Who deserves most of the blame for the poor response to the devastating wildfires that scorched Los Angeles in early 2025? President Donald Trump, according to Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna (CA).

That’s what Khanna told MS NOW’s The Weekend on Sunday morning, after he was asked what the LA mayoral race is revealing about how locals feel about incumbent Karen Bass (D).

“Look, I think that there is a lot of hurt and anger after the fires. My view is that the blame of that really needs to go on Donald Trump,” Khanna said. “They still owe the state $50 billion. They have not worked with Mayor Bass or our governor to get the resources needed. And they have really punished California.”

He continued, “understandably people who still haven’t seen their homes rebuilt, who were upset with how that was handled, they are upset with the incumbents. And that’s why you have the race you do.”

Khanna’s answer stands out, considering Trump wasn’t even back in the White House until January 20, 2025 — 13 days after the wildfires started.

Trump went to LA days after his inauguration and toured the wreckage; he slammed Bass for failing to use her emergency powers to respond quicker to the fires during a surreal roundtable press conference on that trip, telling her “You have emergency powers just like I do… you have to exercise them also.”

Bass’s handling of the fires has been widely criticized in LA and has spurred a serious challenge from Spencer Pratt (R), who has focused on the city’s bungled preparation and response to the fires during his mayoral campaign. Pratt’s home burned down during the fires — forcing him to live in a hotel. About 12,000 homes were destroyed during the fires.

When TMZ recently called out Pratt for staying at the “swanky” Hotel Bel-Air after one of his ads showed an Airstream trailer sitting on the lot where his burned-down house used to be, Pratt punched back.

“To be clear, that is where I live,” Pratt said about the trailer. “That’s where Karen Bass, Mayor Bass, burned down my house. That is where I will live until I have a new house. The Airstream is a temporary facility. A hotel is a temporary facility. Where my kids are in Santa Barbara is temporary housing.”

He continued, “Again, I don’t live at the Hotel Bel-Air, I don’t live in the Airstream, I don’t live in Santa Barbara. I don’t have a house! They burned it down. That is why I got into this race.”

LA will vote this week on its next mayor. Pratt is being given a 27% chance of winning and Bass has a 62% chance of being reelected, according to prediction market Kalshi.

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post House Democrat Blames ‘Hurt’ of LA Wildfires on Donald Trump first appeared on Mediaite.

MS NOW’s Ali Velshi got into a confrontation with an ICE protester Saturday night after the man falsely accused Velshi of lying on camera.

Velshi reported from the New Jersey ICE detention center where migrant inmates were said to be engaged in a hunger strike. Protesters and counter-protesters have descended on the facility, prompting police to act as a “buffer between protesters and ICE,” Velshi said.

“Then that didn’t work out last night — they had a lot of tension,” Velshi said. “So they brought in Newark police, local police. They also have state police here, but they were not in the front lines, but they created barricades.”

Velshi then caught the attention of a protester carrying a camera and tripod, when saying, “So, there was no less than 10- or 12-feet between protesters and police almost at any time.”

“That’s not true!” The man yelled. “There were more than 10 or 12 people that were protesting!”

“No, no, no, no no, no, hold on, hold on,” Velshi protested.

“That’s an absolute lie!” the man continued. “You just lied on camera!”

“What did I just say?” Velshi asked.

“You just said there were 10 or 12 protesters, which is all bullsh*t!” the man said.

“Can you just hold on for a second?” Velshi said — trying to correct the man. “I actually said there was never more than 10 or 12 feet between — ”

“This is the problem, why this sh*t happens!” the man concluded.

“All right, well, there you go,” Velshi said, giving up on trying to explain.

Back in the studio, host Elise Jordan quipped, “Everyone’s a critic!”

Host Pablo Torre then told Velshi, “We all heard you very clearly. That gentleman decided to, I think, embody an internet commenter in real life, which is a surreal experience for you, I’m sure, as you’re covering a real, serious event. But the idea here, just to reset us, this is a warehouse that has been used to house people who are now getting the word out, alleging that they are being mistreated.”

Watch the clip above via MS NOW.

The post ‘You Just Lied On Camera!’ MS NOW’s Ali Velshi Has Wild Run-in With Protester — Who Falsely Accused Him of Misreporting On ICE Protest first appeared on Mediaite.

MS NOW anchor Alex Witt had to correct a liberal lawmaker for calling President Donald Trump an “adjudicated rapist” on her show on Saturday afternoon.

