The suspect accused of setting Mississippi’s oldest synagogue on fire admitted to starting the blaze because of the building’s “Jewish ties,” and even laughed about the horrific crime, according to an FBI affidavit, saying, “he finally got them.” The criminal complaint submitted by the FBI listed Stephen Spencer Pittman as the man who lit a fire inside Beth Israel Congregation and the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi, over the weekend. Security video shows a man pouring what appears to be gasoline inside the synagogue in the early hours of January 10, according to the affidavit. Pittman’s father contacted the FBI, telling the agency his son admitted to the crime. Per the report, Pittman called the buildings he burned the “synagogue of Satan” and laughed as he described what he did. In his confession, he said he stopped at a gas station to get the fuel he used to start the fire, took his license plate off his car at the gas station, broke the windows of the synagogue with an axe, poured gas inside the building, then used a torch lighter to ignite the fire. The confession was further verified by burns on Pittman’s body as well as text messages and map data that put Pittman at the center of the arson, per the affidavit. Pittman texted his father before he started the fire. He sent a picture of the synagogue with the message “there’s a furnace in the back.” The suspect’s father “pleaded” with Pittman to come home, but his son was defiant and told his father he was due for a home run, and he “did his research.” Pittman was quickly arrested and charged with maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive, per the report that was filed in the U.S. District Court in Mississippi on Monday. The fire severely burned parts of the synagogue, including the library and administrative offices. RELATED: Mississippi’s Largest Synagogue Set Ablaze In Arson Attack, Suspect In Custody Two Torahs were destroyed in the fire, and five others were damaged. One of the Torahs that survived the fire over the weekend also survived the Holocaust and was stored in a glass case in the synagogue. Jackson Fire Chief RaSean Thomas said the station’s hearts are with the Beth Israel congregation. “We stand with this community and affirm that hate has no home here. Jackson is stronger when we stand together,” Thomas said. Monday, yellow police tape still blocked off entrances to the synagogue building, which still had broken glass and soot everywhere, per the Associated Press. The outlet reported that people had laid flowers on the ground at the building’s entrance. Beth Israel is Mississippi’s only synagogue in Jackson. It has a history of being the target of hate crimes dating back to the 1960s when the KKK bombed the synagogue. Antisemitic attacks have risen dramatically in recent years, from the Tree of Life shooting in 2018 to the Bondi Beach terror attack just before Christmas. The Anti-Defamation League reported over 9,000 documented anti-semitic attacks in 2024 alone — the highest number on record since they began tracking such data in 1979. Beth Israel is closed indefinitely as the synagogue is rebuilt.

Two Senate Republicans are standing in the way of efforts to eliminate a major DEI program that gives no-bid federal contracts to “socially disadvantaged” groups, a letter obtained by The Daily Wire shows. Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan wrote to agencies saying that a race-based program that removes competition for federal contracts for racial minorities “has reflected conservative, market-based principles by empowering small businesses to compete, grow, and succeed.” They said a Republican request that agencies review past contracts for “potential fraud” was “premature” and “unsupported by established facts.” The Trump administration’s Small Business Administration moved to rein in the federal minority contracting program, known as 8(a), after a black businessman bribed a USAID official for half a billion dollars in contracts — a bribe the official could make good on only because contracts to minorities can be handed out at will instead of based on a showing of best value. In October, James O’Keefe’s Citizen Journalism Foundation captured officials from a white-led, but ostensibly Native American contractor, bragging about how they got a $100 million contract using minority preference and simply found someone else to do the actual work for a small portion of that. Follow-up reporting featured members of the Native American tribe bemoaning that outsiders were abusing the tribe’s name to enrich themselves, while tribe members lived in poverty. Alaska Natives get even more preferential treatment than black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans, allowing them to run multibillion-dollar defense contractor companies while getting benefits initially designed for small, disadvantaged firms. In December, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, which has jurisdiction over the program, wrote to agencies asking them to “immediately pause all 8(a) sole-source contracting” and “examine all 8(a) set-aside contracts awarded by your agency since FY 20 for any violation of laws and regulations,” noting that the Biden administration raised the goal for minority contracts to 15%. For years, inquiries have flagged fraud and abuse in such arrangements, but Alaska Republicans have used their disproportionate power in the Senate to make the topic off-limits. The now-deceased Ted Stevens was an Alaska Republican who chaired the Senate’s Appropriations Committee for years, and Murkowski now sits on the committee. Before the DEI craze captured Democrats, it wasn’t partisan to point out waste and abuse. In 2010, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) found abuse similar to what was highlighted by O’Keefe. But Murkowski “immediately sprung into action, lodging objections” to McCaskill’s effort to reform the program. McCaskill folded, but said, “Reform in this area is going to happen. