program

A slightly shorter and lighter-weight carbine version of the U.S. Army’s new 6.8x51mm M7 service rifle has now gotten its own designation: XM8. This choice of moniker is somewhat interesting, given that the service previously applied this designation to an abortive modular family of firearms designed to ape the looks of the guns in the 1997 movie Starship Troopers. The M7 had faced some significant criticisms of its own previously over its weight, ergonomics, and other aspects of the design, which the Army and manufacturer Sig pushed back strenuously against. At the same time, the design has continued to evolve and has been fielded more widely, as evidenced by the carbine version.

The Soldier Systems blog was the first to report on the new XM8 designation for the carbine variant of the M7 earlier this month. The Army subsequently confirmed this to Task & Purpose.

The Army chose what is now designated the M7 as its standard service rifle back in 2022. That year, the service chose Sig as the winner of its Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) competition. The NGSW also includes a new 6.8x51mm light machine gun from Sig, designated the M250, as well as a suite of accompanying ammunition types for both guns. The NGSW ‘system’ also includes computerized XM157 optics, which the Army is procuring separately from Vortex Optics.

What Is the New Army XM-7 Rifle Like? | GOARMY

“The XM8 is just over 32 inches long overall, compared to 37 inches for the M7, with a barrel length dropped from 13 to 11 inches and its suppressor from 7 to 6 inches,” according to Task & Purpose, citing Sig Sauer’s product manager for rifles and suppressors Joshua Shoemaker. “Without the suppressor, the XM8 weighs 7.33 pounds while the M7 weighs 8.36 pounds. The carbine’s suppressor shaves down to 1.31 pounds from the M7’s 1.46 pounds.”

“The carbine also comes with a fixed stock after soldiers said they preferred it to the M7’s folding stock,” Task & Purpose‘s piece adds. “The carbine also has a softer butt pad and a more rigid handguard for optics and other mounted equipment.”

The XM8 builds on what the Army had originally referred to as the product-improved or PIE version of the M7. This is one of two lighter-weight versions of the rifle that Sig had on display at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual symposium last September, both of which are seen in the picture at the top of this story.

“There’s basically two combined efforts going on within the M7,” Jason St. John, senior director of strategic products for the Defense Strategies Group at Sig Sauer, told TWZ at that time. “We have a carbine version, and then we have a lightened, improved version of the M7. And so when you look at the standard M7 that’s been issued to the troops, the overall weight of the firearm was 8.3 pounds. Now, the improved M7 is 7.6 pounds, and the carbine version weighs 7.3 pounds. So we’re getting closer and closer to [a] rifle weight system similar to the M4.”

The carbine variation Sig had previously presented then had a 10-inch barrel. Past reports have said that the PIE M7 had a 10.5-inch barrel. The baseline M7 has a 13.5-inch barrel. The 5.56x45mm M4A1 has a 14.5-inch barrel and weighs 8.63 pounds (including a sling and loaded magazine), according to the Army. It should be noted that optics and other accessories add appreciable weight to any firearm. The XM157 is heavier, as well as physically larger, than the types the Army has historically issued with M4A1s.

In terms of how the PIE M7 was lightened, “there’s the upper receiver, we’ve redesigned and taken some weight out of it. We’ve lessened the barrel profile slightly to get some weight out of it,” Sig’s St. John had also told us. “We’ve done some lightening efforts within the operating system, as well as remove the folding stock hinge. By removing that hinge, we save some weight.”

The XM8’s configuration could well evolve further as early testing by operational Army units gets underway, which Task & Purpose says could happen as soon as October.

Regardless, as noted, this is not the first XM8 ‘carbine’ the Army has tried to adopt. For a time in the early 2000s, the service looked set to replace all of its existing M16 rifles and M4 carbines with a new family of 5.56x45mm rifles and carbines known collectively as the XM8, developed by famed German gunmaker Heckler & Koch.

