cable news (and comment)

1/31/25 - Chuck Todd to leave NBC news

1/28/25 - Jim Acosta signs off from CNN / Trump comments

12/19/24 - Neil Cavuto leaving Fox News after 28 years

11/12/24 - Chris Wallace leaving CNN after three years

10/1/24 - Paywall launched on CNN.com

9/26/24 - NewsMax reaches settlement with Smartmatic

9/3/24 - Brian Stelter rejoins CNN

4/25/24 - Toobin, Lemon, Stelter re-appear on CNN

3/26/24 - NBC News drops Ronna McDaniel

3/18/24 - the aftermath: Don Lemon releases Musk interview on YouTube

3/13/24 - Don Lemon says Elon Musk cancelled his show on X, will be on YouTube instead

9/21/23 - Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox

6/30/23 - Geraldo says he is leaving Fox News

6/26/23 - Jesse Watters will take Tucker Carlson's primetime slot

6/17/23 - Trump says only "TRUMP" can save Fox News

6/16/23 - Sarah Palin says she got cancelled from Fox

6/16/23 - Biden dictator producer resigns from Fox News

6/7/23 - Chris Licht is out at CNN

5/16/23 - CNN ratings fall below NewsMax

5/9/23 - Tucker Carlson says his show will return via Twitter

4/27/23 - Fox ratings tumble are Carlson exit

4/26/23 - Tucker Carlson breaks silence

4/25/23 - Lemon and Carlson hire the same lawyer

4/24/23 - Fox fired Carlston "with cause", Carlson lawsuit expected

4/24/23 - Right wing backlash against Fox after dropping Carlson

4/24/23 - CNN parts ways with Don Lemon

4/24/23 - Fox News parts ways with Tucker Carlson (Yahoo)

4/19/23 - Fox News facing four more lawsuits

4/18/23 - Fox News and Dominion reach settlement agreement before trial begins

4/11/23 - Judge says Fox News has a credibility problem

3/23/23 - Trump's return to Hannity is a loss for half of Fox News

3/22/23 - Fox News producer files lawsuits against Fox News

3/11/23 - Fox is now trapped in an ever-worsening spiral of lies (Katie Phang)

2/28/23 - Trump says Murdoch is throwing his anchors under the table

2/24/23 - CNN guests say Fox News is in a precarious situation and in real jeopardy

2/20/23 - Don Lemon to participate in "formal training"

2/15/23 - Only 25% of Americans believe that national news organizations do not intend to mislead

2/3/23 - Don Lemon screamed at Kaitlan Collins

1/27/23 - Trump reviews Jessica Tarlov

1/22/23 - Chris Cuomo says he'll "never be what I was" after being fired by CNN

1/16/23 - CNN reportedly considering Jon Stewart or Bill Maher to fill Chris Cuomo slot

12/6/22 - Robin Meade signs off

11/12/22 - Judy Woodruff to leave PBS NewsHour

11/9/22 - Fox & Friends explains why Oz lost (according to the exit polls)

11/3/22 - Shepard Smith cancelled by CNBC

10/21/22 - Newsmax bans Lara Logan after appearance

9/20/22 - Roseanne planning special on Fox Nation

9/6/22 - John Dickerson to host CBS News show that won't air on CBS

9/6/22 - Chris Wallace to return on HBO Max and CNN

9/2/22 - John Harwood leaving CNN

8/18/22 - CNN ends Brian Stelter

8/11/22 - Shannon Bream to take over Fox News Sunday

7/27/22 - Trump threatens to sue CNN

7/27/22 - Chris Cuomo to join NewsNation

3/27/22 - Chris Wallace found it unsustainable to work at Fox News

1/23/22 - Pearls Before Swine

1/17/22 - Rand Paul cancels DirecTV after it drops OANN

1/7/22 - Hannity and Fox face ethical questions after texts to Trump revealed

12/12/21 - Chris Wallace leaving Fox News for CNN+

12/5/21 - Chris Cuomo fired by CNN for helping his brother

10/26/21 - Fox is trouncing CNN and MSNBC in the ratings

8/4/21 - Devin Nunes sues Maddow

6/26/21 - Carlson on Hannity on Carlson?

