AFP USA

Jimmy Kimmel has extended his contract with Disney-owned ABC for a year, sources said Monday, months after his late-night show was yanked off the air in a confrontation with President Donald Trump’s administration.The late-night host will continue to front “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” into the middle of 2027, a person familiar with the matter told AFP.His contract had been due to expire in May of next year.The move comes after a spat pitting the White House against Kimmel in the wake of the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.Kimmel, who frequently skewers Trump and his inner circle, annoyed conservatives when he said “the MAGA gang” was trying to exploit the college campus murder.Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to threaten the licenses of ABC affiliates broadcasting the show unless they demanded Kimmel’s removal.Two companies that own dozens of those affiliates — Nexstar and Sinclair — then announced they would be removing the show from their schedules, prompting Disney to suspend the show nationwide.But after a huge public and Hollywood backlash, Kimmel was back on the air after a week-long hiatus, delivering a blockbuster monologue in which he slammed government attempts to censor him as “anti-American.”He has continued to take aim at Trump, mocking him for apparently falling asleep in meetings, and for mispronouncing the names of international leaders with whom he boasts he has brokered peace deals.Trump, meanwhile, shows no sign of giving up his crusade to get Kimmel cancelled.At a revamped awards ceremony at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, he called the funnyman “horrible,” as he predicted bumper ratings for the show.”If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president,” he said.

Ukraine’s European allies put on a show of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky Monday as they expressed scepticism about parts of the US proposal to end Russia’s nearly four-year invasion.Zelensky first held a meeting in London with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany before heading to Brussels later Monday for talks with the heads of the EU and of NATO. Afterwards, he was to fly to Rome for a meeting Tuesday with the Italian prime minister.The discussions came after US President Donald Trump accused Zelensky of not reading his administration’s proposal on a deal to end nearly four years of war sparked by Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.That followed days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami that ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, but with Zelensky committing to further negotiations.In London, Zelensky spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.At a subsequent press conference, he said that Ukrainian territory was one of the main sticking points in negotiations.”Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything,” Zelensky said. “There are difficult problems concerning the territories and so far there has been no compromise,” he said, adding that Kyiv had no legal or moral right to give up its land.He also said: “The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question.”Hours later, in Brussels, Zelensky said on X he had “a good and productive meeting” with NATO chief Mark Rutte, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.”Our positions have been aligned on all issues. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner,” Zelensky said.Rutte also called it a “good” discussion and reiterated the support for a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, while von der Leyen, also on X, said the EU was “ironclad” in its backing for Kyiv.”Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defence for our Union. These priorities were are the centre of our discussions with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte,” von der Leyen said.France’s Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction”.Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European and Ukrainian position and that of the United States.Ahead of the London talks, German leader Merz said he was “sceptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from the US side, but we have to talk about it”.And Britain’s Starmer said he would not be pushing Zelensky to accept the deal spearheaded by Trump’s administration — the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.- ‘Disappointed’ -On Saturday, Zelensky said he had a “very substantive and constructive” telephone conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner who were negotiating with Ukrainian officials in Miami.But Trump criticised his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters: “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.Before Monday’s talks, Macron slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path”.”We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace,” he wrote on X.- Hot and cold -Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the conflict involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.The nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get to fend off any future Russian invasion has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial suggestion that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.But he was also frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war had failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.

