Monday’s PBS News Hour fell into the footsteps of its fellow public media outlet NPR, raising alarm over purported “hateful rhetoric” by the Republican Party against Muslims. The online title: “Anti-Islamic rhetoric from GOP politicians sparks concerns over religious hatred.” The opening graphic behind co-anchor Geoff Bennett read “Islamophobia in America.” Yes, after weeks of attacks on Jews and others by Muslims, “Islamophobia” remains the thing the elitist press wants to discuss. Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute….When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is….the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Berry is highly favored at NPR. In her capacity at the AAI, Berry has claimed on X that "Palestinians are regularly killed by Israel without consequence."  As usual, anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence were glossed over. Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. After a Trump clip, Bennett continued. Bennett: ….And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek [Wisconsin]. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso…. Bennett: ….I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Wouldn’t a more relevant comparison be the treatment of Democratic House members Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Omar has spouted a lot of anti-Semitism both in and out of office, while Tlaib was censured by the House for defending the eliminationist chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” But as usual, Democratic rhetorical controversies involving anti-Semitism were ignored. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 3/16/26 7:36:09 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: More than two weeks into the war with Iran, Muslim Americans are confronting a new surge of hateful rhetoric here at home, amplified online and echoed by Republican lawmakers. Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles posted that Muslims don't belong in American society. Florida Congressman Randy Fine wrote this: "We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational." And Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville paired images of 9/11 with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying -- quote -- "The enemy is inside the gates." Civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers have condemned the remarks as dangerous and openly bigoted. We're joined now by Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American institute. Thank you for being with us. Maya Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute: Thank you for having us, Geoff. Geoff Bennett: When you hear and read some of the comments from Republican lawmakers right now, what stands out to you most? Maya Berry: I mean, to be honest, the initial response is just how broken our democracy is. I feel it in a very personal way in terms of the targeting in the American Muslim community like this, the scapegoating of a community like this. But the fact that it's coming from elected officials who have American Muslim constituents who should understand with greater clarity how their rhetoric is perhaps different than mine or yours, and yet they feel very comfortable continuing to engage in this, stoking fear and putting communities and individuals at risk. Geoff Bennett: Does the rhetoric we're hearing now, does this represent an escalation or is this part of a longer pattern in American politics? Maya Berry: So I think that's a really important observation. Communities being scapegoated at different times for different reasons is certainly a pattern in our country. What's different here, and I would even suggest worse than what we saw post-9/11, is that after the terror attacks in 9/11 happened, you had elected officials, a president, who went to a mosque within a couple of days to get those attacks and said, do not target your fellow Americans. This is not who we are. This is not what we're going to do. Now, obviously, there are policies that ensued that securitized a community, that treated it as a potential security threat moving forward and that really harmed the relationship between those individuals and their fellow countrypeople. But what I would say is that, when the largest office of the land, the presidential bully pulpit, is being used to tell their fellow Americans, do not scapegoat those communities, that's very, very different than what we see today. The single largest crime -- or hate crime data that we had that targeted both actually Arab-Americans and American Muslims came after 9/11. The second largest numbers came after the 2015 and 2016 years, which is the beginning of President Trump's initial campaign and running for office. So there is certainly, I think, a decision among some that this rhetoric is helpful. It gives them viral moments. It helps them raise money. That, to me, is why I keep emphasizing that you should care about this because it is harmful to a community, but you should also care about this because I think it is indicative of how problematic and how fragile our democratic institutions are right now. Geoff Bennett: And you have some defending their remarks by pointing to these recent attacks allegedly carried out by Muslim men, the car ramming at a Michigan synagogue, the shooter at Old Dominion University last week. President Trump, who you mentioned, he was on Brian Kilmeade's FOX radio show last week. Take a listen to what he said. President Donald Trump: They're sick people. And a lot of them were let in here. They shouldn't have been let in. Others are just bad. They go bad, something wrong. There's something wrong there. Genetics are not exactly -- they're not exactly your genetic. It's one of those