Free Republic

***On September 8, 2004, CBS’s “60 Minutes” used forged government documents as the basis for a story that attacked the military record of then-President George W. Bush. It was bad enough that CBS used forged government documents, but what made it worse was that CBS aired this story during the presidential election and timed the airing to coincide with the rollout of Democrat John Kerry’s “favorite son” campaign theme. CBS thus provided the “news” upon which the Democrat candidate based his attack ads. The CBS story was quickly disproven and eventually forced CBS into personnel changes and investigations. Dan Rather...

A Trump administration effort aimed at discouraging Americans on food stamps from using the government nutritional aid to buy soda is having an impact, a new study shows. Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits cut their sugary drink purchases by more than 12% from January to June of this year after new state-level restrictions on what people can buy with food stamps took effect, according to a working paper released this week by economic and public health experts at the University of Chicago, MIT and Stanford University. That reduction in purchases is equivalent to a person buying 34 fewer...

The monument is called Thunderhead. The cylindrical shell is broken open by a thundercloud. Visible from the inside are thousands of tiny mirrors. And when no longer hidden, they sparkle with light. For Wayne Davis, and the other Canadians purged from the military, RCMP and civil service for their sexuality between the Cold War-era and 1990s, the monument sheds light on the discrimination of 2SLGBTQ+ people during Canada's history. "The visibility of the monument I love. People are not going to forget the glitter," Davis said, shortly after it was officially unveiled in Ottawa on Friday. Davis says he also...

Ward Churchill, the former University of Colorado professor whose writings and outspoken political views ignited a national debate over academic freedom and free speech, has died. His former lawyer says Churchill died of a stroke. ... Churchill was a longtime professor of ethnic studies at CU Boulder. He became a nationally controversial figure in higher education after an essay he wrote that referred to some of the victims of the 9/11 attacks as "little Eichmanns," a characterization that prompted widespread condemnation and made Churchill a national figure. The controversy soon expanded beyond his writings about the 9/11 attacks. In 2005,...

The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. There was some discussion about trying to conclude by the time financial markets open Monday because of concern about how the bombings will affect the U.S. and global economy, but an end point wasn't locked in. The Israelis have been notified and are coordinating with the United States, according to multiple U.S. sources. The president has yet to give the final go orders for the...

President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu estimated the intense part of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran would last four to six weeks. It is now entering the sixth month without a decisive military victory or a diplomatic breakthrough. Now, as Mr. Trump weighs his next steps and the future of roughly 50,000 U.S. troops across the Middle East, two of Washington's closest regional partners are pressing the president with sharply different visions for how the conflict should proceed. The president received input Wednesday from his partner in this war, Netanyahu, as well as from Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin...

John Stockwell, who publicly resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1977, accusing it of deceit and illegality, after a career as a covert operative in Vietnam and Africa, died this month in Austin, Texas. He was 88. .... Mr. Stockwell’s break with the C.I.A. — during a period when several former officers published damning exposés of what was informally known as “the Company” — was public and showy. His resignation letter ran in The Washington Post. He wrote a tell-all book, “In Search of Enemies” (1978), which the C.I.A. sought to suppress. He was interviewed on the CBS news...

The company formerly known as Dominion Voting Systems is ending a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Mike Lindell, the MyPillow magnate and President Trump ally who has promoted false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.Dominion sued the businessman in 2021, alleging that Lindell knew there was no evidence to support his election conspiracy theories, but used the lies to sell pillows. When he was sued, Lindell told WCCO's Esme Murphy that he was "very happy" about the lawsuit, saying the truth would come out.In October 2025, Dominion was acquired by St. Louis-based Liberty Vote, which was founded by former...

Washington — President Trump's investment accounts traded between $212 million and $695 million in stocks and other securities over the first three months of the year — an unprecedented sum for a sitting president. CBS News is presenting the data from the president's most recent financial disclosure in a new interactive dashboard here. It shows that the president's investment accounts made 2,346 purchases and 1,296 sales between Jan. 6 and March 30, 2026. The figures for individual transactions were presented in a range, which is reflected in the wide disparity between the minimum and maximum values of the trades overall....

The Utah court overseeing the Tyler Robinson case held an evidentiary hearing on Friday regarding the defense’s claims that state prosecutors should be held in contempt over comments the Utah County Attorney’s Office has given to the press over an ATF ballistics report cited in a defense motion. In closing arguments, the defense said that the judge should block the state from seeking the death penalty in the case. Defense attorney Richard Novak said during his closing that "I think that the number one remedy in this case, your honor, is for this court to preclude the state from seeking...

