New MAHA initiative around biomedical research is uniting the GOP with some unusual bed fellows
The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has attracted a wide range of Americans for a variety of reasons but, most recently, one of the nation’s foremost animal rights groups, PETA, has teamed up with the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to push one of its latest initiatives. Last week, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced it would spend $87 million on a new Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center, which will research alternative methods to reduce scientists’ reliance on animals for biomedical research testing. The initiative also includes policies to support the rehousing of animals used in scientific research. “We’ve been working with NIH to give them background information on areas of disease research where the animal experiments have failed so tremendously, and there’s the most potential to really shift the game over to human-relevant methods,” Emily Trunnell, director of science advancement and outreach at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), told Fox News Digital. “About a month ago, we sent them these seven horrific grants … anybody could look at the things they’re doing to like monkeys and dogs and just be like, there’s no way taxpayers need to be funding this. So we continue to push them in that way. We are supportive and providing help where we’re asked, and we do think they’re going in the right direction.” BEN CARSON SWORN IN AS NATIONAL NUTRITION ADVISOR The issue of using animals in biomedical research is also one championed by the White Coat Waste Project, which was a vehement critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration during the coronavirus pandemic and was also founded on a mission to help end taxpayer-funded experiments on animals. The group, founded by Republican political strategist Anthony Bellotti, told Fox News Digital that it is “thrilled that the Trump administration is putting wasteful animal experiments we’ve exposed under the microscope.” Goodman added that their polling shows 85% of Americans, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents, oppose using taxpayer dollars to support experiments on dogs, cats, and other animals. Trunnell agreed, noting that she thinks the issue has gained Republican support because many Americans – no matter their political stripe – have come to wonder why tax dollars are going towards these “cruel” and often less reliable research methods. “There’s better science when you’re using non-animal methods, there’s less animal cruelty, and there’s less waste all around,” she told Fox News. FOR THE FIRST TIME, THERE ARE MORE CHILDREN IN THE WORLD WHO ARE OBESE THAN UNDERWEIGHT According to Trunnell, Americans have been “sold this lie that animal research is critical for medical advances.” For example, she cited that 95% of new drugs tested on animals ultimately fail in human trials, either because they are not safe, potentially due to toxicity not detected in animals, or they’re ineffective. Trunnell added that the majority of animals are used in “curiosity-driven research,” which she argued “never results in anything meaningful for human health.” “On the other hand, we have these new technologies that use human data and human cells,” Trunnell pointed out. Trump’s head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Marty Makary, reportedly met with PETA representatives in July after NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya announced the agency would be taking steps to reduce its reliance on animal-based research models and prioritize human-based ones, according to Politico. Bhattacharya’s actions allegedly earned him a bouquet of flowers from PETA, which said after his announcement that the group was “popping” champagne corks. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the recent steps taken by the NIH and FDA prove the Trump administration’s commitment to reducing animal reliance when it comes to scientific research isn’t just theoretical, it’s happening now. “Whether through AI-driven models, organoid technology, or other innovative tools, we’re seeing a shift toward safer, more ethical, and more efficient methods of testing,” Nixon said. “This is an issue that bridges ideology because it’s about modernizing science while aligning it with our values.”
