A federal judge ruled that Pentagon press restrictions imposed by Secretary Pete Hegseth violated the First Amendment. The New York Times, which sued over denied access to a senior military commander, called the decision a "vindication of press freedom." A federal judge in Washington on Friday struck down a set of Pentagon press restrictions imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, ruling that the restrictions violated the First Amendment rights of journalists to cover the U.S. military. The decision came in a lawsuit filed by The New York Times and its Pentagon correspondent, Eric Schmitt, after the Defense Department denied Schmitt access to a senior military commander for an interview. The department had implemented a policy requiring that all interviews with senior defense officials be conducted under the supervision of public affairs officers, with recordings reviewed before publication. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the policies were "unconstitutionally vague and overbroad," and that they gave the Pentagon "unfettered discretion to determine what news reaches the American public about its armed forces." She wrote that "a free press is essential to...