Available in over 30 languages and able to transmit bespoke news stories faster than ever, its threat to the mainstream media is clear. But can we trust it? And would anybody actually watch a channel that lacks the human touch? The Guardian visited the channel’s creators in Los Angeles to find out more - and to audition for a role.
Emerging artificial intelligence technology is making it even more difficult to discern what's real and what's not, worrying some about the potential impacts on politics. ABC News senior reporter Emmanuelle Saliba has more on the risks the emerging technology presents for misinformation, and how to spot fake images.
R.E.M. had a hit song in 1983 named after "Radio Free Europe," inspired by the federally funded news service that helped spread American ideals abroad. Now, the struggling organization, which says the Trump administration is withholding millions in funding that Congress had appropriated, is hoping a little bit of rock and roll can help keep them afloat.
The iconic rock band answered their call: They're now giving their 45-year-old smash a remix, sharing all of the proceeds from it directly to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It's being issued on digital and on vinyl, with four other R.E.M. rarities.
1) What is 'Radio Free Europe?'
2) How was it important, especially during the Cold War?
3) Why is it ironic that President Trump wants to shut it down?
CBS News’ ‘“60 Minutes” addressed the surprise exit of its longtime executive producer Bill Owens on Sunday’s program, with anchor Scott Pelley saying that “no one is happy” about his departure.
In an extraordinarily blunt final segment of the news magazine show, Pelley revealed that CBS’ parent company Paramount “began to supervise our content in new ways” as it tries to complete a merger with Skydance Media, with Pelley adding that Owens “felt he had lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
Owens announced last week he was leaving “60 Minutes” after 24 years with the program and 37 years at CBS News. No replacement was immediately named.
Pelley said that topics the show has pursued in its roughly 60-year history are “often controversial,” noting recent stories have included Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and the Trump administration.
“Bill made sure they were accurate and fair,” Pelley said. “He was tough that way, but our parent company Paramount is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it.”
Pelley said Owens’ resignation last Tuesday “was hard on him and hard on us, but he did it for us and you.”
“No one here is happy about it, but in resigning, Bill proved one thing: He was the right person to lead ’60 Minutes’ all along,” Pelley concluded.
The segment was also shared on various “60 Minutes” social media accounts with many of its correspondents reposting it, including Cecilia Vargas, Jon Wertheim, and CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
CBS News and Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Owens’ resignation letter, he said that in the the last few months it was made it clear that he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it” or make “independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes.”
Owens’ decision to step down comes as Americans’ trust in media outlets has hit a low and as outlets find themselves under attack — including frequent jabs from the White House. In November, President Donald Trump slapped CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, with a $10 billion lawsuit that claims a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris was grossly mis-edited by CBS at the Harris campaign’s direction.
Shortly after reports of Owens’ resignation emerged, two “60 Minutes” producers spoke anonymously with CNN’s Jake Tapper. One source called Trump’s lawsuit “baseless” and stressed Owens’ refusal to apologize or bend while noting the top producer “fought for the broadcast and for independent journalism and that cost him his job.”
A second source was blunter.
“It‘s like a guy who has been battling for months against an attack,” this person said. “He sacrificed himself hoping it might make our corporate overlords wake up and realize they risk destroying what makes 60 Minutes great.”
1) Why did Bill Owen resign?
2) What was President Trump's lawsuit against CBS?
“The Most Recently Discovered Wild Beast” (1881) is one of a series of nineteenth-century images portraying the Irish as violent and subhuman. Native-born Americans criticized Irish immigrants for their poverty and manners, their supposed laziness and lack of discipline, their public drinking style, their catholic religion, and their capacity for criminality and collective violence. In both words and pictures, critics of the Irish measured character by perceived physical appearance.
Political cartoons such as the “Wild Beast” offered an exaggerated version of these complaints. The Irish-American “Dynamite Skunk,” clad in patriotic stars and stripes, has diabolical ears and feet and he sports an extraordinary tail. around his waist he is wearing an “infernal machine,” a terrorist bomb that was usually disguised as a harmless everyday object, in this case a book. in the cage next to him, sketched in outline, is a second beast.
This year though, I think St. Patrick’s Day deserves a little bit more attention and respect for what the history of Ireland and Irish culture represents, especially the Irish diaspora in the U.S. I am, of course, talking about the current battle taking place in the U.S. regarding immigration.
In many ways, the events of today are similar to those that took place from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century, with an increasing number of Irish citizens traveling to the U.S. They came to escape starvation during the potato famine, to find work or to escape the tyranny rule of imperial Great Britain. But what many who came soon discovered is they weren’t necessarily welcome here.
That sounds a lot like what’s happening to immigrants coming from Mexico and refugees coming from the Middle East. Though the phrases used to describe modern immigrants are different and it’s now illegal, to some extent, to hire based solely on ethnicity, the same sentiment still seems clear from many Americans: “We don’t want you here.”
The lesson to be learned here is where the Irish population in the U.S. is today. Descendants of the Irish who were once denigrated for their heritage are now some of the most influential people in America. Many of us are mayors, senators, presidents and CEOs.
For the first time in a while, those who control our government have displayed the same intolerance toward modern immigrants that those in the 19th and 20th centuries displayed to the Irish.
Just be forewarned: If you are anti-immigrant, history will likely frown upon you. For more than a hundred years now, Americans have been fighting back against newly arrived cultures. You know what happens just about every time? The immigrants end up becoming a major backbone of our country.
It will be particularly ironic when those who are anti-immigrant have their grandchildren and future generations celebrating holidays associated with those groups, the same way we now celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
President Donald J. Trump’s plan to return Denali, the Alaska Native name for North America’s tallest peak, to its earlier name, Mount McKinley, has run into opposition from Alaska lawmakers.
Shortly after taking the oath of office on Monday, Mr. Trump surprised many in the state when he announced “we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley where it should be and where it belongs.”
But Alaska’s two senators, Lisa Murkowsi and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said they wanted to keep Denali National Park and Preserve as is, calling Denali the rightful name of the awe-inspiring white peaks, 20,310 feet above sea level in the home of the Koyukon people and other Alaska Native groups.
President Trump promised a record number of executive orders on his first day in office. As of Monday, he has already signed several executive orders and issued several pardons.
For a closer look at the power of these orders and their limits, watch the following story and then answer these questions:
1) What is an 'Executive Order?'
2) How does it work?
3) How is it different than a 'Bill?'
4) Which of Trump's executive orders do you most agree with? Least?
5) If you were President what 'executive orders' would you sign on the first day?
We don’t know each other and will probably never meet, but I want you to know that you and all of the troops are in our hearts and prayers each day. Please remember what you're doing will always be appreciated and never forgotten. I wish you all the best and pray for your safe and speedy return home to your family and friends. Thank you.
Talawanda HS Student
Oxford, OH
Some of our soldiers don't get much mail from home. They don't often hear how much we appreciate all they do for our country, even though there are many easy ways in which we can let them know. Write your letters of thanks in class and we will compile and send them to our soldiers currently serving overseas.
Welcome to the home page of Mr. Kelly's Current Events class. This course looks at the role of the media on international, national, state, local, and school wide levels. Although the content is constantly changing there are recurrent themes including domestic and foreign policy, the economy, war, crime, and the environment. Here you will find assignments, online discussions, and your grades. Be prepared to keep up with weekly reading assignments and be respectful of each others opinions on this site.
