Wednesday’s PBS News Hour covered the Trump administration’s efforts to cut taxpayer funding for PBS and National Public Radio. PBS didn’t present its conservative critics beyond vague generalities, while anchor Amna Nawaz and reporter William Brangham took the opportunity to lobby for themselves.  Anchor Amna Nawaz: As we have been reporting, the Trump administration wants to cut the federal funds that support public media in the U.S., which would impact NPR and PBS and the roughly 1,500 local public media stations across the country. It would, of course, also affect national programs like the "News Hour." The Trump administration has now drafted a memo that could make those cuts happen soon…. Reporter William Brangham was in studio to explain why the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public media outlets like PBS and NPR, was such a good deal for American taxpayers. William Brangham: ….CPB gets about 500 -- a little more than $500 million a year. That costs about $1.50 per year per American. And the administration wants that two-year chunk, which is about a billion dollars, immediately cut…. Brangham explained the rescission process, then passed along warnings from "public media leaders." Brangham: They have been saying across the board that this would be a major, major blow, especially to the large number of small rural stations that are spread all across this country. The head of Alaska Public Media, who testified before Congress earlier this year, said, that if these cuts go through that likely most of the 26 stations spread across Alaska and all the reporters who work for them would have to close. In a show of public media solidarity, Brangham ran a quote from NPR’s interview with NPR's own CEO, Katherine Mayer, warning that without federal funding, the “50-state network that covers 99.7 percent of the American population….is absolutely at risk, the quality of service, the ability to cover everyone, people who live in what would otherwise be news deserts.” Brangham also quoted a statement from PBS’s president and chief executive Paula Kerger emphasizing “hugely important educational programming for children.” PBS briefly noted conservative objections, but failed to devote any actual journalism toward exploring them. Nawaz: And, William, it's worth pointing out too some Republicans have long wanted to cut funding for public media. What is this administration's argument for why they want these cuts now? Brangham: You're right. Republicans have long argued that there is a liberal bias on public media, that conservative voices are excluded or marginalized. The Trump administration makes that argument, and they also make the argument that, by covering issues like race in America, gender issues, LGBTQ issues, that public media is somehow on a campaign to change the culture of America… That's a disingenuous response: PBS and NPR do far more than merely "cover" gender /LGBTQ issues as they come up in the news, but actively promote those left-wing hobby horses. Watching PBS’s 90% slanted coverage of gender and LGBTQ issues would make it clear there’s an agenda to make transgenderism more palatable to the American public while condemning its conservative opponents as bigots. After a clip from Office of Management and Budget head Russell Vought, arguing that NPR and PBS has been “giving us leftist news for decades and cultural indoctrination for the last four or five years,” the segment ended with self-praise. Brangham: We should note, PBS and NPR have consistently been rated some of the most trustworthy and reliable news sources in America. I mean, that is from surveys of public opinion, as well as independent analyses of media bias. And also polls have showed that the audience of public media in America does cover the full political spectrum of this country. Nawaz: Also worth noting, for example, on this program, we regularly invite and host conservative and Republican voices. The Media Research Center has spent decades gathering evidence (encapsulated in multiple studies) that PBS and NPR do not in fact cover the “full political spectrum,” and that its “conservative and Republican voices” are outnumbered by those on the left by a nearly 4-1 ratio. Even that figure understates the true ideological divide: The News Hour’s idea of a Republican is fierce anti-Trumper and Kamala Harris campaigner Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark, a liberal outlet falsely cited as a voice of reason on the right, while the left side is boosted by figures like radical historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat. This pro-PBS pat on the back was brought to you in part by Consumer Cellular. A transcript is available, click "Expand." PBS News Hour 4/17/25 7:40:22 p.m. (ET) Amna Nawaz: As we have been reporting, the Trump administration wants to cut the federal funds that support public media in the U.S., which would impact NPR and PBS and the roughly 1,500 local public media stations across the country. It would, of course, also affect national programs like the "News Hour." The Trump administration has now drafted a memo that could make those cuts happen soon. William Brangham has been following all of this and joins me now. So, William, the administration is asking Congress to cut funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That's a congressionally created entity through which NPR and PBS get federal funding. What are they asking Congress to do here? William Brangham: They're asking Congress to use a process known as rescission, which allows Congress to claw back money that has already been appropriated. And just to back up for a second, CPB is funded on this two-year cycle. And that's by design. Originally, that was to insulate CPB from any political interference. So CPB gets about 500 — a little more than $500 million a year. That costs about $1.50 per year per American. And the administration wants that two-year chunk, which is about a billion dollars, immediately cut. So that's the money that would have been appropriated for the next two fiscal years starting in this fall. Amna Nawaz: So what is the process here? How could this unfold? William Brangham: This is part of a series of rescissions, so that the White House is asking for this money to be cut, as well as money cut from USAID and the U.S. Institute for Peace. Procedurally, this request will go to Congress when they get back from recess at the end of the month. That starts a 45-day period where the House and the Senate can look at this request, they can change it, approve it, deny it. One thing to note, in the Senate, the normal filibuster rules would not apply. So, to pass it, they would only need 51 votes. The GOP has 53 votes in the Senate. So, if they approve those cuts, those would happen starting in October. Amna Nawaz: So if the cuts are approved and if they move forward, what have we been hearing from public media leaders about what kind of impact those cuts could have? William Brangham: They have been saying across the board that this would be a major, major blow, especially to the large number of small rural stations that are spread all across this country. The head of Alaska Public Media, who testified before Congress earlier this year, said, that if these cuts go through that likely most of the 26 stations spread across Alaska and all the reporters who work for them would have to close. NPR's CEO, Katherine Maher, was on NPR today and was asked about some of this. Here's what she had to say. Katherine Maher, CEO, NPR: We get so much value as public media by being part of a 50-state network that covers 99.7 percent of the American population. If federal funding goes away, that network is absolutely at risk, the quality of service, the ability to cover everyone, people who live in what would otherwise be news deserts. And as a result, there's no question that NPR would not be able to pull from that richness of our national coverage. William Brangham: PBS' chief, Paula Kerger, she said in a statement she put out yesterday that PBS produces a lot of hugely important educational programming for children, a wide array of cultural and artistic programs. She also said this — quote — "Rescinding these funds would devastate PBS member stations and the essential role they play in communities, particularly smaller and rural stations who rely on federal funding for a large portion of their budgets." This would also impact national programs like ours, like "Frontline," like "All Things Considered," because part of that federal money goes to local stations, who then use it as fees to pay for the rights to air our programs, so impacts across the entire network. Amna Nawaz: And, William, it's worth pointing out too some Republicans have long wanted to cut funding for public media. What is this administration's argument for why they want these cuts now? William Brangham: You're right. Republicans have long argued that there is a liberal bias on public media, that conservative voices are excluded or marginalized. The Trump administration makes that argument, and they also make the argument that, by covering issues like race in America, gender issues, LGBTQ issues, that public media is somehow on a campaign to change the culture of America. Russell Vought, who is the current head of the Office of Management and Budget and was also a major author of Project 2025, here's how he described it: Russel Vought, Director, Office of Management and Budget: You have the $1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is predominantly the NPR and PBS, which is giving us leftist news for decades and cultural indoctrination for the last four or five years. William Brangham: We should note, PBS and NPR have consistently been rated some of the most trustworthy and reliable news sources in America. I mean, that is from surveys of public opinion, as well as independent analyses of media bias. And also polls have showed that the audience of public media in America does cover the full political spectrum of this country. Amna Nawaz: Also worth noting, for example, on this program, we regularly invite and host conservative and Republican voices. William Brangham, thank you so much for that. William Brangham: Thank you.

