TV News LIES

Increasingly outspoken "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley apparently has harsh words for his new CBS bosses.

The anchor, during a reported staff meeting, accused network Editor in Chief Bari Weiss of "murdering" the news institution, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times and reported Monday,

USA TODAY has reached out to CBS for comment.

The outlets report that the meeting was to serve as an introduction to Bilton, a former Times technology columnist and investigative journalist, who was selected to lead "60 Minutes" in late May.

In a tense reported exchange during the meeting, in which The New York Times reports Pelley called Bilton's qualifications "slender," the broadcast journalist questioned Weiss' commitment to the prosperity of the news program.

Bilton's career, which includes investigative work at Vanity Fair as well as writing and producing documentaries, has largely existed in print. He has not worked in broadcast journalism, nor led a newsroom.

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The segment at the center of Alfonsi's reported comments, "Inside CECOT," examined the infamous anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. Human rights groups condemned the maximum-security facility for its dangerous conditions, and the prison has served as a symbol in President Donald Trump's controversial immigration enforcement.

A CBS spokesperson said the story was halted because it needed additional reporting. The segment eventually aired on Jan. 18 with added comments from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, details of the criminal records of those deported, and additional reporting on one with tattoos, the network said in a statement shared with USA TODAY.

Alfonsi, 53, said in an email to multiple news outlets, including Reuters, that she learned that CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss cut the segment not because of an editorial decision but "a political one."

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The Israeli police is operating a special department in the occupied West Bank to monitor foreign journalists who wish to enter Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory.

According to a report by Haaretz on Tuesday, the special police department works closely with Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, which is stationed at international crossings as well as the Allenby Bridge Crossing in the West Bank.

Haaretz obtained a police document detailing articles and social media activity by Alessandro Stefanelli, an Italian freelance journalist, who entered Israel and the West Bank several times in the past.

The police deemed Stefanelli critical of Israel, branding him "a journalist and photographer who provides one-sided coverage of Israel".

In July last year, the Italian journalist was informed that his visa to Israel had been revoked, with the Israeli embassy in Rome not providing any explanation as to why his visa was cancelled.

Despite this, Stefanelli tried to enter the West Bank through the Allenby Bridge Crossing, which connects the Palestinian territory to Jordan, but was denied entry by the Population and Immigration Authority.

Stefanelli "calls for international intervention against 'settler violence' and draws a one-sided map" a police report said after he filed a petition to an Israeli court to grant him access to Israel and the West Bank, further accusing the journalist of being "in contact with militants".

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Jimmy Kimmel is making sure Stephen Colbert has the spotlight as CBS' "The Late Show" wraps.

The late-night comedian will show his respect for Colbert by not airing a new episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday, May 21, the day of Colbert's final "Late Show," USA TODAY has learned.

The news was first reported by LateNighter. Kimmel told the outlet he isn't going on the air that night out of deference to Colbert. The comic is not otherwise on hiatus from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that week, as new episodes are still scheduled for May 18 through May 20 on ABC.

Kimmel made a similar decision in 2015, deciding not to air a new episode opposite David Letterman's final "Late Show" on CBS. "I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show," Kimmel told The New York Times. "Plus, I'll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work."

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Ukraine successfully conducted its 72nd prisoner exchange on Saturday, April 11, bringing home 182 citizens from Russian captivity just ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday. The swap resulted in the release of 175 military personnel and seven civilians, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the return of the defenders in a social media post, noting that the group includes warriors from the Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service. “Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” Zelensky stated. “Finally, they are home. It is a matter of principle for us to return everyone from Russian captivity.”

A major highlight of this exchange was the return of 25 officers, a group the Russian side had previously categorically refused to include in negotiations. More than half of the freed defenders were captured during the siege of Mariupol, while several National Guard members taken prisoner during the occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) in the early days of the invasion were also released.

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The New Civil Liberties Alliance, on behalf of its clients Jill Hines and Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, has reached a settlement agreement and Consent Decree concluding the landmark Missouri v. Biden lawsuit against government-induced social media censorship.

This is the same case that previously went to the U.S. Supreme Court as Murthy v. Missouri when the Biden Administration appealed a Preliminary Injunction that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit awarded NCLA’s clients. The Consent Decree awaits final court approval by Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, along with the attorneys’ fees.

The unprecedented settlement prohibits the U.S. Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) from threatening social media companies into removing or suppressing constitutionally protected speech on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and YouTube.

It also bars these government authorities from directing or vetoing the companies’ social media content moderation choices. Representing individual plaintiffs in this lawsuit who were censored on social media as part of the Biden Administration’s “whole of government” effort to oppose speech it disliked, NCLA celebrates this milestone victory for First Amendment free speech rights.https://nclalegal.org/press_release/ncla-reaches-historic-settlement-strikes-major-blow-against-governments-social-media-censorship/

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