Pentagon fires 3 Stars and Stripes staffers after CBS interview
Why it matters: The dismissals targeted newsroom leaders who publicly defended the military paper's editorial independence.
The Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and reporter Lara Korte after a CBS interview in which Slavin and Korte pushed back on possible censorship at the military news outlet. Slavin told The Associated Press he received a separation notice for insubordination, and Korte wrote on X that the Defense Department was firing her after she said she worked for Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon or the administration. The dismissals come days after Lederer disclosed plans to retire at the end of September and weeks after the Pentagon installed a new deputy publisher, an active-duty service member, without his prior knowledge.