The previous XM8 had evolved from an earlier and more ambitious Army small arms program that envisioned future soldiers carrying a single weapon that combined a compact 5.56mm gun with a highly computerized 20mm grenade launcher firing programmable ammunition. That gun, called the XM29 Objective Infantry Combat Weapon, was beset by technical and other issues. In 2004, the Army decided to pursue the rifle and grenade launcher components as separate programs. The grenade launcher evolved into a 25mm design designated the XM25 and eventually nicknamed “the Punisher.”

XM29 OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) Prototype

The standalone XM8 family was based on Heckler & Koch’s G36, which the German armed forces had adopted as its standard infantry rifle in the late 1990s. However, U.S. Army officials specifically asked if the gun could be made to look “more Starship Troopers,” in reference to the 1997 film, which is a very loose adaptation of the 1959 Robert Heinlein science fiction novel of the same name, according to firearms researcher Ian McCollum, who runs the website ForgottenWeapons.com. As a result, the XM8 evolved to have a much sleeker and futuristic-looking appearance externally.

STARSHIP TROOPERS [1997]– Official Trailer (HD) | Get the 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD SteelBook Now

Testing of the XM8 proceeded relatively well by all accounts. Versions of guns also gained a foothold in popular culture, appearing in several video games in the 2000s. Replicas were also featured in the movies Children of Men and District 13: Ultimatum.

In the end, though, a future Army with soldiers carrying “Starship Troopers” rifles was not to be. The program was cancelled in 2005. Continually evolving requirements and domestic U.S. political factors, together with broad questions about whether the cost, not to mention the time and effort, of adopting a new standard infantry weapon was justified by the reliability and improvements the XM8 was expected to offer over the existing M16/M4 family, were key factors.

Work on the XM25 grenade launcher continued for more than another decade before that program was axed, as well. The Army is now pursuing a new futuristic grenade launcher through a program called the Precision Grenadier System (PGS).

In the late 2000s, elements of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) evaluated the XM8. The Royal Malaysian Navy’s Pasukan Khas Laut naval special warfare unit, or PAKSAL, subsequently adopted multiple variants of the gun, but on a very limited level. The extent to which those guns remain in sevice today is unclear. There are no other known users anywhere else globally. You can read more about the full story of Heckler & Koch’s XM8 here.

Rare Unicorn Gun – H&K XM8 Compact PDW

The Army’s selection and fielding of the M7 have not been entirely smooth, either. As mentioned, the rifle has been the subject of criticism in the past. Army Capt. Braden Trent drew particular attention with a presentation that slammed the rifle at the annual Modern Day Marine conference last year. That assessment was based on the findings of a report written while he was a student at the Expeditionary Warfare School, which is part of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Both the Army and Sig had vehemently disputed his claims, as you can read more about here.

It still remains to be seen how widespread the adoption of any variation on the M7, including the XM8 carbine, might be across the rest of the U.S. military. In February, the U.S. Marine Corps notably told Task & Purpose that the service had no intention currently of adopting a version of the Army’s new 6.8mm rifle, and would instead stick with its 5.56x45mm M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR).

“We will continue to monitor development of the M7 [Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle] to inform future requirements,” a Marine Corps spokesperson told that outlet.

In the meantime, at least some Army soldiers now look to be in line to finally carry XM8 carbines, but not the “Starship Trooper” rifles they were once promised.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

SACRAMENTO — Cori Close’s candid remarks about the growing challenges of coaching in modern college athletics sparked a reaction nationwide among her peers.

On Thursday, the UCLA women’s basketball coach was asked about the rapid changes shaping college sports ahead of her Bruins’ Sweet 16 matchup against Minnesota on Friday night. The No. 1-seeded Bruins (33-1) entered the Sweet 16 round considered a strong Final Four contender, powered by one of the deepest starting lineups in the nation.

“I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years, and it’s made me think how much longer I can do this,” Close said. “And I’m just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder, and we keep losing incredible people on the men’s and the women’s side.”

UCLA has dominated throughout the season, entering the Sweet 16 on a 27-game winning streak that dates to late November. Three starters — Lauren Betts, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens — began their college careers elsewhere before transferring into the program.

“How do we now figure out this transfer portal? Let’s not complain about it,” Close said. “Let’s have solutions about what’s right and what adjustments need to be made. … I’m a huge advocate for NIL. It should have happened 20 years ago. And we need boundaries. We need infrastructure. We need competitive equity. We need transparency.”

