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CBS is being criticized after the network announced on Thursday night that its long-running late-night talk show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” hosted by the comedian and outspoken Trump critic, would be canceled and go off the air in 2026. The network’s decision comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been engaged in a sustained attack on independent media and as corporate media like CBS has given in to his demands. “This is all just going away,” Colbert told his audience on Thursday night, and said he shared his audience’s feelings after they booed the announcement. CBS claimed in a statement that the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was based on finances and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Trump praised the network’s decision. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. But as is often the case, Trump is wrong. In the most recent quarter, Colbert was the highest-rated late-night talk show host. Colbert had an average of 2.42 million viewers each night, outpacing the competition at ABC and NBC. YouTube Video CBS’ announcement comes just three days after Colbert mocked the network’s parent Paramount company for paying out $16 million to settle a frivolous lawsuit from Trump. Paramount is also, coincidentally, in the middle of a merger that the Trump administration will need to sign off on. “As someone who has always been a proud employee of this network, I’m offended. And I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company. But just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million dollars would help,” Colbert said. Several Democratic members of Congress called out CBS for the apparent censorship. “CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.” CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons. Watch and share his message. — Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) 2025-07-18T00:15:04.991Z California Sen. Adam Schiff echoed Warren’s sentiments, writing, “If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better.” Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal noted that Paramount had previously admitted that the Trump suit was “without merit” and said the public needs to know if the Colbert cancellation is “a politically motivated attack on free speech.” Colbert has been one of the most prominent voices in the entertainment world consistently mocking Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatives. He has hosted progressives and Democratic Party leaders who have used the program to criticize and mock the right. By eliminating the show, the right gains ground by silencing a dissenting voice. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have been systematically working to defund, attack, and purge media that doesn’t toe the party line. At the same time, corporate media has bowed to Trump at outlets like the Washington Post, ABC News, and previously at CBS. The capitulation continues.

Congressional Democrats are demanding answers from Fox News after the conservative network edited an interview with President Donald Trump about Jeffrey Epstein, his associate and convicted sex offender. In a 2024 interview, Fox aired an interview with Trump and Rachel Campos-Duffy in which he appeared to unequivocally say he would declassify files associated with the Epstein investigation, the 9/11 attacks, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the version broadcast on “Fox & Friends,” Trump responds, “Yeah. Yeah, I would.” But in the extended version of the comments, Trump equivocated and told the network, “You don’t want to affect people’s lives if it’s phony stuff in there.” The interview is coming under renewed scrutiny after Trump and his Department of Justice have decided to withhold information on the Epstein investigation despite years of touting the case as something he would expose. Rep. Robert Garcia of California “It is obvious to the American public that someone is lying and someone is trying to hide something,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the highest-ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement released on Thursday. “As a network that reaches an estimated 2,663,000 total viewers, Fox News should not be in the business of censoring interviews with presidential candidates to mislead the public. The American people have a right to understand why Fox & Friends chose to alter President Trump’s stated position on the release of the Epstein files.” In a letter addressed to Lachlan Murdoch (executive chair and CEO of Fox parent Fox Corporation) and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, Garcia asks the network for access to any communications between Fox and Trump regarding the interview and exchanges about the Trump campaign and Epstein. Garcia noted in his letter that the Fox News edits are even “more pressing” after Trump sued CBS for airing two clips of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, falsely insinuating that the edits changed the content of the exchange—while apparently benefitting from edited video from Fox at the same time. Related | CBS News disgraces itself as parent company bends to Trump CBS’ parent company Paramount has since paid off a $16 million settlement to Trump to make the frivolous lawsuit go away. The Epstein issue has been a major concern for Trump, as he has received criticism from MAGA supporters for the administration’s lack of transparency. Trump and congressional Republicans continue to stonewall efforts by Democrats attempting to force full disclosure of the government’s Epstein data, including a purported client list related to Epstein’s sex trafficking. Fox has long been in Trump’s corner, devoting hundreds of hours of airtime to propping up Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatism. Editing videos to help Republicans and/or smear Democrats has been part of Fox’s operation for its 29 years of existence. The edits under scrutiny by Garcia are right in line with the network’s past actions.