6/23/21 - Don Lemon punches down at Tucker Carlson

4/12/21 - Fox standing behind Tucker Carlson

4/11/21 - Anti-Defamation League CEO calls for removal of Tucker Carlson

2/11/21 - Gutfeld has evolved

2/9/21 - Kudlow will sort of replace Dobbs

1/20/21 - "Bloodbath" at Fox News

***

Fox News, the top-rated cable channel, has announced its biggest shake-up of its daily lineup in several years — an overhaul that includes shifting one of its marquee news anchors, Martha MacCallum, out of her 7 p.m. spot to make way for an expansion of its prime-time opinion programming.

The move highlights the increasing dominance of conservative punditry at a network that positioned itself at its founding as a “fair and balanced” alternative to what it saw as a liberal drift in other media. Fox has not yet named a permanent host for the 7 p.m. slot and will instead feature “a rotating group of Fox News opinion hosts” in that hour after MacCallum moves to a lower-profile 3 p.m. slot next week. Brian Kilmeade, who co-hosts the “Fox and Friends” morning show, will be up first on Monday.

Rival news network CNN also unveiled a slate of programming changes that includes an expansion of news anchor Jake Tapper’s show and a shrinking of veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer’s.

From October: What happens to Fox News if Trump loses? Rupert Murdoch is prepared.  MacCallum will take the afternoon time slot now held by news anchor Bill Hemmer. Hemmer will return to the morning show, “America’s Newsroom,” which he left to replace Shepard Smith, who abruptly resigned from the network in October 2019. But that morning show will now be two hours instead of three, beginning at 9 a.m., with co-host Dana Perino, the former White House press secretary, who previously hosted a 2 p.m. show.

Fox’s chief White House correspondent John Roberts will leave the beat to anchor a 1 to 3 p.m. news show with Sandra Smith, now the host of “America’s Newsroom”; his replacement at the White House has not yet been named. And Harris Faulkner, another key member of the network’s news division, is being moved from 1 p.m. to 11 a.m. She will remain a lead panelist on the 12 p.m. talk show “Outnumbered.”

Fox News finished 2020 as the most-watched network in cable. But, in the wake of President Trump’s electoral loss to Joe Biden, CNN has been on a major upswing, while Fox’s ratings have experienced some softness.

In the last few months of 2020, CNN attracted more viewers than Fox News between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demographic, though Fox was watched by more total viewers. In prime time, Fox News edged CNN by 15,000 prime-time viewers in the key demographic over the same time period.

From November: What happens to CNN and MSNBC if Biden wins? It’s complicated.  CNN’s programming changes include an expansion of Tapper’s 4 p.m. weekday show from one hour to two, beginning in April, while Blitzer’s “Situation Room,” now a two-hour show that begins at 5 p.m., moves to a one-hour slot at 6 p.m. His show will air on CNN’s overseas networks, though. And CNN introduced a new delineation of the two anchors’ roles, describing Tapper as the lead for Washington news and Blitzer as a principal for breaking news.

Tapper will also take turns with chief political correspondent Dana Bash in hosting the Sunday morning “State of the Union” show. Abby Phillip will take over the Sunday edition of John King’s “Inside Politics” franchise, hosting from 8 to 9 a.m., beginning Jan. 24. And Pamela Brown will anchor a three-hour news block on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

CNN also announced that chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta, who rose to national attention as a sparring partner of Trump, will become an anchor and take on the new title of chief diplomatic correspondent. Kaitlan Collins will serve as the network’s chief White House correspondent for the Biden administration.

***

[10/25/19] 44 months of Fox News

[9/2/18]  Fox News earns top spot in poll

politics 2025

1/15/25 - House of Representatives pass bill to ban trans-women from playing in women's sports

Israel attacked by Hamas

1/15/25 - Israel and Hama agree to ceasefire

9/26/24 - Israel rejects ceasefire and continues strikes in Lebanon

5/6/24 - Hamas agrees to Gaza cease fire, but Israel presses ahead with strikes 

2/7/24 - Netanyahu rejects Hama ceasefire offer

11/24/23 - Hamas frees 24 hostages from Gaza on first day of truce

11/10/23 - Gaza death toll tops 11,000

11/6/23 - Gaza death toll tops 10,000, U.N. calls it a children's graveyard

10/11/23 - Trump is to blame for the situation in Israel (opinion)