A group of former FBI agents filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming they were unlawfully fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in the US capital.The 12 agents were fired earlier this year by FBI Director Kash Patel, who has been accused by Democrats of purging the bureau’s ranks of agents perceived as being disloyal to President Donald Trump.The lawsuit filed by the agents — nine women and three men — in a federal court in Washington seeks their reinstatement and names Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.In their complaint, the agents, who filed the suit anonymously, recounted the circumstances in the capital on the day they took a knee.It was June 4, 2020, less than two weeks after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man whose murder by a white police officer sparked nationwide racial justice protests.The FBI agents, who had a background in counterintelligence and counterterrorism, were deployed by the bureau in a “powder keg” downtown Washington without the “training, protective gear, or less-than-lethal munitions that would enable them to engage in crowd control,” they said.”They were confronted by a mob that included hostile individuals alongside families with young children,” they said, and they “made a considered tactical decision” to take a knee.”Responding to the dangerous situation before them, Plaintiffs avoided triggering violence by assuming a kneeling posture associated with de-escalations between law enforcement officers and their communities during this period of national unrest,” they said.”Plaintiffs’ de-escalation response was immediately successful,” they said, and “as a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”They said their actions were reviewed and cleared by the FBI and Justice Department at the time.But more than five years later they received dismissal letters from Patel accusing them of “unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of government.”The suit is the latest against the FBI by a former agent alleging unjust dismissal.David Maltinsky, a gay 16-year FBI veteran, filed a lawsuit last month claiming he was unlawfully fired from the bureau for displaying a gay pride flag at his desk.

A former personal lawyer to US President Donald Trump resigned as a top federal prosecutor on Monday, a week after an appeals court ruled she had been serving unlawfully.Alina Habba, 41, announced her resignation as acting US attorney for the District of New Jersey in a statement on X.”I have decided to step down,” Habba said. “But do not mistake compliance for surrender. This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me.”Federal prosecutors are subject to Senate confirmation and New Jersey’s two Democratic senators had opposed her nomination.Trump sought to keep Habba in her position on an interim basis, but the appeals court ruled last week that her appointment violated the law regarding the filling of federal vacancies.It was the second time in a week that a federal court ruled that a US attorney picked by Trump was unlawfully appointed.In the other case, a judge disqualified Lindsey Halligan from serving as the acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and threw out the indictments Halligan obtained against Trump foes James Comey, a former FBI director, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.The judge said Halligan had been unlawfully appointed because her predecessor was also serving in an acting capacity and US law does not allow two successive interim prosecutors.The Trump administration’s appointments of interim US attorneys without Senate confirmation in at least two other states — California and Nevada — have also been met with legal challenges.Attorney General Pam Bondi said the court ruling in Habba’s case had made it “untenable for her to effectively run her office, with politicized judges pausing trials designed to bring violent criminals to justice.””These judges should not be able to countermand the President’s choice of attorneys entrusted with carrying out the executive branch’s core responsibility of prosecuting crime,” Bondi said in a statement.Bondi said Habba would join the Justice Department as her senior advisor overseeing US attorneys around the country.

US President Donald Trump warned Monday that Europe was heading in “very bad directions,” in a fresh broadside just days after his new security strategy slammed the continent over mass migration.Trump hit out at a “nasty” $140 million fine by the European Union against tech tycoon Elon Musk’s X social network — while admitting he didn’t know much about it — before widening his attack.”Look, Europe has to be very careful. (They’re) doing a lot of things. We want to keep Europe Europe,” Trump told reporters at the White House.”Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad, very bad for the people. We don’t want Europe to change so much. They’re going in some very bad directions.”The Republican’s comments follow criticism in the new US national security strategy released last week of Europe as being over-regulated and facing “civilizational erasure” from migration. In extraordinary language aimed at close allies, the strategy said Trump’s administration would be “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations.”Trump and the Europeans are also increasingly at odds over US plans to end the war in Ukraine, with fears in Europe that Washington aims to force Kyiv into surrendering land to Russia.The Kremlin welcomed the changes to Trump’s strategy, saying on Saturday it was “largely consistent” with Russia’s vision.Trump’s position towards Europe echoes that of Musk, the president’s former ally, who has repeatedly aired inflammatory claims about migration in the EU.Musk said after X was fined for breaking the EU’s digital rules that the bloc should be “abolished.” Brussels dismissed his statements as “completely crazy.” When asked about the fine, Trump said that “I don’t think it’s right” before clarifying that “Elon has not called me to ask for help on that one” and saying he would get more details later.

