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The suspension by Disney-owned ABC of talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is the latest surrender by a US media giant to pressure from the Trump administration, putting the bottom line over free speech.ABC’s decision to pull Kimmel off the air comes two months after CBS announced plans to cancel “The Late Show” featuring Stephen Colbert, another unsparing critic of President Donald Trump.Kimmel, 57, was suspended “indefinitely” by ABC because of remarks the comedy show host made about last week’s murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.In a similar vein, the Emmy-winning Colbert was canned shortly after he criticized a decision by CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump over an interview with former vice president Kamala Harris.ABC also came in for criticism after it agreed in December to donate $15 million to Trump’s eventual presidential library to settle a defamation suit instead of fighting it out in court.Kimmel’s departure came after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr openly threatened the licenses of ABC affiliates that broadcast his show.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from a visit to Britain, Trump complained about the late night shows and networks, saying “all they do is hit Trump.””They are licensed. They are not allowed to do that,” he claimed.Democratic lawmakers and media analysts condemned the FCC threats to revoke broadcast licenses and said media and entertainment corporations were placing their economic interests over free speech rights.”What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power,” Harris wrote on X.”This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats.”For Senator Richard Blumenthal, “Jimmy Kimmel is off-the-air because of an unprecedented act of gov’t censorship.””The FCC has now proven that its sole mission is to be the speech police for Trump, punishing his perceived opponents & rewarding his cronies,” Blumenthal wrote on X.- ‘Coercion’ -Jeffrey McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University, said Kimmel’s ratings have been “questionable for a long time.””ABC and Disney at some point just had to make a decision that was based more on the marketplace,” McCall said. “They’ve just decided that, from a corporate ratings and revenue standpoint, he’s no longer viable.”Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, said the “problem lies in corporations that apparently make decisions based solely on financial considerations and cannot be trusted to protect the public.”The Colbert cancellation came as the FCC was considering a multi-billion-dollar deal between Paramount Global and Skydance, a company owned by the son of Trump billionaire ally Larry Ellison.The FCC gave the green light to the merger a few days after CBS pulled the plug on Colbert.It also obtained an extraordinary pledge from Skydance that it will “adopt measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media.”In the Kimmel case, the Nexstar group — which controls more than 200 local television stations in the United States — was the first to announce it would no longer air Kimmel’s show after FCC chair Carr’s remarks Wednesday.The Texas company is currently seeking FCC approval of a bid to acquire rival Tegna.Some right-wing commentators have condemned Kimmel’s silencing, comparing it to the 2023 firing of conservative darling Tucker Carlson by Fox News or the 2018 booting of sitcom star Roseanne Barr over tweets seen as racist.Paulson said the situations are not comparable.”In this case, the head of the Federal Communications Commission is targeting the on-air talent,” he said. “Others have lost their jobs because of public outrage.”When the public is angry, networks can take that into account,” he said. “But when the government is angry, that’s coercion.”

