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Washington Post cartoonist quits over rejected Trump sketch

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Washington Post cartoonist quits over rejected Trump sketch


What’s New

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post after the editorial team rejected one of her cartoons criticizing The Post‘s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.

Writing on her Substack blog on Friday, Telnaes said it was the first time her work was censored due to its point of view, prompting her decision to leave

Newsweek has contacted The Washington Post via email for comment.

The Washington Post building in Washington D.C., February 21, 2019. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Post after the editorial team rejected one of her cartoons criticizing The Post’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Why It Matters

Telnaes’ resignation highlights concerns over press freedom and the influence of billionaire owners on editorial decisions in major news outlets, including at the LA Times and The Washington Post.

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Critics argue that billionaire owners could censor critical commentary, undermining journalism’s role in holding power accountable.

What To Know

The cartoon in question depicted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, and The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, all billionaires, and Micky Mouse, representing Disney, kneeling before a statue of Donald Trump, offering sacks of cash.

Telnaes posted a rough of the cartoon in the blog post:

Why I'm Quitting the Washington Post - Cartoon Illustration by Ann Telnaes

Telnaes described the decision to reject the cartoon as a “game changer” for her relationship with the paper.

But Post Opinions editor David Shipley, in a statement to Politico, said the cartoon was rejected to avoid repetition, because a column and a satirical piece on the same subject had already been published.

In her blog post, Telnaes outlined her career as an advocate for press freedom in various roles, having served on advisory boards for organizations supporting editorial cartoonists.

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She emphasized the importance of holding power accountable and warned against efforts to “curry favor with an autocrat-in-waiting.”

What People Are Saying

Elizabeth Warren, Senator, on X: “@AnnTelnaes resigned after The Washington Post editorial page killed her cartoon. It’s worth a share. Big Tech executives are bending the knee to Donald Trump and it’s no surprise why: Billionaires like Jeff Bezos like paying a lower tax rate than a public school teacher.”

David Shipley, Washington Post Opinions Editor, in a statement to Politico: “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”

Ann Telnaes, Cartoonist, on Substack: “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post.”

What Happens Next

With Donald Trump set to assume the presidency, The Post faces increased scrutiny over its ability to maintain editorial independence under Bezos’s ownership. Telnaes’ departure raises questions about how the paper will approach coverage of Trump’s administration, particularly regarding its willingness to challenge powerful figures.

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Ben’s Chili Bowl’s famed mural to come down. Which icons should be honored next?

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Ben’s Chili Bowl’s famed mural to come down. Which icons should be honored next?


A famous D.C. mural is coming down.

Ben’s Chili Bowl announced Wednesday that their famed mural, featured outside of the restaurant’s U Street location, will be replaced.

The mural, originally painted Aniekan Udofia in 2017, features icons like Barack and Michelle Obama, Muhammed Ali, Prince, Chuck Brown and News4’s Jim Vance.

Ben’s Chili Bowl says it’s being replaced due to weathering.

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The original mural received over 30,000 votes on who should be featured. And, the restaurant is once again asking customers to vote on who they want to see on the new mural.

News4 asked customers Wednesday who they would want to see on the new mural.

“It hurts a little bit because it’s been there, I think kinda, you know, it tells a story for real. I think we can always update and add people, but I like the ones who are on there for sure,” D.C. resident Rasheed Shaw told News4.

“That definitely represents, you know, the community itself. Shout out to Jim Vance,” he said.

After undergoing renovations for the past year, the restaurant is set to reopen on May 1.

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Ideas for the new mural can be submitted until May 10 on the restaurant’s website.



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Pulitzer-winning Washington Post editor Dan Eggen found dead at 60 after being laid-off earlier this year

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Pulitzer-winning Washington Post editor Dan Eggen found dead at 60 after being laid-off earlier this year


Veteran Washington Post editor Dan Eggen — a key architect of the paper’s political coverage who was laid off in a brutal round of cuts earlier this year — was found dead at his home in the nation’s capital on Tuesday. He was 60.

No foul play or violence were suspected in the death, local authorities told Eggen’s family, according to WaPo. The cause of death was pending an autopsy as of Wednesday morning.