Federal agent says Chicago’s ‘ICE-free zones’ endanger operations, embolden protesters
As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signs an executive order establishing “ICE-free zones,” a federal special agent working on deportations said these types of measures are causing real complications and hampering ICE’s ability to crack down on criminal illegal immigrants. The special agent, who works deportations in New England, told Fox News Digital that sanctuary policies banning ICE agents from using police departments or other city areas for staging often forces agents to be exposed, having to prepare for missions in public areas. The agent explained that if ICE does not have a nearby office and is barred from using city grounds, “that means you’re stuck with, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to a supermarket. I’m going to go to some office park if I can find one, maybe a park while I don my vest and all that, and I’m getting briefed.” On Monday, Johnson, a Democrat, signed an executive order prohibiting the use of city parking lots and garages for civil immigration enforcement staging areas, processing locations or operations bases. PRITZKER SUES TRUMP TO BLOCK NATIONAL GUARD ACTION IN ILLINOIS Johnson touted the order as establishing “ICE-free zones.” Speaking at a press conference for the signing on Monday, he said the order also enables “unwilling private businesses” to refuse ICE agents’ use of their property to stage for operations. He said the order is “aimed at reining in this out-of-control administration.” “If the federal government violates this executive order, we will take them to court,” Johnson said, urging Trump to leave Chicago “the freak alone.” In a statement posted on X, Johnson accused ICE agents of “detaining elected officials, tear-gassing protestors, children, and Chicago police officers, and abusing Chicago residents.” “With this Executive Order, Chicago stands firm in protecting the Constitutional rights of our residents and immigrant communities and upholding our democracy,” Johnson wrote. CHICAGO MAYOR VOWS CITY POLICE ‘WILL NOT EVER COOPERATE WITH ICE’ The White House responded by issuing a blistering statement in which it called the order “a disgusting betrayal of every law-abiding citizen.” The White House called the order a “sick policy” that “coddles criminal illegal alien killers, rapists, and gangbangers who prey on innocent Americans.” “Shielding the most depraved, violent criminal illegal aliens from justice is not only an insult to every Chicagoan, it’s also a dangerous intensification of Democrats’ lunatic ‘sanctuary’ agenda where criminal illegals come before American citizens,” said the White House statement. According to the agent, Chicago is not the only sanctuary city that bars ICE from using municipal property to stage immigration enforcement operations. “What does that leave you with in an urban environment? You’re going to go to a supermarket. Who’s at a supermarket? Everyone and their grandmother,” the agent said. FIRST ON FOX: DHS CHIEF SLAMS ‘VIOLENT ANARCHISTS,’ PLEDGES FULL SUPPORT FOR FEDERAL AGENTS The agent explained that preparing for missions in public spaces presents an operational risk because it allows anti-ICE activists to track and publicize their movements. “They can see us getting together and they put it on Facebook immediately because there’s different Facebook pages that we know they put us on,” said the agent. The agent also expressed concern over sanctuary policies keeping police departments from being able to assist if protesters get violent. “Being in a sanctuary city, in the event this gets violent, or they get handsy or somebody gets hurt, either a government person or a protester. What are the local police going to do? Are they going to let us deal with it? I don’t know,” said the agent.
Police union calls on Jay Jones to quit after claim more dead cops would mean fewer shootings
Jay Jones, Virginia’s embattled Democratic attorney general candidate, once allegedly suggested that if more police officers were killed, they would shoot fewer people, a former colleague in the state legislature said. Republican Del. Carrie Coyner told Virginia Scope on Monday that during a 2020 conversation about qualified immunity, she told Jones that without the legal protection, police officers would get killed, the New York Post reported. “Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people,” Jones responded, according to Coyner. LIBERAL MSNBC PANELIST CALLS FOR VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE TO DROP OUT OVER VIOLENT TEXT MESSAGES Jones was already under fire after Coyner previously revealed 2022 text exchanges in which he suggested he would shoot then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert over Adolf Hitler. He also said Gilbert and his wife should have to watch his “fascist” children die. At one point, Jones wrote, “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.” The Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia sent a letter to Jones on Monday, calling for him to bow out of the Attorney General race immediately, while also condemning his actions. “The Virginia Fraternal Order of Police is aware of the recent text message scandal involving you, the Democrat candidate for Attorney General. While this incident may have occurred in 2022, this conduct has no place in our society or democracy, especially from an elected official who is running to be the top prosecutor in Virginia,” the FOP wrote. “The men and women of the