10/8/23 - Israel declares war after attack by Hamas

President Biden

1/14/25 - Hunter Biden special counsel David Weiss slams Joe Biden comments as 'gratuitous and wrong'

12/22/24 - Senate approves Social Security expansion before Biden leaves office

12/12/24 - Biden issues 39 pardons and commutes 1500 sentences

12/4/23 - Joe Biden received payments from son Hunter Biden's firm

6/30/23 - Supreme Court strikes down loan forgiveness plan

6/20/23 - Hunter Biden to plead guilty in gun and tax case

5/31/23 - House passes debt ceiling bill 314-117

5/27/23 - Tentative debt limit deal announced

3/9/23 - Biden proposes DOA budget

1/16/23 - Biden vows to ban assault weapons

1/6/23 - Biden to expand migrant program, continue to use Title 42

11/20/22 - Biden can't even say what age he's going to be

11/5/22 - Manchin critical of Biden comments on closing coal plants

9/26/22 - A Biden-Trump rematch?

9/21/22 - MTG introduces articles of impeachment for Biden selling oil reserves to China

9/19/22 - NBC poll says 45% approve of Biden's performance

9/3/22 - Nikki Haley calls Biden a divider-in-chief

8/16/22 - Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act

7/27/22 - Manchin and Schumer agree to deal on spending bill

7/16/22 - Saudi Arabia agrees to boost oil production after meeting with Biden

7/15/22 - Biden approval rating the worst since the end of World War II

6/27/22 - 1 million voters switch to the Republican Party

6/20/22 - Texas Republican party rejects results of the 2020 Presidential election and notes that "Texas retains the right to secede from the United States".

6/18/22 - Biden makes Juneteenth a national holiday

6/18/22 - Biden falls off bike

6/9/22 - Biden staff turnover over no match for Trump

5/31/22 - Black staffers leaving White House

5/5/22 - Biden taps Karine Jean-Pierre as new White House Press Secretary succeeding Jen Psaki

4/30/22 - Biden participates in White House Correspondents Dinner

4/7/22 - Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

3/30/22 - Washington Post authenticates emails from Hunter Biden's laptop

3/28/22 - Biden proposes $5.79 billion trillion budget

3/21/22 - Barr says Biden lied about Hunter's laptop

1/21/22 - Trump says he wants Biden to do well, then rips his policies

12/30/21 - Democrats should negotiate with Romney rather than Manchin on Build Back Better [Max Ghenis]

12/19/21 - Psaki says Manchin went back on his word on Build Back Better

11/21/21 - Pelosi found a way to win

11/15/21 - Guess who's coming to the infrastructure bill signing

7/22/21 - Tom Brady ribs Biden

6/16/21 - Biden comments on meeting with Putin

6/11/21 - Putin compares Biden to Trump

4/28/21 - Juan Williams calls out right-wing "news" coverage

4/25/21 - When Biden and Friedman visited Afghanistan

3/28/21 - Chris Wallace pushes Psaki on immigration at the border

3/25/21 - Biden speaks on China, Republicans, immigration, North Korea

3/19/21 - Biden stumbles boarding Air Force One

3/18/21 - Putin challenges Biden to "death match"

3/16/21 - Katherine Tai wins rare unanimous Senate support as U.S. Trade Representative

3/6/21 - Biden fires Trump-appointed lawyer

2/25/21 - U.S. launches airstrike in Syria

1/14/21 - Marjorie Taylor Green to file articles of impeachment against Biden

1/7/21 - Biden names Merrick Garland as pick for Attorney General

12/17/20 - Biden selects Deb Haaland as Interior Secretary, Michael Regan as EPA chief

12/15/20 - Biden picks Buttigieg as transportation secretary

12/10/20 - Biden to have White House disinfected after Trump moves out

11/23/20 - Biden taps former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary

11/23/20 - Biden to nominate Avril Haines as next director of national intelligence and she would be the first woman to hold the position

11/23/20 - Biden taps Alejandro Mayorkas as first immigrant to lead Homeland Security

11/23/20 - Biden names John Kerry as Climate Czar

Justin Trudeau resigns

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday in the face of rising discontent over his leadership, and after the abrupt departure of his finance minister signaled growing turmoil within his government.

