The Big Story

The Pentagon press badge showdown

Starting on Wednesday, all but one media outlet that regularly covers the Department of Defense is set to lose access to the Pentagon for refusing to sign a restrictive new set of rules.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded that reporters agree by 5 p.m. Tuesday to a new policy — in which they pledge not to obtain or use any unauthorized material, even if the information is unclassified — or hand over their press badges in the next 24 hours. Media outlets say this is a violation of their First Amendment rights, with nearly every one refusing to sign.

Outlets' rejection of the restrictive new policy means that for the first time in decades — since the Eisenhower administration — no major U.S. television network or publication

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