On Thursday, two of America’s leading voices for the religious left—CBS’s Stephen Colbert and Sen. Raphael Warnock—joined forces on The Late Show to prepare for Easter by attacking Republicans as un-Christian with some casual Jim Crow and slavery analogies. Colbert asked, “I'm going to ask you a simple question that people doubt sometimes. What is the value of hope?”     While Warnock did answer the question, he used it as an opportunity to dunk on Republicans, “Oh, hope is everything, and when you lose hope, you stop fighting, and there are those right now, I mean we can talk about the cuts and all of these things that I'm happy to talk about that. I think they are trying to push a rather immoral budget through the Congress right now where you rob from the poor in order to give to the rich, but the other—” Colbert interrupted to add, “The famous saying goes: Show me your budget, and I'll show you where the value is.” The guy whose church gave him a nearly $1 million tax-free luxury home, continued, “Yes, it's Robin Hood in reverse, and I think a budget is not just a fiscal document, it's a moral document, but the other thing that’s happening in our country right now is that there are those who are trying to weaponize despair. They’re flooding the zone, and they are hoping you won't fight, and you need to prove them wrong. I still believe that the power in this country really does rest with the people and not the people in power.” Later, Colbert continued with the idea that disagreeing with liberals on economics makes one a bad Christian, “The Bible often talks about caring for the elderly, for the poor. Those who have the least power, the least of my brothers. And why do you think a nation that so frequently wants to describe itself as a Christian nation or one having Judeo-Christian values wants to shirk that collective responsibility to our brothers and sisters?”     Warnock went straight to Jim Crow and slavery comparisons, “Well, you know, that has a long history, and it's frustrating in this moment, but we've seen this before. There were a whole lot of Christians who were on the wrong side of the slavery question, the wrong side of the Jim Crow segregation question, but as I read the scripture, there are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that tell you how to treat the poor.” The pastor whose church will evict you if you miss your rent payment by so much as a day because you accidently had a typo in your payment information or owe as little as $28.55, rolled on: I’m a Matthew 25 Christian. Jesus said, ‘I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was sick. I was in prison, and you visited me,’ and someone said to the master ‘When were you hungry? When were you sick? When were you in prison?’ And he said, ‘Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you’ve also done it also unto me.’ And so what I try to do in my preaching and in my work in the Senate is center the most marginalized members of the human family, center the least of these. Give ordinary people a chance. Warnock may not practice what he preaches, but he does allow Colbert’s liberal audience to feel good about themselves, and for Colbert himself, that is what matters most. Here is a transcript for the April 17-taped show: CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 4/18/2025 12:07 AM ET STEPHEN COLBERT: What's the value, I'm going to ask you a simple question— RAPHAEL WARNOCK: Sure. COLBERT: -- that people doubt sometimes. What is the value of hope? WARNOCK: Oh, hope is everything, and when you lose hope, you stop fighting, and there are those right now, I mean we can talk about the cuts and all of these things that I'm happy to talk about that. I think they are trying to push a rather immoral budget through the Congress right now where you rob from the poor in order to give to the rich, but the other— COLBERT: The famous saying goes: Show me your budget, and I'll show you where the value is. WARNOCK: Yes, it's Robin Hood in reverse, and I think a budget is not just a fiscal document, it's a moral document, but the other thing that’s happening in our country right now is that there are those who are trying to weaponize despair.  They’re flooding the zone, and they are hoping you won't fight, and you need to prove them wrong. I still believe that the power in this country really does rest with the people and not the people in power.  And if a kid who grew up in public housing, number 11 of 12 children, first college graduate in his family can become a United States senator, anything is still possible in America. … COLBERT: The Bible often talks about caring for the elderly, for the poor. Those who have the least power, the least of my brothers.  WARNOCK: That’s right. COLBERT: And why do you think a nation that so frequently wants to describe itself as a Christian nation or one having Judeo-Christian values wants to shirk that collective responsibility to our brothers and sisters? WARNOCK: Well, you know, that has a long history, and it's frustrating in this moment, but we've seen this before. There were a whole lot of Christians who were on the wrong side of the slavery question, the wrong side of the Jim Crow segregation question, but as I read the scripture, there are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible that tell you how to treat the poor. I’m a Matthew 25 Christian. Jesus said, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was sick. I was in prison, and you visited me,” and someone said to the master “When were you hungry? When were you sick? When were you in prison?” And he said, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these, you’ve also done it also unto me.” And so what I try to do in my preaching and in my work in the Senate is center the most marginalized members of the human family, center the least of these. Give ordinary people a chance. Not only is that the right thing to do, as it turns out, very often the right thing to do is the smart thing to do, too. I think our economy will be a whole lot better off if we give tax cuts to ordinary people, middle-class people, working-class people rather than billionaires.

