CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin discusses the highlights from this year's New York Times DealBook Summit.

New York

Jimmy Donaldson, also known as Mr. Beast, discussed his approach to building a global audience and his views on the current landscape of social media platforms in an interview with CNBC. He emphasized that while creators should maintain a presence on all major platforms due to fragmented audiences, YouTube stands out as the most effective for fostering deep engagement and building a loyal fan base.

Donaldson highlighted the difference between short-form content, such as TikTok videos, and long-form YouTube content, noting that the latter allows viewers to form stronger connections with creators. The interview also touched on the importance of authenticity, with commentators praising Mr. Beast's genuine approach as a key factor in his success.

Mr. Beast on the future of content

I also spoke with Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. Mr. Beast. He is now the most followed person, if you can believe this, in the whole world. And I asked him about how he built his empire and what he thinks of the various social media platforms right now. If you're trying to reach as many people as possible, you should definitely not all of them because there's a certain fragmented audience on them. It just depends what your goal is. But at the end of the day, if you're trying to actually build, I guess for lack of better words, a community or get it where a lot of people care about you, YouTube is 100% it. Because if you spend an hour on the toilet flipping through TikTok, you'll watch 200 TikToks. And then you quiz someone what they saw they can't even remember. People with ridiculous views with millions of followers will do a mean green, can't even get five people to show up. Because there's a big difference between someone consuming a five-second clip of you versus sitting down and watching a 20-minute video and hearing you speak and getting to know you. So YouTube is infinitely more dominant in terms of if you actually want to build a business or build a fan base. It's not even comparable, the audience depth you get. But what is interesting is there just is a subset of people that will only use TikTok versus Instagram or only use Instagram versus TikTok. So if you don't make content on that platform, you essentially don't really exist in their world. So it's important you're on all of them. I'll tell you something, Joe, about Jimmy that's just so fascinating. You know, a lot of people come, they come to interviews here on our set or to DealBook and they have talking points or things like that of things they want to say. You can tell, OK, Jimmy was actually one of the first people who I think literally just sat down in the chair and just you saw who Jimmy was. And it was it was so refreshing. It really was just to understand. And I think that's how he created this this this Mr. Beast masterpiece of his. Is that not in a good modus operandi? That is the that is the motive that should be everyone's modus operandi. I agree. Hello. I'm looking at you. Yeah, I'm looking at you, kid. You would acknowledge that maybe you're a little more guarded than I'm a little more guarded than I am. Yes. But more insecure. That's I'm plenty insecure. I guess you get to a point where Tom Cruise, risky business, there comes a point you just got to say, this is it. No WTF.

A grand jury has rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson has reaction.

Washington

Grand jury rejects DOJ's attempt to re-indict Letitia James

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.

Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

Australia starts enforcing a landmark ban requiring social media platforms to take down accounts belonging to under-16s

Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

European Union lawmakers and member states reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas before the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to choke off key funds feeding Moscow's war chest. Aimed at breaking a reliance the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, the accord marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.

Brussels

EU agrees deal to ban Russian gas by end of 2027

President Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on Wednesday. The couple was indicted in 2024 on more than a dozen federal charges. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

Sources say the Pentagon watchdog found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have endangered American service members when he shared military information in a Signal group chat in March. Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss.

Watchdog found Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday released never-before-seen images of the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more details.

Never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released

The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the actor's overdose death has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on a revised Ukraine peace plan but left without a deal. Russia insists on territorial gains, army cuts, and blocking NATO membership, while Zelenskyy calls for long-term deterrence against future aggression.

U.S. envoys Kushner, Witkoff leave Kremlin without Ukraine deal

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a televised cabinet meeting, said “I don't want them in our country” about Somali immigrants, sparking outrage from politicians and migration experts. His remarks coincided with reports of planned federal raids targeting Minneapolis’ Somali community.

Trump targets Somali immigrants amid reports of Minneapolis raids

A Russian tanker carrying sunflower oil was hit by a drone off the Turkish coast, with no casualties. The attack is part of recent strikes on Russian-flagged vessels targeting Moscow’s oil sector, while Putin warns of possible retaliatory measures.

Russian tanker attacked off Turkey, Putin warns of retaliation

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had watched the first U.S. strike in September on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in real time, but did not see survivors in the water or the second lethal strike that he described as being carried out in the "fog of war."

Hegseth says he didn't see survivors before second strike on boat

Republican comfortably beats Democratic challenger after polls showed candidates in a close race in US state.

Tennessee

Trump’s pick Van Epps wins special election in deep-red Tennessee

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to expand his crackdown on drug trafficking during a cabinet meeting, suggesting he’d order land strikes on Venezuela and attacks on any country transporting illegal drugs into the U.S.

Trump threatens to expand strikes beyond Venezuela

Ahead of a meeting to discuss the U.S. proposal for peace in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European counter-proposals as 'unacceptable' and said his country was ready for war if Europe wants one.

Putin says Russia is 'ready' if Europe wants war

OpenAI has declared a "code red" as Google threatens to unseat the AI industry's early leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. Technology journalist Jacob Ward joins CBS News to discuss.

California

OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google threatens its AI lead

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday (December 2) for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.

Putin meets Trump envoys Witkoff, Kushner for Ukraine peace talks

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the deadly boat strikes in the region near Venezuela and Colombia have "only just begun." This comes as Republicans and Democrats in Congress question the legality of the military action.

Hegseth defends boat strikes near Venezuela during Cabinet meeting

President Vladimir Putin has hailed what his commanders told him was the full Russian capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine as an important victory after a prolonged campaign, saying it would help Moscow fulfil its wider war aims.

Pokrovsk

Russia claims control of Pokrovsk

Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Nuwara Eliya

Severe storms batter Southeast Asia, displacing millions

Honduras’ presidential race is too close to call, with Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla nearly tied at just under 40% each as technical glitches delay official results.

Tegucigalpa

Asfura, Nasralla in tight battle for Honduras presidency

Airbus must inspect hundreds of its A320 jets for potential quality flaws in the plane's body as a total of 628 aircraft contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue at a supplier.

Blagnac

Airbus to inspect hundreds of A320s for defective panels

U.S. President Trump warns against actions that could ‘interfere with Syria’s evolution’ amid new Israeli incursions and strikes.

Damascus

Syria demands Israel withdraw amid escalating cross-border incursions

The White House confirmed it authorized a second airstrike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in September, but denied it ordered everyone on board be killed, which would be considered a war crime.

U.S. authorization of second strike of Venezuelan ship questioned

Monday is World AIDS Day. It has been recognized globally since 1988, but this year, the U.S. government is not commemorating it for the first time.

U.S. not recognizing World AIDS Day this year

Operation "Swamp Sweep," a monthslong immigration crackdown centered in New Orleans, is set to begin Monday. CBS News national reporter Kati Weis has the details.

Breakdown