Weekly news review: Saturday, April 22, 2022

Apr 22, 2023

What does the news landscape look like?

The top stories this week are the 2024 GOP presidential campaign and the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion pills.

This is how the top stories were covered on each side of the media yesterday:

Media bias ratings are from AllSides.

This is how articles from liberal and conservative outlets were distributed over the past five days among the top stories.

Liberal outlets used these words more than conservative outlets:

Conservative outlets used these words more than liberal outlets:

Now for a deep dive into our top three stories, starting with…

Key people: Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Chris Christie, John Rutherford, Ken Griffin

Background:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing pressure to rehab his political standing amid new concerns about his strength in a 2024 presidential race.
DeSantis is being criticized by former President Trump and some other potential 2024 candidates over his punitive actions against the Walt Disney Company.
Billionaire donor Ken Griffin is standing by DeSantis for president in 2024 despite some other major donors backing away from the rumored presidential candidate.
DeSantis has signed multiple pieces of legislation concerning the curriculum in state schools, including one that requires materials to be age-appropriate for children and allows parents to raise objections to books being taught.
DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law last week. The bill would allow for exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking and for mothers whose lives are at risk up to 15 weeks.

Latest developments:

Former President Trump launched a series of new attacks Friday at the state of Florida in a new email campaign taking aim at DeSantis.
Republican Congressman Greg Steube of Florida denounced DeSantis over his potential challenge to former President Donald Trump in the next presidential election.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is seeking to quash DeSantis’s candidacy before it even starts, seizing on signs that DeSantis may be losing steam ahead of his widely expected campaign launch this spring.
Rep. John Rutherford endorsed former President Trump’s 2024 White House bid on Tuesday, becoming the latest Florida Republican to back the former president against expected primary opponent DeSantis.
Billionaire businessman Thomas Peterffy expressed concerns publicly, telling the Financial Times he put plans to back a likely DeSantis presidential bid “on hold” amid worries about the governor’s stance on social issues.

Key people: Supreme Court Justices, Anti-abortion groups, Democratic lawmakers, President Joe Biden, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell

Background:

The Supreme Court maintained access to the abortion pill mifepristone while a challenge to the FDA’s approval plays out.
The ruling comes less than a year after the justices overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal protections on abortion.
Medication abortions account for 54% of abortions in the U.S., and 98% of those used mifepristone.

Latest developments:

The Supreme Court’s decision is a temporary victory for the Biden administration, allowing the FDA to maintain its authority on drug approvals.
Democrats have united to celebrate the Supreme Court victory, saying that the repercussions of the Texas ruling would question the FDA’s authority while restricting medical care to women.
Several Democrats hailed the Supreme Court’s order on Friday as the “right decision,” but said more work needs to be done to codify access to the abortion pill.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell defended the Supreme Court from Democrats’ calls to pass judicial ethics legislation or even conduct an impeachment inquiry after reports that Justice Clarence Thomas received gifts and hospitality from a billionaire.

Key people: Elon Musk, National Public Radio, Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Background:

Twitter removed labels describing global media organizations as government-funded or state-affiliated, causing confusion and leading to some media outlets quitting Twitter.
Elon Musk-owned Twitter started stripping blue verification checkmarks from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee, causing many high-profile users to lose their blue checks.
Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system, many of them journalists, athletes, and public figures.
The costs of keeping the marks range from $8 a month for individual web users to a starting price of $1,000 monthly to verify an organization, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account.
Twitter does not verify individual accounts, as was the case with the previous blue check doled out during the platform’s pre-Musk administration.

Latest developments:

Twitter’s move to remove thousands of legacy verification check marks resulted in chaos as users were left scrambling to prove their authenticity in the face of fake impersonation accounts emerging.
Without the verification check mark, impersonators have now taken to Twitter to create fake accounts representing politicians, government offices, and celebrities.
New York officials and government offices faced a slew of fake accounts impersonating its official City of New York account, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk says he gave free Twitter verification to NBA star LeBron James, actor William Shatner, and writer Stephen King on Thursday, as the social media company removed thousands of remaining legacy verification check marks.
Twitter is transitioning to its Twitter Blue program, which gives users the blue check mark and additional capabilities for an $8 monthly fee.