AP Barred from Oval Office, Air Force One over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Terminology Dispute

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM / POOL
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM / POOL
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AP Barred from Oval Office, Air Force One over ‘Gulf of Mexico’ Terminology Dispute

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM / POOL
US President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 14 February 2025. EPA/SAMUEL CORUM / POOL

The White House said Friday that The Associated Press is banned from the Oval Office and Air Force One indefinitely.

The White House barred a credentialed AP reporter and photographer from boarding the presidential airplane Friday for a weekend trip with President Donald Trump, saying the news agency’s stance on how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico was to blame for the exclusion.

It represented a significant escalation by the White House in a four-day dispute with the AP over access to the presidency.
The administration has blocked the AP from covering a handful of events at the White House this week. It’s all because the news outlet has not followed Trump’s lead in renaming the body of water, which lies partially outside US territory, to the “Gulf of America.”
Journalists consider the administration’s move a violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment — a governmental attempt to dictate what a news company publishes under threat of retribution.

The Trump administration says the AP has no special right of access to events where space is limited, particularly given the news service’s “commitment to misinformation.”
AP calls that assertion entirely untrue.
“Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people. The White House has said it supports these principles,” AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said Friday night.

“The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the US Constitution for all Americans.”



Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
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Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)

A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island’s port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Carrying banners that read: “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence.

The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus.

Greece’s coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details.

“The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,” the company said in a press release. “All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.