Media News Daily: Top Stories for 10/07/2026

Politico Barred From Air Force One Amid White House Access Fight

Politico reporters were prevented from boarding Air Force One for President Donald Trump’s trip to Nebraska despite being scheduled for the traveling press pool. The exclusion comes amid an ongoing lawsuit by Politico, CNN, and MS NOW challenging Trump’s September decision to restrict their White House access. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly previously ordered the administration to temporarily restore their White House credentials, but Trump has argued that access to White House grounds does not necessarily extend to locations such as Air Force One. The outlets are seeking a longer injunction as the court considers the dispute. (Read More) (Washington Examiner Rating)

Google Asks Appeals Court to Overturn Search Monopoly Ruling

Google is urging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a federal judge’s finding that the company illegally maintained its search monopoly through default-search agreements with Apple, Mozilla, and Android distributors. Google argues that consumers preferred its search engine and that its success resulted from superior technology and competition on the merits. The Justice Department and states contend that Google’s distribution agreements prevented rivals from gaining the scale needed to compete. Both sides have appealed portions of the case, including remedies that restrict exclusive agreements while still allowing Google to pay companies that distribute its search engine. (Read More) (MediaPost Rating)

Rhode Island News Site Tests AI “Reporters”

Rhode Island news outlet Uprise RI is experimenting with AI-generated reporting produced by fictional “Digital LLM Reporter” personas covering topics including housing, local government, labor, and politics. Owner Greg Brailsford says the technology allows the site to cover local stories that might otherwise go unreported, while maintaining human oversight for editorial standards and corrections. Writing for News From The States, journalist Philip Eil raises concerns about transparency, accuracy, public trust, and the broader implications of replacing traditionally human reporting with automated systems. Uprise RI has since published additional explanations of how its AI reporting process works and identifies the personas as computing agents. (Read More)(News From the States Rating)