problems. Geoff Bennett: I want to ask you to respond to that. And there can be legitimate concerns about how people become radicalized and then carry out acts of violence. There's a separate question around how leaders address that without turning it into sweeping claims, derogatory claims about millions of Americans. Maya Berry: Look, I'm not going to argue that someone who resorts to violence like we saw in the horrific attack in Michigan or the shooting in Virginia isn't perhaps sick in some way. There's something wrong there, without a doubt. The difference, though, is that no one would suggest that we engage in that kind of talk when we talked about the Sikh shooting, the temple shooting in Oak Creek. No one said that when there was a shooting in South Carolina. No one said that when we were talking about the devastating killing of congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue or Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed, or the supermarket in El Paso. There have been systematic ways in which our country has increasingly moved with some level of comfort with political violence that's really very alarming. There were two assassination attempts on President Trump. There was a legislator and her husband that -- killed in Minnesota. The question is, why do we take those individual incidents and understand there to be a problem that our country has to address and not suggest that we develop a different relationships with white supremacists, for example, who've engaged with those and start saying that we need to -- what went wrong? How do we take away their citizenship? What's the denaturalization process? None of that happens, except when it is looking at American Muslims and sometimes Arab Americans. Geoff Bennett: Well, on that point, I want to ask you this, because in the past, party leaders have taken action against members of Congress for racist and extremist rhetoric. That was the case back in 2019, when Speaker, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy booted Steve King off of his committees for racist rhetoric. Fast-forward to the present moment. There doesn't appear to be that same level of accountability. What's the impact of that? Maya Berry: No, to the contrary, there's no censure. There are no committees assignments being withdrawn. In fact, in the case of Congressman Randy Fine, the day he actually said starve them all is the day that he was appointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. And you have a situation where the House speaker, instead of saying this kind of rhetoric must stop, it's harmful to our fellow Americans and we ought not to engage in it, he said there's a legitimate fear about Sharia, demanding Sharia law in our country. Sharia law is something, a concept within like a moral or religious code that applies to me personally. It would never apply to you or anyone else if they weren't Muslim. It dictates things like our prayer or our marriage processes or burials. So this idea that we're going to take something like that and the speaker would suggest this is the reason why his members would get away with saying the kinds of things that they said is just intellectually dishonest and morally replicable. Geoff Bennett: Beyond the rhetoric, are you seeing signs that these attitudes are influencing policy? Maya Berry: Without a doubt. There have been some pretty, pretty significant setbacks in terms of basic civil rights protections and First Amendment protection rights. But I would focus more on -- at this point, frankly, I go back to Congress, because certainly I'm not suggesting the executive is working great. But the issue with Congress is, it's not just that a member tweets something that's reprehensible. Look at the remarks they're giving on the House floor. Look at the questions and comments they make during congressional hearings. It's not just about, like, they need to engage or behave in ways that are decent. It's really about a structural problem within the body itself. It's not passing budgets on time. It's not passing laws. There's no congressional oversight. Our country just went to war without a war powers resolution. But what do they find time to do? They find time to sit and tell us that we need to fear our fellow Americans. Geoff Bennett: Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, thank you for your perspectives. Maya Berry: Thank you.

During Tuesday morning’s cable news morning shows on MS NOW and CNN, blame was placed on Republicans for the lasting DHS shutdown caused by Democrat protests of immigration enforcement and ICE funding. The hosts of CNN This Morning, CNN News Central, and, of course, MS NOW’s Morning Joe ignored the Democrats' impact on the shutdown, a growing media trend. In a tease for the News Central segment, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish teed up the story as a Republican attack on Democrats: Okay, you guys, we want to talk a little bit more about the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security enters another week and as we mentioned earlier, very long lines at the airport as a result. So, Republicans want voters to blame Democrats. We're going to talk about how this is going to play out.    