Trudeau said it had become clear to him that he cannot "be the leader during the next elections due to internal battles.” He planned to stay on as prime minister until a new leader of the Liberal Party is chosen.

“I don’t easily back down faced with a fight, especially a very important one for our party and the country. But I do this job because the interests of Canadians and the well-being of democracy is something that I hold dear," he said.

He said Parliament, which had been due to resume Jan. 27, would be suspended until March 24. The timing will allow for a Liberal Party leadership race.

All three main opposition parties have said they plan to topple the Liberal Party in a no-confidence vote when Parliament resumes, so a spring election after the Liberals pick a new leader was almost assured.

“The Liberal Party of Canada is an important institution in the history of our great country and democracy. A new prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party will carry its values and ideals into that next election,” Trudeau said. “I am excited to see that process unfold in the months ahead.”

Trudeau came to power in 2015 after 10 years of Conservative Party rule, and had initially been hailed for returning the country to its liberal past. But the 53-year-old scion of one of Canada’s most famous prime ministers, Pierre Trudeau, became deeply unpopular with voters in recent years over a range of issues, including the soaring cost of food and housing, and surging immigration.

The political upheaval comes at a difficult moment for Canada internationally. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods if the government does not stem what Trump calls a flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S. — even though far fewer of each crosses into the U.S. from Canada than from Mexico, which Trump has also threatened.

Canada is a major exporter of oil and natural gas to the U.S., which also relies on its northern neighbor for steel, aluminum and autos.

Trudeau kept publicly mum in recent weeks, despite intensifying pressure for him to step down.

“His long silence following this political drama speaks volumes about the weakness of his current position,” said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Canada’s former finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, announced her resignation from Trudeau’s Cabinet on Dec. 16., criticizing some of Trudeau’s economic priorities in the face of Trump’s threats. The move, which came shortly after the housing minister quit, stunned the country and raised questions about how much longer Trudeau could stay in his job.

Freeland and Trudeau had disagreed about two recently announced policies: a temporary sales tax holiday on goods ranging from children’s clothes to beer, and plans to send every citizen a check for $250 Canadian ($174). Freeland, who was also deputy prime minister, said Canada could not afford “costly political gimmicks” in the face of Trump's tariff threat.

“Our country is facing a grave challenge,” Freeland wrote in her resignation letter. “That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war.”

Trudeau had been planning to run for a fourth term in next year’s election, even in the face of rising discontent among Liberal Party members. The party recently suffered upsets in special elections in two districts in Toronto and Montreal that it has held for years. No Canadian prime minister in more than a century has won four straight terms.

And based on the latest polls, Trudeau’s chances for success looked slim. In the latest poll by Nanos, the Liberals trail the Conservatives 47% to 21%.

Over nearly a decade in power, Trudeau embraced an array of causes favored by his liberal base. He spoke in favor of immigration at a time when other countries were trying to tighten their borders. He championed diversity and gender equality, appointing a Cabinet that was equal parts men and women. He legalized cannabis.

His efforts to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection were criticized by both the right and left. He levied a tax on carbon emissions and rescued a stalled pipeline expansion project to get more of Alberta’s oil to international markets.

Fewer people died from COVID-19 in Canada than elsewhere and his government provided massive financial support. But animosity grew among those opposed to vaccine mandates. Flags with Trudeau’s name and expletives became a common sight in rural parts.

A combination of scandal and unpopular policies damaged his prospects over time.

Trudeau’s father swept to power in 1968, and led Canada for almost 16 years, becoming a storied name in the country’s history, most notably by opening its doors wide to immigrants. Pierre Trudeau was often compared to John F. Kennedy and remains one of the few Canadian politicians who are recognized in America.

Tall and trim, with movie-star looks, Justin Trudeau channeled the star power — if not quite the political heft — of his father.

He became the second-youngest prime minister in Canada’s history, and rivals said his age was a liability when he first sought office. But he won a sweeping mandate in a come-from-behind victory in 2015.

Trudeau is a former teacher, nightclub bouncer and snowboard instructor who has three children with his now estranged wife, a former model and TV host.

Gillies writes for the Associated Press.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.