Virginia Fraternal Order unequivocally condemn these violent text messages sent by you about a political opponent and his family.” The FOP said it supports everyone’s right to “respectful and peaceful discussions” with politicians, though “calling for any type of violence is unacceptable.” “We have seen what this type of rhetoric has caused in other parts of the country. The men and women of law enforcement work tirelessly to combat the violence you wished on a fellow Virginian and his family,” the FOP added. “Therefore, the members of the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police believe that you, Jay Jones, are unfit for the office of Attorney General of Virginia. It is time you hold yourself accountable for these actions and withdraw from the Attorney General race immediately.” Jones is also facing calls from Republicans to drop out of the attorney general race. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Coyner said Jones, a Democrat, is unfit for office. “My position is very clear. It is never acceptable to think that killing people is a justifiable method to achieve policy changes. Period. Anyone that advocates for killing someone for disagreeing with them is not qualified to serve,” Coyner said. YOUNGKIN PRESSES DEMS TO PUSH JAY JONES OFF VIRGINIA AG TICKET AFTER ‘BEYOND DISQUALIFYING’ MESSAGES SURFACE Jones denied the new allegations. “I did not say this. I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period. Every single day, police officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and I am deeply grateful for their service and sacrifice. As Attorney General, I will work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to support their work,” Jones told Virginia Scope. Fox News Digital has reached out to Coyner and Jones. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Jones should abandon his campaign in light of the messages, saying they were “beyond disqualifying.” “This violent, disgusting rhetoric targeted at an elected official and his children is beyond disqualifying,” Youngkin wrote in an X post Saturday. “Jay Jones said that ‘Gilbert gets two bullets to the head’ and then hoped his children would die. Read those words again.” Meanwhile, no high-level Democrats have come out against Jones.
Democrats stand by Virginia AG hopeful who fantasized about killing GOP lawmaker
Top Democrats are refusing to abandon Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones despite a report revealing that he wished death on a Republican colleague. Days after a bombshell National Review report exposed text messages in which Jones fantasized about shooting a Republican colleague in the head and harm coming to his children in 2022, Fox News Digital reached out to top Democrats who endorsed Jones and inquired whether their endorsements stand. Dem. Sen. Cory Booker, who endorsed Jones in June, has not rescinded his endorsement of Jones and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The offices of three Democratic House members who have endorsed Jones, Reps. Eugene Vindman, Robert Scott, and Suhas Subramanyam, also did not respond to a request for comment on whether their endorsements still stand. LIBERAL MSNBC PANELIST CALLS FOR VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE TO DROP OUT OVER VIOLENT TEXT MESSAGES Vindman’s Republican opponent, Tara Durant, criticized him over his silence in a press release Monday, saying, “At a time when political violence is becoming all too real, Virginians deserve leaders who will lower the temperature and call out dangerous rhetoric — not turn a blind eye when it’s politically convenient.” On Sunday, after the National Review report, Vindman reaffirmed his support for Jones in a post on X. Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, have not officially endorsed Jones but also have not explicitly called for him to exit the race. Warner, according to Virginia Mercury, called the Jones texts “appalling” and “inconsistent with the person I’ve known.” Kaine told Fox News Digital in a statement that Jones’ future is in the hands of voters. “There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words and they are contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades,” Kaine said. “With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it’s up to Virginians to decide.” Warner’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Spanberger, running for governor in one of the most closely watched races in the country, condemned Jones’ messages but stopped short of calling on him to withdraw from the race. YOUNGKIN SAYS DEMOCRAT AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES MUST ‘STEP AWAY IN DISGRACE’ OVER TEXTS ABOUT FORMER GOP LEADER “I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words,” a Spanberger statement said. “As a candidate — and as the next governor of our commonwealth — I will always condemn violent language in our politics.” Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s campaign on Monday evening but did not immediately receive a response. The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee issued a statement affirming its support for Jones, calling for all Virginians to “line up behind” him. “We are lined up, ten toes down, ready to organize, mobilize and deliver voters for Jay and our entire Democratic ticket,” the statement read. “Recent press may have spotlighted past mistakes. We say, let those without sin cast the first stone. Jay Jones has taken responsibility, apologized and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability that his public record already shows.” VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES CONVICTED OF RECKLESS DRIVING, CALLS IT ‘MISTAKE’ The offices of the two top Democrats in Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Jones should stay in the race. A variety of liberal advocacy groups have endorsed Jones as well, including Everytown for Gun Safety, who donated $200,000 to Jones earlier this year and endorsed him. The gun control group did not respond Monday when asked if they would rescind the endorsement. Republicans across the country, citing the connection between violent rhetoric from the left and political violence resulting in two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump and the murder of Charlie Kirk, have been vocal in calling for Jones to drop out of the race. “Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the race immediately and the people of Virginia must continue to have a great attorney general in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Meanwhile, Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears sharply criticized Jones over the weekend, saying that his recently published 2022 text messages raise serious questions about his fitness for office. Jones has apologized for the texts, calling the remarks “embarrassing and shameful,” and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family. Fox News Digital reached out to the Jones campaign for comment on plans to stay in the race but did not immediately hear back. Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
Schumer’s shutdown holds as Senate Dems block GOP bid to reopen government
A weekend away from Washington did little to soften Senate Democrats’ resolve as they again blocked Republicans’ effort to reopen the government, ensuring the shutdown will last at least a week. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and most of his caucus are adamant that unless a deal is struck on expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, commonly known as ObamaCare subsidies, they will not provide the votes needed to fund the government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs at least eight Democrats to cross the aisle and support the GOP’s bill, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21. SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN SCHEME EXPLAINED: DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON OBAMACARE CREDITS AS STANDOFF DRAGS ON However, only Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, have broken with their caucus to end the shutdown. Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., remains the lone Republican to buck his party. Senate Democrats have remained steadfast in their demand that a deal must be reached to extend expiring ObamaCare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. They argue that unless Congress acts, Americans who rely on the tax credits will see their healthcare premiums skyrocket. Both Senate leaders are encouraging talks among rank-and-file members to find a solution, but neither side can agree on when exactly the subsidies should be dealt with. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENTERS 3RD DAY AS SENATE STALEMATE OVER OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES DRAGS ON When asked what the appetite for tackling the expiring subsidies was within the Senate GOP, Thune said it was “a mixed bag.” “But like I said, you know, there may be a path forward,” he said. “I think a lot of it would come down to what the White House lands on that, but certainly not without reforms. And we all know the program is broken, it needs to be fixed, so that would be certainly a starting place.” Schumer wants an additional bulwark added to a deal: President Donald Trump has to sign off on it, given that there may be resistance among House Republicans to extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. “Look, the bottom line on that is we need the president to be involved. [House Speaker Mike] Johnson and a whole lot of his caucus don’t like the ACA, don’t want to do the extensions,” he said. “A lot of Republican senators in the Senate do, but they’re not enough. Good is not enough.” DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO BUDGE OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON “You need Johnson and you need Trump to get it done,” he continued. “So that’s the bottom line.” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that “we’re talking to the Democrats.” When asked if he would work to make a deal with them on ObamaCare subsidies to reopen the government, he said, “Yeah.” “I’d like to see a deal made for great healthcare,” Trump said. “I want to see great healthcare, I’m a Republican, but I want to see healthcare much more so than the Democrats.” Schumer fired back in a statement that Trump’s “claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table.” And Fetterman, who has routinely voted against shutting the government down regardless of which party controlled the Senate, recognized that without Trump’s greenlight, a deal would go nowhere. He gave the example of a bipartisan border deal negotiated between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate in 2023 that was sidelined under orders from Trump. “It got tanked. Trump tanked that, and he wasn’t the president, and he didn’t have to sign that thing,” Fetterman said. “So what I’m saying, where’s the leverage? Because ultimately, doesn’t he have to sign off on any of it anyway?”
