U.S. and world news for Sept. 19

Trump threatens TV networks

Donald Trump is now suggesting that the federal government could revoke the licenses of broadcast networks if they air negative coverage of him. Trump apparently does not know that networks are not licensed by the FCC. Only individual broadcasting stations are FCC licensed. The president’s warning comes in the wake of ABC’s decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show off the air. Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would endorse moves by the FCC to pull licenses, and suggested networks should have to reapply for them periodically. He added that not airing conservative views could be a rationale for removing a network’s license. Trump said he would leave the decision to Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman at the center of this week’s Kimmel controversy. Carr has suggested that ABC’s move to suspend Kimmel’s show is just the beginning of what’s to come.

Late night hosts defend Jimmy Kimmel

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart defended Jimmy Kimmel and free speech during their Thursday night shows. “Jimmy, I stand with you and your staff 100%,” Colbert told his audience at “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” “This is blatant censorship,” he said, adding that “Tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel.” Jon Stewart, who normally only hosts “The Daily Show” on Mondays, made a special Thursday appearance, also tackling the topic of free speech. “In America we have a little something called the First Amendment,” Stewart said. NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon said, “I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s a decent, funny and loving guy, and I hope he comes back.”

Wall Street Journal warns free speech being threatened

The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch’s normally conservative newspaper, today published an editorial warning that what Donald Trump and his FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr are doing threatens free speech in the U.S. “The political cycle of using government to punish opponents is taking the country into dark corners that will result in less freedom, and less free speech, for all sides,” the Journal’s editorial board wrote. “Regulatory power in the hands of a willful president can too easily become a weapon against political opponents, including the media.” Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against Murdoch and the Journal because of its report on the birthday letter to sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein that was singed “Donald.”

Vote on vaccines

As expected, a CDC advisory committee chosen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling for changes to childhood vaccines. Kennedy has a history of being against vaccination. The advisors voted to recommend that children under the age of four should receive the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine separately from the varicella vaccine for the virus that causes chickenpox. Experts said the fact that the panel was revisiting older vaccines can erode confidence in the overall vaccine process. The advisory group is scheduled to continue its two-day meeting today with a discussion and vote on Covid-19 vaccines for all age groups, in addition to a vote on hepatitis B shots for newborns.

Erika Kirk named head of conservative organization

Erika Kirk has been named CEO of Turning Point USA, taking over the organization that her husband, Charlie Kirk, helped found and led until his assassination last week. The move was announced by the organization’s board on Thursday, in accordance with her late husband’s wishes. Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and transformed it into one of the most influential conservative organizations that was credited with galvanizing youth toward Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Kirk will attend her husband’s memorial on Sunday, where she is due to be one of the speakers in a lineup that includes President Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Hamas issued new warning about Israeli hostages

Hamas has issued its strongest warning about the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages amid Israel’s Gaza City offensive. In a message written in Hebrew and addressed to Israel’s leadership, Hamas’ military wing said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ground incursion in Gaza City means that Israel has lost any chance of getting its hostages out of the territory – dead or alive. Hamas’ statement comes as public anger against Netanyahu and his government continues to mount inside Israel, with weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv demanding an end to the war and a ceasefire reaching a fever pitch.