Free Republic

FBI Files Discuss Cronkite Aiding Vietnam Protesters Legendary CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite allegedly collaborated with anti-Vietnam War activists in the 1960s, going so far as to offer advice on how to raise the public profile of protests and even pledging CBS News resources to help pull off events, according to FBI documents obtained by Yahoo! News. The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, say that in November 1969, Cronkite encouraged students at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., to invite Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie to address a protest they were planning near Cape Kennedy (now known...

Helen Thomas simply longs for the days when reporters and pundits could report spin, lies and opinion as fact and were never held accountable outside of page A-16 retractions. The new media’s finest moment came when in 2004 CBS’s Dan Rather attempted to influence a national election (much like his predecessor Walter Cronkite did with the Vietnam War after the Tet Offensive), but unlike then, now there is a new media filled with grassroots activists who were going to hold the old media accountable and one of those activists on the Conservative Site Free-Republic under the handle “Buckhead,” was able...

(AP) New research compiled by Australian scientist Dr. Tom Chalko shows that global seismic activity on Earth is now five times more energetic than it was just 20 years ago. The research proves that destructive ability of earthquakes on Earth increases alarmingly fast and that this trend is set to continue, unless the problem of "global warming" is comprehensively and urgently addressed. The analysis of more than 386,000 earthquakes between 1973 and 2007 recorded on the US Geological Survey database proved that the global annual energy of earthquakes on Earth began increasing very fast since 1990. Dr. Chalko said that...

There's not yet an official nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens — but the Obama White House's rapid-response machine is already working overtime to squelch speculation over the politics of the nominations process. Last week, it took just a few hours for the administration's communications team to tamp down a rumor that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on the short list of prospective nominees. (See our coverage of the Hillary rumor, and other names floated at the margins of the nomination debate here.) And yesterday, the administration blasted CBS News for a blog post on...

Last week, President Obama signed historic health care reform legislation into law -- but his legislative success doesn't seem to have helped his image with the American public. The latest CBS News Poll, conducted between March 29 and April 1, found Americans unhappier than ever with Mr. Obama's handling of health care - and still worried about the state of the economy. President Obama's overall job approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 44 percent, down five points from late March, just before the health bill's passage in the House of Representatives. It's down 24 points since his...

With President Obama completing his first year (jan. '10) in office this week, we are giving you the chance to weigh in on how you think he has done on the job. Below are 10 categories for you to give the president your grade (in A-F format), including an overall grade at the end.

A Democratic National Committee donor was arrested on Monday for death threats that he reportedly made toward Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), but many journalists are still blaming the conservative "tea party" movement for allegedly fomenting political violence. Philadelphia Norman Leboon, 33, was charged for posting a YouTube video in which he threatened to kill Cantor and his family, just days after a bullet was fired through the window of Cantor’s Richmond campaign office by an unknown gunman."You receive my bullets in your office, remember they will be placed in your heads. You and your children are Lucifer's abominations," Leboon reportedly...

Obama's motorcade arrives at Capitol Hill. Boos and jeers passing tea bagger protests. 4 minutes ago via webTea party demonstrators shouted "Kill the Bill" as Obama motorcade passed by.3 minutes ago via web

Catholic nuns are urging Congress to pass President Obama's health care plan, in an unusual public break with bishops who say it would subsidize abortion. Some 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns Wednesday sent lawmakers a letter urging them to pass the Senate health care bill. It contains restrictions on abortion funding that the bishops say don't go far enough. The letter says that "despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions." The letter says the legislation also will help support pregnant women and "this is the real...

"Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith is scheduled to have a colonoscopy Wednesday - and the show plans live reports as he undergoes the procedure. Viewers will also learn what Smith had to do to prepare for it. "CBS Evening News" anchor and Managing Editor Katie Couric plans to be With Smith as he gets ready for and has the colonoscopy at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Mark Pochapin. It will be the first time an anchor has had a colonoscopy live on network television.

Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, denied reports Wednesday that “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric is facing a salary cut when her contract expires. “I have not had any thought to change Katie’s role, Katie’s salary, anything to do with it,” McManus told POLITICO by phone from Miami, where he’s gearing up for Sunday’s Super Bowl on CBS. McManus said that Couric “has well over a year to go” on her contract—reportedly worth $15 million a year—and that “it has not even been a subject of discussion.” The network, he said, is “focused on putting on the...