US President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for American farmers on Monday, targeting a key support base that has been hit by the fallout from his trade and tariff policies.The Republican said he was taking “very vital action to protect and defend American farmers,” during a roundtable with agricultural producers at the White House.Trump has faced mounting pressure to help farmers, whose support helped win him a second term in office but who have been battered by the impact of his sweeping tariffs.Since Trump’s return in January, many US farmers have been hit by factors including retaliatory measures from trading partners and tariffs on imported goods used in farming.”We love our farmers, and as you know the farmers like me,” Trump said during the roundtable.Trump said the $12 billion in aid for farmers would be funded by a “relatively small portion” of the revenue from tariffs.Most of the bailout involves one-off payments to crop farmers.Washington’s trade row this year with superpower rival Beijing saw soybean exports plunge and Chinese buyers holding off new orders from the US autumn harvest.Amid the lower demand, soybean prices fell as well, hitting the sector hard, although a recent trade truce sought to ensure renewed Chinese purchases of agriculture goods ranging from soybeans to sorghum.Trump said he believed Chinese President Xi Jinping would do “even more than he promised to do” on soybeans, following their recent meeting at a summit in South Korea.- ‘Affordability problem’ -The US president repeatedly blamed former president Joe Biden for the problems faced by American farmers.But the situation has echoes of Trump’s first presidency, when retaliatory tariffs caused over $27 billion in US agriculture export losses from 2018 to 2019.The government, in turn, provided $23 billion to assist farmers hit by trade disputes at the time.Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the government was releasing an initial $11 billion for crops and would hold back another $1 billion for where it was needed most.Trump has also recently vowed to support US cattle farmers as beef prices surged in part due to a tighter supply of herds.Costs had risen for various reasons including drought and lower imports from Mexico due to a pest in herds there, adding to cost-of-living pressures that American households are facing.Trump’s farm aid announcement came amid mounting dissatisfaction with his economic policies, particularly over tariffs and the cost of living.The 79-year-old will hit the road in coming months to push his economic agenda, starting with a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.Trump appeared to soften his message a little on Monday, acknowledging an affordability “problem” after repeatedly dismissing it in recent weeks as a “hoax” and a “con job” by rival Democrats.”The Democrats caused the affordability problem and we’re fixing it,” he said.

Paramount on Monday launched an all-cash tender offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the Hollywood giant that also owns CNN, in a challenge to Netflix’s own highly contested deal.The hostile offer sets up a bidding war between Paramount — whose CEO is David Ellison, the son of Larry Ellison, an ally of Donald Trump — and streaming behemoth Netflix.Netflix shocked the industry last week by announcing it had sealed an agreement to buy the Warner Bros. studio, drawing bitter reactions from voices in Hollywood worried about the future of their industry.David Ellison’s father Larry, one of the world’s richest people, has put up the cash to pay for the buyout, with sovereign wealth companies from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi also investors.Another investor is Affinity Partners, the private equity firm founded by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is close to the president and acted on his behalf in recent diplomatic missions on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.Trump weighed in on Sunday, saying Netflix’s deal “could be a problem” as it would be left with a huge market share of the film and TV industry.In a break from usual practice, Trump said he would be “involved” in the government’s decision to approve the deal over fair competition concerns, instead of leaving the question solely in the hands of the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission, as is usually the case.”We’re really here to finish what we started,” David Ellison, who is also chairman of Paramount, told CNBC as his company made a sixth offer for Warner Bros. since a bidding war began in September.Unlike Netflix’s offer, Paramount’s latest bid includes the buyout of cable channels such as CNN, TNT, TBS and Discovery — which would be added to its group of TV assets like CBS, MTV and Comedy Central.The offer values the entertainment giant at $108.4 billion and represents a 139 percent premium over Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s September stock price of $12.54, when the bidding war began.Paramount in a statement called Netflix’s bid, which values Warner Bros. studios at nearly $83 billion, “inferior and uncertain.””WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer,” Ellison said.Netflix declined a request for comment from AFP.- ‘Far from over’ -“The Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition is far from over,” said Emarketer analyst Ross Benes.”Netflix is in the driver’s seat but there will be twists and turns before the finish line… The battle could become prolonged.”Over the decades, Warner Bros. has produced film classics including “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane,” as well as more recent blockbuster shows including “Friends,” “Game of Thrones” and the “Harry Potter” movies.Paramount argued its deal provides greater regulatory certainty than the Netflix transaction, which it said would give Netflix a 43 percent share of global streaming subscribers and face “protracted regulatory challenges across the world.”The combined company would unite Paramount’s portfolio — including Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon and streaming site Paramount+ — with WBD’s assets including HBO Max and major sports rights.Paramount said the merger would generate over $6 billion in cost savings while maintaining theatrical releases and increasing content spending.Keeping movies in theaters is a very sensitive issue for the creative industry in Hollywood.Netflix is already viewed negatively in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of the industry.Many veterans consider theatrical releases essential to cinema’s appeal and prestige, and also integral to maintaining Hollywood jobs and a vibrant economy.Warner Bros. Discovery’s share price skyrocketed by more than seven percent on Monday while shares in Netflix fell by over three percent.