In a tease for CNN News Central, CNN This Morning host Audie Cornish minimized the Democrats impact on the DHS shutdown and impacts to the TSA. Instead, she stated "Republicans want voters to blame Democrats" for the shutdown. pic.twitter.com/UWdcdOu6s9 — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026   An hour later in CNN programming, during the precursor to an interview with Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas, Bolduan began to frame the segment as Democrats being the saviors who would end the shutdown just like they released the Epstein files: And now Democrats, today, are pushing ahead with a new move to try to force a vote that could end the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now telling fellow Democrats he's launching a discharge petition tomorrow. It would fund most of DHS, including TSA, while not approving new funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. This tactic has worked for Democrats recently, a discharge petition, like in successfully forcing the vote to release the Epstein files.   In the segment Cornish alluded to, News Central host Kate Bolduan treated Congressional Democrats as the saviors that will fund DHS, except for CBP and ICE, through a discharge petition, just like they did with the Epstein Files. pic.twitter.com/r5YzLafBNx — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026   Bolduan was tough in the interview with Session, with questions on if he would be “open to funding TSA, FEMA, CISA and then debating funding for ICE afterward?” Her question ignored the reality that ICE was already funded. The shutdown right now was a tactic for reforms that has just ended up putting national security at risk. Bolduan ended the DHS shutdown part of the interview with: “It sounds like we are nowhere near breaking the stalemate, is what I take from this.” Next, on the premiere liberal morning talk show, Morning Joe, Katty Kay and Jonathan Lemire placed blame on Republicans, especially Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, for not agreeing with Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) bill that would still have not fully funded DHS. Kay read, “Last week, Senate Republicans blocked five separate bills proposed by Democrats to fund TSA and other non-immigration agencies. One of the proposals, from Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, was killed by a Republican senator, Katie Britt of Alabama.”   Kay's introduction to the segment blamed Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) for blocking a funding bill. She ignored the actual reasoning for the shutdown, which was Democrat protests of immigration policy. pic.twitter.com/STxQEVT4AL — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026   Kay and Lemire focused on Democratic Congressman Greg Casar’s (TX) confrontation at an airport in Texas with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). The hosts made fun of Cornyn’s attempt to give the TSA workers Whataburger meals. Kay connected the burgers to how the shutdown is actually working for Democrats: Yeah, John. Burgers, paychecks, I think most TSA agents know which one they would rather have.  This has been interesting politically because I think initially some Democrats were worried about the framing of this. But in the last few days, as those queues and those lines have got longer during spring break travel, I think they have seen something shift and they think, well, look, if we can single out funding for the TSA agents and separate that from funding for ICE, this could actually work politically in Democrats favor. What are you seeing?   MS NOW's Morning Joe, unsurprisingly, continued to place blame on Republicans, as Katty Kay and Jonathan Lemire stated that the Democrats are winning the shutdown fight. https://t.co/Z98G9B2ptn pic.twitter.com/uY0eguMuJf — Nick (@nspin310) March 17, 2026   Lemire also parroted the talking point of republicans being in control of the Senate, while ignoring the existence of the filibuster vote threshold: But you're right. I think Democrats do feel like just, like the last funding fight, that they're on the right side of this.  That the Republicans are in control. They have both houses of congress. They have the white house. They're taking most of the blame. One wonders, though, how much longer this can last. The liberal cable networks refusal to blame Democrats for the shutdown is alike to the big three broadcast networks almost entirely ignoring the Democrat’s impact on the shutdown, as seen in a recent MRC Newsbusters study. The transcript is below. Click "expand": CNN This Morning March 17, 2026 6:48:52 AM AUDIE CORNISH: Okay, you guys, we want to talk a little bit more about the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security enters another week and as we mentioned earlier, very long lines at the airport as a result. So, Republicans want voters to blame Democrats. We're going to talk about how this is going to play out. (...) CNN News Central March 17, 2026 7:48:02 AM Eastern KATE BOLDUAN: The partial government shutdown of DHS has led to brutal and growing wait times at airports and led to hundreds of TSA agents now quitting. That shutdown now enters its second month.  At the center of the political stalemate is the future, and funding of ICE. And as with every shutdown, as we have seen of recent, Democrats and Republicans are currently and still blaming each other for not coming to the table to bring an end to this.  And now Democrats, today, are pushing ahead with a new move to try to force a vote that could end the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now telling fellow Democrats he's launching a discharge petition tomorrow. It would fund most of DHS, including TSA, while not approving new funding for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol.  This tactic has worked for Democrats recently, a discharge petition, like in successfully forcing the vote to release the Epstein files.  