The FBI executed three federal search warrants Tuesday morning at the Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office and the homes of longtime Assessor Gus Kramer and his right-hand man, Assistant Assessor Vince Robb. The FBI executed three federal search warrants on Tuesday, targeting the Contra Costa County Assessor's Office and the homes of two top county tax officials in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest public corruption investigations to hit California's East Bay in years. Federal agents descended on the Contra Costa County Assessor's Office in Martinez, along with residences connected to longtime County Assessor Gus Kramer...

Jake Lang, a far-right influencer who was criminally charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection but was later pardoned by President Trump, was arrested in Dallas, Texas, on a state charge of making terroristic threats. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, 31-year-old Lang was arrested Tuesday after getting off a flight in Dallas on one third-degree felony count of making a terroristic threat. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail. The charge comes after photos and videos showed Lang outside the Collin County courthouse several times this past week during the murder trial for...

The Talk Shows June 7th, 2026 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:FACE THE NATION (CBS): Margaret Brennan anchors: Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.); Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.); Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.); Rye Barcott, American social entrepreneur, investor, author and former U.S. Marine Corps officer. AI panel: Chris Krebs, 1st Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (fired by Trump in 2020 for saying there was no election fraud) and (Biden admin.) White House Special Advisor for AI Ben Buchanan (two anti-Trump personalities). FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Anchor Shannon Bream: Border Traitor Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.);...

A group of states led by California and New York is preparing to sue to block Paramount Skydance from acquiring Warner Bros., Reuters reported on Friday. Last year’s merger between Paramount and Skydance already sparked criticism over concerns about antitrust issues and the impact of centralizing control of major media and entertainment companies. The criticism grew as Paramount settled a lawsuit President Donald Trump had filed against CBS News over a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which numerous legal experts had assessed as a fundamentally weak case on First Amendment grounds. It was widely speculated that political...

The once-venerable news program “60 Minutes” is in a state of tumult these days, to put it lightly. The show’s parent network, CBS News, has undergone drastic changes under the new leadership of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss — and “60 Minutes” has been no exception to the general overhaul as Weiss tries to make the network more centrist. (Both CBS News and “60 Minutes” had long been accused of veering to the far left.) Among a litany of smaller changes, the biggest changes that Weiss has been making to “60 Minutes” have largely been with the staffing. The most notable of...

The remaining three correspondents at “60 Minutes” huddled this week to discuss their futures following the firing of Scott Pelley, according to a report, as former star Steve Kroft warned that the iconic newsmagazine “no longer exists” in the form viewers have known for decades. Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim met on Wednesday for more than an hour amid growing turmoil at CBS News following Pelley’s ouster and the sweeping shakeup orchestrated by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, the Status newsletter reported on Thursday. The meeting came just hours after The Post reported that CBS insiders believed Whitaker...

Scott Pelley accused CBS News management under Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss of trying to inject “falsehoods and bias” into reporting after the veteran correspondent was fired Tuesday. Pelley, who spent 37 years at CBS News and became one of the most recognizable faces of “60 Minutes,” leveled a series of extraordinary allegations against CBS News leadership without giving specifics. “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story,” Pelley wrote. “I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified.” Pelley claimed he repeatedly resisted those efforts. “To date, in every case, I...

CBS News has fired veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley a day after he confronted the show’s new executive producer at a heated staff meeting. “Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear. And I have heard you,” “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton said in a letter addressed to Pelley. “I therefore write on behalf of CBS News, Inc. to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated for cause effective immediately,” Bilton added. Pelley’s exit deepens the turmoil at “60 Minutes,” the leading newsmagazine on American television. In recent months, “60...

UPDATE: Scott Pelley was terminated from “60 Minutes” Tuesday evening, hours after the longtime correspondent met with CBS News leadership to discuss Monday’s clash. “Your antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear,” “60 Minutes” executive producer Bilton wrote in a letter sent to Pelley. “And I have heard you. I therefore write on behalf of CBS News to inform you that your employment with CBS is terminated effective immediately.” Bilton then broke the news of Pelley’s exit with the “60 Minutes” team, voicing his “unyielding support” for the remaining employees. Read his full message...

Scott Pelley’s brazen attack on the new boss of ’60 Minutes’ has divided staffers at CBS News, with some insiders branding his behavior as “bullying” and “grandstanding” — and yet another reckoning it was “a set up,” The Post has learned. Pelley laced into Nick Bilton, the new executive producer of “60 Minutes” on Monday during a meet-and-greet with staffers, calling out the boss’ lack of TV experience, challenging his vision and telling him he will “never be welcomed here.” “What did he accomplish?” one CBS source said of Pelley’s explosive attack. “He embarrassed the company and the leadership.” Network...