In contrast, Louisville coach Jeff Walz offered a more critical perspective when addressing the same topic during a NCAA news conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

UCLA guard Kiki Rice points across the court while talking with Bruins coach Cori Close during an NCAA tournament win over California Baptist at Pauley Pavilion on March 21.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I’m friends with Cori,” Walz said. “My favorite line, I would tell her, if you don’t like your job, find a new job. I mean, I’m listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don’t like it, find a new profession.”

No. 3-seeded Louisville will face No. 2 Michigan on Saturday after falling short against Duke in the ACC championship game.

Close, who has spent 33 years in coaching, including 15 at UCLA, has navigated an evolving landscape shaped by name, image and likeness compensation policies and the transfer portal, just like everyone else. Last season, she earned national coach of the year and led the Bruins to the program’s first Final Four. UCLA has now reached at least the Sweet 16 during four consecutive seasons and eight times during Close’s tenure in Westwood.

This year, the Bruins swept through Big Ten play undefeated and once again secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

“I mean, of course, it’s a lot of work, but we chose to do it and we get compensated for it,” Walz said. “I don’t think anybody is going to feel too sorry for us that you might be tired. I’m tired, too, but who is not?”

Several longtime coaches have stepped away from the game in recent years, amid, though not always directly attributed to, the sport’s ongoing transformation. Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer retired in 2025, while Georgia Tech’s Nell Fortner, Iowa’s Lisa Bluder and Harvard’s Kathy Delaney-Smith stepped down during the past three seasons.

“It’s ever-changing, and that’s the frustrating part, because you can never get a grasp on any of it,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said. “You think that you have it. Then all of a sudden, it’s like somebody pulls a rug out and says, ‘No, we’re changing it,’ and now it’s going to be this way now. We want to get out ahead of everything, but we can’t. We always seem like we’re one step behind because there are so many changes.”

Ultimately, Close’s message centered on the need for structural support in a rapidly shifting environment.

“If there’s one thing I would ask of our governing bodies and the NCAA and our administrations is please develop infrastructure and boundaries that create an opportunity to have sustained excellence and sustainable pace,” she said. “Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose some of our best coaches, and I do not think our game can afford to do that.”

Kaleena Smith averaged 31 points, seven assists and four steals a game this season while playing for the No. 1 program in the Southland, but her expanded leadership role is what earns her the honor of The Times’ girls’ basketball player of the year.

The 5-foot-6 junior point guard marshaled Ontario Christian to the CIF state championships in Sacramento for the first time in the program’s history and along the way her voice spoke almost as loudly as her game — surprising for someone who is not talkative by nature.

“Her numbers speak for themselves but the biggest difference in Kaleena this season has been her leadership,” Knights coach Aundre Cummings, said. “She’s always coming to practice first and leaving last, which teammates respect, but also knowing when to speak up.”

Smith has been nicknamed “Special K” for her talent and charisma, traits that make her one of the top national recruits in the class of 2027. She is garnering attention from multiple college programs. USC women’s coach Lindsay Gottlieb was even on hand to witness Smith score 23 points and contribute six assists in the Southern California regional semifinals against Etiwanda on March 8 and the state championship game against Archbishop Mitty at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

“I’m being more vocal, yes, because I’m gonna have to do that in college,” said Smith, who spent countless hours refining her mid-range jumper this winter. “As captain it’s one of my responsibilities.”

One hundred games into her high school career, Smith is living up to the hype thrust upon her when she was named MaxPreps’ national freshman of the Year in 2024. She passed the 2,000-point plateau when she scored 51 points against Esperanza in November.

Smith paced Ontario Christian to the Southern Section Open Division title as a sophomore and although the Knights were denied a repeat (she had 30 points and five assists in a finals defeat to Sierra Canyon) her stats are better in every significant category. Intertwined with her competitive spirit and winning mindset is the maturity and confidence of an upperclassman.

“Her leadership is what stands out,” sophomore teammate Tatianna Griffin said. “She’s a very quiet person. I’m not sure it comes naturally or not but when she says something we listen.”