Witt asked Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) for her thoughts on the Justice Department launching an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, with the probe focused on whether she committed perjury during a 2022 deposition. Carroll accused the president of raping her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, a claim Trump has repeatedly denied.

The anchor noted the probe is focused on whether Carroll lied when she said no one else was funding her case against Trump; LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman later admitted he was bankrolling the lawsuit. Carroll was awarded roughly $90 million between both her civil sexual abuse and defamation cases against Trump.

Stansbury said the probe into Carroll just shows Trump is manipulating the DOJ to go after his enemies.

“I mean, come on, Donald Trump. We all know that you are an adjudicated rapist, and now you’re going after survivors that have held you accountable,” Stansbury said. “All of this is an attempt to try to silence people and to try to intimidate them by using the United States Justice Department as a weapon against the American people.”

She added, “that is exactly what Richard Nixon went down for. So we can see what’s happening here.”

Witt then jumped in to correct the Democrat.

“Yeah, I just want to be careful, because President Trump was not accused of rape, per se. He was accused of sexual abuse. So going by the proper terminology there,” Witt said. “But nonetheless, I always appreciate having you on, Congresswoman Stanbury.”

Her correction stands out, not only because it was factual, but because ABC News notably paid Trump $15 million in late 2024 after anchor George Stephanopoulos said the president was found “liable for rape.” In fact, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse in civil court, which carries a different definition in New York.

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post Democratic Lawmaker Brands Trump an ‘Adjudicated Rapist’ — Then Gets Immediately Corrected by MS NOW Host first appeared on Mediaite.

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Friday that former Attorney General Pam Bondi essentially threw Acting AG Todd Blanche under the bus for the chaos regarding the Epstein files.

Bondi testified before the House Oversight Committee to discuss her role in the Justice Department’s handling of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein. The department released millions of files on Epstein’s case following a wave of public pressure and congressional action, but even the releases were criticized due to heavy redactions in the documents.

In Bondi’s opening statement, the former AG claimed she “delegated” oversight of the case to Blanche, her deputy attorney general at the time. She also said that she “did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review” herself.

Shortly after the early portion of the closed-doors hearing, Garcia spoke to the media to explain what went down:

It is clear, in just this part of the of the interview, that she continues to push all of the investigation — and the blame — on acting AG Todd Blanche. She said, and I quote, “Acting AG Blanche was managing the entire investigation.” And what you’re going to hear in that interview, and what she’s saying here in her words and remarks, is that it was Todd Blanche, the current acting AG, that was leading the Epstein investigation. And, quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back onto the acting AG Todd Blanche — who, by the way, was Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer.

Garcia added that he asked Bondi five separate times about any conversations about the case she may have had with President Donald Trump. The former AG, Garcia continued, “refused to answer any questions” involving the president.

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post Top Dem Claims Pam Bondi Pushed ‘Blame’ for Epstein Investigation on Todd Blanche in Closed-Doors Hearing first appeared on Mediaite.

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Memorial Day might be over, but some TV deals are still holding on strong. The 65-inch Bravia 8 II OLED TV is still seeing the same discount, making it a great option for anyone who missed out on splurging on a premium OLED TV during the sale. You can currently get the 65-inch for $2,598 (originally $3,299.99), or the 55-inch is also available for $2,298 (originally $2,599.99)—but if you have an extra $300 to spare, the bigger 65-inch offers a better deal.

Model: K-55XR80M2

BRAVIA 8 II 55” Class QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV (2025)

$2,298.00 at Sony

$2,599.99 Save $301.99

Get Deal

Get Deal

$2,298.00 at Sony

$2,599.99 Save $301.99

Model: K-65XR80M2

BRAVIA 8 II 65” Class QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV (2025)

$2,598.00 at Sony

$3,299.97 Save $701.97

Get Deal

Get Deal

$2,598.00 at Sony

$3,299.97 Save $701.97

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The Bravia 8 II is an OLED from 2025 and the successor to the Bravia 8. It has some impressive specs: eight million self-lit pixels, a Quantum Dot panel, XR Triluminos Max to enhance colors and brightness, and an AI-powered XR Processor that enhances images in real time. It comes with Google TV built in—my personal favorite TV operating system, as it allows you to cast your smartphone to the TV and get hands-free Google Assistant, so you can tell your TV which show to play on Netflix without picking up the remote. You also get support for AirPlay.

OLEDs are the best technology you can get right now in terms of picture quality, although it also comes with some downsides. Make sure you understand how an OLED is different from a QLED. The brightness only gets to 991 nits, which is less than other premium OLEDs, but as PCMag's "excellent" review explains, it can reach a higher peak brightness of 1,567 nits, and it doesn’t look remotely dim in use.

