Free Republic

It’s the most busted salary in news. CNN is reportedly paying anchor Anderson Cooper $18 million a year — an eye-popping sum that could be in the crosshairs when the ratings-challenged network is spun off by its debt-ridden parent company. Cooper, the face of the network and host of its primetime show at 8 p.m., has an uncertain future following Monday’s stunning announcement by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav about the looming split, according to the Puck newsletter. Zaslav tapped WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels to start looking for ways to cut costs when he takes over CNN...

“60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens abruptly quit on Tuesday, citing a loss of journalistic independence as CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, looks to settle a lawsuit from President Trump. “Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience,” Owens wrote in a memo to staff that was obtained by The Post. He added: “So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle,...

A former opinion page editor of the New York Times broke down in tears and apologized to Sarah Palin while testifying in court over a 2017 editorial that she says was defamatory. James Bennet testified on Thursday that he “blew it” when he falsely claimed in the editorial that the former Alaska governor’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence in the weeks and months leading up to the 2011 assassination attempt on then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.). The Times has acknowledged the editorial was inaccurate but said it quickly corrected the “honest mistake.” Bennet got choked up...

Americans will likely have to pay more at the supermarket counter within the coming days while higher prices on everything from sneakers to furniture to cars could be felt in a matter of weeks following President Trump’s tariffs rollout, economists and industry experts told The Post.

PBS fired two diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) executives and scrapped the department after Bari Weiss’ online publication Free Press was tipped off that the broadcaster was ignoring President Trump’s executive order eliminating the controversial initiative. On Monday, PBS CEO Paula Kerger informed staff that it was parting ways with Cecilia Loving, senior vice president of DEI, and Gina Leow, director of DEI. In the email, Kerger explained that the departures were necessary in order to adhere to Trump’s executive order from Jan. 20, which mandates the elimination of DEI-focused positions and funding in federally supported organizations. “I know you...

A local meteorologist who worked for Milwaukee’s CBS affiliate was fired from her job after she posted criticism on social media denouncing Elon Musk as a “Nazi” over his controversial arm gesture at a pro-Trump rally. Sam Kuffel, the weather reporter for CBS 58, was let go by the station a day after she posted two items on her Instagram page condemning Musk. In one post, Kuffel commented on an image of Musk at the podium, writing: “Dude Nazi saluted twice. TWICE. During the inauguration.” "Meteorologist Sam Kuffel is no longer employed at CBS58,” CBS 58 news director Jessie Garcia...

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan told conservative colleague Scott Jennings to “zip it” during an on-air dispute with a Democrat-supporting pundit who claimed that “prices are going down.” Bolduan hosted a segment ahead of the certification of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory on Monday in which she, Jennings and Bakari Sellers debated President Joe Biden’s legacy and the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Jennings, a former aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), pushed back when Bolduan expressed amazement that Trump was re-elected despite his role in the events at the US Capitol four years ago. “They looked at what happened...

Yelp temporarily disabled the reviews for the McDonald’s franchise in Pennsylvania where former President Donald Trump manned the french fry cooker and drive-thru window on Sunday after the app was flooded with negative comments by his political opponents. Supporters of the former president wrote rave reviews. One of them commented: “The best McDonalds I’ve ever been to in 47 years. The older employee was extremely nice. Make McDonalds Great Again! Bring back the Dollar Menu!” But others flooded the page with one-star reviews and comments unrelated to the restaurant’s food or service. “The fries were too salty as if someone...

Your long-held suspicions are confirmed, according to a report: Your phone really is listening to you. A marketing firm whose clients include Facebook and Google has privately admitted that it listens to users’ smartphone microphones and then places ads based on the information that is picked up, according to 404 Media. Cox Media Group, the television and radio news conglomerate, admitted in a pitch deck to investors that its “Active Listening” software uses artificial intelligence to “capture real-time intent data by listening to our conversations,” according to the report. “Advertisers can pair this voice-data with behavioral data to target in-market...

Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC’s weekly Sunday political interview show “Meet the Press,” falsely asserted that Vice President Kamala Harris met with the Gold Star families of the 13 American troops who were killed during the ill-fated US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Welker made the comment as she interviewed Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who took the Biden-Harris administration to task for their treatment of the families. Cotton noted that Harris, the Democratic nominee for the presidency, had not yet met with the kin of the 13 service members who were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at...