But this move this time, like others, would require Democrats to win over a number of Republicans to get this to the floor. Joining me right now is Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas. Congressman thanks for coming in. Texas has seen some crazy wait times at airports. In Austin, though I know not in your district, the security lines we've seen video reached outside the terminal. Facing that and the reality that TSA workers are quitting now, are you open to funding TSA, FEMA, CISA and then debating funding for ICE afterward? REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): I think we all recognize that there's a political difference here. Our friends that were Democrats years ago wanted to defund ICE. This is not a new issue. This is not a new issue because these same types of arrangements have happened for years. I am not open to that. We must understand that ICE has a role and a function. And I think that the negotiation that took place several weeks ago about the changes that would be made should have been significant enough to get my fellow Democrats, my friends, back on with some bit of reliability. They've also seen a change - a change at the top. Kristi Noem came and testified. It was a hearing that really ended up, I think, showing the American people some of the frailties of the policies. I think those will be corrected. I think that effective with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who will become the director, that there will be a different viewpoint perhaps as is seen by the American people in their hometown. But no, I believe we need ICE. We've got to have them. There has to be someone who will go and be on the front line to take criminals out of this country. BOLDUAN: Why is buying more time to have that debate, at the same time getting people paid and back to work at America's airports, not an ok compromise though? SESSIONS: Well, I voted yes. Generally speaking, you look at the people who vote yes and then question why people vote no. The people that vote no are those people that did not want the compromise. I think that the fight should now take place over who is going to be the secretary, and that will be Markwayne Mullin. And he is a United States senator who knows each of these people. He will speak with clarity about the issues. I spoke with Mr. Markwayne Mullin yesterday about my ideas about the job and performance that he will be doing. He was very open to hearing from me. I think I made sense to him. I want to be able to explain to my constituents what ICE has as not just a policy but how they're going to play these things out, and I want to know where they're going to go and what order they're going to do them in. So, I think that that's really the crux of the matter. This is simply a political battle that should be one that would be done professionally and in - and looking at the secretary. I think the president made the change. That should be the opening that would be necessary politically for the Democrats to seize upon. Ok, now let's renegotiate. And I think that's what needs to take place; not holding up federal workers. BOLDUAN: It sounds like we are nowhere near breaking the stalemate, is what I take from this. (...) MS NOW’s Morning Joe March 17, 2026 7:42:21 AM Eastern KATTY KAY: Chicago Midway Airport, though, with a plane coming in to land. And more US airports are seeing extremely long security lines amid the partial government shutdown that's now in its fifth week.  Last week, Senate Republicans blocked five separate bills proposed by Democrats to fund TSA and other non-immigration agencies. One of the proposals, from Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, was killed by a Republican senator, Katie Britt of Alabama. It comes as the New York Times reports, a growing number of TSA employees have picked up second jobs, sometimes calling out sick just to do so, after missing their first full paycheck. That was last Friday. So far, more than 300 officers have quit.  This was the scene at the airport in Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Amazing lines. Other big hubs are also reporting painfully long queues like Houston, Atlanta, Newark, Laguardia in New York.  Meanwhile, a tense back and forth erupted yesterday outside the airport in Austin between two Texas lawmakers, Democratic Congressman Greg Casar and Republican Senator John Cornyn got into it after Cornyn arrived to deliver burgers to TSA agents working without pay due to that partial government shutdown. Cornyn has blamed Democrats for blocking the DHS funding bill.  Casar, a Democrat who represents Austin, arrived at the airport first and was talking to reporters when Cornyn showed up. Take a watch. (...) 7:44:50 AM KAY: Yeah, John. Burgers, paychecks, I think most TSA agents know which one they would rather have.  This has been interesting politically because I think initially some Democrats were worried about the framing of this. But in the last few days, as those queues and those lines have got longer during spring break travel, I think they have seen something shift and they think, well, look, if we can single out funding for the TSA agents and separate that from funding for ICE, this could actually work politically in Democrats favor. What are you seeing? JONATHAM LEMIRE: Yeah. First of all, Cornyn in the political fight for his life right now - KAY: Yes.  LEMIRE: - Not surprised. He probably welcomes some sort of confrontation. But you're right. I think Democrats do feel like just, like the last funding fight, that they're on the right side of this. That the Republicans are in control. They have both houses of congress. They have the white house. They're taking most of the blame. One wonders, though, how much longer this can last.  We were talking -  a theme today has been about political pain, right? These lines at airports are gigantic and getting worse. And there's - at a certain point, the frustration from the public may push some sort of action. We will, of course, stay on it.

