Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The White House said Monday that a no-fly zone the U.S. government imposed over Ferguson, Missouri, for almost two weeks in August should not have restricted helicopters for news organizations that wanted to cover violent protests in the area. Recordings obtained by the Associated Press showed the FAA and local police defined a zone restricted to police helicopters and commercial flights following demonstrations over the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. The Obama administration claims press flights were allowed if they met certain conditions, but spokesman Josh Earnest sidestepped questions about conversations on the tape that show police working with the FAA to keep the media away. And in Missouri, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters “at no time did we request that only media be kept out of the airspace.”