Good morning.
The late-night show hosts Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon and the former host David Letterman have rallied behind Jimmy Kimmel after ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend his popular program after his comments about the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed this month.
Hundreds of people demonstrated against the decision outside the headquarters of Disney, which owns ABC, in California and outside ABC’s studio in New York City yesterday. There have been calls for a boycott of Disney. “People across the country are shocked by this blatant assault on the freedom of speech,” Colbert said.
How did Donald Trump respond? He celebrated, while suggesting TV networks that cover him “negatively” could be punished by the government.
How did Jon Stewart react? He did his entire monologue in an all-gold studio saying only positive things about Trump in a mock-terrified tone, and interviewed the Nobel prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, who was imprisoned in the Philippines for her work and told Stewart Americans were “deer in the headlights” in the face of Trump’s authoritarianism.
Where else have we seen crackdowns on comedy? In his attacks on some of the most prominent satirists, Trump has joined a cadre of illiberal leaders in countries such as Russia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Trump turns fire on Putin during UK state visit
Donald Trump accused Vladimir Putin of letting him down yesterday, saying the Russian president’s actions had prevented him from brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
On the final leg of his state visit to the UK, Trump took press questions alongside the prime minister, Keir Starmer, but steered clear of several points of tension between the two.
Trump largely avoided criticizing Starmer over UK plans to recognize Palestinian statehood or following JD Vance in attacking British speech laws, though he caused awkwardness when he suggested the UK should call in the military to deal with irregular migration.
What did Trump say about Russia’s actions? Putin “has let me down”, he said. “He’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people than he’s killing. The Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers.”
What’s the latest on the frontline? Ukrainian forces had pushed back some of the gains Russia made over the summer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. He called the operation an “important success” after months of battlefield setbacks.
What’s the latest on sanctions? The EU is expected to announce a new package of sanctions on Russia today, targetting banking and energy.
Supreme court urged to allow firing of Fed governor
The Trump administration has asked the supreme court to allow it to fire the Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, as it continues its extraordinary attack on the central bank’s independence. The request sets the stage for a historic test of presidential power.
Trump has sought to oust Cook – citing unconfirmed allegations of mortgage fraud – while he pursues greater control of the Fed. Lawyers for Cook, who has denied wrongdoing, argue the president has no authority to fire her.
What might the allegations of “mortgage fraud” tell us? Critics accuse Trump and his allies of pursuing a “pattern of lawfare” akin to those exerted by authoritarian regimes in Hungary and Russia, after adopting the strategy to target political opponents.
In other news …
Up to 900,000 people marched across France yesterday as trade unions held a day of strike action to put pressure on the new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, to rethink budget cuts.
The Irish author Sally Rooney could not travel to collect a UK literary prize this week amid fears of arrest, after the UK government designated the group Palestine Action, which she has supported, a terrorist organization.
A militia allied with the Libyan government could be participating in people-smuggling in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Italian media reports.
Stat of the day: 17.7% of California residents in poverty, highest rate alongside Louisiana
Despite the abundant wealth in California, in 2024 about 7 million people, or 17.7% of residents, could not afford to cover their basic needs, a report says. The authors warn the picture is likely to get worse after the passing of Trump’s federal budget, which will cut healthcare, food assistance and other support for millions of people.
Don’t miss this: Picasso painting unseen for 80 years unveiled in Paris
Pablo Picasso’s Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar) was completed in July 1943, towards the end of his turbulent relationship with the French photographer and painter Dora Maar, and displayed only a few times. Now it is returning to market for the first time since 1944, thanks to an anonymous seller.
Climate check: ‘Sun Day’ rally fights Trump’s assault on renewable energy
This Sunday, the environmentalist Bill McKibben will spearhead a a national day of action, known as Sun Day. It comes after Trump launched more than 150 anti-environmental and anti-renewable energy actions since being sworn in as president in January. “We need to fight back, and in this case we get to play not just defense but offense too,” McKibben said.
Last Thing: ‘I lived underwater for 100 days’
Joseph Dituri put himself forward as a human guinea pig to study the effects of long-term subaquatic living. “Initially, I had some concerns about how the isolation and lack of sunlight might affect me,” he says. During the process, he came to befriend a lobster, which he named Fred, and found a shark sleeping on his equivalent of an underwater porch.
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