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.” In the time since, little has changed. In 2011, The Washington Post reported that a D.C. lawyer named Paralee White had used the Alaska program to land more than $500 million in military contracts and pay her family members lavish salaries. The Post noted, “Significantly for White, the subsidiaries set up by the corporations to receive contracts did not have to operate in Alaska or even be run by natives. They just had to be 51 percent owned by Alaska Natives, and they could hire nonnative subcontractors to do much of the work.” In another case, a Bethesda, Maryland, man was paid $15 million to run an Alaskan government contractor for three years, while Alaska Natives received a total of $682,000 in dividends in 2009, or $305 each. The company won a contract to make military uniforms, which it manufactured in Puerto Rico instead of Alaska. Sullivan and Murkowski did not publicize their letters to federal agencies, which goes against Republican orthodoxy when it comes to DEI and fraud and waste. A spokesman for Murkowski, Joseph Plesha, did not respond when The Daily Wire asked about the letter. The inquiry asked: “Do you think the SBA and agencies have done a sufficient job rooting out abuse? If not, what are some examples that you’ve uncovered through your oversight? Do you support 8(a) for all minorities or only Alaskan natives?” It also asked whether the type of Alaska Native Corporation that Murkowski holds up as a success includes Bowhead, virtually all of whose executives are white men. Bowhead is technically an arm of an Alaskan tribe, but it is headquartered in the D.C. suburbs, and its family of high-tech defense contractors looks and operates like Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin — but without having to compete with them on price. A spokeswoman for Sen. Sullivan, Amanda Coyne, also did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry requesting data showing that such firms were actually staffed by Alaska Natives. The letter said the 8(a) program “reduces administrative burden, shortens acquisition timelines, and avoids the delays and litigation risks that often accompany large-scale procurements. Further, as two Senators who care about the readiness of our military, we consistently hear from top Pentagon officials that the 8(a) Program provides flexibility and timeliness in procuring weapons systems that strengthen our country.” The reason that some government officials like using 8(a) contracting is that they do not have to bother with competing for the work, a process designed to get the highest quality and lowest cost. Instead, they can simply choose who they want to give it to. At times, that includes the implicit understanding that the supposedly disadvantaged firm will subcontract much of the work to a traditional firm. The 8(a) program is also facing court challenges, particularly after recent Supreme Court decisions made it likely that elements of it are unconstitutional. Multiple injunctions have been put in place by judges, and a lawsuit by lawyers from the Center for Individual Rights and the Wisconsin Institute for Life and Liberty has recently been filed on behalf of white people who were left out in the cold. Dan Lennington, the director of the Wisconsin group’s Equality Under the Law Project, told The Daily Wire, “There is simply no question that the 8(a) program has been the source of significant waste, fraud, and abuse. The program was designed for ‘economically disadvantaged’ small business owners, yet our clients have reported that these limits are not enforced and easily evaded, meaning that high net-worth individuals often scoop up preferences and sole-source contracts.” “Moreover, the Section 8(a) program has been tainted with unconstitutional racial preferences, including racial preferences for ‘Alaska Natives,’ which Senators Murkowski and Sullivan undoubtedly support. Federal law defines this category based on ‘blood,’ ‘bloodlines,’ and ‘minimum blood quantum,’ all of which constitute unconstitutional racial categorizations. SBA should vigorously enforce the President’s Executive Orders, which require all agencies to eliminate racial preferences, including those remaining in Section 8(a),” he continued. Murkowski and Sullivan’s letter read: Fraud, waste, and abuse have no place in federal programs, and any participant who violates the law should be held fully accountable. However, we write to express serious concern with recent, unsubstantiated attacks on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program and the request that federal agencies halt all 8(a) sole-source awards absent verified findings of wrongdoing. On December 