"Judge Orders White House To Allow AP Access To News Events"

"A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump White House to let Associated Press journalists return to the Oval Office and other spaces immediately to cover news events, ruling it was unlawful to block the news service in a dispute over its choice of words.

Even so, an AP reporter and photographer were turned back from joining a reporting pool on a presidential motorcade early Tuesday evening, almost two hours after the decision came down.

The AP had angered the White House because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico by President Trump's preferred name for it: the Gulf of America. The AP acknowledges in its coverage that the U.S. government now calls it the Gulf of America, but the news service still relies on the more familiar, traditional designation — especially as the AP serves clients internationally.

Trump and his aides have barred the news service's White House reporters from dozens of events since February, including events limited to the reporting pool that shares details with other outlets. The AP has participated in such pool coverage for more than a century. The White House has argued it is a privilege to cover Trump up close — one that he controls."

David Folkenflik reports for NPR  April 8, 2025.

Source: NPR, 04/09/2025