A US medical panel handpicked by President Donald Trump’s health secretary made its first alteration to the standard childhood vaccine schedule on Thursday, as public health experts fear more changes that flout prevailing medical advice are in the pipeline.The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was revamped to reflect anti-vax advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ideals — and among its initial moves was voting to advise that no child under four should receive the combination MMRV shot, which covers measles, mumps, rubella and varicella.Parents should instead be offered the alternative of separate MMR and chicken pox injections for their children, members decided.The combination shot has a small risk of causing temporary, non-life-threatening febrile seizures. But in a call with journalists, Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said the debate was settled years ago and that today parents already have a choice of both options.”I’m still puzzled by why this came back as a point of discussion,” he said. “The only thing I can think of is it’s another strategy to scare parents.”Kennedy has spent decades promoting vaccine misinformation, including the widely debunked claim that the MMR shot causes autism.After his appointment to the federal government, he sacked every person from ACIP, and replaced them with figures whose anti-vaccine views track more closely with his own.That skepticism bled into Thursday’s discussion: the committee’s methods were scrutinized by medical professionals in attendance who can’t vote but can offer input.”You’re not looking at all of the aspects of how we evaluate vaccine implementation,” said Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians.”You’re looking at very small data points and misrepresenting how it works in the real world and how we take care of our patients.”- ‘Illegitimate’ -Following much head-scratching over language, the committee voted that the combination shot would still be covered under the Vaccines for Children federal program — which helps fund many immunizations in the United States — even though they were no longer recommending that shot for kids under four.A couple of members abstained — because they said they weren’t sure what they were voting for.The decision means some federal programs will cover the shot but others won’t, creating a patchwork system that public health experts fear could sow widespread confusion among parents.”Parents like me depend on a childhood vaccine schedule built on science and trust. Every change should strengthen, not weaken, the safety net — that keeps our kids healthy,” epidemiologist Syra Madad told AFP.She said Thursday’s committee discussions “risk eroding protections we know work.”Committee members put off until Friday a closely watched vote on whether to scrap the longstanding standard of immunizing newborns against Hepatitis B within the first 24 hours of life.That move has been met with widespread alarm by public health experts, including from some voices on the panel.Swift vaccination has proven the best way to prevent any maternal transmission of the incurable, highly contagious disease that can cause severe liver damage and cancer later in life, said Adam Langer, a CDC scientist who presented to the panel.Amending the advice could amount to a “devastating decision,” said O’Leary of the AAP, a body that did not attend the committee meeting despite a past history of collaboration. “This is in the midst of a growing wave of what we’re seeing with rumors, falsehoods, inaccurate information surrounding our country’s immunization efforts,” he said.”This committee is illegitimate.”In opening the two-day meeting, ACIP chair and biostatistician Martin Kulldorff insisted that the panel was, despite much criticism and fear to the contrary, “pro-vaccine” and will “welcome scientific critique of any of our votes, as there are gray areas.”But Wilbur Chen, an infectious disease physician, cast that defensiveness as disingenuous.”They do not intend to debate using sound, rigorous, reproducible science; they are echoing poor and falsified information,” he told AFP.Along with the Hepatitis B vote on Friday, the committee will reconvene and consider this season’s Covid-19 shot, including who should get it and who should pay for it.

The United States on Thursday again wielded its veto and thwarted a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire in Gaza, shielding its ally Israel from meaningful diplomatic pressure.The 14 other members of the Council backed the resolution, initiated in August in response to the UN’s official declaration of famine after nearly two years of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Palestinian territory.The vote came as Israeli tanks and jets pounded Gaza City, the target of a major new ground offensive, forcing Palestinians to flee south.The resolution text seen by AFP had demanded “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties” as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.The United States has repeatedly rejected that approach multiple times, most recently in June when it used its veto to back Israel.”Let this resolution send a clear message, a message that the Security Council is not turning its back on starving civilians, on the hostages and the demand for a ceasefire,” Denmark’s UN ambassador Christina Lassen said ahead of the vote. “A generation risks being lost not only to war — but to hunger and despair. Meanwhile Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza City, further deepening the suffering of civilians as a result. “It is this catastrophic situation, this humanitarian and human failure that has compelled us to act today.”Pakistan’s ambassador Asim Ahmad called the veto a “dark moment in this chamber.””The world is watching. The cries of children should pierce our hearts,” he said.- ‘Genocide’ accusation -The previous US veto sparked an unusual show of anger from the 14 other members of the council, who are increasingly vocal in their frustration over their apparent inability to pressure Israel to stop the suffering of Gaza’s inhabitants.For the first time Tuesday, a UN-mandated international investigative commission gave its independent analysis, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023 with the intent to “destroy” the Palestinians.The issue will be central to next week’s annual UN summit in New York.Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, condemned the resolution, saying  that “for some members of the Council, this is a performance. For Israel, this is a daily reality. The proposal was presented without condemnation of Hamas, without condemnation of the October 7 massacre.”Danon sparred repeatedly with Algeria’s ambassador Amar Bendjama who asked Palestinian people to “forgive us because this Council could not save your children…our sincere efforts, shattered against the wall of rejection.”