If you're looking for a premium OLED TV with a good discount, the Bravia 8 II is a great option right now.

Screenshot via How I Write/David Perell YouTube

Newly-appointed 60 Minutes executive producer Nick Bilton sent out his first message to staff on Thursday after some major shakeups at CBS News under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

Tanya Simon, the now-former executive producer of 60 Minutes, confirmed on Thursday that she was no longer in her position after reports indicated Weiss was firing her and others. Weiss took over as editor-in-chief of CBS News in October.

“Nick is one of the most entrepreneurial journalists of our time and the perfect leader for one of the most entrepreneurial news brands of all time,” Weiss said about Bilton.

Bilton shared his message to staff in an X post.

“It’s the honor of my career to become the executive producer of 60 Minutes. I just shared the note below with the incredible staff and can’t wait to get started,” he wrote.

Bilton called 60 Minutes “the most important television journalism brand this country has ever produced.”

“I’m here to lead this show, not preserve it under glass. That means honoring what works and being honest about what doesn’t. I have a notebook full of ideas. Some are about the show itself. Some are about the next generation of correspondents. Some are about the strange fact that we produce one extraordinary hour for one night a week in a world that consumes content around the clock. I’m excited to share them, and I’m confident you’ll be excited by them, too,” he wrote.

Bilton has been described by as an outsider, having never worked in broadcast news before. He’s primarily known for directing and producing documentaries for Netflix and others. He’s also a former reporter and columnist for The New York Times and Vanity Fair. 

You can read Bilton’s full statement below:

Hi everyone,

I’m Nick. Some of you I’ve met. Most of you I haven’t.

Walking into this building and putting my name on this job is the honor of my career. Though I don’t need to tell you, 60 Minutes is, without exaggeration, the most important television journalism brand this country has ever produced. The fact that it has held that position for almost six decades is not an accident. It’s the result of generations of producers, correspondents, editors, researchers, and crews who decided that the work mattered more than the noise.

You are those people. I’m grateful to be working alongside you.

I am here because the world outside this building has changed a lot since this show was conceived and we have to talk honestly about what that means.

Think back to September 1968, when the first episode of 60 aired. A gallon of gas was thirty two cents.

The first pocket calculator wouldn’t go on sale for another two-and-a-half years. If you needed money, you went to the bank, stood in line, and asked a human being for it. Long distance calls were billed by the minute and you thought twice before making one. There were three networks. Most people watched the first episode of 60 Minutes in black and white. If you missed it, you missed it.

Every part of how we lived back then has been transformed since then. The cars, the phones, the music, the movies, the medicine, the money, the way news gets made and the way news gets consumed. The phone you are reading this on is more powerful than every computer that existed on the planet in 1968 combined.

The audience that watched that first episode is not the same audience watching us now. They have unlimited channels to choose from, not three. They are stalked by algorithms that they wake up to and go to sleep to. Algorithms that have figured out that anger is the only way to make sure they come back day after day after day. They have lost faith in almost every institution that used to hold the country together.

And yet here we still are. Same stopwatch. Same tick. Same Sunday night. Same form. The trusted correspondents are our guides through all of it.

There is something genuinely incredible about that. The fact that this show has remained a fixed point in a culture is part of why this show still matters as much as it does. I don’t want to lose that.

But the world we are reporting on, and the world we are reporting to, where people consume their news, has moved. And if we don’t move with it, in the ways that matter, we won’t be here for the next sixty years.

I want to do everything humanly possible to ensure that we are.

How? I’ve spent most of my career writing about exactly this kind of moment. I started as a technology reporter at The New York Times, then an investigative journalist at Vanity Fair, covering industry after industry that got obliterated by these technological changes. I was a regular voice on CNBC, ABC, and CNN trying to make sense of it as it happened. I wrote books about it. I made documentaries about it for Netflix and HBO. And I watched (as we all did newspapers and magazines and taxi companies and travel agencies and video stores and entire industries go under. Only a few survived. The ones that did all had one thing in common: They saw it coming, and they adapted before it was too late.

Over my time covering these disruptions, nothing compares to this one. Between Al rewriting how information is made and everyone with a phone calling themselves a media company, this is the most precarious moment for journalism (and society) I have ever seen. There was a time I would have written the story about what happens to television news next. Instead, I am here to make sure that story doesn’t get written about us. That is why Bari hired me. Evolving or dying isn’t a threat. It’s simple math.