Griffin’s own game has blossomed because of Smith’s willingness to give her the ball in clutch situations, and Smith has been a mentor to freshman Chloe Jenkins, who led the team in rebounds (11.3 per game).

Adding leadership to her basketball IQ, court vision, defense, quickness, shooting, passing and dribbling has made Smith a complete player, one who is poised for a senior season worth talking about.

In a stunning move, CBS News is shutting down its radio division, getting out of the medium where its storied history began nearly 100 years ago.

CBS News Radio will stop offering its service to its 700 affiliate stations on May 22.

“While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one,” the company said in a memo obtained by The Times. “A shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities, has made it impossible to continue the service.”

CBS sold its own radio stations in 2017, but continued to offer hourly network newscasts to affiliate stations, including “World News Roundup,” which has been on the air since 1938. Legendary CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow delivered his first report on the program.

The news of the shutdown comes as dozens of CBS News employees are learning Friday if they have a future at the struggling news division.

A morning email from CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss that was obtained by The Times said staff affected by a new round of job reductions will be notified by the end of the day. About 6% of the 1,000 CBS News employees will be affected.

The cuts had been hinted at earlier this year by Weiss, when she said her business goal for the division is to expand its reach on digital platforms. Weiss and Cibrowski raised the same issue in their note informing employees of the cuts.

“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” they wrote. “New audiences are burgeoning in new places and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them.”

CBS News has been dealing with a decline in revenue for its TV programs, as viewers have gravitated toward streaming platforms and social media.

The network’s daily programs “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil” and “CBS Mornings,” both run well behind their competition in the ratings. It does have two strong weekend franchises in “60 Minutes” and “CBS Sunday Morning.”

CBS News is expected to be under the same corporate ownership as CNN once parent company Paramount closes its $111 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The two divisions are likely to share news gathering costs, which could lead to the closure of bureaus and a reduction of personnel.

CBS News lost about 100 employees in October as part of a massive round of cuts enacted at Paramount after the company was acquired by Skydance Media.

Weiss had joined CBS News earlier that month and was not directly involved in the staff reductions. She is said to be more personally involved in the cuts occurring Friday.

MS NOW is making sweeping changes to its daytime programming, moving hosts Stephanie Ruhle and Alicia Menendez to new time slots.

The changes include the departure of Ana Cabrera, who told viewers about her plans Wednesday. Carbera joined MS NOW — formerly MSNBC — from CNN in 2023. Chris Jansing, the current 11 a.m. Eastern host, will become chief political correspondent.

Stephanie Ruhle is the new anchor for MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour.”

(MSNBC)

The moves announced by MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler are aimed at improving daytime ratings on the network, which changed its name from MSNBC after being spun off from Comcast into a new company called Versant.

MS NOW has seen improved ratings in prime time with opinion programming since the network was re-branded in November. The politically progressive-leaning network will have hosts with a point-of-view in the daytime hours as well once the programming changes take effect in June.

In a memo to staff obtained by The Times, Kutler said the daytime programming will “still be rooted in hard news.”

Ana Cabrera speaks at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018 at The Common Good Forum on May 21, 2018 in New York City.

(Sylvain Gaboury / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Ruhle will move from her 11 p.m. Eastern program “The 11th Hour” to a daytime shift from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastern. Her program will focus on money and politics.

Menendez will host two hours in the afternoon starting at noon Eastern.

The schedule changes will take effect in June.

Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele and Symone Sanders Townsend of MSNBC’s “The Weekend.”

(MSNBC/Virginia Sherwood/MSNBC)

Once Ruhle’s new program debuts, “Morning Joe” will return to a three-hour format. The program co-hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski expanded to four hours in 2022. Although the expansion improved ratings, the hosts have asked to scale back so they can pursue other projects at the network.

Menendez has been part of the trio on “The Weeknight,” with Michael Steele and Simone Sanders-Townsend. Luke Russert will take her seat on the program as he returns to an on-air role. Russert had been part of the daytime MSNBC show “The Cycle,” and recently served as creative director for MS NOW’s live event series.

