President Trump on Thursday suggested that networks should have their licenses pulled for negative coverage of him. His comments come amid ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel over remarks about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect.

Washington

President Trump has indicated that his administration may consider revoking the broadcast licenses of television networks that provide predominantly negative coverage of him. This follows the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, which prompted sarcastic responses from other hosts and renewed debate about the administration's influence over media outlets.

Some Republican figures, including Senator Ted Cruz, have criticized the suggestion and the comments made by FCC chairman Brendan Carr, likening them to intimidation tactics. While there has been some pushback from conservatives, the ultimate decision regarding network licenses remains with the FCC, and it is unclear how far the administration intends to pursue this issue.

Trump floats revoking TV licenses over negative coverage

The late night wars used to refer to the high stakes ratings competition between the shows, but a new reality has emerged. The ratings have dropped over the years and this week has shown us the stakes are now higher than ever in this new battle. The very survival of the format may be in question, as is the power an administration has over the airwaves and what is set on them. In the first night after Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, the late night hosts all responded mostly with sarcastic deference to the president. We have another fun, hilarious administration compliant show. If you felt a little off these past couple of days, it's probably because our great father has not been home. I'm gonna cover the president's trip to the UK just like I normally would. President Trump just wrapped up his three day trip to the UK and he looked incredibly handsome. If ABC thinks that this is gonna satisfy the regime, they are woefully naive and clearly they've never read the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Kimmel. President Trump is now indicating that he and his administration are not done targeting the late night shows. If they're 97% against, they give me only bad publicity or press. I mean, if they're getting a license, I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It would be up to Brendan Carr. Nancy Cordes joins us now from the White House. And Nancy, we just heard the president suggests the network should have their licenses pulled for negative coverage of him. How far is the White House looking to take this? I think it depends, Nicole, on whether this is hyperbole from the president or whether he is really intent on going after hosts and potentially even journalists who he believes don't cover him fairly or who criticize him. There has been some Republican pushback, some conservative pushback, but not a ton. Still, we have heard from some people who typically stand alongside the president, like Ted Cruz of Texas. The senator on his podcast today said that essentially the way that the FCC chair, David Carr, went about warning Disney and ABC affiliates that perhaps some major deals could be off the table if they didn't do something about Kimmel, he likened that to sort of a mob shakedown. And he warned that if there was a Democratic president in the Oval Office in the future, this would open the door for them to take conservatives off of the air that they don't like. So the question is, is the president simply getting this off his chest or does he really plan, as he said, to pull the licenses of networks or over individuals on those networks that he doesn't like, something that has never happened before? Yeah, and I wanna drill down further on this because as you just referenced earlier this week, after Jimmy Kimmel's comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in an interview, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. And some perceive that as a thinly veiled threat against local stations. Now he's saying this. I don't think this is the last shoe to drop. This is a massive shift that's taking place in the media ecosystem. I think the consequences are gonna continue to flow. We're gonna continue to hold these broadcasters accountable to the public interest. And if broadcasters don't like that, simple solution, they can turn their license into the FCC. There's other things that we can do with it. And we also wanna play that sound you referenced from Texas Senator Ted Cruz who criticized Carr's initial comments, likening it to a scene out of the movie, Goodfellas. Listen. I like Brendan Carr. He's a good guy. He's the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him. But what he said there is dangerous as hell. He threatens explicitly, we're gonna cancel ABC's license. We're gonna take him off the air so ABC cannot broadcast anymore. He says, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Yeah. And I gotta say that's right out of Goodfellas. That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, nice bar you have here. It'd be a shame if something happened to it. I mean, that's pretty strong pushback from a key conservative ally of the president, Nancy. Could this have any impact? It could, but I think it depends on whether there are more conservatives who sort of rally to Cruz's position. You've got a lot of Republicans in Congress saying, well, I regret the way that Carr went about this, but I didn't like what Jimmy Kimmel had to say about supporters of Charlie Kirk. I didn't like what he has said about President Trump for years. And essentially, it was Disney's decision at the end of the day. Nobody forced them to pull Kimmel off the air. We don't know how long this suspension of the show is going to last. So they made the case that, you know, it's still Disney in control at the end of the day of Kimmel's fate. Nancy Cordes, thank you so much from the White House.

A Republican measure to keep the government funded until Nov. 21 stumbled in the Senate after clearing the House, leaving lawmakers without a clear path forward to avoid a funding lapse at the end of the month.

Government shutdown looms after GOP funding bill fails in Senate

In suburban Chicago, tensions boiled over as authorities unleashed tear gas and pepper balls to break up a crowd that was trying to block vehicles outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.

Chicago

Tensions boil over as protesters clash with authorities outside Chicago ICE facility

Gunfire struck the building that houses the ABC 10 TV station in Sacramento on Friday afternoon. No one was injured.

Sacramento

Gunfire strikes Sacramento ABC TV station building

President Trump signed two executive orders at the White House on Friday night. The first established the Trump Gold Card as a path to U.S. citizenship for $1 million. The second adds a $100,000 fee for skilled worker visas called H-1B worker visas.

