NPR's lawsuit against its decades-long partner, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is headed for trial in December, a federal judge ruled Thursday. It is another marker of the Trump administration's disruptive force throughout the media.

NPR alleges that CPB unlawfully yanked away a planned three-year contract worth $36 million in the face of intense pressure from the White House to sever ties with the radio network.

In a court hearing on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss had indicated a deep skepticism of CPB's argument that it sharply reversed course this spring on the merits as NPR presented more evidence it sought to appease the administration. The most plausible explanation, Moss said, was that CPB was hoping to survive.

The CPB is the nonprofit that funneled

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