8, 2025, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship sent letters to 22 federal agencies urging a pause on future 8(a) sole-source awards and a review of prior awards based on allegations of “potential fraud.” These requests are premature, unsupported by established facts, and risk significant harm to federal missions and thousands of compliant small businesses that lawfully participate in this program. Broad, sensationalized allegations leveled before the completion of any investigation amount to a presumption of guilt and undermine fundamental principles of due process. For more than 40 years, the 8(a) Program, authorized under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, has been one of the federal government’s most effective tools for promoting entrepreneurship and economic mobility for disadvantaged communities. Participating firms routinely deliver high-quality, specialized services, achieve strong Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) performance ratings, and provide agencies with cost-effective, timely procurement options. The program reduces administrative burden, shortens acquisition timelines, and avoids the delays and litigation risks that often accompany large-scale procurements. Further, as two Senators who care about the readiness of our military, we consistently hear from top Pentagon officials that the 8(a) Program provides flexibility and timeliness in procuring weapons systems that strengthen our country. We fully support targeted, evidence-based oversight that identifies and removes bad actors. We cannot support sweeping actions that jeopardize thousands of legitimate businesses, many of which perform mission-critical work for your agency and others across the federal government. Accordingly, we urge you to continue utilizing the 8(a) Program consistent with existing law and regulation, while allowing any appropriate reviews to proceed in an orderly and fact-driven manner. For decades, this program has reflected conservative, market-based principles by empowering small businesses to compete, grow, and succeed, rather than expanding government dependence on bureaucracy. Editor’s note: Luke Rosiak testified to the Senate Committee on Small Business about 8(a) contract abuse.

'I think she completely whiffed'

'We got to get violent, people'

Paramount Skydance Corp. is actively pursuing new strategic partnerships as part of a broader effort to reinvent MTV and restore relevance to the once‑dominant music network. According to reports, the company has begun discussions with CONTINUE READING... The post Paramount is Exploring Strategic Partnerships to Revive MTV appeared first on The Retro Network.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Republican House candidates in purple districts who support changing the childhood vaccine schedule could pay the price in midterms, according to new data from President Donald Trump’s go-to pollster, FabrizioWard. “In the districts that will decide the control of the House of Representatives next year, Republican and Democratic candidates who support eliminating long standing vaccine requirements will pay a price in the elections,” says a Nov. 3 memo obtained by The Daily Signal. FabrizioWard, a polling firm led by Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward, surveyed 1,000 voters in the 35 most competitive congressional districts on their attitudes toward recommended vaccines. This comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it has updated the childhood immunization schedule to recommend 11, rather than 17, shots for children. The generic Congressional ballot in the 35 most competitive districts was a “statistical dead-heat with Democrats holding a two-point edge.” But “If the Republican candidate supported the elimination of long-standing vaccine recommendations, the ballot margin shifts a net 12-points in the Democrat’s favor, with the GOP candidate trailing by 14-points,” the memo says. In the 35 districts in question, if the Democratic candidate is against the standing vaccine recommendations, their 2-point lead slides a net 20-points with the Republican leading by 18-points. “The negative movement for the candidate in either party scenario is even more dire among Swing voters – those voters who say they don’t typically vote along straight party lines –slipping a net 22-points for the Republican vaccine skeptic, and a net 31-points for the Democrat vaccine skeptic,” the memo says. “Vaccine skepticism is bad politics,” FabrizioWard concludes. FabrizioWard found that the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement is popular across party lines with the exception of vaccine skepticism. Voters in the 25 competitive districts resonated with MAHA food policy, with nine in 10 voters for both Trump and Kamala Harris saying the government should require labeling of harmful ingredients and chemicals in ultra-processed foods. “At the other end of the spectrum, vaccine skepticism, that is the removal of established childhood vaccine recommendations for diseases like whooping cough, measles, hepatitis and others is rejected by the overwhelming number of voters, resonates with just one-in-five voters, and just a third of self-described MAHA voters,” the memo says. “Vaccine skepticism is an outlier, not a defining policy, of the Make America Healthy Again