Once upon a time, there was no bigger supporter of MAGA and Donald Trump than Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, until she and Trump turned on each other over his America First agenda, resulting in her resignation from Congress, and suddenly, the woman who the liberal media would regularly mock, became a sought after voice, who now fit their anti-Trump narrative. On CNN's The Situation Room on Monday, co-host Pamela Brown bizarrely seemed to seek Greene's approval after allowing her to bash Trump, Israel and Fox News unchallenged. Brown began the interview with Greene, who had appeared on CNN as recently as last Friday, asking about how the Iran war fits with Trump's campaign promises, and if he can still be trusted. GREENE: Why would an American president lead his political party into the midterms waging a full-scale major war completely unprovoked on Iran on behalf of Israel? And that's the way most Americans see it. They see this is for Israel, not for America. Brown did not ask Greene to back up her claim. "So is that what you're hearing on the ground in Georgia, where obviously there are a lot of Trump  supporters, where you are. Are you hearing from them that they believe President Trump is doing this on behalf of Israel?" Greene then took a slap at Fox News and their "old" viewers. GREENE: Many of the older Americans from the Baby Boomer generation that watch Fox News all day long very much believe the talking points on Fox News, and they have spent decades of their lives convinced that fighting these wars is the right thing to do. Brown's final topic focused on media, as she chose to use the word threats to describe actual warnings. BROWN: I want to ask you about President Trump praising his FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, who threatened the licenses of local broadcasters over war coverage. I know you have been critical in the past of networks like CNN, but you recently started joining programs like ours, as you became disillusioned with Congress and wanted to get your voice out. I wonder how your view of "mainstream media", quote, unquote, has evolved now that you have been engaging with them more, and what you think of the latest threats against the press. GREENE: You know, I think freedom of press is one of the most important rights that we have as Americans, and I think it always needs to be protected....And I watch a lot of international news, and a lot of the things I see on the international news, I don't see on our American media. And I find that to be extremely problematic. I think Americans are fed a lot of propaganda, depending on the political views of the media platform or the personalities or the presenters on the media platform. And I think that's wrong. I think Americans deserve to see the truth. They are smart enough to come to their own conclusions. BROWN: Just really quickly, what have you seen in overseas coverage that you feel like is missing here in America from the press? Guess what Greene would like to see more of on American TV?  GREENE: There's a lot more video of what's happening in Iran. There's a lot more video of what's happening in Lebanon, which is, what's happening in Lebanon is horrific. There was basically a genocide on Gaza, and Gaza was completely destroyed. And it's just wrong to tell Americans or make Americans think that every single Palestinian in Gaza was a member of Hamas. I think, if we're not showing Americans what our tax dollars are being used for, and we send $3.8 billion to Israel, and if our money and our weaponry or any type of our ammunition are being used to murder innocent people, especially women and children, I think that is just outrageous that the American people aren't told that.This is the type of coverage that I would like to see more of in the United States, because the American people deserve to know the truth. And then in a pathetic display, Brown made what she should have considered to be an embarrassing admission. And Greene rewarded her. BROWN: I can say, here in The Situation Room, Wolf (Blitzer) and I have been covered all -- have covered all of that extensively. GREENE: Thank you, Pamela and  thank you, Wolf. And I appreciate your coverage. I bet she does,

After a second night of airing a bizarre report that played more like a public relations piece, it is clear that NBC News has given themselves to running pro-Cuban regime propaganda. The latest report seeks to make the United States the villain responsible for the effects of the ongoing energy embargo upon the prison island’s healthcare system. Watch the report in its entirety, as aired on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026: WATCH: NBC Nightly News continues to run Cuban regime propaganda. Last night they ran a piece subtly putting Fidel Castro's grandnephew forth as a Delcy-type transitional figure and pushing a DOA "Cubastroika". Today, NBC runs a sympathy piece from the Ritz-Carlton of regime… pic.twitter.com/CcOSQ0nohr — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) March 17, 2026 KRISTEN WELKER: And tonight, a rare look inside a Cuban hospital as doctors struggle to treat patients amid a power and energy crisis there. Our George Solis is the first journalist given access to a hospital in Cuba in more than a decade. GEORGE SOLIS: Yonelkis Polo García is fighting for her life at this hospital in Havana. The mother of two young boys has leukemia. Administering what most places is routine cancer treatments is almost impossible here.  YONELKIS POLO GARCÍA: I live in “El Cotorro”... SOLIS: García lives about 20 miles away from the hospital, too far to walk. She tells me without fuel or affordable transportation, life has gotten harder.  POLO GARCÍA: It becomes more difficult for me… SOLIS: We're fighting every day, she says. My biggest fear is going to bed and not waking up next morning.  This is a supply room where all of the medicine is stored, but power can go out for up to 8 hours at a time, which is enough to make the refrigerated medication spoil. They’ve had to come up with other ways to keep it cold.  