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- 60 Minutes Icon Steve Kroft Warns Show ‘No Longer Exists’ After Firings of S...
(AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) Veteran CBS correspondent Steve Kroft warned that the 60 Minutes viewers have known for decades “no longer exists” as he argued the news magazine has been fundamentally altered after a slew of firings. Kroft, who spent three decades at 60 Minutes before retiring in 2019, spoke to New York Magazine for an interview published on Thursday, just days after the tumultuous dismissal of correspondent Scott Pelley after a fierce clash with the show’s new executive producer Nick Bilton at his first team meeting. Pelley’s exit was just one of several in recent months that impacted the show’s executive and reporting teams. “I think basically 60 Minutes, as the audience has known it, no longer exists,” Kroft said. “The firings are too substantial.” He continued: “All of the people involved are very good journalists, and the new management, [CBS News editor-in-chief] Bari Weiss and [Paramount CEO] David Ellison, have made it clear they want to go to a completely different format, model, call it what you want. They thought that what 60 Minutes was doing had become outdated and old and musty and needed to be changed, in spite of the fact that the audience has gone up 9 percent in the last year.” The former correspondent said, given the upheaval, he struggled to envision what the show will look like when it returns in the fall. “It seems almost impossible for me to imagine what kind of a show they can put on in September,” Kroft added. Kroft traced the current crisis back to President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News over the editing of a 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount, CBS’s parent company, later settled the case while seeking regulatory approval for its merger with Skydance. According to Kroft, that dispute marked the beginning of a broader conflict over editorial independence at the network. “There was the intimidation factor,” he said. “People had become extremely nervous about what kinds of stories they could suggest, what kinds of stories they could work on, and how any story that would be critical of the Trump administration would face major obstacles to getting on the air.” Kroft argued that “what made 60 Minutes great” was that the show’s team was “unafraid to take on the government.” “It’s very difficult for me to imagine a world without 60 Minutes, or a show like 60 Minutes, which… [TheTopNews] Read More.1 hour ago - New Fox News Poll Shows GOP Senator Trailing Democrat in State Trump Won by 11 P...
Screenshots via Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown on Facebook. President Donald Trump won the state of Ohio by solid margins all three times he has run for president, but in 2026, his abysmal polls seem to be dragging down the incumbent Republican senator’s fortunes for this November’s ballot. Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Ohio by over eight points in 2016, lost the 2020 election overall but beat Joe Biden in Ohio by over eight points, and then improved his margin in the Buckeye State in 2024 to beat then-Vice President Kamala Harris by over 11 points. Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) was appointed to the Senate in 2025 when JD Vance became vice president. He previously served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor, secretary of state, a state senator, speaker of the Ohio House, and a state representative. This year, he is running in a special election in November to fill the remainder of Vance’s Senate term, which will be up for re-election in 2028. Challenging Husted is former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and served until he was defeated by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in 2024. Before he was in the Senate, Brown represented Ohio’s 13th congressional district, and previously served as Ohio secretary of state and several years in the state house. The polling numbers for Trump and the GOP have been brutal as his second term has progressed, with his immigration crackdown cratering his support, the handling of the Epstein files getting abysmal marks, and even Americans’ views on his handling of the economy and inflation taking body blows. The president’s social media posts and public comments about the Iran war sparked new negative chatter, with reporters openly asking him about his “mental health” and critics accusing him of advocating for war crimes. With the midterm elections coming up in November, majority control of the House and Senate is on the line, and both Democrats and Republicans have been strategizing to defend their at-risk seats while seizing opportunities to flip others. A new Fox News poll taken from May 28 to June 1 reveals that Trump’s favorability in Ohio “has deteriorated,” to Brown’s benefit. The survey was conducted among registered voters in Ohio “randomly selected from a statewide voter file” by live phone calls on landlines and cell phones or online after responding to a text message. The full sample has a… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 hours ago - Jimmy Kimmel Trashes CBS ‘Trump Suck-Ups’ for ‘Cowardly’ Firing of Scott...
Jimmy Kimmel blasted CBS executives as “Trump suck-ups” and “clowns” as he protested the firing of veteran 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley, which came after a furious confrontation with his new boss at a meeting. At a tense staff meeting Monday, Pelley had confronted newly appointed executive producer Nick Bilton over a wave of firings ordered days after CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss installed him in the role. During the meeting, Pelley reportedly said Weiss had “no qualifications for her job” and was “murdering 60 Minutes,” while telling Bilton he would “never be welcomed” at the program and questioning his qualifications. Bilton fired Pelley the following day, citing his “misconduct” and “antipathy to the future of the show” in a termination letter. During Wednesday night’s monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the late-night host took aim at Bilton and defended Pelley’s frustrated outburst. “Last night, the Trump suck-ups at CBS fired a great and deeply respected journalist, Scott Pelley, from his job at 60 Minutes, because he stood up for truth and integrity at a show that’s been the gold standard for broadcast journalism for 57 years,” Kimmel told viewers. He continued: “Pelley had had enough after the clowns, who now run that show in the CBS News division, fired reporter Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, along with the executive producer Tanya Simon, and replaced Tanya Simon with a guy who has no experience in TV news. And that was it for Scott Pelley. He said the collapse of values at the top has become untenable, and he let him have it in a staff meeting right to the new guy’s face.” “So last night, they fired him,” he said. He then joked that 60 Minutes would be “replaced by new episodes of ‘Reporters Unleashed’” — a swipe at CBS’s recent decision to replace Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed. Kimmel further rounded President Donald Trump’s public celebration of Pelley’s removal, prompting the comedian to quip: “That should make for an interesting situation at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is apparently back on.” Watch above via ABC.The post Jimmy Kimmel Trashes CBS ‘Trump Suck-Ups’ for ‘Cowardly’ Firing of Scott Pelley first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.2 hours ago - Trump Accuses ‘Dumocrats’ of ‘Trying to STEAL’ California Primaries: ‘...