Katie Couric may be getting a taste of her own populist medicine. When the Dow hit 10,000 last October, she (and other network news personalities) used the opportunity to bemoan massive payments to Wall Street bankers. But now the populist sentiment has turned on her. She faces dramatic pay cuts as CBS News downsizes Couric, shown in a, er, file photo at right, "makes enough to pay 200 news reporters $75,000 a year! It's complete insanity," one CBS News insider told the Drudge Report. "We report with great enthusiasm how much bankers are making, how it is out of step...

CBSNEWS anchorwoman and 60 MINUTES contributor Katie Couric faces a dramatic pay cut at the network, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT. CBS boss Les Moonves is determined to save money and trim expenses -- from top to bottom -- at the former crown jewel of broadcasting.

CBSNEWS anchorwoman and 60 MINUTES contributor Katie Couric faces a dramatic pay cut at the network, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT. CBS boss Les Moonves is determined to save money and trim expenses -- from top to bottom -- at the former crown jewel of broadcasting. Couric, the highest paid TV news personality in history, commands over $14 million a year, plus bumps for non-EVENING NEWS appearances. But her salary is now in the direct line of fire, network insiders explain, and a populist backlash against Couric's cash is said to be forming inside the newsroom. "She makes enough to...

On the evening of Monday, Feb. 1, Katie Couric, anchor of the CBS Evening News, was wearing red. For the next half-hour, she tore through the headlines. There were allegations of bigotry among the federal air marshals in the U.S., an American church group accused of trafficking children in Haiti, faulty gas pedals in Toyotas, a suicide bombing in Baghdad, a massacre in Mexico and a bodybuilder in Latvia with a rippled back like a map of Switzerland. “Thank you for watching,” said Ms. Couric, at the end of the broadcast. “I’ll see you here tomorrow.” Many of Ms. Couric’s...

Here is a CBS News report that shows "Before" and "After" Satellite shots of the Haitian Capital City of Port-Au-Prince as a result of the 7.0 Earthquake that struck there Tuesday. The report uses "Google Earth" satellite imagery to focus in on some key landmarks such as the Presidential Palace, the National Cathedral. The images reveal utter devastation in the city. . . . . (VIDEO)

January 14, 2010 1:32 PM Rush Limbaugh Slams Obama's Response to Haiti Earthquake Stephanie Condon (AP Photo)In the face of utter devastation across Haiti following a huge earthquake, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh took to the airwaves yesterday to blast President Obama for his response to the crisis. The disaster enables Mr. Obama to highlight his "compassionate" and "humanitarian" credentials and to "boost his credibility with the black community," Limbaugh said. He also decried the White House's promotion of charitable organizations through which people can contribute to the disaster relief. "We've already donated to Haiti," he said. "It's called...

Here is video of CBS News reporter Jeff Glor in Haiti where he talked with victims and showed some of the hardest hit areas of Port-Au-Prince. Glor followed a family into their damaged home and while he was talking with her, a tremor took place that sent them all running back out into the street. Glor also shows the scene outside a hospital where many of the wounded are lying in the street with no help. He then appeared in a live shot with CBS Anchor Katie Couric. Glor continued to talk with Couric standing beside him. Couric never said...

For those still clinging to fantasy about Obama's approval rating soaring mightily over Rasmussen "disinformation/propaganda" numbers.... would you believe MSM's darling, CBS viewers coming in at 46% "approval"? Do allow me to quote from the CBS article: Mr. Obama's approval rating among independents has declined 10 points in recent months... and it now stands at just 42 percent. Allow me to add that CBS says the "disapproval" rate of *all* poll participants is 41%. Let's recap... s-l-o-w-l-y, shall we? All over "approval" of CBS responders = 46% Overall DISapproval at 41% Self ID'd Indy types at 42% approval Read more...

President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, according to a new CBS News poll. That rating is Mr. Obama's lowest yet in CBS News polling, and the poll marks the first time his approval rating has fallen below the 50 percent mark. Forty-one percent now say they disapprove of Mr. Obama's performance as president. In last month's CBS News poll, 50 percent of Americans approved of how the president was handling his job, while thirty-nine percent disapproved. Mr. Obama still receives strong support from Democrats (eight in ten approve of his performance), but his approval rating among...