You try to save it. DOCTOR: Of course. SOLIS: Doctors say across the country people are dying because of the fuel crisis. So far, they tell me, this hospital has been lucky. (Unintelligible name)’s 11-year-old son got here today in an ambulance. She says she feels grateful for that because transportation is so scarce.   Ambulances not on the road are in places just like this one. Some broken, some in need of repair. Others, just in need of gas that’s so hard to come by.  In fact, 300 ambulances are sitting idle. There are only 25 being used for the entire country, all electric. Everywhere you turn, Cubans are suffering. The streets have been dark, and homes dangerously hot. Garbage is piling up on every street corner.  Carlos Montes de Oca says he tries to stay calm, but it's overwhelming. The stress gets to you, you could have a heart attack, he says. Families huddle around in the dark.  WOMAN: And that is unfortunate… SOLIS: It makes you want to cry, Yezabel Garcia tells me. They feel devastated.  Patience is running thin as these power outages affect every aspect of life here, from keeping food cold to getting clean water. It is a huge challenge for all of these families. Kristen. WELKER: George Solis, thank you. The first thing that sticks out is the quality of the hospital, which is par for the course for Cuban regime propaganda. They walked Solis into the Ritz-Carlton of regime hospitals; with such luxuries not available to everyday Cubans as medications, a functioning bed, linens, and apparent janitorial services.  THIS is what everyday Cubans actually get from their much-ballyhooed universal healthcare system: Cuba

Despite the plethora of evidence illustrating otherwise, entertainment writer Brian Lowry took to Oliver Darcy’s website Status — which has twice threatened to cancel my subscription — Monday night to complain Sunday’s Oscars had “los[t] its voice” and “collective nerve” by refusing to pay proper tribute to the late Rob Reiner by making the evening a courageous stand against President Trump, a man Hollywood and their ilk have falsely maligned as terrifying dictator and pedophile. Lowry had his thumb on the scale from the headline and subhead: “The Oscar Loses Its Voice; The Academy Awards paid tribute to Rob Reiner, but at a politically fraught moment closed a cautious awards season by steering clear of the outspokenness and activism that defined the director’s career.” He complained that, even though the Academy Awards “delivered a heartfelt tribute to Rob Reiner,” the show “conspicuously avoided the director’s other defining trait—his progressive politics and activism—with no one overtly saying the name “Trump” on the stage during the three and a half-hour telecast.” Lowry did his own impression of Eric Alterman, suggesting Hollywood isn’t really that liberal: Much is made of “liberal Hollywood,” long a culture-war bogeyman for the right, so much so that even fleeting political references at the Academy Awards trigger howls of indignation. But during another war in the Middle East, there was nothing remotely resembling Michael Moore’s shouts of “shame on you” to George W. Bush in 2003, with this year’s documentary winner, David Borenstein, coming closest by issuing a thinly veiled warning about the threat of authoritarianism. He huffed this year featured “traffic-seeking websites scrounging for headlines to find meaty movments, from O’Brien’s joke about the Epstein Files to presenter Jimmy Kimmel taking understated swipes at Trump and CBS, to presenter Javier Bardem saying, “No to war” and “Free Palestine” before getting down the business at hand.” Comically, Lowry wants us to think those moments were not proof of any bent. Our Elise Ehrhard took on this year’s Oscars and found heapings of liberal quackery. You can also check out the links to see our reviews from the prior five years (2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020). Lowry continued, whining “Barbara Streisand, and others” didn’t elaborate on their general lament about the times we’re living in and “thus do little to quiet those wondering if Hollywood has collectively lost its nerve in the face of a president who relishes lashing out at critics and the press, and a media ownership class that has exhibited its willingness to mollify him in service of their corporate agendas.” Of course, he praised David Bornstein using his victory in the feature documentary category for Mr. Nobody Against Putin to warn democracy dies when, for example, too many remain quiet “when oligarchs take over the media and control how we produce it.” “After he show, he elaborated to reporters, saying Russians told him the slide toward autocracy is ‘actually happening quicker in American than it’s been happening in Russia. Trump is moving a lot quicker than Putin in his early years,’” Lowry added. Following a brief registration of his gripe more didn’t rip Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav for its impending sale to David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, he offered somewhat of a strawman: “The only thing likely to draw more fire than not enough politics is having too much, with critics on the latter front itching for something on which they can tee off.” In Lowry’s world, “not enough politics” is the bigger issue whereas, over in reality, regular Americans would prefer not to be lectured. The liberal shill concluded by doubling down on his thesis that he’s very disappointed in Hollywood for not having spent awards season seeing blood vis à vis Trump: [T]rophies for political courage have been vanishingly rare—including on Hollywood’s biggest stage. Whether that represented the welcome respite O’Brien discussed or symbolizes an industry engaged in small acts of complicity—the kind Rob Reiner surely would have rejected—is, like debate over the merit of the Oscar winners, very much in the eye of the beholder.