Stock markets advanced Thursday, as tech shares jumped following AI-chips giant Nvidia’s announcement of a $5 billion investment in struggling US rival Intel, and as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut of 2025.The tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains on Wall Street, with Intel shares soaring nearly 23 percent and Nvidia gaining more than three percent.All three major US indices finished at fresh records.The dollar gained against other major currencies.”Even if Intel needs handouts from its peers in Silicon Valley, investors like it,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading platform XTB.Under the Nvidia-Intel deal, the companies will jointly develop chips for PCs and data centers.The deal comes on the heels of the United States taking a 10-percent stake in Intel, which has fallen behind in recent years after missing key technology shifts.The move propelled shares of other tech firms. In Europe, shares in ASML, a Dutch company that makes the machines used to produce semiconductors, surged more than seven percent.Other US semiconductor names were mixed. Micron jumped 5.6 percent while Advanced Micro Devices dropped 0.8 percent.Investors were also reacting to Wednesday’s US central bank decision to lower rates by 25 basis points.US stocks had finished mixed Wednesday over uncertainty about the path forward following the Fed’s announcement.But the mood changed Thursday, with investors confident that more cuts are coming this year, analysts said.”Markets are betting policymakers will continue to prioritize jobs over inflation, even with headline prices still running hot,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.The decision to cut came even as US inflation runs well above policymakers’ two-percent target, but analysts said the main focus was on the jobs market.Fed policymakers are split between those who expect at least two interest rate cuts later this year and those who anticipate one or fewer.Fed boss Jerome Powell remained cagey, telling reporters decision-makers were approaching it “meeting by meeting.”Paris and Frankfurt stocks were up around one percent in afternoon deals, with German sentiment buoyed by a central bank statement saying Germany should dodge a technical recession in the immediate future.London rose less enthusiastically as the Bank of England kept its main interest rate at four percent in the face of the UK’s stubbornly high inflation, which stands at 3.8 percent.While Britain’s interest rate was kept unchanged, Norway’s central bank cut borrowing costs on Thursday, after a similar move by Canada on Wednesday.In Asia, investors were in a cautious mood on Thursday.Shanghai stocks retreated overall, and Hong Kong’s session also ended in the red.Tokyo closed in the green as the Fed decision boosted the dollar against the yen, helping Japanese exporters.- Key figures at around 2050 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 46,142.42 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5 percent at 6,631.96 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP 1.2 percent at 22,470.73 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,228.11 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 7,854.61 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.4 percent at 23,674.53 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 45,303.43 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 1.2 percent at 3,831.66 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,544.85 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1785 from $1.1813 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3550 from $1.3626Dollar/yen: UP at 147.97 yen from 146.99 yenEuro/pound: UP at 86.96  pence from 86.69 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $63.57 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.8 at $67.44 per barrel

US Democratic lawmakers said Thursday they plan to introduce legislation to protect free speech, arguing that President Donald Trump is seeking to censor opponents, especially since the murder of Charlie Kirk.The death of Kirk — a right-wing activist who was shot dead during a public event in Utah last week — was “a national tragedy” that “should have been an opportunity for President Trump to bring this country together,” Senator Chris Murphy told a news conference in Washington.”But Trump and his lieutenants are choosing to exploit this tragedy to destroy Donald Trump’s political opposition,” Murphy said, citing the example of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show.Kimmel’s show was indefinitely suspended by ABC after he accused Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement of seeking to exploit Kirk’s death for political points.”That’s censorship. That’s state speech control. That’s not America,” said Murphy.The planned legislation “creates a specific defense for those that are being targeted for political reasons” and “builds real consequences for government officials when they use the power of the government to target speech that is protected by the First Amendment,” he said.Senator Alex Padilla listed various recent developments as causes for concern.”An attorney general who is vowing to prosecute Americans for what she alone deems hate speech. A president who threatens a reporter with prosecution for asking a question about that,” Padilla said.”And Donald Trump personally suing The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for publishing stories that he doesn’t like,” he said.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that “one of the great hallmarks of our country is free speech,” accusing Trump’s administration of “trying to snuff it out.””They don’t want people to even speak when they don’t like what they say,” Schumer said, warning: “That is the road to autocracy.”

A top US regulator on Thursday sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, alleging the ticketing giant conspired with brokers to inflate concert ticket prices and deceive consumers with hidden fees.The Federal Trade Commission, along with seven states, filed the lawsuit in a California federal court, accusing the companies of allowing ticket brokers to harvest millions of tickets in violation of purchase limits, and then resell them at marked-up prices.Ticketmaster has been the object of anger and frustration from both artists and spectators for decades, with concertgoers complaining about overpriced tickets, opaque pricing schemes, and glitches that saw sales for Taylor Swift’s historic Eras Tour, among others, marred by breakdowns.Most recently, the reunion tour of UK rockers Oasis sparked furor in Britain when dynamic pricing caused ticket prices to jump to hundreds of pounds above face-value costs.American live entertainment “should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order to protect consumers from ticket pricing abuses.The complaint alleges Ticketmaster, which controls about 80 percent of major concert venue ticketing in the United States, turned “a blind eye” to brokers who routinely exceeded ticket limits using thousands of fake accounts.From 2019 to 2024, consumers spent more than $82.6 billion purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster, the FTC said.According to the complaint, the regulator said internal documents show Ticketmaster even provided technological support to brokers through a software platform called TradeDesk, enabling them to manage tickets purchased across multiple accounts for easier resale.The lawsuit also targets Ticketmaster’s pricing practices, alleging the company advertised ticket prices substantially lower than what consumers ultimately paid after mandatory fees and markups.These hidden fees, which reached as high as 44 percent of ticket cost, totaled $16.4 billion from 2019-2024, the FTC said.