Ruhle will be replaced on “The 11th Hour” by Ali Velshi, who recently served as a weekend anchor. Jacob Soboroff, the network’s national correspondent, will take over Velshi’s anchor duties from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern.

Kutler said there will be no job reductions related to the schedule changes, saying she expects to have “more people working at MS NOW by the end of 2026 than we do today.”

MS NOW is the second most-watched cable news network behind Fox News while leading CNN.

A dispute over the city of Los Angeles’ eviction defense program came to an end Tuesday when the City Council approved millions of dollars in funding for the next 15 months.

The program, Stay Housed L.A., started in 2021 and provides thousands of renters with legal representation in eviction proceedings as well as other services.

Tenant advocates feared that the new contract, which passed 12 to 1 and funds an initial portion of a three-year, $177-million contract, was under threat after City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto urged the council to reconsider it in a confidential memo last week.

Feldstein Soto said she had concerns about awarding such a large contract to Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, which frequently sues the city over homelessness issues.

Legal Aid is the main legal service provider under the Stay Housed L.A. contract, which also funds Southern California Housing Rights Center for short-term emergency rental assistance, Liberty Hill Foundation for tenant outreach and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy to protect tenants from harassment.

The city’s Housing Department had recommended a three-year contract, but the council opted for a shorter period that can be extended.

Legal Aid has argued that its lawsuits against the city are unrelated to its eviction defense work under the Stay Housed L.A. contract.

“We are very relieved that our services can continue uninterrupted,” said Barbara Schultz, director of housing justice for Legal Aid, in an interview after the vote.

Feldstein Soto, who is running for reelection, said in a statement that her office wanted to make sure the city wasn’t giving a “blank check” to Legal Aid without requiring detailed reporting of finances and outcomes.

“The eviction defense program is a city program and is in zero jeopardy,” she said. “What is in question is a $177-million blank check to [Legal Aid] and its partners without the reports and invoice review that is required by law. That is an amount that exceeds the budget of numerous city departments.”

On Tuesday, the City Council added a requirement that the nonprofits in the program provide “performance metrics” including the number of tenants served, case outcomes and demographic data.

Schultz said that Legal Aid already provides monthly data to the city.

John Lee was the only councilmember who voted against the new contract, saying he was not comfortable with the new “transparency requirements.”

Since its inception, Stay Housed L.A. has opened about 26,000 cases overall, providing full representation for 6,150 cases and working on nearly 20,000 “limited scope” cases, according to data from Legal Aid. The original contract, which is set to lapse at the end of the month, was for about $90 million.

The program is funded by Measure ULA, the “mansion tax” passed by city voters in 2022. On Tuesday, the council included a provision that would allow it to cease funding the eviction defense program if Measure ULA were overturned.

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles routinely sues the city — and wins.

In the last two months, the nonprofit has notched victories in three lawsuits over the city’s handling of the homelessness crisis.

Legal Aid also defends tenants at risk of eviction as part of the city and Los Angeles County’s Stay Housed L.A. program.

Last Tuesday, the City Council was set to vote on a $177-million contract for Legal Aid to continue representing tenants for the next three years, with other groups providing related services.

But the night before the vote, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto sent a confidential memo to council offices recommending that council members “reconsider the award of such a large contract to a frequent litigant against the city,” according to a portion of the memo obtained by The Times.

On the day of the scheduled vote, the council delayed it for a week, until Tuesday.

“[Legal Aid’s] mission includes improving the lives of our client communities through systemic change, which sometimes means filing litigation against government entities engaging in illegal conduct,” Barbara Schultz, director of housing justice for Legal Aid, said in an interview.

Schultz said that Legal Aid’s litigation and eviction work “are entirely separate.”

Through a spokesperson, Feldstein Soto declined to comment. She is running for reelection this year.

The contract, which would last for three years, would award nearly $107 million to Legal Aid for eviction defense and prevention, $42 million to the Southern California Housing Rights Center for short-term emergency rental assistance, nearly $22 million to Liberty Hill Foundation for tenant outreach and close to $7 million to Strategic Actions for a Just Economy to protect tenants from harassment.