movement, which has very popular elements with appeal across the political spectrum in these most competitive districts,” FabrizioWard writes. The polling firm found broad support for childhood vaccines, including Hepatitis B, Shingles, and whooping cough. More than seven-in-ten voters in these districts from across the political spectrum say the benefits of common vaccines like MMR (83%), TDAP (77%), Hepatitis B (73%), and shingles (73%), outweigh the risks. For each vaccine, this includes more than six-in-ten MAHA voters. Under the new guidance, the CDC recommends that all children get vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hib, pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, HPV, and chickenpox. The rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines have been removed from the schedule. No vaccine has been banned due to the change, and insurance will continue to cover the previously recommended 17. FabrizioWard did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment. The post Trump Pollster Warns Anti-Vax Sentiment Could Spell Trouble for Republicans in Midterms appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Arson Destroys Oldest and Largest Synagogue in Mississippi

'They Want the Government to Be God': Scott Baio and the Anti-Communist Film Festival

On CBS’s streaming service, former CBS Evening News host Norah O’Donnell sounded more like a propagandist for Iranian state television during her Monday interview with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran. Throughout the interview, O’Donnell blamed Pahlavi for the reported 2,000 deaths of Iranian civilians (a growing number), suggested that trying to overthrow the government was pointless because the Islamic regime was as strong as ever, and tried to discredit him as a possible leader of the country one day. The interview started cordial enough with questions about the internet black out and talks with President Trump. But after Pahlavi talked about stabilizing relations with Iran’s regional neighbors and America, O’Donnell pivoted to being hostile. O’Donnell attacked Pahlavi by accusing him of being responsible for getting Iranian civilians killed with his calls for protests and uprisings, not the radical Islamists who were actually doing the killing: And as you are urging people to protest and go to the streets, the death toll is rising in Iran. This violent crackdown continues just as it has in past attempted revolutions. I mean, is it responsible to be sending citizens in Iran to their deaths? Do you bear some responsibility?   CBS's Norah O'Donnell asks Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is he bears responsibility for getting Iranian civilians murdered by the Islamic regime of Iran with his calls to protest: "And as you are urging people to protest and go to the streets, the death toll is rising in… pic.twitter.com/QedMX4kHVy — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 12, 2026   Pahlavi noted that every war had casualties and their fight for liberation would be no different, and that their fight would be the last one where the government would turn on its citizens. He might have struck a nerve when he argued that President Trump was set to do more for the Iranians that Democratic  Presidents Obama and Biden, who threw them under the bus: I think President Trump is responding to the call that the Iranian people have. The Iranian people have heard his words. They are naming streets after him in Iran. There's a difference. They know he's no Barack Obama or Joe Biden. And that's why they do have a higher expectation. O’Donnell followed up by rhetorically scoffing at the Iranians who were chanting Pahlavi’s name in the streets. Citing an article from the Wall Street Journal, she sniped: “Few analysts think Pahlavi has a real path to the throne or leadership in Iran. His improved reputation in recent years says more about the mounting discontent with the Islamic Republic than it does about a genuine desire by Iranians for a return of the monarchy, analysts said.”   O'Donnell rhetorically scoffs at the Iranians in the streets chanting for Pahlavi to be their leader. Reading from the WSJ, O'Donnell says: ""'Few analysts think Pahlavi has a real path to the throne or leadership in Iran. His improved reputation in recent years says more about… pic.twitter.com/qhmO6L97HH — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 12, 2026   “Well, it is interesting the way you characterize it,” he quipped, “because if the people did not actually believe that I can be the person doing that for them or the person to be trusted, there wouldn't be in the millions on the streets of Iran, in the four corners of Iran, chanting my name and asking my return. They do.” Pahlavi went on to explain that his vision was to have the Iranian people choose everything about how they would be governed and who would govern them (Click “expand”): And in terms of the political alternative, it's a constitutional process. The interim government would be able to organize free elections so the people can send their representative in a constituent assembly to ultimately debate what ought to be and the final form that the future democratic secular system in Iran should take. I'm not here to advocate for a republic or a monarchy. I'm here to be the honest broker above the fray in complete