POLL: What was the worst media take of the week? (Vote below)     1. Don Lemon: “Hatred and Bigotry” Is What Makes the “MAGA Wheel Spin” “There’s a reason that there’s so much hate going around. There’s a reason that there’s so much anti-Semitism and so much racism going around….You can place it at the feet of one person [Donald Trump] who didn’t start this but certainly exacerbates it and foments hate and bigotry…. The racism. The bigotry. The anti-Semitism. The transphobia. The homophobia. It certainly does happen on one side more than the other….That’s the thing that makes the MAGA wheel spin. That’s the motor. That’s the axle. Is hatred and bigotry.”— Former CNN anchor Don Lemon discussing arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion as aired on his podcast The Don Lemon Show, April 14.   2. Women Love CEO Killer Because a “Morally Good Man” is “Hard to Find” “So you’re going to see women, especially that feel like, ‘Oh, my god, right. Like, here’s this man [CEO killer Luigi Menagione] who’s a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart. He’s a person that seems this like this morally good man,’ which is hard to find.”— Former Washington Post columnist/New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz to correspondent Donie O’Sullivan on CNN’s Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, April 13.   3. Democrats Should be “Shouting from the Mountain Tops” About Trump “Autocracy” “I know Democrats get a lot of heat from Republicans about being too alarmist and talk about democracy being in peril too much. If we are in the position like we were in the 1930s, do you think talking about that too much is a problem? A collapsed economy is an open door to autocracy and that is what Democrats should be shouting from the mountain tops.”— Boston Globe opinion editor Kimberly Atkins Stohr on NBC’s Meet the Press, April 13.   Loading…   Funded by James P. Jimirro