Pomp and politics, warm words, tech deals and a sumptuous state banquet. Britain pulled out all the stops to welcome US President Donald Trump.Here are five things to take away from the president’s historic second state visit.- Protest-free zone -Trump critics drummed, chanted and waved their banners in protest at his visit in both London and Windsor.Around 5,000 people took part in the London demonstration while Trump was being given the red carpet treatment in Windsor Castle, 35 kilometres (22 miles) away.There was little chance of the president noticing though as he revelled in pomp and pageantry behind the castle’s impregnable ramparts, before flying by helicopter to Chequers, the country residence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.The entire visit was meticulously choreographed to exclude any public-facing events that could have caused embarrassment.- ‘Remarkable son’ -King Charles III paid tribute at Wednesday evening’s banquet to what he called Trump’s “personal commitment” to seeking peace in the world.In return Trump lavished praise on his hosts, calling the visit “one of the highest honours of my life”. Trump’s mother famously grew up in Scotland and the president has long held a love of the UK.The president hailed Charles for raising his “remarkable son”, heir to the throne Prince William, who Trump predicted would be “an unbelievable success in future”.Turning to William’s wife Catherine, Trump declared her “so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful”.The Princess of Wales — who he reportedly chatted to for most of the dinner — is currently recovering following treatment for cancer.- Melania’s hat -The purple statement hat First Lady Melania Trump wore for her arrival in Windsor had everyone talking.The brim of the hat was so wide it obscured her eyes from view, sparking comparisons with the white and navy millinery she chose for her husband’s inauguration.What did it mean? Fashionistas and the public weighed in on the airwaves and social media, but ultimately failed to make much sense of it all.Theories included Melania not wanting to overshadow her husband, a desire to appear mysterious, or just a preference for big hats.- Ghost of Epstein -The spectre of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein loomed uncomfortably over the visit in more ways than one.Shortly before the president touched down in Britain, protesters from the campaign group Led by Donkeys projected images of Trump and Epstein onto one of the castle towers.The shots included the president’s mugshot, portraits of Epstein, newspaper headlines and footage of the two men dancing together.Local police arrested four men “on suspicion of malicious communications” who were bailed pending further inquiries.Trump has struggled to shake off stories about his ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 before his trial for sexual exploitation.Others have also been caught in the net, including the UK’s former ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, whose close ties to Epstein came under the spotlight last week.Starmer was forced to sack the Labour Party grandee just days before the visit, exposing the premier to heavy criticism for appointing him in the first place.- Pomp, not controversy -Despite his reputation for unpredictability when dealing with foreign leaders, Trump was reportedly keen for this visit to be more about pomp than controversy.Sources said the president understood that Starmer was under political pressure at home due to a string of missteps and did not want to make trouble for him.At a news conference to wrap up the visit, he acknowledged differences over Starmer’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state, but noticeably held back on a number of questions where there could have been disagreements with Starmer.The lack of friction allowed the premier to trumpet a huge tech deal inked by the pair as the “biggest investment package of its kind in British history”.

The widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is to take his place at the head of youth action campaign group Turning Point USA, officials announced Thursday.Two days after her husband was shot dead on a univerity campus, allegedly by a 22-year-old gunman, Erika Kirk told supporters: “The movement my husband built will not die.”Now the organization’s board says Kirk will take her husband’s place as its leader.”The Turning Point Board has unanimously elected Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board,” a post on X said Thursday.”In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death.”Kirk’s death last week sparked a wave of mourning among conservatives for a man they hailed as a champion of free speech and Christian values.President Donald Trump ordered flags to fly at half staff, and Vice President JD Vance flew to collect Kirk’s body from Utah in a highly unusual display of official grief for a civilian.The shooting also laid bare the divisions in American society, with conservatives organizing to punish anyone they deemed was not being sufficiently respectful of Kirk’s death.There have been mulitple reports of people being fired after they made social media posts that cheered his death or mocked Kirk.Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday became the latest scalp when the ABC network said it was suspending his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show indefinitely.That came after conservatives took umbrage at comments Kimmel made about the motive of the alleged shooter, and after the federal government threated to pull broadcast licenses from channels that did not take a stand against him.

Madonna, the best-selling female artist of all time, said Thursday she will release a new dance music album next year.The 67-year-old singer is returning to the Warner Records label, associated with her early hits such as “Like a Virgin” and “Holiday” in the 1980s.She left Warner in 2007 after signing a huge contract with Live Nation records.”I am happy to be reunited and look forward to the future, making music, doing the unexpected while perhaps provoking a few needed conversations,” the seven-time Grammy winner said in a statement.It will be her first studio record in seven years.The album will be produced by Stuart Price, the DJ and songwriter with whom she released “Confessions on a Dance Floor” in 2005.”We are honored to welcome Madonna back home to Warner Records. Madonna isn’t just an artist — she’s the blueprint, the rule-breaker, the ultimate cultural juggernaut,” said Tom Corson and Aaron Bay-Schuck, co-chairmen of Warner Records.Among many other honors, Madonna was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. She has sold more than 400 million records worldwide.

Donald Trump warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “really let me down” after he met Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, the final day of the US president’s historic UK state visit.A day after King Charles III treated him to royal pageantry at Windsor Castle, Trump appeared at a news conference with Starmer and spared him the harsh criticism he has doled out to other leaders — although he suggested the UK leader could use the military to curb immigration. Starmer meanwhile gently nudged Trump on Ukraine and called for more pressure on Putin, as he tries to bridge the divide between Trump and European allies on Kyiv.Trump, who has long been friendly with Putin, then issued a rebuke to the Russian leader for continuing the war. “The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down,” Trump said. “He’s really let me down.”He urged European nations to stop buying Russian oil, saying that “if the price of oil comes down, Putin’s going to drop out of that war”.- ‘Unbreakable bond’ -Referring to Starmer, Trump said “one of our few disagreements” was over the UK’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state.The US leader, embroiled in an immigration crackdown at home, offered his thoughts on immigration in Britain, revealing: “I told the prime minister I would stop it”, even if it meant calling in the military.But for the rest of the time at the prime minister’s official country house north of London, the two leaders seemed on the same page, as Trump hailed America’s “unbreakable bond” with Britain and signed a huge tech cooperation deal with Starmer.At the signing ceremony attended by a host of US tech CEOs, Starmer said he and Trump were “leaders who genuinely like each other”.The deal comes on the back of pledges of £150 billion ($205 billion) of investment into the UK from US giants including Microsoft, Google and Blackstone.Trump had earlier said goodbye to King Charles at Windsor, calling him a “great gentleman and a great king”.The US president and First Lady Melania Trump wrapped up their visit later Thursday, flying out after less than 48 hours on British soil. – ‘Highest honours’ -With investment deals and a deepening alignment on Ukraine to show for the diplomatic effort, Starmer can claim some justification for granting Trump an unprecedented second state visit.But the British leader still faces political trouble at home after sacking his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his connections to disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein.Sex offender Epstein has also haunted Trump in recent weeks with further revelations about the pair’s relationship in the 1990s and early 2000s.Trump, however, helped Starmer out, by claiming not to know Mandelson — despite having hosted the envoy in the Oval Office to seal Britain’s trade deal with the US in May.Trump was lavished with the full pomp of the British state on Wednesday — the second time it has done so, after his first visit in 2019.”This is truly one of the highest honours of my life,” Trump said at the state banquet. The king meanwhile hailed Trump’s peace efforts and support for Ukraine after a day featuring gun salutes, soldiers on horseback and bagpipes — all designed to appeal to the US president’s fascination with royalty.Melania remained in Windsor on Thursday morning, where she met scouts with Princess Catherine, and viewed Queen Mary’s Doll’s House with Queen Camilla.The US first lady’s husband, though, was kept far from the British public, with an estimated 5,000 people marching through central London Wednesday to protest against his visit.