neutrality, making sure, however, that we have a fully transparent democratic transition. But the expectation of Iranians is to be able to have a smooth transition, to be able to have a stable transition. Proving that patriotism and love-of-country was a foreign concept to her, O’Donnell claimed not to understand what Pahlavi meant when he proclaimed over the weekend that he was willing to die for Iran. He had to educate her (Click "expand"): O’DONNELL: Forgive me, Reza, I heard you say over the weekend that you are willing to die for this cause. What does that mean? PAHLAVI: Yes! But look, the first time I was ready to die for a cause. When I volunteered to join the Iranian Air Force during the Iraqi attack on Iran and the breaking of the Iran-Iraq war, when the revolutionary government of Khomeini was already in place. My patriotic duty was asking me to, as a pilot, to go and fight alongside my military brethren. In that war, I was prepared to die then. I'm prepared to die now. There is no greater cause than the liberty.   O'Donnell doesn't understand what Pahlavi means when he says he's willing to die for his country and in bringing down the Islamic regime: "Forgive me, Reza, I heard you say over the weekend that you are willing to die for this cause. What does that mean?" pic.twitter.com/1Ep3lKykqn — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 12, 2026   Increasingly sounding like a puppet for the Islamic regime, O’Donnell insisted that trying to overthrow the government was pointless because the Islamic regime was as strong as ever: Reza, when I have talked to my sources in the region about what is happening in Iran, they point out that there has been this cycle that we talked about starting with the Green Revolution in 2009, and every year, and what occurs is people rise up in Iran wanting change. And then there is this violent crackdown with hundreds, thousands killed, and then it fizzles out because there are not cracks in the regime. There is not a crack and fissure within the elite. What can you say today that makes this any different? There's no sign yet that there have been any cracks in the regime. Pahlavi told her that her anonymous sources were wrong. “Well, that's not accurate. There has been cracks in the regime. Defections are beginning to occur,” he said. “In fact, as I said, there have been an outreach of elements that have already said that are prepared to do that. There are significant levels of authority both in the armed forces side, as well as the civilians. They know that this regime is on the verge of collapse.”   O'Donnell suggests that this new attempt to overthrow the Islamic regime is pointless: O'DONNELL: Reza, when I have talked to my sources in the region about what is happening in Iran, they point out that there has been this cycle that we talked about starting with the Green… pic.twitter.com/1DhO9mEq7p — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 12, 2026   O’Donnell tried to further discredit Pahlavi as the opposition leader by citing a TIME magazine gripe that he was too close with the world leaders he wanted Iran to normalize relations with: I want to allow you to respond to this. He wrote this, quote, ‘the Islamic Republic couldn't ask for a better foil than Pahlavi. His visibility allows the regime to portray protesters as tools of foreign powers, and the discredited monarchy. Every photo-op in Washington, every meeting with Israeli officials, every call for international intervention reinforces the regime's narrative and undermines the legitimacy of the protests.’ “So again, what legitimacy do you have as the as the opposition and a potential leader of the transition?” she pressed. “Well, again, I refer you to what the people are asking for on the streets. Whose name are they writing on the walls? Whose name are they chanting in the streets?” he shot back.   O'Donnell tries to discredit Pahlavi for being the voice of the Iranian people outside the country and encouraging them to rise up: O'DONNELL: And with you publicly calling for these protests and saying that you will be the leader of this transition, you have made yourself the… pic.twitter.com/fnjFrcd5JG — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 12, 2026   Pahlavi went on to call out “the apologists for the regime” and their narrative trying to discredit him (Click “expand”): That's the reality on the ground. And I don't think that the regime, in any kind of trickery or the apologists for the regime – and we know who they are – who have for long, tried to lobby against Iranians who tried to liberate their country and tried to justify why this regime has to continue to be in place, won't be able to have a true case to offer. My case is made by the people in Iran themselves, and I'm just there to help them. And I know we will succeed, despite the regime's attempts to try to discredit me or the movement in whatever ambitions that they have in creating a false narrative of the reality. Seems like we could now include Norah O’Donnell in that category. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CBS News 24/7 January 12, 2026 2:40:35 p.m. Eastern (…) NORAH O’DONNELL: And as you are urging people to protest and go to the streets, the death toll is rising in Iran. This violent crackdown continues just as it has in past attempted revolutions. I mean, is it responsible to be sending citizens in Iran to their deaths? Do you bear some responsibility? REZA PAHLAVI (Iranian Crown Prince): As I said, as I said, as I said, this is a war, and war has casualties. In fact, in order to preserve and protect and minimize the death toll, minimize innocent victims yet again be killed by this regime, action is needed. The regime is going to try and brutalize its citizenry as it has always done. But we are in a fight for liberation. I didn't ask the people to come to the streets to fight for or against the regime, because I want it so. They asked me to step in to help them and to be their voice on the outside world, to do everything that we can so we make this uprising successful this time. And I think we have some serious leaders that understand what is necessary, that understand the ask of the Iranian people and are responding to that. I think President Trump is responding to the call that the Iranian people have. The Iranian people have heard his words. They are naming streets after him in Iran. There's a difference. They know he's no Barack Obama or Joe Biden. And that's why they do have a higher expectation. (…) 2:44:09 p.m. Eastern O’DONNELL: Reza, one thing we have talked about is what is different about this particular revolution or this uprising? And one thing is that now many of the protests are rallying behind you, chanting slogans with your name in it. And I know you have talked about wanting to lead a transition, but I want to ask you about that, because here is what the Wall Street Journal wrote over the weekend. They said this: ‘The 65-year-old Pahlavi’s prominence is a departure from previous bouts of protest, when the heir to the controversial dynasty was rarely referenced. His father, who ruled Iran from the 1940s, was widely despised in Iran for his autocratic rule, his political repression, and what critics saw as his subservience to the U.S. Few analysts think Pahlavi has a real path to the throne or leadership in Iran. His improved reputation in recent years says more about the mounting discontent with the Islamic Republic than it does about a genuine desire by Iranians for a return of the monarchy, analysts said.” So, I want to allow you to respond to that. Reza. Why would you be the right person to lead such a transition? And why should people trust you to return the country of 90 million people and bring them towards a democracy? PAHLAVI: Well, it is interesting the way you characterize it, because if the people did not actually believe that I can be the person doing that for them or the person to be trusted, there wouldn't be in the millions on the streets of Iran, in the four corners of Iran, chanting my name and asking my return. They do. And that should be indicative of the reality on the ground. (…) 2:46:12 p.m. Eastern PAHLAVI: And in terms of the political alternative, it's a constitutional process. The interim government would be able to organize free elections so the people can send their representative in a constituent assembly to ultimately debate what ought to be and the final form that the future democratic secular system in Iran should take. I'm not here to advocate for a republic or a monarchy. I'm here to be the honest broker above the fray in complete neutrality, making sure, however, that we have a fully transparent democratic transition. But the expectation of Iranians is to be able to have a smooth transition, to be able to have a stable transition. (…) 2:50:14 p.m. Eastern O’DONNELL: Forgive me, Reza, I heard you say over the weekend that you are willing to die for this cause. What does that mean? PAHLAVI: Yes! But look, the first time I was ready to die for a cause. When I volunteered to join the Iranian Air Force during the Iraqi attack on Iran and the breaking of the Iran-Iraq war, when the revolutionary government of Khomeini was already in place. My patriotic duty was asking me to, as a pilot, to go and fight alongside my military brethren. in that war. I was prepared to die then. I'm prepared to die now. There is no greater cause than the liberty. And what is my life when I'm thinking of millions of young Iranians who today call my name? This young girl who a doctor in Tehran was operating on because she was shot in the face with bullets that had broken her jaw. The doctor said, ‘where are you going?’ She said, ‘I'm going back to the street. I'm going back and I'm going to the streets. So that and I wait until Reza, my leader, comes back and saves us.’ That's the degree of commitment they have. How could I not possibly be unprepared to die for them, to die for liberty, to die for saving our nation? I am prepared to do that. I've trained for it all my life. I prepared for it all my life. And maybe this is the time that I can be there alongside them to fight the final battle. O’DONNELL: Reza, when I have talked to my sources in the region about what is happening in Iran, they point out that there has been this cycle that we talked about starting with the Green Revolution in 2009, and every year, and what occurs is people rise up in Iran wanting change. And then there is this violent crackdown with hundreds, thousands killed, and then it fizzles out because there are not cracks in the regime. There is not a crack and fissure within the elite. What can you say today that makes this any different? There's no sign