The battle over the contract has serious implications for Los Angeles tenants at risk of eviction, Schultz said.

Legal Aid, which has participated in the program since its inception in 2021, will have to stop accepting new clients if the contract does not pass on Tuesday. Each month, about 160 tenants will be without legal representation and about 575 more won’t get advice that could help them avoid eviction proceedings, Schultz said.

Schultz said that Legal Aid subcontracts some of the legal work in the program to groups such as Bet Tzedek and Inner City Law Center.

“We get 600 to 800 eviction filings each month in our district alone. If council doesn’t act, those families will have no help from the city,” City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez said in a statement.

The Stay Housed L.A. program has opened about 26,000 cases overall, providing full representation for 6,150 cases and working on nearly 20,000 “limited scope” cases, according to data from Legal Aid. The original contract, which is set to lapse at the end of the month, was for about $90 million.

Measure ULA, the “mansion tax” passed by city voters in 2022, includes funding for the program.

Last June, Feldstein Soto tried to block the City Council from extending the contract without a competitive bidding process, a core tenet she has preached as the city’s elected legal counsel.

At the time, some City Council members grumbled, but still, they opened the contract to bidders.

Months later, the city Housing Department awarded the contract to Legal Aid and the other organizations before sending it to the City Council for approval.

“Our understanding of the city’s contracting process is that it is trying to get the best services it can at the best value and not using the process to influence the political or legal activities of nonprofit advocacy organizations,” Elizabeth Hamilton, deputy director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, which has also filed lawsuits against the city, said in a statement.

Feldstein Soto’s confidential memo cited other potential issues with the contract, calling for an audit of Stay Housed L.A. and asserting that a confidentiality clause in the original contract might violate state public records laws.

Recently, Legal Aid has scored several victories against the city.

In January, a judge ruled that the city violated the state’s open meeting law when council members made a plan behind closed doors to sweep 9,800 homeless encampments. Legal Aid represented the plaintiffs in that case.

In February, with Legal Aid also serving as plaintiffs’ counsel, a judge ruled that the city lacked the legal authority to carry out a state law allowing the dismantling of abandoned or inoperable RVs worth up to $4,000.

That same month, Legal Aid scored another victory when a federal judge found that the city violated homeless people’s constitutional rights by seizing and destroying their property during encampment cleanups.

Gayle King, the most high-profile star at CBS News, has signed a new deal with the network.

A CBS News representative said Wednesday the division reached an agreement with King, 71, to continue as co-host of “CBS Mornings” co-host but did not reveal the length or the terms. Her current deal was set to end in May.

King’s future at the program came into question last fall after the arrival of CBS News Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. There were leaks to the trades and tabloid press that parent company Paramount was looking to trim King’s salary or reduce her role at the network as a means to cut costs.

“Rumors of my demise were inaccurate and greatly exaggerated,” King said in a statement. “CBS News is my longtime home, and I am committed to our mission. I’m excited about continuing at CBS Mornings. As always, I’m open to new adventures here and ready to go. It took a minute, but we got there. And now that we are here, I am all in.”

King is the highest paid on-air talent at CBS News, earning an annual eight-figure salary.

Known for her effusive charm, King apparently won Weiss over.

“There is only one Gayle King,” Weiss said in a statement. “We’re so proud that she’ll continue to call CBS home. We’re thrilled to have her on in the morning—and equally excited to work with her on new, enterprising projects that bring her talents to new audiences.”

While King is locked in for at least another year, there is a search underway for at least one new co-host on the program.

King’s current co-host is Nate Burleson, who is also an analyst for CBS Sports. The network has not permanently replaced Tony Dokoupil, who left “CBS Mornings” in January to take over as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.”

King joined CBS News in 2012, when she joined “CBS This Morning.” As co-hosts alongside Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell, the program experienced five consecutive years of ratings growth.

“CBS This Morning” was adrift after Rose — a major audience draw — was ousted over sexual harassment allegations. In 2021, it was renamed “CBS Mornings,” with King taking a more prominent role.

