White House abandons plans to bar CNN reporter Acosta

The White House said Monday it was abandoning its plans to bar CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House, a major victory for the news media, but the administration also spelled out a list of new rules for reporters’ behavior and warned that it would crack down on those who step out of line.

POLITICO reports that the new rules, released by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, will require all reporters to “yield the floor” after a single question during news conferences, unless they are granted a follow-up question by the president or another official taking questions. Breaking those rules “may result in suspension or revocation of the journalist’s hard pass,” the White House statement said, referring to the badge that lets reporters freely enter and exit the grounds.