CNN sues President Trump, his White House aides over barring of reporter
Washington, Nov 13: CNN Tuesday said it has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and several of his top aides, seeking the immediate restoration of the network's correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass to the White House which was suspended following a testy exchange with the US president.
During a White House press conference last Wednesday, Acosta challenged Trump's use of the word "invasion" to describe a migrant caravan heading to the US from Central America.
When Acosta tried to ask a question about the Russia investigation into alleged interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump told him repeatedly "that's enough" and "put down the mic".
Hours after the encounter, seen across the world, the White House, in an unprecedented move, suspended Acosta's press pass, known as a Secret Service "hard pass."
White House Press secretary Sarah Huckerbee Sanders said access was removed because he had put "his hands on a young woman".
Acosta has denied the allegations. White House insisted that its charges against Acosta were correct.
In a statement on Tuesday, CNN said it is seeking a preliminary injunction as soon as possible so that Acosta, the chief White House correspondent, can return to the presidential mansion right away, and a ruling from the court preventing the White House from revoking Acosta's pass in the future.
The suit alleges that Acosta and CNN's First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the ban.
The suit is being filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday morning, a CNN spokeswoman said.
Both CNN and Acosta are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. There are six defendants: President Trump, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, Secret Service director Joseph Clancy, and the Secret Service officer who took Acosta's hard pass away last Wednesday. The officer is identified as John Doe in the suit, pending his identification.
The six defendants are all named because of their roles in enforcing and announcing Acosta's suspension, CNN reported.
On Friday, CNN sent a letter to the White House formally requesting the immediate reinstatement of Acosta's pass and warning of a possible lawsuit, the network confirmed.
The White House Correspondents Association President Olivier Knox in a statement "strongly" supported CNN's goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House "should not have taken away" in the first place.
"Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN's correspondent," Knox said.
The President of the United States should not be in the "business of arbitrarily picking" the men and women who cover him, he said.
Trump's combative relationship with the media deteriorated further last Wednesday with a news conference where he called some reporters rude and accused a PBS reporter of posing a racist question when she asked him about white nationalists.
"It's such a hostile media," Trump said during his post-midterm election news conference at the White House, after ordering reporter April Ryan of the American Urban Radio Networks to sit down when she tried to ask him a question.
The president complained that the media, while reporting "fake news", did not cover the booming economy and was responsible for much of the country's divided politics. He said that "I can do something fantastic, and they make it look not good.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