The US Supreme Court appeared likely on Monday to back a bid by Donald Trump to expand presidential powers and curtail the independence of federal agencies.The case before the top court stems from the Republican president’s firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the regulatory Federal Trade Commission (FTC).Slaughter was dismissed without cause and lower courts upheld her claim that the move violated rules Congress put in place to protect the members of independent government agencies.The Trump Justice Department appealed to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court and a majority of the justices appeared to side with the administration during oral arguments on Monday.Solicitor General John Sauer, representing the administration, urged the justices to overturn a landmark 1935 ruling known as “Humphrey’s Executor” that prevented then president Franklin Roosevelt from dismissing a member of the FTC.Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, referred to “Humphrey’s Executor” as a “dried husk” during two-and-a-half hours of oral arguments and said the FTC today is significantly more powerful than it was in the 1930s.Sauer said the current situation amounts to a “power vacuum” and the president as chief executive should have the authority to remove members of the FTC and the two dozen other similarly structured independent agencies at will.”The real world consequences here are human beings exercising enormous governmental authority with a great deal of control over individuals and businesses… who ultimately do not answer to the president,” Sauer said.”We think the text of the Constitution confers the executive power, all of it, on the president.”- ‘Uncontrolled power’ -The three liberal justices on the nine-member court expressed concerns that a ruling in the president’s favor would vastly increase the powers of the executive and strip independent agencies of protections from political influence.”The result of what you want is that the president is going to have massive, unchecked, uncontrolled power,” Justice Elena Kagan told the solicitor general.”If there’s one thing we know about the founders, it’s that they wanted powers separated,” Kagan said.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another liberal, questioned the solicitor general along the same lines.”You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent,” Sotomayor said.The FTC’s primary function is to protect the American public against deceptive or unfair business practices and it has taken on Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook parent Meta over how they wield market power.The FTC consists of five commissioners, typically representing both major political parties, with a chair nominated by the president.- ‘Not in the best interests’ -Trump fired Slaughter and the other Democrat on the FTC in March, opening the door for the Republican to appoint loyalists at the agency.Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a liberal, said it would be a mistake for the court to allow this.”Independent agencies exist because Congress has decided that some issues, some matters, some areas, should be handled in this way by non-partisan experts,” Jackson said.”Having a president come in and fire all the scientists and the doctors and the economists and the PhDs and replacing them with loyalists and people who don’t know anything is actually not in the best interests of the United States.”The Supreme Court has overwhelmingly sided with Trump since he returned to office, allowing mass firing of federal workers, the withholding of funds appropriated by Congress and racial profiling in his sweeping immigration crackdown.The court is to hear arguments next month over Trump’s bid to fire another senior official — Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook.The justices blocked Trump in October from firing Cook until they could hear her case contesting her dismissal.The Supreme Court is expected to give its decision in the FTC case by the end of June.