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to “STEAL” two closely watched California primary races on Wednesday, making the claims without evidence as officials continue counting mail-in and drop-off ballots across the state. Taking to Truth Social for a 1 a.m. ET outburst, Trump pointed to what he described as “very late and massive numbers” of mail-in votes, echoing allegations he has repeatedly made about elections since the 2020 presidential contest: The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS (Screengrab via Truth Social) The president did not present evidence supporting his claims. In a subsequent post, Trump escalated his rhetoric, accusing the “Dumocrats” of “BIG cheating” and claimed the voting process was “under investigation” by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles: There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY??? President DJT (Screengrab via Truth Social) It was not immediately clear what investigation the president was referring to or whether any federal inquiry had been formally announced The remarks drew a swift response from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office. In a post on X, his “press office” account wrote: “Trump is lying about California again – time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep.” Trump is lying about California again — time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep. — Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) June 4, 2026 The baseless allegations came as vote counting continued in both contests under California’s open primary system, in which the top two finishers advance to a runoff regardless of party affiliation. In the governor’s race, Republican Steve Hilton led the field with roughly 28% of the vote after more than half of the ballots had been counted. Democrat Xavier Becerra was in second place, while Democrat Tom Steyer remained within striking distance as additional ballots were processed. In Los Angeles, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass had secured a place in the runoff, while Republican and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt held a narrowing lead over… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 hours ago - Houston FM Translator Operator to Pay $50,000 for FCC Violations
After a myriad of allegations of license infractions made against two FM translators in Houston, their owner has agreed to a consent decree with the Federal Communications Commission, resulting including a voluntary contribution to the U.S. Department of Treasury. SDK Franco operates 92.5 K223CW(FM) and 105.3 K287BQ(FM). The entity has agreed to pay $50,000 and implement a three-year compliance plan to ensure the two signals operate consistently with the FCC’s rules. According to the commission’s account, the agreement results from infractions that ranged from the translators’ rebroadcast of unauthorized stations, originating programming from the translators themselves, premature assumption of control following a license reassignment, lengthy periods of silence and the use improper transmission equipment. (Read the FCC’s consent decree order with SDK Franco.) K223CW operates with 30 watts of effective radiated power and transmits from downtown Houston. It currently relays 880 KJOZ(AM), which runs a Spanish tropical format. Previously, SDK Franco had an agreement with Gow Media to broadcast 97.5 KFNC(FM) on the translator. From the same location, K287BQ transmits with 99 watts ERP and runs Spanish programming as “Radio Visión Latina Houston,” and FCC records show that it rebroadcasts 1540 KGBC(AM). Sifting through 105.3 K287BQ’s Longley-Rice coverage, from the RadioLand app. The FCC’s Media Bureau had to untangle several matters resulting from pursuit of same-channel LPFM interference allegations from 92.5 KJJG(LP), an intervening license renewal cycle and the translators’ filing of additional contested applications. In response to multiple petitions and objections, the bureau launched an investigation in October 2022 and issued a letter of inquiry to both SDK and Centro Cristiano De Vida Eterna, which was the signals’ licensee until April 2020. [Related: “FCC Issues Violation Notices to Two Texas FM Licensees”] The translators were assigned to SDK followed a court-issued divorce decree ending the marriage of Hector Guevara and Sara Franco. The letters requested information from both parties regarding their respective periods as the translators’ licensees. In its response, according to the commission’s account, SDK acknowledged that it had rebroadcast unauthorized stations and originated programming on both translators. K287BQ’s primary station was changed multiple times without notifying the commission, and it had also originated programming. Meanwhile, K223CW was supposed to be paired with Houston’s KCOH(AM). But by 2017, the original licensee, Centro, notified the FCC via email that the translator was instead rebroadcasting KJOZ(AM) in Conroe. Although the noncompliance began while Centro was still the… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 hours ago - Trump Tells White House Gathering He Will Nominate Todd Blanche as Attorney Gene...
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday night that he will nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for the AG position, which will require Senate confirmation. Trump made the announcement at a Rose Garden event, where he told attendees he would make Blanche the “permanent attorney general.” Dan Scavino, assistant to the president, posted Trump’s announcement on X. The president elevated Blanche to the acting AG role in April after removing Pam Bondi from the post. Blanche, who was previously deputy attorney general, served as the president’s personal attorney. He represented Trump in a 2024 New York case in which the then-former president was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to cover up extramarital affairs. Trump was found guilty on all counts and was elected president again less than six months later. On Tuesday, the president was asked whether Blanche would remain as attorney general and replied, “I think he will.” In his remarks on Wednesday night, Trump said he would formally announce Blanche’s nomination on Thursday. While Republicans control the Senate 53-47, Blanche’s nomination may not be a slam dunk. Sen. Thom Tillis (NC), who opted not to run for reelection this year, has been a frequent critic of the president. Sen. Bill Cassidy (LA), who voted to convict Trump after his second impeachment, was defeated by a Trump-backed GOP primary challenger last month. Sen. John Cornyn (TX) was also defeated by a Trump-supported challenger. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (ME) is currently in a tight race to defend her seat in a mostly blue state. Last July, Blanche took the unusual step of interviewing Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who in 2021, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex trafficking. Maxwell told Blanche that she had never witnessed Trump, a former friend of Epstein’s, engaging in illegal activity. After the interview, the Department of Justice transferred Maxwell to a lower security facility.The post Trump Tells White House Gathering He Will Nominate Todd Blanche as Attorney General first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.8 hours ago
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