President Donald Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz as a maximum-security prison—and it could cost up to $2 billion, according to Axios. Trump has long toyed with the idea of reopening the infamous island prison, which is currently a museum and tourist destination. But now it seems he’s taking concrete steps to make this foolish plan happen. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured the island Thursday, with officials confirming that multiple site visits have been conducted and early cost estimates drafted. It’s absurd on its face. Trump has spent months heartlessly cutting federal programs and shrinking government agencies under the guise of “efficiency.” And yet his administration is now considering a multibillion-dollar prison project aimed at housing what Trump calls America’s “most ruthless and violent” criminals. Sources told Axios there are three possible versions of the plan. The first—and most costly, at over $2 billion—involves destroying all existing structures on the island and building a new “supermax” complex from nothing. A smaller version might cost around $1 billion and take up less area of the island. The third option involves outsourcing the project to private prison companies, but Axios’ sources say this isn’t likely. A bird flies above Alcatraz Island on May 4 in the San Francisco Bay, California. “He likes it because it’s tough,” one Trump adviser told Axios. Another added: “People thought it was a joke … but the president is serious. And if he’s serious, we’re gonna do it.” Of course, there are huge logistical issues with this idea. Alcatraz was closed in 1963, after about 29 years in operation. The facility was falling apart, too expensive to run, and depended on boats to supply everything—food, water, and staff. And that was over 60 years ago. It’s not about need. It’s about image. Alcatraz occupies a large place in the American imagination, thanks to decades of movies, myths, and prison lore. And Trump, always looking to make a statement, surely sees this as an opportunity. Forget that the U.S. prison population has been dropping for years and is expected to keep shrinking. And forget that the National Park Service has operated the island as a tourist spot since 1973. If Trump gets his way, power would shift from NPS to Bondi’s Justice Department, which would oversee the new facility. Axios notes that funding could come from Trump’s recently passed budget law, which increased funding for immigration enforcement. That sector remains one of the few areas still seeing growth in the incarceration system, and it’s a top priority for Trump, who has heavily promoted brutal border policies designed to scare migrants into “self-deporting.” Democrats, unsurprisingly, are criticizing the Alcatraz plan. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes Alcatraz, called it “the Trump administration’s stupidest initiative yet.” “It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,” she said in a statement. Even Trump’s staff admits that costs and time frames might stop the project.  “We need a lot more study, a lot more specificity, before the president decides,” one official said. “But $2 billion might just be too much money for him.”  The most expensive option might also be shelved because it would take too long to build, and Trump is eager to get it done while he’s still in office. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time Trump invested public funds in a flashy project with little real purpose. If it sounds expensive and legally questionable, chances are it’s close to getting approved.

Around 230 Venezuelans deported to and imprisoned in El Salvador’s brutal CECOT prison are being sent to Caracas, Venezuela, Daily Kos can confirm.  In exchange, Venezuela will release five U.S. citizens and five U.S. permanent residents into custody of the American government, according to Reuters, which was the first to report the news through government sources.  “This nightmare is finally coming to an end. Unbelievable,” Gris Vogt, a San Francisco-based education specialist for the blind who has spent the past four months assisting families of the imprisoned men, told Daily Kos.  Since March, Vogt has worked with families in Venezuela, serving as a lifeline for their access to the American Civil Liberties Union and helping them communicate across the geopolitical gaps of Venezuela, El Salvador, and the U.S.  At least one planeload of prisoners arrived in Caracas on Friday afternoon, she told Daily Kos. “I’m happy for them, I’m happy for everybody,” she said.  YouTube Video After this story was first published, Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele posted on X that his government has “handed over all the Venezuelan nationals detained in our country.” On March 15, President Donald Trump deported 238 Venezuelan immigrants to the notoriously abusive CECOT prison on the flimsy claims that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang.  However, the most concrete proof that the administration has provided is that the people had tattoos that officials claimed were affiliated with the gang. Experts have cast doubt on the reliability of using tattoos to gauge gang affiliation, though. Additionally, the vast majority of the original 238 deported Venezuelan migrants have no criminal record, according to “60 Minutes.” While around 230 Venezuelans are to be sent to their home country, the U.S. has deported over 250 Venezuelans to El Salvador.  Daily Kos has reached out to government officials for comment but did not immediately hear back.  As for other Venezuelan inmates without criminal convictions, their family members have been waiting months for this day to come. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele.