US residents will be able to enter its national parks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite for free on President Donald Trump’s birthday in the latest move by his administration to elevate his profile.But Americans will lose the current privilege of doing the same on two national days commemorating civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr and the end of slavery.The Trump administration says the changes, which take effect January 1, are part of the president’s push to put Americans first. The National Park Service is also increasing entrance fees for non-residents.Critics say changes to the list of what the administration calls “patriotic fee-free days” serve to promote the president while downplaying the US history of slavery and its civil rights struggle.In 2025, the list of free days included Martin Luther King Jr Day, which falls on the third Monday of January, and Juneteenth on June 19, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans were emancipated.A Department of the Interior statement said the eight free days in 2026 will include Trump’s June 14 birthday — he turns 80 next year — which also happens to be Flag Day, which marks the adoption of the US flag in 1777.Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People, said that it was an insult to Martin Luther King Jr.”The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven,” he wrote on X.Trump, who often trumpets how his support grew among Black voters in the 2024 election, has a long history of self-promotion that is gathering steam as he approaches the end of the first year in his second term.Last week, the Washington-based United States Institute of Peace was named after him.The White House has also recently suggested naming a new stadium for the Washington Commanders NFL team after Trump, and some Republican lawmakers even support putting his face on the $100 bill.The United States has 63 national parks, which are congressionally designated protected areas under government control. Last year, more than 330 million people visited.From 2026, the cost of an annual entry pass will be $80 for US residents and $250 for nonresidents. Nonresidents without a pass will have to pay $100 per person to enter 11 of the most visited parks in addition to the standard entrance fee.

Boeing announced Monday that it completed an acquisition of aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems, saying the move will allow for more seamless operations and enhance quality control.Closure of the deal, first announced in July 2024, comes at a “pivotal” moment for the aviation giant, said Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg. The deal is worth $8.3 billion, including Spirit debt assumed by Boeing.”As we welcome our new teammates and bring our two companies together, our focus is on maintaining stability so we can continue delivering high quality airplanes, differentiated services, and advanced defense capabilities for our customers and the industry,” Ortberg said.Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit manufactures fuselages for commercial planes, as well as key parts for defense and space projects.The deal’s closure follows antitrust approvals in the United States and Europe that included the sale to Airbus of all Spirit’s businesses that currently supply the European aerospace group — Boeing’s main competitor.The transaction restores Spirit to Boeing about two decades after Boeing sold the assets in a move executives said would lower procurement costs and enhance Boeing’s focus on “large-scale systems integration,” which Boeing saw at the time as a strategic priority.But Boeing has stumbled badly in recent years, first with pair of fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 caused in part by a flawed flight stabilizing feature, then by a January 2024 incident in which an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a window on a 737 MAX blew out.Since the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing has tightened quality control practices under close scrutiny from US air safety officials and replaced key leaders, including the CEO and head of commercial aviation.Boeing Commercial head Stephanie Pope described a gradual integration in a letter to the two companies’ commercial aviation employees that emphasized the need for teamwork to produce some 6,000 planes through the early 2030s.”As we start this next chapter, I encourage you to keep an open mind, support your teammates, and give each other grace,” Pope said. “While our teams did extensive work to prepare for this transition, it is not easy to integrate two companies, multiple sites and more than 15,000 teammates.”While the deal means that Spirit Defense will be part of Boeing for financial reporting purposes, the unit will have independent governance and operations. Such a structure is employed in defense, where suppliers serve multiple clients that are sometimes partners and sometimes competitors.The structure “preserves and protects Spirit Defense’s ability to perform work for any defense or space prime, including Boeing and its competitors, by implementing strict operational boundaries -– or ‘firewalls’ -– that ensures the protection of competitive information and avoids conflicts of interest,” said a Boeing spokesman.Shares of Boeing rose 1.9 percent in mid-morning trading.