60 Minutes viewership rebounded after Bari Weiss began her tenure at CBS, despite Scott Pelley’s claim that the Free Press co-founder is “killing” the program, television viewership data show. CBS News fired Pelley on Tuesday after the former 60 Minutes correspondent questioned the qualifications of newly hired executive producer Nick Bilton and the intentions of […]
'If you are convicted in a court of law of these crimes, absolutely, we should not only convict you, but we should deport you. Gone!'
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity on his podcast Thursday, but at the end of the interview, there was a lengthy disclaimer. During his interview, Blanche alleged that there was a "room full of evidence" from special counsel Jack Smith's investigation, the video showed. "It's not fair to say it was a secret room, but it's a room that had a lot of material in it," Blanche said. "It was actually from the Jack Smith investigation, and nobody knew it existed."Hannity asked Blanche if there was damning evidence inside. Blanche claimed, "Yes, we're looking at it." However, he said that a significant amount of the files had already been turned over to Senate Republicans.Documents and information pertaining to an investigation at the Justice Department would fall under federal guidelines for record preservation. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, “Records include all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the informational value of data in them.”In a separate conversation, Blanche also conceded that if President Donald Trump didn't win in 2024, he'd be facing prison time. Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He likely would have been sentenced with consequences. Another Justice Department also likely would have been able to move forward on Trump's classified documents scandal. "There's no scenario in which he wasn't going to send President Trump to prison — and he didn't only because the president won," Blanche said of the New York case. Blanche also tried to rewrite special counsel Robert Mueller's report, in which he said that investigators found it was a "hoax." In fact, Mueller found the opposite. He testified to the House six years ago, explaining that Russia did make outreach to the Trump campaign and meddled in the 2016 election. His full report confirms that. After all of these allegations, Hannity then ran a disclaimer conceding that everything Blanche said could have been false. New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush discovered it and posted a screen capture of it on X. It read: "John Brennan, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Matthew Colangelo, Arthur Engoron, and James Clapper have not been charged with any crimes in connection with any alleged conspiracy. Charges against James Comey related to alleged false statements and obstruction of justice have been dismissed. There have been no findings that Rod Rosenstein, Tim Walz, Gavin Newsom or Jacob Frey engaged in professional misconduct," it read according to a screen capture. Thrush commented with disbelief, "This is really, actually, no-kidding the disclaimer Hannity ran after his interview with Todd Blanche."Journalist John Harwood said, "Fox is disgusting trash.""Astonishing disclaimer," said Paul Farhi, who writes about the news media for publications like Vanity Fair and The Atlantic. "Next question: Who made the statements Fox News is disclaiming — Blanche or Hannity? Or both?"One X user, Greg Spencer, noted, "You do this after you get nailed with a $787 million fine." It's a reference to the lawsuits that Fox and other conservative outlets have faced from voting-software companies such as Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems. Several have settled suits, but the Smartmatic case against Fox remains active. This is really, actually, no-kidding the disclaimer Hannity ran after his interview with Todd Blanche pic.twitter.com/0yeGFwTTq7— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) June 4, 2026
An Arkansas sheriff candidate who killed a man who’d allegedly sexually assaulted his 13-year-old daughter has won his criminal court case. Sheriff candidate Aaron Spencer, who won […]
CBS News head Bari Weiss has created a powerful new enemy within the network after her controversial decision to revamp the popular “60 Minutes” newsmagazine with a mass firing that blew up into front-page news.According to media watchdog Status, the conflict has evolved from a news division firefight into a corporate-wide crisis, with CBS Entertainment chief Amy Reisenbach leading the charge against Weiss's sweeping changes.Reisenbach has privately told associates that Hollywood creatives are expressing alarm over Weiss's direction for the network, and she herself believes the news chief is inflicting "significant damage on the broader CBS brand" — creating headaches for other company leaders, including herself.The fallout extends into major business problems, according to the Status report. Reisenbach has reported that showrunners are approaching her in panic mode, questioning why they should continue developing broadcast programs for a network whose leadership appears to be abandoning linear television. New "60 Minutes" Executive Producer Nick Bilton's characterization of linear TV as "a rapidly melting ice cube" has only amplified those concerns.Even more damaging is that Hollywood insiders have expressed concern that Weiss is steering CBS toward what they perceive as a more MAGA-friendly editorial direction — a characterization that has spooked creative talent.Reisenbach is far from alone. Dozens of senior figures inside David Ellison's Paramount, the parent company, share the view that Weiss is damaging the corporate brand. Some have gone further, believing she should be removed from her position entirely.The internal revolt comes as CBS News battles a five-alarm crisis threatening the survival of "60 Minutes," the flagship news program. After Weiss fired the show's senior leadership team and correspondents Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega, and Sharyn Alfonsi, other senior figures have begun evaluating their own departures.A CBS spokesperson declined to comment to Status's Oliver Darcy on the internal discord.