The New York Times said it took disciplinary action against a reporter who acknowledged leaking data about a WhatsApp group chat for Jewish business people that led to its members being doxxed and harassed by activists sympathetic to Palestinians. Natasha Frost, a Times reporter who was based in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this year, downloaded and shared 900 pages of content from the private WhatsApp chat that was launched by Jewish professionals in response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists that claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 Israelis. Frost acknowledged to the Wall Street Journal that she shared the...

Republican legislators in the House of Representatives have pushed back a vote to repeal Obamacare until next week, it was reported on Thursday. That means President Donald Trump's hopes for a major legislative 'win' before the expiration of his first 100 days in office appear to be on life support. Trump was eager to resuscitate an earlier Republican bid to pass a health care bill that would have replaced the Affordable Care Act, the signature piece of legislation passed by his predecessor, Barack Obama.< But House Speaker Paul Ryan and his senior GOP colleagues failed to muster the necessary number...

Threads, the new “Twitter killer” app rolled out by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has surpassed 100 million users in less than a week while Elon Musk’s micro-blogging site has seen traffic “tanking,” according to a tech executive. The initial burst of success for Threads has fueled a war of words between Musk and Zuckerberg. The Twitter boss referred to his tech rival as a “cuck” and challenged him to a “d–k measuring contest” over the weekend. Not only have users been signing up to Threads through their Instagram accounts, but they have also been posting prolifically. Since the system went...

New York magazine’s veteran art critic Jerry Saltz advised his social media followers to “shun” anybody who has voted for Republican political candidates — even if they are “friends and family.” “If you know anyone who voted Republican — including friends and family — you should shun them,” Saltz wrote on his Instagram page on Sunday. “No need to even tell them that you are no longer communicating with them or why,” Saltz wrote. “You own it [sic] yourself, to them, your country, and any idea of moral damage.” Saltz — who was responding to a post of an old...

Chris Cuomo’s return to primetime cable news was a ratings flop that landed him in last place against the competition.

President Biden lashed out at gas stations on Tuesday for allegedly being tardy in lowering the price of fuel in line with dropping oil prices. During a meeting Monday with economic aides, Biden lamented that while crude prices fell sharply last month, it has taken a “long time” for the drop in price to trickle down to the consumer. “We haven’t seen the lower prices reflected at the pump though. Meanwhile, oil and gas companies are still making record profits — billions of dollars in profit,” the president said Monday. “My message is simple. To the companies running gas stations...

A former flight attendant alleges that she was fired by Delta Air Lines for posting a photoshopped image of former President Donald Trump wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood on her Facebook page. Leondra Taylor, a black woman, alleges that the April 2021 dismissal was “racially motivated,” according to Insider. A spokesperson for the Atlanta-based airline told The Post: “When Delta employees intermix Delta’s brand with conduct or content that does not reflect our values of professionalism, inclusion and respect, that conduct can result in discipline or termination.” “While personnel issues are considered private between Delta and its employees, the...

A former New York Times opinion page editor alleges that her bosses refused to run an op-ed submitted by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) without first getting approval from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Bari Weiss, who resigned from the Gray Lady two years ago citing “bullying” as well as an “illiberal environment” for those with right-leaning views, made the allegation during an interview with Scott on her popular podcast “Honestly with Bari Weiss.” Weiss’ comments were reported by the news site Mediaite. The Post has reached out to the Times seeking comment. During the interview, Weiss recalled a discussion...

The Washington Post deleted a tweet promoting one of its stories on Wednesday that suggested Attorney General Merrick Garland “politicized” the Department of Justice by authorizing an FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. “Garland vowed to depoliticize Justice. Then the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago,” read the headline of a story written by Justice Department reporter Perry Stein. The headline in the tweet sparked outrage on Twitter, which apparently prompted the Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet to remove the tweet and re-post it using a different headline. “No, he’s in the middle of unraveling a crime spree committed by the former...

The fast food restaurants that replaced McDonald’s in Russia after the American company left the country over the invasion of Ukraine have been serving up moldy hamburgers to their customers. Diners who patronized “Vkusno & Tochka,” translated from Russian as “tasty and that’s it,” posted photos of the rotted food on social media. The disturbing images show mold on hamburger buns. Other customers have reported finding insect legs in the meat patties, according to the Daily Mail.