yet that there have been any cracks in the regime. PAHLAVI: Well, that's not accurate. There has been cracks in the regime. Defections are beginning to occur. In fact, as I said, there have been an outreach of elements that have already said that are prepared to do that. There are significant levels of authority both in the armed forces side, as well as the civilians. They know that this regime is on the verge of collapse. They need to be ensured that they can really have a place in the transition, a place beyond this regime. And that's exactly the kind of dialog we have with those elements. Khamenei the first thing that happened during the 12-Day War, he was hidden underground in a bunker. They are gearing up to escape from the country. They are loading up planes to take off and maybe end up in exiling themselves. That's how close it is. This is -- When we get Intel from inside the secret meetings within – We call it beta rahbari, which is the supreme leader's sort of inner circle of decision making. There's a lot of demoralized people sitting right there, including Khamenei himself. As I said, they are just using brutality just to hope that they can yet again intimidate the country and in total obscurity, go ahead and do whatever they want to do. But what's different this time is people have had it. They are committed to liberate themselves. And I think Iranians know that unlike the past, that they were thrown under the bus at least under two different administrations. The first time in 2009, and Barack Obama was in charge. And lately, under the Biden administration, which basically gave the regime in a mode of appeasement, an opportunity to gather second steam. It's not going to happen this time. It's too much at stake to let this regime survive. It's not just us knowing it. I think many serious leaders in the world know that. And that's the difference between what happened before and the way it can happen this time. O’DONNELL: And with you publicly calling for these protests and saying that you will be the leader of this transition, you have made yourself the face of this opposition in many ways. And I want to ask you, because Bobby Ghosh of TIME magazine calls you a Pahlavi. Pretenders and says that you lack any meaningful organization with Iran. I want to allow you to respond to this. He wrote this, quote, ‘the Islamic Republic couldn't ask for a better foil than Pahlavi. His visibility allows the regime to portray protesters as tools of foreign powers, and the discredited monarchy. Every photo-op in Washington, every meeting with Israeli officials, every call for international intervention reinforces the regime's narrative and undermines the legitimacy of the protests.’ So again, what legitimacy do you have as the as the opposition and a potential leader of the transition? PAHLAVI: Well, again, I refer you to what the people are asking for on the streets. Whose name are they writing on the walls? Whose name are they chanting in the streets? I mean, I'm sure you have monitored the footages that came up in Iran in the last few weeks. Of course, the regime is going to try to build a narrative that will discredit me or attack me. In fact, they’ve committed agents to do exactly that. And for mainstream media to then again buy into that false narrative. But I refer you to the people on the streets in Iran, in the four corners. There are very clear in what they're asking and identifying with who they want them to lead in the process. And yours truly. His name is the only name that appears. I'm not saying this because I'm trying to cash in anything. I'm just telling you this is why I respond to their call and I accept their ask for me to play my role in helping them in that process. That's the reality on the ground. And I don't think that the regime, in any kind of trickery or the apologists for the regime – and we know who they are – who have for long, tried to lobby against Iranians who tried to liberate their country and tried to justify why this regime has to continue to be in place, won't be able to have a true case to offer. My case is made by the people in Iran themselves, and I'm just there to help them. And I know we will succeed, despite the regime's attempts to try to discredit me or the movement in whatever ambitions that they have in creating a false narrative of the reality. (…)

In an episode of The Barbara Gaines Show posted on Friday, former CBS’s Late Show host David Letterman was in old-man-yells-at-the-clouds mood as he lamented the impending cancellation of his old show and seethed over CBS News as now being run by “idiots” — ostensibly referring to Paramount Skydance chairman David Ellison and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss — who’ve “eviscerated” and “pissed on” the network’s legacy. Yes, David, CBS News is now a disaster because their editor-in-chief believes in a fidelity to the facts, ensuring multiple perspectives are heard, and understanding trust in the press is at record lows. Oh, and because their new CBS Evening News anchor in Tony Dokoupil shares the same values? ICYMI: This rant from David Letterman about how much he loves Jimmy Kimmel and that CBS News has been "eviscerated" and its legacy "pissed on" by new management (aka Bari Weiss and David Ellison) gives off serious old-man-yelling-at-the-clouds vibes pic.twitter.com/argVt2875a — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 12, 2026 “By the way, what about those idiots at CBS? The — the CBS News is a wreck,” he whined. Gaines concurred, blurting out that “oh, they ruined it.” Letterman continued on: “It’s just gone. CBS News for decades, going back to World War II, before World War II — they would be — Ed Murrow would be broadcasting the blitz of London from the rooftop of, of buildings in London for CBS Radio.” This went into his thesis, so to speak, that CBS News has been “pissed on, and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over” and they have been “hurting my feelings”: [A]nd it was that mentality that drove the integrity of CBS News that has been trampled on, pissed on, and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over. And I’m at a point now where it’s — it really is hurting my feelings because I’m sick and tired of people saying, oh, wait till those midterms. Kids, we’re far downstream of the midterms having any effect on this. Again, the sins being alleged here are largely the hypothetical (with Weiss’s tenets of journalism and Dokoupil’s New Years Day commentary on social media) and one of its newscasts, the CBS Evening News. 60 Minutes? Outside of Weiss pulling the shoddy story about CECOT, it’s still been on the left. CBS Mornings? Liberals are still (largely) ruling the roost there! And Face the Nation? The Margaret Brennan show? That’s not changing so long as she’s there. Prior to that mini-tangent, Letterman gushed how he “love[s] Jimmy Kimmel” and claimed the far-left ABC late-night host had “single-handedly brought the people at Disney and all of those other network television owners to their knees” by bringing him back from his five-day time-out (which apparently was akin to murder, or something). He argued that, by winning a Critics Choice Award, Kimmel made his bosses “seem and appeared to be the fools they are” for having suspended him for his comments about the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk. After throwing NBC’s Late Night host Seth Meyers a bone as also “very good,” Letterman cartoonishly claimed “we’re running out of places where you hear these voices” in light of this May’s cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (as though they don’t already dominate the awards shows, comedy world, and wider entertainment industrial complex). Before going into the CBS rant, Kimmel claimed without evidence that “if we had a president who was a Democrat and behaved the way this Republican President is behaving, Jimmy would be attacking the Democrat president just as much as he attacks.” “So, it’s not like it’s all politically driven. It’s driven by the behavior of the person in the office,” he added. Our Alex Christy did, in fact, a comparison between political jokes from the first 100 days of the second Trump presidency and the first 100 days of the Joe Biden regime. It turns out that late-night shows are not late-night equal offenders as Christy’s data showed Kimmel and his buddies “still joked about Trump far more often than Biden at a 385-88, or an 81 percent clip over 95 episodes. To see the relevant transcript from The Barbara Gaines Show, click “expand.” The Barbara Gaines Show January 9, 2026 5:47 mark DAVID LETTERMAN: Let’s talk a little bit about Jimmy Kimmel. BARBARA GAINES: Yeah, I love Jimmy Kimmel. LETTERMAN: I love Jimmy Kimmel too. Here’s the thing, what people don’t understand is Jimmy Kimmel single-handedly brought the people at Disney and all of those other network television owners to their knees. Jimmy Kimmel single-handedly made them — GAINES: He — he won a Critics Choice Award. MARY BARKLEY: Yes, he did. Yeah. LETTERMAN: — won a Critics Choice Award, made — made them seem and appeared to be the fools they are, and continues to call attention to the plight and — and also Seth Meyers, he’s very good. GAINES: Right. LETTERMAN: And I’m telling you, we’re running out of places where you hear these voices. BARKLEY: Right. LETTERMAN: And — and Stephen Colbert in that franchise, adios. [SCREEN WIPE] And let me just say one thing, if we had a — a — a president who was a Republican, I’m sorry, who was a Democrat, let’s just say if we had a president who was a Democrat and behaved the way this Republican President is behaving, Jimmy would be attacking the Democrat president just as much as he attacks. GAINES: Yes, of course. LETTERMAN: So it’s not like it’s all politically driven. It’s driven by the behavior of the person in the office. BARKLEY: Yeah. [SCREEN WIPE] LETTERMAN: By the way, what about those idiots at CBS? The — the CBS News is a wreck. BARKLEY: Yeah. GAINES: Oh, they ruined it. LETTERMAN: It’s just gone. CBS News for decades, going back to —  GAINES: The Tiffany network LETTERMAN: — World War II, before World War II — they would be — Ed Murrow would be broadcasting the blitz of London GAINES: Right. LETTERMAN: — from the rooftop of, of buildings in London for CBS Radio and it was that mentality that drove the integrity of CBS News that has been trampled on, pissed on, and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over. GAINES: Yep. LETTERMAN: And I’m at a point now where it’s — it really is hurting my feelings because I’m sick and tired of people saying, oh, wait till those midterms. Kids, we’re far downstream of the midterms having any effect on this.