“CBS Mornings” ranks third in ratings behind NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” but remains a significant revenue generator for CBS News.

Los Angeles cannabis businesses that owe back taxes wouldn’t have to pay late fees and interest under an “amnesty” program proposed by the City Council.

To qualify, the businesses would have to pay their city taxes within three years.

The council’s unanimous vote on Tuesday, asking the Office of Finance to draft language creating the program, comes at a time when city leaders are searching for money to cover basic services after closing a $1-billion budget gap.

More than 500 of the roughly 700 licensed cannabis businesses in the city collectively owed about $400 million in taxes — an amount that includes $100 million in penalties and $35 million in interest, according to an October report from the Office of Finance.

The total amount owed increased to $417 million as of December, according to Matthew Crawford, the office’s assistant director.

But only about $150 million is collectible, since some tax debts are outside of the three-year statute of limitations and some cannabis businesses are no longer operating.

Based on a projection that about half of eligible cannabis businesses would take part in the program, the city would collect about $30 million in back taxes while waiving about $25 million in penalties, the October report said.

Under the amnesty program, about 20% of the revenue would go to the city’s general fund and the Office of Finance. The Los Angeles Police Department and the city attorney’s office would receive about 40% for illegal cannabis enforcement, and the remaining 40% would fund social equity grants to cannabis operators, particularly members of low-income and minority communities that have been subject to disparate enforcement of criminal cannabis laws.

“The city finds itself with a unique opportunity to bring businesses into compliance and, at the same time, properly fund cannabis industry-centric programming,” City Councilmember Imelda Padilla said during Tuesday’s meeting.

Owners of cannabis businesses say the 10% city tax rate on their gross sales is exorbitant, at the same time that illegal cannabis businesses have carved out a chunk of the market.

“Not only are we competing against the illicit market, we’re competing against licensed dispensaries that the city is allowing to stay open who have made it their business model to not pay tax,” Daniel Sosa, who owns four cannabis dispensaries in the city, told the council on Tuesday.

The amnesty program should be mandatory for businesses that are behind on their taxes, and those who default on their payments should have their licenses stripped, Sosa said.

Sosa said that the tax on cannabis sales should be “just like every other business pays in the city: guns, tobacco, alcohol, major, major billion dollar corporations.”

Other business tax rates in the city range from 0.11% to 0.425%, according to Crawford.

Last month, the council placed a cannabis-related measure on the June 2 ballot that, if approved by voters, would close a tax loophole for illegal cannabis businesses and open them up to the threat of civil collection.

Embassy staffers and dependents evacuating, airlines suspending service, eyes in Iran warily turning skyward for signs of an attack.

The prospects of a showdown between the U.S. and Iran loom ever higher, as massive American naval and air power lies in wait off Iran’s shores and land borders.

Yet little of that urgency is felt in Iran’s government. Rather than quickly acquiescing to President Trump’s demands, Iranian diplomats persist in the kind of torturously slow diplomatic dance that marked previous discussions with the U.S., a pace that prompted Trump to declare on Friday that the Iranians were not negotiating in “good faith.”

But For Iran’s leadership, Iranian experts say, concessions of the sort Trump are asking for about nuclear power and the country’s role in the Middle East undermine the very ethos of the Islamic Republic and the decades-old project it has created.

“As an Islamic theocracy, Iran serves as a role model for the Islamic world. And as a role model, we cannot capitulate,” said Hamid Reza Taraghi, who heads international affairs for Iran’s Islamic Coalition Party, or Hezb-e Motalefeh Eslami.

Besides, he added, “militarily we are strong enough to fight back and make any enemy regret attacking us.”

Even as another round of negotiations ended with no resolution this week, the U.S. has completed a buildup involving more than 150 aircraft into the region, along with roughly a third of all active U.S. ships.

Observers say those forces remain insufficient for anything beyond a short campaign of a few weeks or a high-intensity kinetic strike.

Iran would be sure to retaliate, perhaps against an aircraft carrier or the many U.S. military bases arrayed in the region. Though such an attack is unlikely to destroy its target, it could damage or at least disrupt operations, demonstrating that “American power is not untouchable,” said Hooshang Talé, a former Iranian parliamentarian.

