association to use the occasion of the White House Correspondents' Dinner, to forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump's efforts to trample freedom of the press. The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump's systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press (detailed below) render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose. The collective weight of the administration's actions - retaliatory access bans, coercive regulatory investigations, frivolous lawsuits against the press, defunding of public broadcasting, dismantling of international broadcasting, physical restrictions on journalists, personal verbal attacks on reporters, assaults on the media in official White House press releases and social media posts, the arrest of journalists, and the pardoning of those who committed violence against the press — represent the most systematic and comprehensive assault on freedom of the press by a sitting American president. There is a long tradition of presidents attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. But these are not normal times, and this cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis.

We understand that some journalists plan to wear pocket handkerchiefs or lapel pins with the words of the First Amendment. And continuing in that spirit, we believe the White House Correspondents Association should take stronger action by issuing - from the podium - a forceful defense of freedom of the press and condemnation of those who threaten that freedom, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment and a pledge to continue upholding such a critical cornerstone of our democracy. Speak forcefully, in front of the man who seeks to undermine our country's long tradition of an independent, strong, and free press. We also urge the WHCA to reaffirm, without equivocation, that freedom of the press is not a partisan issue and that the Association will not normalize this behavior but instead fight back against any officeholder who has waged systematic war against the journalists whose work the dinner celebrates.

100s of journalists — Dan Rather, Sam Donaldson, Jackie Judd and others — have written to the WHCA asking to take a stand against Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of press.

Shared by Scott MacFarlane

A group of journalists, led by Dan Rather & Sam Donaldson, are asking the White House correspondents to use the annual dinner for something other than taking selfies & 'putting aside differences'. They're asking for a clarion call for freedom of the press and to list Trump's many attacks on freedom.

What if they threw a White House Correspondents Dinner and nobody came?

Cancel the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Trump will be guest of honor at the “nerd prom,” with journalists serving as suck-ups

People are urging participants in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to wear pro-1st Amendment pocket squares or take a bathroom break when “guest of honor” Trump speaks.
I have a better idea: Cancel the damn dinner.

So get this::. Supposedly Trump is going to the White House correspondence dinner. Signed up a long time ago;; never has gone before;;and they're going to honor Caitlin Collins
as well as give an award to The Washington Post for winning the suit of Trump suing them. Wowza

#maddow time

It's 9pm on a Monday, which means it's time for another #MaddowMonday!

#Maddow

It's #Maddow Time.......

#MaddowMonday

Hope they get Obama to do the opening set. In 2011 he killed!
#TheWeeknight #Maddow

Groups Sue Administration Over Approval Of Ultra-Deepwater Oil Drilling Project In Gulf Five Gulf and environmental groups have sued the Trump administration over its approval of BP’s new ultra-deepwater oil drilling project in the Gulf of Mexico.

"BP’s first completely new oilfield in the Gulf since the company’s Deepwater Horizon disaster 16 years ago.

It will be deeper than Deepwater Horizon, and in riskier waters... drilling 6 miles below the sea floor, deeper than the height of Mt. Everest"

www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2026/04/grou...

Where U.S. science has been hit hardest after Trump’s first year The Trump administration has slashed the number of grants from the National Institutes of Health, with far fewer focused on women, cancer and mental health.

trump and republicans making america great again by... cutting cancer research:

www.washingtonpost.com/science/2026...

Hundreds show up to Portland clown march, in silly day of joyous protest “We will keep finding ridiculous ways to disrupt the status quo,” said Raggs, the lead clown.

“We will keep finding ridiculous ways to disrupt the status quo,” said Raggs, the lead clown.

Speaking to The Oregonian/OregonLive from the center of the second annual clown festival in the moments before marching, organizer JoJo Ruby, 34, said the movement has grown steadily ever since.
https://theoregonian.visitlink.me/3TSOWB 

📷: Allison Barr and Lillian Mongeau Hughes

Forest Service plan to close research stations stokes fear as wildfire season approaches • Nebraska Examiner The U.S. Forest Service’s plan to close scores of research stations could threaten the nation’s wildfire readiness, many foresters fear.

WILDFIRE WATCH: The U.S. Forest Service’s plan to close scores of research stations could threaten the nation’s wildfire readiness, many foresters fear, in addition to understanding of the ecosystem.

From Stateline:

nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/04/18/r...

After intense lobbying, Trump signed executive orders to fast-track data center construction and weaken state-level AI regulations.

AI firms are also pumping huge sums into our elections.

Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction. www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/number-...

Just an idea, but maybe don't believe everything Trump says

Iran is rejecting Trump’s claim that Tehran agreed to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile.

A source close to Iran’s Parliament Speaker said “no form of nuclear material transfer to America has been negotiated,” directly contradicting Trump. 1/

NPR Receives $113 Million From 2 Gifts

Some very good news.
And a gift article.

Judge again halts construction of Trump's White House ballroom, but allows work on underground bunker to proceed The judge said he "cannot possibly agree" with the administration's position that an exception in an earlier ruling allowing for safety measures meant the whole project could proceed.

A federal judge issues a new order halting construction of President Trump's new White House ballroom, finding the administration was using fancy footwork to try to sidestep his previous ruling.

Ahmed’s gift is his ability to connect. I learned that right when we started working together in 2013. in 2024 I saw him stenciled on the ground in L.A. by a fan. I texted to tell him. sign @pressfreedom.bsky.social’s petition to demand Kuwaiti authorities #freeahmed.

Drugmakers raised prices on hundreds of drugs despite Trump deals, Senate Democrats report finds The findings raise questions about whether the administration’s “most favored nation” deals are having a meaningful impact on patients.

President Trump has repeatedly said his deals with drugmakers would bring down prescription drug prices in the U.S. But a report released by Senate Democrats finds prices have continued to climb in some cases, sharply.