White House rebukes ‘egregious’ court order blocking troop deployments amid Portland unrest
The White House blasted a federal judge who temporarily blocked the Trump administration twice from dispatching National Guard troops to Oregon in October, asserting that President Donald Trump has “undisputed authority” to deploy troops to Portland amid ongoing immigration protests there. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued a ruling late Sunday blocking the Trump administration from sending California National Guard troops to Oregon — or any other state as Trump advances his quest to deploy troops to major U.S. cities to tackle crime and to keep watch on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt discredited Immergut’s ruling Monday and said that the Trump administration was appealing the decision. FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO PORTLAND AMID CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE “I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law,” Leavitt told reporters at a White House press briefing. “The president is using his authority as commander in chief, U.S. code 12 406, which clearly states that the president has the right to call up the National Guard and in cases where he deems it’s appropriate. … The ICE facility has been really under siege. And, by these anarchists outside, they have been, disrespecting law enforcement. They’ve been inciting violence.” Earlier Monday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said that Immergut, a Trump appointee, has no authority to bar the president from sending troops to Oregon, and blasted the decision as one of the most “egregious” orders he’s ever seen. “A district court judge has no conceivable authority, whatsoever, to restrict the President and Commander-in-Chief from dispatching members of the US military to defend federal lives and property,” Miller said in a Monday X post. “Today’s judicial ruling is one of the most egregious and thunderous violations of constitutional order we have ever seen — and is yet the latest example of unceasing efforts to nullify the 2024 election by fiat.” “Remember: all of this is about preventing the removal of illegal alien trespassers from the United States at any cost,” Miller said. The Sunday temporary restraining order came just hours after Trump signed off on mobilizing California National Guard troops to Portland, despite Immergut’s initial restraining order Saturday blocking the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to the city. NATIONAL GUARD NOW IN PLACE FOR OREGON AMID ‘CHAOS, DEATH AND DESTRUCTION’: TRUMP “How could bringing in federalized National Guard from California not be in direct contravention to the temporary restraining order I issued yesterday?” Immergut said during a telephone hearing Sunday. “Aren’t defendants simply circumventing my order?” Immergut said later. “Why is this appropriate?” The Trump administration has argued that the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, is necessary to defend ICE officers amid ongoing protests at an ICE facility there. Miller previously railed against Immergut’s first restraining order barring the Trump administration from sending troops to Portland, Oregon, and said Saturday the deployment is “an absolute necessity to defend our personnel, our laws, our government, public order and the Republic itself.” Miller’s posts come amid recent scrutiny for denouncing judges. For example, Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York singled out Miller and the “extreme right” for “threatening judges” who rule against Trump after a fire broke out at a South Carolina Circuit Court judge’s property Saturday. Trump’s effort to deploy National Guard troops to U.S. cities comes just after he told military leaders in September that they could be tasked with neutralizing the “enemy within” and that Democratic-led cities where he’s sending troops could serve as “training grounds.” TRUMP VS NEWSOM SHOWDOWN LANDS IN COURT WITH FAMILY TIES TO THE NATION’S HIGHEST BENCH “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military,” Trump said Tuesday to top military leaders in Quantico, Virginia. The effort is controversial, given that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 puts restrictions on deploying U.S. troops to enforce domestic law. National Guard troops are reserve forces that are mobilized in response to state and federal operations, including natural disasters, and typically are overseen by their respective state governments. However, Trump controversially deployed National Guard troops from states to respond to immigration riots in June, bypassing California Gov. Gavin Newsom to dispatch the troops. Newsom responded to Immegut’s order late Sunday, and said: “We just won in court — again.” “Trump’s abuse of power won’t stand,” Newsom said in a post on X. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Western parts found in Russian drones, missiles
Pressing for stiffened sanctions, president says more than 100,000 components from US, UK and other suppliers found in Russian missiles and drones fired on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has alleged that drones and missiles fired by Russia against his country are filled with parts sourced from Western companies. In a social media post on Monday, Zelenskyy said the hundreds of weapons used in Russian attacks over the previous two nights contained tens of thousands of components produced by firms in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Taiwan and China. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “Nearly 100,688 of foreign-made parts were in the launched attack drones, about 1,500 were in Iskanders, 192 in Kinzhal missiles, and 405 in Kalibrs,” he wrote. He made the accusation as Ukraine and some European partners are pressing for harsher sanctions and stronger oversight to close loopholes on current trade limits imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of its neighbouring country in February 2022. Zelenskyy’s inclusion of US and UK companies was noteworthy due to the leading role the two countries have had in mobilising military and financial support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invading forces. US companies manufacture converters for Kh-101 missiles and Shahed-type drones, sensors for unmanned aerial vehicles and Kinzhal missiles, and microelectronics for missiles, the Ukrainian president said. He added that British companies produce microcomputers for drone flight control. “Ukraine is preparing new sanctions against those who help Russia and its war,” Zelenskyy said, adding that detailed data on each company and product have been shared with Ukraine’s partners. Advertisement Zelenskyy, who has long called on countries around the world to prevent the funding and equipping of Russia’s war machine, demanded more robust measures before a meeting of G7 sanctions coordinators, a body that oversees sanctions regimes among the club of the world’s wealthiest countries. Oleh Alexandrov, a Ukrainian intelligence official, said over the weekend that Kyiv has evidence that China has been helping Moscow identify targets in Ukraine. He said there was “evidence of a high level of cooperation between Russia and China in conducting satellite reconnaissance of the territory of Ukraine in order to identify and further explore strategic objects for targeting”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied reliance on China’s satellites and said Russia has its “own capabilities, including space capabilities, to accomplish all the tasks the special military operation poses”. Zelenskyy issued his statement as a number of European countries have been dealing with a wave of suspicious drone activity. Unmanned aerial vehicles have been spotted over military sites and disrupted air traffic. Some governments have pointed a finger at Russia and warned that Moscow is testing NATO’s air defences. Russia has denied responsibility, and President Vladimir Putin has mocked countries accusing Moscow of being behind the drone incursions. On Monday, the Kremlin dismissed as “baseless” comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said his country assumes Russia was behind the activity. Oslo Airport, meanwhile, temporarily suspended several landings on Monday after reports of a drone, its operator, Avinor, said. Adblock test (Why?)
Conservative writer Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News
Appointment of media figure known for pro-Israel, anti-‘woke’ stances comes as US media firms feel Trump pressure. Published On 6 Oct 20256 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The United States media conglomerate Paramount has announced a deal securing the acquisition of the commentary website Free Press and naming its founder, conservative media figure Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News. The appointment of Weiss, known for her pro-Israel positions and frequent criticism of “woke” politics, comes amid what critics have called an effort to steer CBS in a direction more aligned with the administration of President Donald Trump. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Paramount CEO David Ellison on Monday hailed Weiss’s “entrepreneurial drive and editorial vision”. “This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernise content and the way it connects – directly and passionately – to audiences around the world,” Ellison said in a statement. The latest moves follow a merger between Skydance Media and Paramount, which owns the CBS television network, completed in August. In Skydance’s regulatory bid to buy Paramount, the company promised the US government greater “viewpoint diversity” at CBS, according to a statement from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr in July. Before that approval, Paramount also agreed to pay $16m to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump over a segment on the flagship CBS News programme, 60 Minutes. Media watchdogs widely criticised that suit as a baseless effort to pressure news outlets into more favourable coverage. Ellison, to whom Weiss will report directly, is the son of tech businessman Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world and a close Trump ally. Advertisement Weiss founded The Free Press in 2022 after departing from The New York Times, where she had penned a letter saying she had been subjected to “constant bullying” by colleagues who disagreed with her views. She has styled herself as a truth teller often at odds with US legacy media. Recent Free Press articles have taken on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes and scepticism over vaccines, both issues spearheaded by the Trump administration. However, the publication has also been at odds with mainstream Republicans in some instances, including in its critical coverage of the party’s positions on abortion. Weiss’s approach has attracted prominent backers, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and David Sacks, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall. The Free Press has recently been criticised for its writing on Israel’s war in Gaza, including an article titled The Gaza Famine Myth, which questioned famine conditions in the enclave as a result of Israel’s blockade despite findings by the United Nations and medical groups. Adblock test (Why?)
ICC convicts first militia leader for brutal attacks in Darfur
NewsFeed The International Criminal Court has found Sudanese militia chief Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman guilty of war crimes committed during Sudan’s Darfur conflict more than two decades ago. He was accused of playing a crucial role in the atrocities that killed hundreds of thousands of people. Published On 6 Oct 20256 Oct 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta makes caste remarks, stirs controversy, says Brahmins…
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta sparks controversy by praising Brahmins as “flames of knowledge” at the All India Brahmin Conference in Pitampura, while criticizing the previous AAP government for Delhi’s slow progress.