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Sens Tom Udall (D-NM) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) are warning of a "pattern of hostility" by the Trump Administration toward journalists. In a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, the Sens seek answers on why security guards at the FCC reportedly "manhandled" and ejected a reporter from the agency's headquarters on May 18. "Yesterday’s incident at the FCC is not an isolated one and seems to be a part of a larger pattern of hostility towards the press characteristic of this administration, which underscores our serious concern," the letter reads. Sens Udall and Hassan assail the security guard's treatment of CQ Roll Call reporter John Donnelly in the letter. "Given the FCC’s role as the primary authority for communications law and its regulatory role with respect to the media, the FCC should set a sterling example when it comes to supporting the First Amendment and freedom of the press for other government entities here in the United States and around the world," the letter reads.

Fox News fired former Democratic strategist Bob Beckel May 19 for allegedly making an inappropriate remark to an African-American employee. "HR was informed of the incident on Tuesday evening and did a thorough investigation within 48 hours," a source familar with the matter said. "The network came to a decision that Bob needed to be terminated early this morning." Beckel was co-host of “The Five," a roundtable opinion program that recently moved from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. amid the scheduling shake-up following host Bill O'Reilly's firing over sexual harassment allegations. It's not clear what the alleged remark was, but Fox said that Beckel's words were "insensitive."

Security guards reportedly “manhandled” an award-winning reporter after he asked Federal Communications Commission officials questions at a public hearing, according to a National Press Club statement.

John Donnelly, a journalist at CQ Roll Call, was removed from the scheduled press conference by security after he attempted to ask FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Michael O’Rielly questions before they arrived at the podium. Donnelly said two guards, using the backs of their bodies, pinned him to the wall while commissioners passed. They then escorted him out of the event. “I could not have been less threatening or more polite,” Donnelly said. “There is no justification for using force in such a situation.”

The security at the monthly open meeting was unusually high as the FCC voted on the high profile issue of net neutrality. “[W]e apologized to Mr. Donnelly more than once and let him know that the FCC was on heightened alert today based on several threats,” a spokesman for the FCC said.

Democratic Reps of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology urged President Donald Trump to stop relying on “misinformation and fake news" in a letter. The letter claims that the president has left himself vulnerable to misinformation by not appointing a director to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and not fully staffing the department. “You have a tool at your disposal in this regard, should you make use of it, in this Office of Science and Technology Policy,” the letter reads. “If you appoint a qualified OSTP director, you will have a reliable source of policy advice for matters related to science and technology.”

Democratic lawmakers rallied net neutrality supporters ahead of the Federal Communications Commission’s initial vote to start rolling back the Obama-era regulations. A string of Democrats took to the Senate floor to argue in favor of the rules, which require internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally. And many lawmakers took to social media to encourage people to show their support for the regulations. On May 18, the FCC will vote on whether to solicit public input on the proposal to undo the rules, the first step in the process of rolling them back. Democrats argue that getting rid of net neutrality will give internet service providers the ability to favor or discriminate against certain web content.

The proposed acquisition by Sinclair Broadcasting Group of Tribune Media Company is inflaming criticism of the Federal Communications Commission, which helped pave the way for the deal by relaxing media ownership restrictions.

Sinclair announced that it had reached an agreement to buy Tribune for $3.9 billion. The announcement came several weeks after the FCC voted to ease restrictions on the amount of local television stations that broadcasters can own. Broadcasters are now limited to serving 39 percent of the country’s households. Last month, the FCC reinstated what’s known as the UHF discount, which makes stations that used to broadcast on ultra-high frequency count less toward the 39 percent ownership limit. Without the discount, Sinclair already reaches 38 percent of US households, according to an analysis from Fitch Ratings. Once the discount goes into effect, the Fitch study finds, Sinclair’s share will drop to 25 percent — giving the company more room to buy local television stations. The deal with Tribune is still likely to push Sinclair over the media limit, and the company has said that it will explore ways to avoid exceeding the cap. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has said that he agrees that the UHF discount has outlived its usefulness but argues that it shouldn’t be modified or removed without also reviewing the overall ownership limit, which he has promised the FCC will do.

HBO comedian John Oliver acknowledged in a Youtube video that there were racist comments filed in support of net neutrality and had a simple message for any of his viewers who may have written them: “Stop it. Do not f---ing do that.” “Writing racist things on the internet is not how you win the net neutrality debate,” Oliver said. “It’s how you win the presidency.” The late-night host urged his audience to “comment in a clear, civil fashion” in support of net neutrality. The Internet Association, a Silicon Valley trade group that supports the net neutrality rules, also condemned racist comments against Chairman Pai. “Hateful or threatening speech in any form is counter to our mission and values,” said Michael Beckerman, the group’s CEO. “The merits of net neutrality can be articulated with both passion and respect. We stand with the millions of people who advocate for a free and open internet but also strongly denounce the use of hateful or threatening language to achieve this goal."

Top Democratic Reps are asking the White House to turn over any recordings of President Trump's conversations with fired FBI Director James Comey. "Under normal circumstances, we would not consider credible any claims that the White House may have taped conversations of meetings with the President," Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) wrote in a letter to White House counsel Donald McGahn. "However, because of the many false statements made by White House officials this week, we are compelled to ask whether any such recordings do in fact exist. If so, we request copies of all recordings in possession of the White House regarding this matter."

House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) said, “If the President has ‘tapes’ of his conversations with Director Comey, it is because the president himself made them. For a President who baselessly accused his predecessor of illegally wiretapping him, that Mr. Trump would suggest that he, himself, may have engaged in such conduct is staggering. The president should immediately provide any such recordings to Congress or admit, once again, to have made a deliberately misleading — and in this case threatening — statement.”

[Commentary] The Federal communications Commission’s rulemaking process is an important step toward shaping a modern network neutrality framework that doesn’t shackle innovation to a pole erected in the era of black and white films. But ultimately the best place for that debate to be resolved on a permanent basis is through our elected representatives in Congress.

Based on the original coding of our democracy by its founders, they alone have the power to codify this core American value into law, so it is above the reach of the ebb and flow of political tides.

[Jonathan Spalter is president and CEO of USTelecom]

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on cybersecurity, an order long awaited by the cybersecurity community. Drafts of the executive order have leaked since the first days of the Trump administration. The cybersecurity executive order contains suggestions that are, by and large, considered good ideas by experts, including holding agency heads accountable for cybersecurity.

A common criticism in the Senate is that the US lacks of a guiding strategy for cyber defense, beyond making ad hoc decisions. It's a complaint that dogged the Obama administration and was beginning to catch up to the Trump administration as well. The executive order begins the process of developing one, and within 90 days a bevy of agencies will produce options for development. Agencies will now follow the National Institute for Standards and Technology framework. The guidelines were developed to be adaptable to any organization and are currently popular in the private sector.