PBS superstation WETA and its subsidiary News Hour Productions are ending broadcasts of PBS News Weekend in early January. The "public" broadcasting news site Current reported the cancellation is "part of a restructuring prompted by the rescission of federal funding for public media." Weekend anchor John Yang will be folded into the weeknight News Hour staff. That's one less openly gay anchor on broadcast TV, promoting strange terms like "transgender men with a cervix."  The last airdate of PBS News Weekend will be January 11. “The weekend show has really done well for us, and I know people really like it, and stations rely on it,” WETA spokesperson Mary Stewart said. “And a lot of news happens over the weekend. This is solely driven by the federal funding cuts.” The cuts do not affect the flagship PBS News Hour or Washington Week with The Atlantic -- which has predictable financial backing from The Atlantic owner Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire pal of Kamala Harris.  There's not a lot of "breaking news" on PBS Weekend News. It looks more like a magazine show, with features that are not time-sensitive. Here's the lineup for last Sunday, concluding with a piece on "How the loss of USAID funding affects Indonesia's ability to fight climate change."  This has also included inflammatory weekend segments like the eight-minute promotion for a film on George Orwell that linked the Republicans to totalitarianism. Maybe that was a final middle-finger salute to the defunders.  The rescission of funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting forced the trim, according to WETA CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller, the wife of former Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller:  Rockefeller told staff in September that the loss of WETA’s CPB Community Service Grant created a $6.7 million budget shortfall for FY26 and a projected $9 million shortfall for FY27. WETA received about $17.5 million in federal funding in FY24, according to CPB’s website. The amount represented nearly 12% of WETA’s $140 million in revenues for that year, according to an annual financial report. Most of the FY24 funding supported WETA’s television operations and programming, including an $8.6 million CSG and $8.1 million in grants for television programs. The balance went to WETA’s classical radio stations and unspecified system support. Nevertheless, WETA will try to produce some half-hour weekend shows to replace the canceled show -- one on international affairs, and one on health and science. Apparently, removing the remote possibility of "breaking news" saves money?  Stewart added that Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication decided not to renew its contract for the News Hour West bureau based in Phoenix. That will close and will make its last contributions to News Hour programming on December 19.

Bad camera angles were not the only thing wrong with former CBS and NBC anchor Katie Couric’s Friday interview with PBS documentarian Ken Burns on her Substack page. After spending much time on Burns’s upcoming series on the American Revolution, the pair moved on to discuss the state of history education in the country more broadly, which Couric described as “going backwards” and Burns labeled as being in “an autocrat’s interest.” Couric declared that, “Personally, I have been really concerned and, and at times offended, by these new efforts to really whitewash American history to, whether it's national parks or whether it's something at Arlington National Cemetery, you know, an effort to make, you know, to talk about some of the black soldiers who died in various conflicts, to this whole PragerU, which is this animated series that's being shown in a lot of public schools all across the country, that basically gloss over things like slavery and, you know, to present this pristine view of history that's simply isn't accurate.”     One of the bigger criticisms of PragerU appears to be a video where a cartoon version of Christopher Columbus says slavery is better than death in a conversation with time-travelling children from the present day. PragerU has defended itself by saying that is simply what the real Columbus would have believed. Indeed, one of the child characters immediately follows up by debating Columbus and telling him that slavery was “evil.” Nevertheless, Couric rolled on, “And I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on this reversion to a brand of history that is not factually accurate, that presents American history, you know, through rose-colored glasses and gives the impression that Americans never did anything wrong.” She also stated that, “Howard Zinn kind of tried to turn it on, turn this on its head with, you know, talking about history from the point of view of the oppressed instead of the oppressor, but it seems like we've made so many strides in giving a more inclusive and a more accurate view of our history, and now we're going backwards, and it's so frustrating to me, and as a historian, I can only imagine how you feel.” Couric tried caricaturizing conservatives by claiming we don’t believe anything bad ever happened in American history, yet she was promoting someone who thinks nothing good ever happened. For his part, Burns accepted Couric’s dishonest framing of the conservative perspective, “Yeah, it's terrible and it happens. It's the course of human events. You go forward, you go back, and yes, it's simple. It's in an autocrat's interest to want to simplify this story and make it only one thing, but it's, you can't do that.” Couric and Burns can dance around the issue all they want, but it doesn’t change the fact that PragerU and other conservative education reforms came about as a result of the Zinn-1619 Projectification of education. That school of thought is just as wrong as the strawman version of history they accuse conservatives of believing. Here is a transcript for the November 14 show: Katie Couric Media 11/14/2025 KATIE COURIC: Personally, I have been really concerned and, and at times offended, by these new efforts to really whitewash American history to, whether it's national parks or whether it's something at Arlington National Cemetery, you know, an effort to make, you know, to talk about some of the black soldiers who died in various conflicts, to this whole PragerU, which is this animated series that's being shown in a lot of public schools all across the country, that basically gloss over things like slavery and, you know, to present this pristine view of history that's simply isn't accurate. KEN BURNS: Right. COURIC: And I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on this reversion to a brand of history that is not factually accurate, that presents American history, you know, through rose-colored glasses and gives the impression that Americans never did anything wrong. And you know, Howard Zinn kind of tried to turn it on, turn this on its head with, you know, talking about history from the point of view of the oppressed instead of the oppressor, but it seems like we've made so many strides in giving a more inclusive— BRUNS: Yes. COURIC: —and a more accurate view of our history, and now we're going backwards, and it's so frustrating to me— BURNS: It’s so frustrating: COURIC: — and as a historian, I can only imagine how you feel. BURNS: Yeah, it's terrible and it happens. It's the course of human events. You go forward, you go back, and yes, it's simple. It's in an autocrat's interest to want to simplify this story and make it only one thing, but it's, you can't do that.