A deadly shooting rocked Florida State University, Florida, and the country on Thursday. That in itself is heartbreaking as two people were killed and six people were injured. But even as the active shooter situation was still unfolding on the campus, one particular video began making the rounds on social...

Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James was vague and defiant in her first interview since allegations surfaced that she has repeatedly engaged in mortgage fraud.On Thursday, James appeared on "Inside City Hall" with Spectrum NY1 to discuss the allegations, though she apparently did little more than to call them "baseless.""Let me just say to all New Yorkers and to all Americans: The allegations are baseless," she said.When pressed to give more information, James dodged. "As you know, as any good attorney, I will not litigate this case in a camera," she replied."It is important that we respond to these allegations at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way."James also went on the attack, characterizing herself as one of many victims "targeted" by President Donald Trump and his "revenge tour.""I will not be silenced. I will not be bullied. I will not bend. I will not break. And I will not bow to anyone. No one is above the law, including the president of these United States," she insisted."I will not go back and forth with respect to these baseless allegations. I am more focused again on standing up for freedom, liberties, and the rule of law in the state of New York."James seemed less confident and bombastic on Wednesday, just one day before the Spectrum NY interview, when she ducked the media outside her Brooklyn residence by pretending to be on the phone, the New York Post reported. The outlet described the phone ploy as "inartful."Law professor Jonathan Turley indicated that the evidence against James is not only 'pretty straightforward' but 'quite damning.'James may claim that the allegations swirling about are "baseless," but other legal scholars aren't so sure. On Fox News Tuesday night, law professor Jonathan Turley indicated that the evidence against James is not only "pretty straightforward" but "quite damning."In August 2023, James, 66, and a relative purchased a home in Norfolk, Virginia. In documents tied to the purchase, James pledged to use the home as her "principal residence," an apparent violation of a New York statute that requires all statewide officeholders to reside in New York, as Blaze News previously reported.James has also allegedly violated the terms of her investment property in Brooklyn, claiming it has only four units when previous documentation indicates it has five. According to William Pulte, the director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, the purpose of fudging the number of units would be to secure a conforming loan from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To qualify for a conforming loan, a property may have no more than four units.Pulte further alleged that James even went so far as to list her father as her husband to secure a mortgage loan in 1983. In forms dated May 2000, "Ms. James was listed again as 'husband and wife,'" according to Pulte, though whether her father was also mentioned in those documents is unclear.Pulte sent a letter this week, recommending that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche look into whether James committed wire, mail, and bank fraud and made false statements to a financial institution, among other crimes.Despite this alleged history of falsifying real estate documents for better lending terms, James ruthlessly targeted Trump in a lawfare campaign that began shortly after he left office at the end of his first term. Turley joked that she "prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress."She even brazenly sued Trump and the Trump Organization for allegedly overvaluing properties to secure better terms with banks and insurance companies. The irony that James now faces similar accusations is "perfectly crushing," Turley said.Turley also cautioned that in her relentless pursuit of Trump, James set a standard that she may not be able to meet herself. "She insisted that these technicalities matter and that the powerful should not be given a free pass," Turley explained. "Well, that bill has come due."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Train Sim World 5 fans won't want to miss out on Humble's latest b-rail-liant bundle. The Train Sim World 5: Route Remix bundle offers 10 DLC packs, which include add-ons for new locomotives, routes, and cosmetics for the train simulation game, for as little as $15 / £11.37. That's enough content to keep you chugging along for hours. Continue reading Pay just $15 for this huge $283 Train Sim World 5 DLC bundle

El Salvador President Posts What Happens Now That Sen. Van Hollen Confirmed US Deportee Is Healthy

The PS1 has a phenomenal library of games, and many of its series are still alive and well today. We have games like Tomb Raider and Metal Gear Solid that are just as relevant today as ever.

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Often, you'll see games with such beautiful, crisp art that it makes what you can do personally feel underwhelming, but I want you to know that not every game is a flawless masterclass in artwork.