Eggen spent nearly three decades at the paper, helping steer its reporting on the White House, Congress and presidential campaigns. He was on a team that won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for investigating the plotters behind 9/11, going on to work on projects that won the most prestigious award in journalism in 2016, for reporting on Russian election interference, and in 2022, for exploring the previous year’s attack on the US Capitol.

Dan Eggen, a longtime Washington Post editor who helped shape the paper’s political coverage, was found dead at his Washington home on Tuesday. Facebook/Dan Eggen

A fixture of the newsroom’s most sensitive coverage, Eggen was “a sharp editor with a keen story sense,” the Post’s executive editor Matt Murray told staff.

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“Dan was involved in hiring, editing and mentoring dozens of politics writers across the years,” he wrote, adding that Eggen’s “news muscle and instincts were integral to our coverage.”

At the time of his death, Eggen was set to start a new job at NOTUS, a recently launched, DC-based outlet that’s been scooping up laid-off WaPo staffers.

“We hired Dan to join us at NOTUS after some of the best reporters in DC told us he was the best editor they’d ever had,” the site’s editor in chief Tim Grieve wrote on X. “We were excited to have him here, and I think he was equally excited to be coming here. Deepest condolences to everyone who loved him.”

Josh Dawsey, a Wall Street Journal reporter who previously covered the White House for the Washington Post, recalled Eggen’s relentless work ethic. The late journalist “worked seven days a week, 14 hours a day” and was “incredibly dedicated, a wonderful line editor” who pushed reporters to improve, Dawsey told WaPo.

“I viewed him as one of the true beating hearts of the newsroom … Dan is one of those people who make the newspaper work,” he added.

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Ashley Parker, a former White House reporter for the Washington Post who has since decamped to The Atlantic, remembered Eggen as a deeply collaborative editor who empowered his staff, saying he “was the rare editor who believed in his reporters” and “changed only 10 percent of your copy but made it 90 percent better.”


Eggen had recently been laid off from The Washington Post and was preparing to start a new role at NOTUS before his death.
Eggen had recently been laid off from the Washington Post and was preparing to start a new role at NOTUS before his death. Getty Images

Eggen began his WaPo career as a metro reporter and covered the post-9/11 Justice Department before becoming an editor.

He is survived by two children from his ex-wife, journalist Stephanie Armour, and a sister, according to WaPo.

The Post has sought comment from local police.



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‘Not just workers’: Calls for safer roads during National Work Zone Awareness Week

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‘Not just workers’: Calls for safer roads during National Work Zone Awareness Week


Incidents like the one in 2023 along the Baltimore Beltway — a crash that killed six highway workers — are the reason why officials gathered to stress the need for better work zone safety during National Work Zone Awareness Week.

This week, officials, workers and residents are calling for safer roads as they say there is still more work to be done when it comes to safety.

“It’s about understanding that each of us has a role to play in the safety and protection of one another,” William Pines from the Maryland State Highway Administration said.

With an active construction site as the backdrop — at the interchange between Pennsylvania Avenue and Suitland Parkway — roadway workers spoke up.

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“We are not just workers, we are people — real people. We are parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. So when you see us out there, please pay attention to that.” Dawn Hopkins with Flagger Force Traffic Control Services said.

Hopkins says she’s had to sound an alarm to get her crew out of dangerous situations.

“Please slow down, stay alert…and watch out for us in the workzones,” Hopkins added.

While the number of crashes in Maryland work zones in 2025 remains concerning, it is lower than in 2024. In 2025, there were:

  • 1,148 work zone crashes
  • 9 work zone deaths
  • 449 injuries

In 2024, there were:

  • 1,302 work zone crashes,
  • 12 work zone deaths, and
  • 492 injuries

“While citations are down, we still had 19 citations that were issues where the automated system recorded drivers traveling in excess of 130 miles an hour in work zones,” Pines said.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proclaimed April 22 as “Go Orange Day” in Maryland, urging everyone to wear orange in support of highway worker safety.

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A moment of silence for road workers who have been killed will be observed at noon this Friday.



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