Reading commentary about the recent elections, I thought of an observation of Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. Feynman said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” That is, we must always be disciplined in looking at things as they are and not bend to the temptation to see them as we wish them to be. After the recent Democratic election sweep, we are hearing that there is unhappiness out there. But is this really news? Currently, Gallup reports that 27 percent of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country. This number has not been over 40 percent since 2020. It has not been over 50 percent since 2002. These are the percentages of Americans expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in these major institutions of our country, as of June 2025: Congress -- 10 percent, television news -- 11 percent, big business -- 15 percent, the criminal justice system -- 17 percent, newspapers -- 17 percent, large technology companies -- 24 percent, U.S. Supreme Court -- 27 percent, public schools -- 29 percent, organized labor -- 29 percent, banks -- 30 percent, presidency -- 30 percent. Per Gallup, as of last June, 58 percent said they are “extremely/very proud” to be an American. This is down from 87 percent in 2001. This is not a pretty picture, and it has been going on for a long time. After Republicans took the election in 2024, a sense was conveyed that Democrats were wiped out. Elections are too often about whom voters don’t want than whom they do want. We have a great country that, in many ways, has seriously lost its way. Our citizens long for meaning and principles.      In short, our country was born and became great with individual freedom and traditional values. This is the magic formula for prosperity and satisfaction. We are now in dangerous, uncharted territory, having departed in too many ways from these principles. We’re bogged down by massive growth in government and national debt at an unprecedented level that exceeds our entire GDP. At the same time, our defense spending hovers around a post-WWII low as a percentage of GDP. Let’s look at one of the buzzwords that has emerged from the elections: “affordability.” Americans are mad about prices. Let’s think about what causes high prices. I am looking at a chart produced by economist Mark Perry using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here are prices from 2000 through June 2025 that have declined or increased less than the rate of inflation: TVs, toys, computer software, cellphone services, clothing, household furnishings, and new cars. Here are prices, over the same period, that increased more than the rate of inflation: hospital services, college tuition and fees, child care and nursery school, medical care services, housing and food, and beverages. What is the distinguishing factor in those goods and services that went down in price versus those that went up? The answer is those that increased in price over the 25-year period are things with a lot of government controls and regulations. Those that declined are things that operate in free and competitive markets. The path to “affordability” -- to declines in prices over time -- is free markets and competition. The path to rising prices and increasing burdens on consumers -- more government. Free markets and competition are what our country is about and what the Republican Party is about. More government is what the Democratic Party is about. It’s why we just saw the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history: Democrats’ refusal to back off the never-ending government money machine. The answer by Republicans to what appears to be a setback in the recent elections is not to join Democrats in their buzzword games. The answer is to take on areas where we have lost our way and let in way too much government. And to constantly remind voters what our great country is about. Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, “What Is the CURE for America?” is available now. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Jennifer Szalai, the nonfiction book critic for the New York Times, uncorked a nasty review of Sen. John Fetterman’s new memoir (D-PA) Unfettered in Wednesday’s edition (the review was written before Fetterman’s hospitalization after a fall). A petulant take-down which surely has nothing to do with Fetterman's willingness to buck his Democratic Party at times, right? On a crowded shelf of memoirs by sitting politicians, John Fetterman’s new book has to be one of the strangest. The cover of Unfettered features a headshot of the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania as he frowns into the camera, his dark gray hoodie conspicuously speckled with debris. Inside the book, you’ll find none of the genre’s usual tropes: no can-do optimism, no affability, no evidence of a politician’s instinct to glad-hand for the next election. But then it’s not entirely clear from Unfettered whether Fetterman, who has spoken openly about his mental health issues, plans to run for office again. Recalling the moment in November 2022 when he won an expensive Senate race against the celebrity surgeon-influencer Mehmet Oz, Fetterman, who had been hospitalized for a stroke a few months before, says he “felt nothing.” The next day he was in a “daze of doom.” Staring at a bridge, he contemplated suicide. After noting Fetterman's "dismal attendance record" (perhaps a consequence of his severe depression), Szalai continued complaining. Most of Unfettered is unrelentingly dour and mournful. Despite having parents who “provided me with every comfort,” Fetterman identifies strongly with blue-collar workers who feel betrayed and forgotten. He recounts the many times he felt overwhelmed by shame and self-loathing: “I didn’t deserve anything except loneliness and sadness and isolation.” In 2023, he spent six weeks at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center being treated for his severe depression. Apparently Fetterman is a hypocrite, though Szalai couches those accusations in a passive-aggressive manner. Fetterman, who says he wants “compassionate” immigration policy, was one of 12 Democratic senators who sided with Republicans in undermining due process for immigrants, and he was the only Democratic senator who voted to confirm Trump’s pick for attorney general. “It is not anti-immigrant to support a secure border,” he writes, though he does not say how he feels about what Trump’s version of a secure border has meant in practice — masked men pushing people into vans and immigrants being whisked away to countries they have no connection to. Fetterman’s wife, who was brought as a child to the United States from Brazil, was an undocumented immigrant. He doesn’t say anything in the book about that either. He is similarly pat regarding his views on Israel, and his unconditional support for its war in Gaza. According to a letter by his former chief of staff that became a national story this spring, the senator “claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never reads memos.”…. The voice in this book is brooding but not particularly thoughtful. Fetterman offers generalized contempt instead of pointed arguments…. Meow. Szalai’s excessively hostile tone and callousness about Fetterman’s depression seems odd, given her paper’s previously supportive coverage of Fetterman’s mental health struggles, back when he adhered more closely to the Democratic playbook and wasn’t wandering off the reservation on issues like Israel. His iconoclastic tendencies were recently on display when journalist Katie Couric failed to bait him into criticizing President Trump or the late Charlie Kirk. Szalai is the same scholar wrote a book review last year that drew the headline “The Constitution Is Sacred. Is It Also Dangerous? One of the biggest threats to America’s politics might be the country’s founding document.” Here, she was gratuitously vicious to Fetterman, treating the Democratic senator like she might treat, oh, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Anyone who has experienced depression will probably recognize the overgeneralization, the binary thinking, the closed loop of self-pity. At barely more than 200 pages, “Unfettered” is not especially long, but it starts to feel interminable. “I have been told I have a persecution complex,” Fetterman writes, “but that’s the way I am.” Neal Pollack at The Spectator (World) pointed out Szalai managed to be outclassed by the liberal ladies of The View, who respected Fetterman’s struggles with mental illness in an interview, in contrast to the Times critic.