Former "60 Minutes" correspondent Dan Rather took current CBS News chief Bari Weiss to task on Thursday over her "nonsensical changes" at the network. Rather argued in a new Substack essay that "60 Minutes" has gone from being the gold standard of broadcast journalism to a "diminished, Trump-approved version" of itself under Weiss's leadership. He argued that Weiss's moves, including the firing of veteran journalist Scott Pelley, suggest she has motives other than her stated goal of bringing the network into the "new media landscape.""Scott Pelley, who was fired from “60 Minutes” on Tuesday, accused Weiss of 'murdering' the broadcast. I agree and would add that it was premeditated," Rather wrote. "No objective-minded person would destroy something that has been the most successful news program in television history for almost six decades, made tons of money, and is the gold standard for broadcast journalism."Rather also noted several statistics the network shared in a recent release, like that '60 Minutes' was rated the number-one news program in America in its 58th Season, had its viewership grow 9% year-over-year, and nearly doubled its social media presence. "With that covetable season, the nonsensical changes at the broadcast clearly are not because it is underperforming, though Weiss is trying to spin it that way," Rather wrote. "She claims the program must change to survive the “new media landscape.” Unless that landscape is on Mars, I don’t know what she’s talking about. You can see for yourself it wasn’t just surviving but thriving, before she blew it up.""I’m left saddened by the knowledge that this American institution is being killed. Although it can’t be duplicated, I’m hopeful that efforts to build something like it may succeed," he continued.
Viewers angry over CBS's cancellation of Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" are making their displeasure known, with Byron Allen's replacement program "Comics Unleashed" hemorrhaging more than half its audience — and competitors Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon capitalize on the exodus.According to The Daily Beast, the viewership just days after CBS pulled the plug on Colbert tells a devastating story for the network's late-night strategy.Kimmel's show experienced a dramatic surge, drawing 2.185 million total viewers on June 1—a 53-percent year-on-year increase. In the coveted 18-49 demographic, ABC's late-night leader captured an eye-popping 295,000 viewers, representing a staggering 178-percent increase from the same night last year.Fallon's "Tonight Show" came in a distant second with 1.301 million total viewers, though that was still a respectable 10-percent year-over-year increase. The NBC program pulled in 194,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo, a 14-percent improvement from last year.CBS, meanwhile, cratered. Allen's "Comics Unleashed," which debuted a day after Colbert's departure, drew only 628,000 total viewers — a catastrophic 65-percent drop compared to the same time slot last year. In the crucial 18-49 demographic, the show managed just 82,000 viewers, according to the Beast report.The report notes the financial structure of Allen's arrangement insulates CBS from the direct financial damage. Under a "time buy" deal, Allen purchased the 11:35 p.m. time slot directly from CBS and covers all production costs while retaining the right to sell advertising himself. That arrangement means Allen—not the network—absorbs the financial consequences of the poor ratings.A source told The Daily Beast that this model actually benefits CBS by allowing the network to program the late-night slot without exposure to audience and advertiser volatility, even as the show itself collapses into irrelevancy.
Trump says he will nominate Todd Blanche to be "top cop;" NTSB releases new images from a Newark airport near-disaster.
Senate Republicans worked overnight to try to pass ICE funding, Trump's agenda tests the limits of some lawmakers' support, John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified information.