A cartoon by Mike Luckovich. Related | Trump goons take another step toward creating a secret police force

Insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are expected to skyrocket next year, with plans rising by a median of 15% across 105 insurers, according to an analysis from the health policy outlet KFF. The expected price increases—the largest since 2018, when President Donald Trump was first in office—can be directly linked to the actions of Trump and congressional Republicans. Much of the expected increase stems from the fact that Republicans are about to let premium tax credits expire. Those credits were passed in 2021 by congressional Democrats and signed into law by former President Joe Biden. The credits helped 22 million people afford insurance plans in ACA marketplaces. Once those tax credits expire at the end of this year, people will see a 75% increase in premiums they’d be responsible for, according to KFF. Healthier people who feel they don’t need insurance are expected to then drop their coverage rather than pay astronomically more for it. And that smaller, sicker pool of enrollees would be more expensive for insurance companies to cover, leading to spikes in premium prices. The federal website where consumers can sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is shown on a computer screen in Washington in November 2018. “Insurers expect a large share of enrollees to leave the market, and that those enrollees will be healthier on average, thus leaving the risk pool sicker on average,” KFF wrote. Meanwhile, Trump’s idiotic tariffs are also set to spike the price of drugs and medical equipment, which is, in turn, having an effect on insurance premiums. “The costs of health care services like hospitalizations and physician care, as well as prescription drug costs tend to go up every year, and insurers often raise premiums to cover their increased costs,” KFF wrote. It’s why the American Hospital Association, a major trade group, has pushed back on Trump’s nonsensical tariffs. “Tariffs on [medical devices] could impact patient care by jeopardizing the availability of vital medications and essential health care devices. They also could raise costs for hospitals and heighten shortages and supply chain disruptions,” the group wrote in a May 2025 press release about the financial pressure tariffs will put on hospitals. Already, insurers on some state insurance marketplaces are announcing even higher premiums For example, the Wall Street Journal reported that Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois wants to implement a 27% increase, while Blue Cross in Texas wants to jack up rates 21%.  Democrats will hang those price increases around Republicans’ necks in the 2026 midterm elections. “Trump and Republicans are making your health care more expensive,” Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington wrote in a post on X. We already know health insurance is a powerful issue. It’s largely how Democrats won back control of the House in 2018, after Trump and the GOP unsuccessfully tried to repeal the ACA during his first term.  Now the GOP is once again coming for people’s health care. And they may find out anew how badly that will end for them. 

PoliticusUSA is independent news that is here for you. Please consider supporting our work by becoming a subscriber. Subscribe now Trump and his White House like to say that they are transparent, but the American people got a dose of Trump’s definition of transparency at the White House on Friday. After signing a cryptocurrency bill, Trump departed the stage, shook a few hands, and listened to questions from reporters stationed by the door where the president would be making his exit. The reporter asked Trump about why he hasn’t done more to release the Jeffrey Epstein information. Another reporter can be overheard asking Trump about the birthday card that he wrote for Epstein. Trump didn’t say a word and got out of that room. PoliticusUSA is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Video: No matter how much Trump threatens lawsuits, blames Democrats, yells, or complains, the Epstein questions are not going away. After the publication of The Wall Street Journal’s story about Trump’s birthday card to Epstein, the questions are getting even louder. Trump has threatened to sue Rupert Murdoch, The Wall Street Journal, and News Corporation, but the questions keep coming. There is only one thing that Trump can do to make the questions go away. It is also the one thing that the president absolutely refuses to do. Trump could release all of the Epstein case information, which reportedly includes visitor logs to Epstein’s island. If Trump has nothing to hide, why is he hiding something? Donald Trump usually can’t get enough of the television cameras, but now that the topic has turned to Jeffrey Epstein, the president has gone quiet and has nothing to say. The one way for Trump to prove that he is innocent is to release everything. The fact that he won’t speaks volumes. What do you think about Trump fleeing the room? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Leave a comment