Tehran could also mobilize paramilitary groups it cultivated in the region, including Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis, Talé added. Other U.S. rivals, such as Russia and China, may seize the opportunity to launch their own campaigns elsewhere in the world while the U.S. remains preoccupied in the Middle East, he said.

“From this perspective, Iran would not be acting entirely alone,” Tale said. “Indirect alignment among U.S. adversaries — even without a formal alliance — would create a cascading effect.”

The U.S. demands Iran give up all nuclear enrichment and relinquish existing stockpiles of enriched uranium so as to stop any path to developing a bomb. Iran has repeatedly stated it does not want to build a nuclear weapon and that nuclear enrichment would be for exclusively peaceful purposes.

The Trump administration has also talked about curtailing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support to proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, in the region, though those have not been consistent demands. Tehran insists the talks should be limited to the nuclear issue.

After indirect negotiations on Thursday, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi — the mediator for the talks in Geneva — lauded what he said was “significant progress.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there had been “constructive proposals.”

Trump, however, struck a frustrated tone when speaking to reporters on Friday.

“We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating and, again, they cannot have nuclear weapons,” he said.

Trump also downplayed concerns that an attack could escalate into a longer conflict.

This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9.

(Uncredited / Associated Press)

“I guess you could say there’s always a risk. You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything, both good and bad,” Trump said.

Three days earlier, in his State of the Union address Tuesday, said, “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon — can’t let that happen.”

There are other signs an attack could be imminent.

On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Israel allowed staff to leave the country if they wished. That followed an earlier move this week to evacuate dependents in the embassy in Lebanon. Other countries have followed suit, including the U.K, which pulled its embassy staff in Tehran. Meanwhile, several airlines have suspended service to Israel and Iran.

A U.S. military campaign would come at a sensitive time for Iran’s leadership.

The country’s armed forces are still recovering from the June war with Israel and the U.S, which left more than 1,200 people dead and more than 6,000 injured in Iran. In Israel, 28 people were killed and dozens injured.

Unrest in January — when security forces killed anywhere from 3,000 to 30,000 protesters (estimates range wildly) — means the government has no shortage of domestic enemies. Meanwhile, long-term sanctions have hobbled Iran’s economy and left most Iranians desperately poor.

Despite those vulnerabilities, observers say the U.S. buildup is likely to make Iran dig in its heels, especially because it would not want to set the precedent of giving up positions at the barrel of a U.S. gun.

Other U.S. demands would constitute red lines. Its missile arsenal, for example, counts as its main counter to the U.S. and Israel, said Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at the Defense Priorities think tank.

“Iran’s deterrence policy is defense by attrition. They act like a porcupine so the bear will drop them… The missiles are the quills,” she said, adding that the strategy means Iran cannot fully defend against the U.S., but could inflict pain.

At the same time, although mechanisms to monitor nuclear enrichment exist, reining in Tehran’s support for proxy groups would be a much harder matter to verify.

But the larger issue is that Iran doesn’t trust Trump to follow through on whatever the negotiations reach.

After all, it was Trump who withdrew from an Obama-era deal designed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, despite widespread consensus Iran was in compliance.

Trump and numerous other critics complained Iran was not constrained in its other “malign activities,” such as support for militant groups in the Middle East and development of ballistic missiles. The Trump administration embarked on a policy of “maximum pressure” hoping to bring Iran to its knees, but it was met with what Iran watchers called maximum resistance.

In June, he joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that didn’t result in the Islamic Republic returning to negotiations and accepting Trump’s terms. And he has waxed wistfully about regime change.

“Trump has worked very hard to make U.S. threats credible by amassing this huge military force offshore, and they’re extremely credible at this point,” Kelanic said.

“But he also has to make his assurances credible that if Iran agrees to U.S. demands, that the U.S. won’t attack Iran anyway.”

Talé, the former parliamentarian, put it differently.

“If Iranian diplomats demonstrate flexibility, Trump will be more emboldened,” he said. “That’s why Iran, as a sovereign nation, must not capitulate to any foreign power, including America.”