Trump signs $1M gold card visas, adds fee for skilled workers

With Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a third straight day, the fallout is growing. Film and TV writers protested outside ABC headquarters in New York, even as President Trump warned he may go after other networks next. Nancy Cordes reports.

New York

Fallout grows after Jimmy Kimmel taken off air

State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, can hold more than 63,000 people, but on Sunday, police are anticipating more than 100,000 people will try to attend Charlie Kirk's memorial service.

Orem

Security preparations underway for Charlie Kirk memorial

Three Russian fighter planes flew into Estonian airspace, and NATO scrambled Italian, Swedish and Finnish aircraft to repel them. Russia last week sent drones into Romania and Poland, two other NATO members.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

NATO scrambles jets to repel Russia incursions

Protesters are clashing with federal agents outside an ICE detention facility near Chicago. Video shows what appears to be tear gas being deployed and some physical altercations.

Video shows ICE protesters being dragged by agents near Chicago

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed agriculture, tech and trade during a call about potential deals on Friday (Sept. 19). Trump says he and Xi made progress on a TikTok deal.

Trump, Xi Jinping discuss trade, tech on latest call with China

An AI-generated government “minister” made its debut with an address in the Albanian parliament on Thursday (September 18), with Prime Minister Edi Rama presenting the bot as a symbol of his government’s push for transparency and innovation.

Tiranë

Rise of AI

Albania unveils AI-generated 'minister'

A spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry said the couple "violated Afghan law" and were released from prison on Friday after a court hearing but didn't say what law they were alleged to have broken.

Kabul

Taliban releases British couple held for months in Afghanistan

Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets lingered in NATO-member Estonia's airspace for several minutes on Friday, according to Estonian authorities.

Tallinn

Russian fighter jets violated Estonia's airspace, authorities say

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown that would fund the government until Nov. 21. CBS News' Nikole Killion reports.

House passes short-term spending bill to avert shutdown

ABC preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after U.S President Donald Trump's appointed Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr threatened action following Kimmel's comments surrounding the killing of Charlie Kirk. Now Trump is suggesting that networks that 'only give him bad press' should have their licenses suspended.

Trump suggests revoking licenses of networks that are ‘against' him

French President Emmanuel Macron tells "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan that France's decision to recognize a Palestinian state is necessary "to isolate Hamas" and help stop the war.

Paris

Middle East Conflict

Macron: Recognizing Palestinian statehood necessary 'to isolate Hamas'

U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated the suspension of talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves and said TV broadcasters should lose their licenses over negative coverage of his administration, adding fuel to a national debate over free speech.

Trump applauds comedian Jimmy Kimmel's suspension

A much-awaited announcement about a deal to keep Chinese-owned App TikTok online in the US is likely in the coming hours. It will be one of the main items on the agenda of a phone-call between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. The two men will also discuss a standoff over trade tariffs.

Beijing

Xi, Trump set to discuss TikTok deal in Friday call

The US blocked a UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, drawing condemnation from members. Algeria’s UN ambassador Amar Bendjama apologized to Palestinians after the vote.

U.S. vetoes UN Gaza ceasefire resolution for sixth time

U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a joint news conference to conclude Trump’s state visit to the U.K. Trump acknowledged a disagreement with Starmer over Gaza and Palestinian statehood.

London

Trump, Starmer disagree over Palestinian state as visit wraps

A group of 22 young climate activists is suing the Trump administration in hopes of blocking three executive orders promoting the use of fossil fuels.

Missoula

Young climate activists sue Trump over fossil fuel orders

A CDC advisory panel voted to shift its guidance on immunising children under 4 with the combined measles, mumps, rubella, varicella vaccine. Instead of the combined shot, the advisory panel voted to recommend the age group get an MMR vaccine and a varicella vaccine separately.

Atlanta

CDC updates guidance on MMRV vaccine for young children

ABC confirmed that the popular late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has been "preempted indefinitely" following comments Kimmel made on the show in response to the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump admin under fire after ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel show

President Trump on Thursday addressed ABC's decision to pre-empt "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" over comments Kimmel made about the shooting of Charlie Kirk. CBS News correspondent Shanelle Kaul has more.

Trump comments on Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off air

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. CBS News' Kelly O'Grady reports.

Trump asks Supreme Court to allow Lisa Cook firing

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled new action against left-wing groups following the assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, targeting the anti-fascist Antifa movement as a "terrorist organisation."

Trump targets Antifa movement as 'terrorist organization'

ABC said that the late-night show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" has been "pre-empted indefinitely" after comments Kimmel made on the show in response to the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

ABC suspends Jimmy Kimmel show over Charlie Kirk comments

In southern Pennsylvania, three police officers were fatally shot and two others were injured in a violent incident. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack and searching for leads on the suspect or suspects involved.

Haar Road

Three police officers killed, two wounded in Pennsylvania shooting

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the U.S. and Beijing "have larger agendas to work out" after media reports of China's internet regulator ordering top tech firms to halt purchases of the American company's AI chips and cancel existing orders.

China tells tech firms to stop buying Nvidia's AI chips, FT reports

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it lowered interest rates by 0.25 percentage points, its first rate cut since December 2024. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more.

Breakdown