Despite the fact that the Democratic Party had more in common with the Mad Titan Thanos, who wanted to wipe out half of all life in the universe to protect the environment, the loony liberal ladies of ABC’s The View spent part of Friday’s show praising New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for seeking advice from “the Democratic Avengers” for how to oppose President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown. After spending the first few minutes of the show recounting how she dropped an iPad and broke her foot, fill-in moderator Joy Behar kicked off their “Hot Topics” segment by celebrating Mamdani’s first great feat as mayor-elect, speaking to other Democratic politicians for anti-Trump advice: So, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has been consulting with democratic governors, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Mamdani is said to be seeking advice on taking a stand against Trump's threats of immigration raids and National Guard deployments. So, is this the smart thing for him to do? And would it make any difference? “I think it's really smart,” proclaimed co-host Sunny Hostin. “I think it's smart to surround yourself with people that have experience dealing with this administration, have experience dealing with this president, and also having that coalition of expertise.”   Politicians have conversations and consultations with each other all the time. But The View thinks Mamdani's are a stroke of genius: JOY BEHAR: So, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has been consulting with democratic governors, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker,… pic.twitter.com/ojJvd4HDYc — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 14, 2025   According to Hostin, a Democratic politician speaking with other Democratic politicians meant Mamdani, who had never held down a real job, was “ready to go from day one!” “I'm applauding it! I think it's really impressive!” she clownishly boasted. Fake Republican Ana Navarro seemed to argue that Mamdani speaking with other Democratic leaders should assuage those who feared his lack of managerial experience: NAVARRO: One of the things that people were concerned about - many people who didn't vote for him were very concerned – and even some who did vote for him were very concerned about -- regarding Zohran Mamdani is his lack of managerial experience. BEHAR: Yes. That was one of my – that’s what I thought. NAVARRO: I think it's very smart for him to each out to three spectacular governors; they are the chief executive officers of their states. Each of them brings something to the table. I think for anybody who is starting a new job where you don't have that much experience, seeking mentorship from people who are doing it well.   Ana Navarro hopes Pritzker will teach Mamdani how "to stand up to a bully" like Trump: NAVARRO: I think it's very smart for him to each out to three spectacular governors; they are the chief executive officers of their states. Each of them brings something to the table. I think… pic.twitter.com/GkKINdS7BB — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 14, 2025   Navarro went on the hope that Mamdani would learn how to “stand up to a bully” from Pritzker, who she lionized by playing a soundbite of him putting his wrists together, as if he was getting arrested, and declaring: “If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.” “And I think that having these guys, the Democratic Avengers to help him; I think that’s a really good move,” Behar chimed in later. “Oh, I love that. I love that nickname,” Navarro agreed. “You can use that Governor Pritzker,” Behar quipped.   Despite Democrats having more in common with Thanos, Behar touts those Mamdani was seeking advice from as the "Democratic Avengers." pic.twitter.com/zYUtPGew8p — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 14, 2025   The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: ABC’s The View November 14, 2025 11:04:32 a.m. Eastern JOY BEHAR: So, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has been consulting with democratic governors, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Mamdani is said to be seeking advice on taking a stand against Trump's threats of immigration raids and National Guard deployments. So, is this the smart thing for him to do? And would it make any difference? SUNNY HOSTIN: I think it's really smart. I think it's smart to surround yourself with people that have experience dealing with this administration, have experience dealing with this president, and also having that coalition of expertise. He's hired an all-female team, he's kept the police commissioner here – he’s keeping the commissioner here in New York, who has done, by all accounts, a wonderful job. He's hired 200 lawyers in anticipation of what Trump may do. This is someone who is ready to go from day one! I'm applauding it! I think it's really impressive! (…) 11:06:04 a.m. Eastern ANA NAVARRO: One of the things that people were concerned about - many people who didn't vote for him were very concerned – and even some who did vote for him were very concerned about -- regarding Zohran Mamdani is his lack of managerial experience. BEHAR: Yes. That was one of my – that’s what I thought. NAVARRO: I think it's very smart for him to each out to three spectacular governors; they are the chief executive officers of their states. Each of them brings something to the table. I think for anybody who is starting a new job where you don't have that much experience, seeking mentorship from people who are doing it well. And I love the fact that two of those governors, Shapiro and J.B. Pritzker, are Jewish folks, because outside of Israel, this is the city where there is the most Jews in the world. And he's got an issue with that, that he needs to address. You know, J.B. Pritzker's grandparents fled 1940s Ukraine post-war. And I also hope that he learns – particularly from J.B. Pritzker, who has been dealing with the militarization on the streets of Chicago and the cruel ICE raids to stand up to a bully. These words from J.B. Pritzker is what I want to hear from Zohran Mamdani. [Cuts to video] GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL) (on MSNBC): If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me. [Puts wrists together as if offering himself up for arrest] (…) 11:10:01 a.m. Eastern BEHAR: To your point. [Points at Alyssa Farah Griffin] You said something about that he's dealing with one of the most powerful administrations. Donald Trump's numbers are getting lower than my boobs, all right? FARAH GRIFFIN: I mean his ability to use the executive branch. BEHAR: They’re in the 30s. FARAH GRIFFIN: His ability to use the executive branch. We've talked about the fact that he’s using the power of the presidency -- SARA HAINES: I love that you answered seriously to her boob joke. BEHAR: And I think that having these guys, the Democratic Avengers to help him; I think that’s a really good move. NAVARRO: Oh, I love that. I love that nickname. BEHAR: You can use that Governor Pritzker. (…)