My responsibility is not just technological transformation. It is also our trust with the public.

On the very first episode of 60 Minutes Mike Wallace said: ‘If this broadcast does what we hope it will do it will report reality.” I can’t think of a better north star for 60 Minutes than that. Above all, that means a commitment to fairness in story selection, in the edit room, and in the broadcast.

Now, what happens next? I’m here to lead this show, not preserve it under glass. That means honoring what works and being honest about what doesn’t. I have a notebook full of ideas. Some are about the show itself. Some are about the next generation of correspondents. Some are about the strange fact that we produce one extraordinary hour for one night a week in a world that consumes content around the clock. I’m excited to share them, and I’m confident you’ll be excited by them, too.

But not yet. The first thing I want to do is meet you. Hear what you’re working on. Hear what isn’t working.

Hear what you’ve been waiting to do and haven’t been able to. In about thirty days l’I come back to all of you with where we go from here. It will be a conversation that we have together.

This is the best job in journalism. I can’t wait to introduce myself and meet each of you.

See you tomorrow.

Nick

Also out at CBS is Cecilia Vega, who has been a correspondent with 60 Minutes since 2023.

Simon had been named executive producer on the show last year following longtime producer Bill Owens’s resignation. Owens alleged the show had lost independence amid the network’s legal battles with President Donald Trump.

The post READ: New 60 Minutes’ Showrunner’s Opening Message to Staff first appeared on Mediaite.

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The Mandalorian and Grogu has managed to bring a bit of fun back to cinematic Star Wars universe, picking up from where the immensely popular Disney+ series left off. Cleverly situated as an outer-space adventure that nods to both traditional American westerns and Japanese samurai narratives, the show (and movie) picks and chooses tropes from classic cinema genres in much the same way that the original Star Wars did.

In that spirit, here are 10 more streaming shows that draw from the same wells to watch next (because I'm going to assume you already know where to find other Disney+ Star Wars series, from Andor, to Ahsoka, to Skeleton Crew).

Killjoys (2015 – 2019)

What starts out as a relatively straightforward action show about space bounty hunters (the title's “Killjoys”) develops surprising depth over the course of its five seasons. As officially sanctioned Killjoys, the trio at the the show’s heart (Hannah John-Kamen, Aaron Ashmore, and Luke Macfarlane) are bound to remain politically neutral at any cost. Initially, that’s a way to get them right into the heat of a fight, but as they develop ties of friendship and family in an exploited community, they come to understand the high cost of unchecked wealth and greed, and the ways in which neutrality always benefits the oppressors. The show’s creators make exceptionally good use of a limited budget, and offer up some impressive queer rep, which is still rare in pop sci-fi. Buy Killjoys from Prime Video or Apple TV.

Killjoys (2015 – 2019)

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Cowboy Bebop (1998 — 1999)

An iconic, effortlessly cool genre classic, Cowboy Bebop is one of the undisputed GOATs of anime, blending western, noir, and crime genres and setting the resultant mash to a killer soundtrack. The title's "cowboys" are bounty hunters in a near-future in which humans have been forced to colonize the solar system after Earth became uninhabitable. Former hitman Spike Spiegel leads his crew on one nearly disastrous mission after another, their standalone adventures all building to a thoroughly memorable climax. Stream Cowboy Bebop on Crunchyroll or buy it from Prime Video.

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Firefly (2002)

If you prefer your dystopias a little quippier, there's this short-lived cult favorite following a crew of mercenaries led by Mal Reynolds and Zoe Washburne (Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres), two disaffected former soldiers who fought on the losing side of a galactic war for independence against the thoroughly conformist central government. The crew tries to stay just under the radar of law enforcement while engaging in activities that aren’t always strictly legal. Canceled after just a handful of episodes aired, the series didn’t get a chance to make much of that core conflict, but the sequel/wrap-up film Serenity (2005) is a good capper, and the crew is forced to take a stand to protect one of its own. Stream Firefly on Disney+ and Hulu.

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Blake’s 7 (1978 – 1981)

Political dissident Roj Blake (Gareth Thomas) gets a second chance in the wake of his capture and conviction by the totalitarian surveillance state that is the Terran Federation. When his prison transport responds to a distress call, Blake and his fellow convicts take the opportunity to seize the advanced spacecraft they encounter. Renaming the ship Liberator, the borderline fanatical Blake convinces his reluctant new crew that the only peace for any of them will require bringing down the Federation. The series saw several significant changes in status quo over its four seasons (including a couple of swaps in main characters), giving it a sense of consequence and unpredictability—and it all leads to one of TV's most memorable, shocking conclusions. Buy Blake's 7 on Prime Video and Apple TV.

