Author Michael Wolff. (Photo by Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
In a video published Thursday morning, Hunter Biden sat in the shade of a large tree, facing YouTuber Andrew Callaghan with a lake stretching behind them. The severely overexposed shot showed the two perched on black metal chairs in the grass, docks jutting into the water, and a can of blackberry sparkling water at Biden’s feet. The title of the video, “Hunter Biden Apologizes,” teased a mea culpa—though it delivered anything but.
“We’re here, maybe, to give you the platform to apologize to the first lady for your statements you made about her possible connection to Jeffrey Epstein,” Callaghan said, referring to a cease-and-desist letter Biden had received from Melania Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito. The letter accused the former president’s son of making “false, disparaging, defamatory, and inflammatory statements” when he claimed Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump. Brito denied the claim, noting journalist and author Michael Wolff was the source, who he referred to as a “serial fabulist.”
But Biden, dressed in a dark purple T-shirt, jeans, and camouflage cap, didn’t appear intimidated. “Fuck that,” he shot back, when given the opportunity to respond to the first lady's demand for an apology. “That’s not going to happen.” He went on to defend his remarks, saying they were based on reporting from others—particularly Wolff—and making clear he saw no reason to retract them.
Biden, of course, wasn’t the first recipient of such a legal notice. The Daily Beast last month published a story citing Wolff’s assertion that a modeling agent known to both Trump and Epstein played a role in the introduction, prompting a letter from Melania’s camp. Within days of receiving the legal demand, the outlet scrubbed the story entirely and issued a formal apology to the first lady. Brito’s second target was Democratic strategist James Carville, who repeated Wolff’s claim on a podcast. Carville responded by saying that his team had re-edited the episode to remove the comments. The prominent democratic strategist also offered his own apology. Now, Hunter is the third to be put on notice.
But it is what Brito has not done that has raised eyebrows. Curiously, Brito has…
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PBS Feels the Axe: PBS will slash its budget by 21% after Congress eliminated roughly $500 million in federal funding for public television and radio, chief executive Paula Kerger told station managers Wednesday. The cuts—among the most severe consequences yet of the vote that also shuttered the Corporation for Public Broadcasting—were approved by PBS’s board alongside a $35 million reduction in dues from local stations. While the move gives stations some relief, it also means PBS will collect less from its members, who are facing shortfalls of their own. “We all face hard choices about the future,” Kerger said, as the last of the federal money is set to run out in October. Across the country, PBS, NPR, and hundreds of local public media outlets are bracing for cuts that could silence their broadcasts.
The Los Angeles Times union will hold its first-ever strike authorization vote after nearly three years of failed negotiations with the Patrick Soon-Shiong-owned newspaper. [The Wrap]
Jake Tapper, at the Paramount-sponsored "Truth Seekers" event for Variety, blasted the company's choice to settle the “60 Minutes” suit with Donald Trump: “I will say this proudly underneath the Paramount+ banner, which is—that lawsuit was bullshit against ‘60 Minutes.'" [Variety]
Gannett said it will launch a morning newscast on its FAST channel, anchored by Alisyn Camerota, Dave Briggs, and Jim Rosenfield. [Newscast Studio]
✂ Cuts, cuts, cuts: The Daily Mail cut about a dozen staffers from its U.S. operation, Lachlan Cartwright reported. [Breaker]
News anchors descended on Alaska ahead of Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin. Tom Llamas and Kaitlan Collins were both anchoring from Anchorage Thursday night.
Bill Hemmer marked 20 years at Fox News. [TV Insider]
Kasie Hunt spoke with Mark Mwachiro about hosting “The Arena,” after five months into the role. [AdWeek]
The WaPo named Rebecca Woolington deputy editor of its long-term investigations team. [WaPo]
The WSJ named Katherine Brewer as executive editor of “The Journal” podcast. [TBN]
The NYT tapped Kate Elazegui as head of product design and Matt Raw as deputy head of product design. [NYT]
CBS Atlanta announced Alex Sanz as managing editor; Nichole Green as assistant news director; and Lea-Anne Jackson as creative services director. [Paramount]
Business Insider upped Noah Sheidlower to senior economy reporter. [TBN]
The "CNN NewsNight" panel. (Screen grab via SnapStream)
CNN 10PM Circus: CNN’s 10pm hour has turned into a nightly showcase for unserious guests and manufactured conflict. On Wednesday, “NewsNight With Abby Phillip” featured celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels—yes, the fitness trainer—delivering a bizarre defense of Donald Trump on slavery. Michaels ranted about Smithsonian exhibits portraying “white people [as] bad" and declared that “less than 2% of white Americans owned slaves,” among other things. Phillip, clearly taken aback, told her, “Jillian, I’m surprised that you’re trying to litigate who was the beneficiary of slavery.” In another segment, dishonest MAGA commentator Scott Jennings complained about supposedly “fake” jobs data, prompting another fact check from Phillip. And when Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky argued that Republicans’ crime rhetoric was hollow after Trump pardoned January 6 rioters who beat police, Jennings dismissed her point as “a silly argument” and derailed the discussion, overtly sneering at her.
🔍 Zooming in: Of course, the episode wasn’t an outlier, it is representative of the program’s larger food fight formula. Night after night, the show gives airtime to political arsonists like Michaels and Jennings, whose contributions amount to provocation, misinformation, and hijacked conversations. The result is spectacle, not substance—all at a time when democracy is under threat and international crises demand serious debate. That CNN, under chief Mark Thompson, continues to treat its prime time platform as a stage for clowns rather than serious voices is disheartening, to put it gently. What does the audience actually gain from the circus? Even Phillip has seemed exasperated lately. Who can blame her?
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