Two-thirds of American voters describe the U.S. in negative terms, yet 81% still prefer living here as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary.
Steve Hilton paced the stage at a brewery outside San Francisco with a simple message: California is broken and only an outsider can fix it.
Voters are gearing up for a key primaries with razor-tight races in six states, including Iowa where Democrats are hoping to win a Senate seat in the traditionally Republican state. Meanwhile in California, former reality star Spencer Pratt is gaining late momentum in his push to lead Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city. NBC’s Liz Kreutz reports for TODAY.
In the aftermath of the explosive first meeting between the remaining "60 Minutes” staffers and new Bari Weiss hand-picked executive producer Nick Bilton, executives at CBS News are picking through the rubble of the very public spectacle of a news organization in crisis.According to media watchdog Status, during the brief 15-minute Monday meeting, noted 60 Minutes co-host Scott Pelley raked Bilton over the coals as Pelley pointed out that his boss, Weiss, has "no qualifications for her job" and added that Bilton has “slender qualifications for this job."According to audio obtained from the meeting by Status, that came after Pelley accused, "She's murdering '60 Minutes'. She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it—and she's doing exactly that."Late Monday, Status reported that Weiss has since been nowhere to be seen, with Oliver Darcy reporting, “Pelley’s extraordinary remarks immediately led staffers inside '60 Minutes' to wonder whether he was leaving the program. Pelley has not commented on the matter, but I’m told he has not quit—at least not yet. Instead, it appears he is daring Weiss to fire him.""Bari may have six bodyguards but she seems afraid to stand by her man Nick and face the grilling at '60 Minutes,'" one television news executive told Status. "No other explanation for sending him [Bilton] to slaughter today and not being there."Inside CBS News and parent company Paramount, Pelley's takedown detonated like "a nuclear bomb," dominating conversations throughout the media conglomerate. Yet the silence from leadership was equally striking, Darcy wrote.Hours after Pelley's attack, CBS News had issued no statement addressing the crisis. Weiss remained notably absent, and network leadership — to whom Weiss directly reports — offered nothing beyond a Paramount spokesperson declining to comment.A veteran television news executive told Status that Pelley's confrontation was unprecedented in scale and severity. "Every new executive lives in terror of those meetings with star talent and staff, and we have all been put through the wringer by angry anchors and employees. But this was by far the worst I've ever seen. By far. A star anchor says you don't have the relevant experience, why did you even take this job, you'll never be welcome here. Savage," the executive said.Despite the apparent catastrophe, one top media executive suggested the situation could be salvaged, telling Darcy during a phone call that the best path forward is to "move Weiss back to her anti-'woke' The Free Press, pay out Bilton's contract, rehire the fired '60 Minutes' staff, and admit the recent moves had been a mistake. Then install a seasoned news manager to oversee CBS News."
A Kenyan high court instructed the authorities to disclose details of an agreement with the US government to establish an Ebola quarantine facility in the East African nation.
European Union lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a US trade deal, clearing a path for final ratification before President Donald Trump’s threatened deadline to impose new tariffs.
MS NOW's Rachel Maddow kicked off Monday night's broadcast with a devastating round of mockery for President Donald Trump's recent celebrations to himself.She set the scene by covering an episode she had already reported on in Philadelphia, where the Trump administration tried to take down memorials to enslaved people at the President's House, only for locals to sue and stop him — but then the National Park Service only restored half the memorials, leaving the entire site looking obviously unfinished.That, said Maddow, is a perfect metaphor for the half-realized festivities Trump is putting on to honor himself and, ostensibly, the country."I know you've heard all about Trump kind of botching the celebrations that are planned for the 250th in Washington, right?" said Maddow. "Putting a cage match on the lawn of the White House, sponsored by what multiple state gambling authorities widely considered to be an illegal gambling operation?" This was further botched by a disastrous marketing campaign for Trump's car race in D.C., where he sold white T-shirts that said "One Nation, One Race," that had to later be taken down.Meanwhile, Maddow continued, "Trump now has called for the cancellation of a concert that he had tried to plan in Washington for the 250th after, again, a melange of celebrities and former celebrities they thought they had persuaded to come perform" ended up dropping out amid backlash. As a result, she said, Trump "has announced that he himself should be the headliner instead. So, okay, that'll be great."This, she said, is already shaping up to be a rerun of Trump's inaugurations. The first one's musical performances were "poorly organized, poorly attended, and sort of sadly underwhelming when it came to star power. The vibe was like cut-rate wedding DJ and desultory junior varsity marching band." This is why, she said, Trump probably found it "kind of a relief when his second inauguration came around and had to be moved indoors for poor weather."Many more of these flops abound, said Maddow, from Trump's smaller-than-planned birthday military parade, to the utter flop of the right-wing alternative Super Bowl halftime show where "Kid Rock kind of just lost the thread trying to lip sync and gave up halfway through."Ultimately, she concluded, all of this can be easily symbolized by what Trump left at the President's House in Philadelphia: "This half there, half not there, half taken down mess thanks to Donald Trump." - YouTube youtu.be
Kellyanne Conway, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, made a bizarre remark on Monday during a new interview on Fox News. Conway joined Fox News's Sean Hannity on his eponymous show, where they discussed the contentious Senate race in Maine, where Democratic candidate Graham Platner is seeking to unseat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). During the interview, Conway demanded that Democrats disown Platner because of his extreme views, something she said they once used to cause a divide between Republicans and a high-profile extremist."Remember, every Republican had to disclaim David Duke, no matter if we met him, had a meal with him, or heard anything he said," Conway said. "I want every single Democrat who is running for a U.S. Senate seat this year to step away from [Platner], to tell him to get off the ticket."Conway's comments came at a time when Platner had faced significant criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats. Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told his campaign last year that he had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with multiple women. The Journal separately verified that Platner had an active account on Kik, a private messaging app that child safety advocates have criticized. Last year, it was revealed that Platner made several incendiary comments on Reddit.Kellyanne: They made us disclaim David Duke. I want every single Democrat to step away from Platner. pic.twitter.com/mxAbppYRdm— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2026
Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued on Monday after President Trump pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back strikes in Lebanon amid negotiations to end the war with Iran. The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah placed US talks with Iran in jeopardy on Monday. The post JUST IN: Strikes Continue in Southern Lebanon After Trump Unloaded on Netanyahu – Israel and Lebanon Hold Talks at US State Department appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.