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Farscape (1999 – 2004)

Ben Browder plays Earth astronaut John Crichton, hurled through a wormhole into a distant corner of the galaxy. Quite by accident, he winds up onboard Moya, a sentient prison ship that’s been hijacked by its cargo of convicts, and the euphemistically named Peacekeepers (think something like Space ICE). The mismatched crew, including political dissidents and more conventional criminals, plus one stranded Peacekeeper, becomes, by necessity rather than intention, the focus of resistance against an oppressive government. The Jim Henson Company and its Creature Shop handled the alien makeup, prosthetics, and puppets, giving the show a singular look and feel. It sometimes plays like a lost, dark episode of The Muppet Show...which is obviously a compliment. (The show was canceled before a planned fifth season, but concludes in The Peacekeeper Wars miniseries.) Stream Farscape on Peacock, Tubi, and Prime Video.

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Lone Wolf and Cub (2002 – 2004)

Doubtless the biggest single influence on The Mandalorian, the 1970s manga Lone Wolf and Cub follows disgraced warrior Ogami Ittō, forced to become a wandering assassin if he hopes to survive long enough to restore his name or, at the very least, to avenge his murdered wife. Only his newborn son Daigorō survived the slaughter of his household, and he winds up growing up on the road as the father and son explore a violent world. There are several entries to the live-action worlds of these characters, including a 1970s Japanese television series and, perhaps most memorably, a sequence of films. I'm recommending the most recent installment here because it's quite good in its own right—and it happens to be readily available on streaming. Stream Lone Wolf and Cub on Prime Video and Tubi.

Lone Wolf and Cub (2002 – 2004)

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The Witcher (2019 – )

Kicking off with a slightly overcomplicated timey-wimey narrative structure, The Witcher ultimately settles into a groove as a show about a big guy who fights creatures in a Tolkien-like fantasy kingdom. Played first by Henry Cavill and, more recently, by Liam Hemsworth, the titular Witcher is Geralt of Rivia, a genetically engineered (sort of) magical monster hunter who refuses to kill a young woman accused of monstrosity by a jerk of a mage—a decision that puts him on a path that involves protecting and mentoring Ciri (Freya Allan), a crown princess who lots of people want dead. Ciri is no child, but a powerful individual in her own right; she just needs a little mentoring, not unlike little Baby Yoda. Stream The Witcher on Netflix.

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The Last of Us (2023 – )

Though the focus shifts a little (or, I suppose, a lot) in the second season, the adaptation of the video game The Last of Us starts out as a road trip two-hander of sorts, set in a frequently dusty, desolate America that's been ravaged by the outbreak of a zombie plague caused by a cordyceps fungus. Pedro Pascal (Mando himself!) is Joel Miller, a hardened smuggler who reluctantly agrees to ferry teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across several states, her apparent immunity making her a valuable commodity. Gradually, the two come to care for each other and, even more gradually, they become a formidable pair, defending themselves from both the infected and normal people looking to exploit Ellie. Stream The Last of Us on HBO Max.

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The Expanse (2015 – 2022)

Set in a near-ish future, The Expanse (based on the book series by James S.A. Corey) imagines a colonized solar system into which we’ve carried all of our old familiar problems, and then some. Earth sits at the historical and cultural center of things, while Mars colonists, by virtue of having to survive in a challenging environment, have developed technological and military superiority, and folks living in "the Belt" have had to scrabble to survive. Greed, fear, and shortsightedness make conflict nearly inevitable, even if the series isn’t quite as cynical as it at first appears. Like Mando and Grogu, a spaceship crew led by Captain James Holden finds itself alternately inside and very outside of the system, depending on the political realities at any given time, and likewise doing the right thing, if only out of necessity. Stream The Expanse on Prime Video.

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Samurai Jack (2001 – 2017)

While mostly not a tale of masters and apprentices, this justifiably beloved animated series places a traditional warrior in a futuristic setting, his code of honor running up against reality in every episode. Phil LaMarr voices the title character, a feudal Japanese prince who becomes lost in time due to the machinations of a shapeshifting demon. Jack (as he comes to be called) lands in a distant, dystopian future ruled by the same demon and his robot servants. Jack's series-long quest is to return to his own time and prevent the horrible future he's been forced to live through. Wildly stylish and smart, it's one of the animated greats. Stream Samurai Jack on HBO Max.

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