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The co-hosts of the weekend morning show have been let go by the US broadcaster

Following seven years presenting CBS Saturday Morning, hosts Michelle Miller, 52, and Dana Jacobson, 52, have been dropped by the network amid ongoing redundancies.

The duo, who started on the programme in 2018, are among the latest victims after CBS’s parent firm, Paramount Skydance, was bought by billionaire tycoon David Ellison during the summer.

A source revealed to Variety that the majority of production staff have also received their marching orders. Executive producer Brian Applegate was similarly shown the door.

The 28-year-old programme, which broadcasts on TV on Saturday mornings between 7am and 9am, has been scrapped as part of sweeping changes, reports the Express.

Insiders informed the New York Post that the show is being restructured by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and President Tom Cibrowski.

Ellison has revealed plans to cut over 2,000 positions throughout the company.

In a staff memo, he allegedly stated: “In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organisation. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities, and the new structure is designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”

Whether the axing takes effect immediately or if Saturday’s edition will still broadcast on November 1 remains unclear.

The show has suffered declining audience figures this year, with viewership falling 10% to 1.9 million.

Miller began her career at the Los Angeles Times during the early 1990s before transitioning to television. She’s wedded to Marc Morial, the ex-mayor of New Orleans and current leader of the National Urban League.

Meanwhile, Jacobson spent a decade at ESPN, featuring on First Take and SportsCenter before moving to CBS in 2015.

An insider revealed to the New York Post that the broadcaster is also pulling the plug on CBS Mornings Plus, which broadcasts from 9 to 10 am on weekdays. The show, co-hosted by Adriana Diaz and Tony Dokoupil, reportedly aired its final episode on Friday, October 31.

However, they’re not the only hosts facing the axe. John Dickerson, host of CBS Evening News, also announced earlier this week that he would be departing the network after a 16-year stint.

In total, 100 roles at CBS News are being slashed. An initial wave of cuts across the broadcaster affected 1,000 staff members across various departments, with another 1,000 set to follow.

Iran also expresses commitment to diplomacy as landmark 10-year nuclear deal with Western powers officially ends.

Iran has said it is no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”.

From now on, “all of the provisions [of the 2015 deal], including the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear programme and the related mechanisms are considered terminated,” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday, the day of the pact’s expiration.

“Iran firmly expresses its commitment to diplomacy,” it added.

The deal’s “termination day” was set for exactly 10 years after the adoption of resolution 2231, enshrined by the United Nations Security Council.

Officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement between Iran and China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States saw the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme.

But Washington unilaterally left the deal in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office and reinstated sanctions. Tehran then began stepping up its nuclear programme.

Talks to revive the agreement have failed so far, and in August, the UK, Germany and France triggered the so-called “snapback” process, leading to the re-imposition of the UN sanctions.

“Termination day is relatively meaningless due to snapback,” Arms Control Association expert Kelsey Davenport told the AFP news agency.

Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group’s Iran project director, told AFP that while the nuclear deal had been “lifeless” for years, the snapback had “officially buried” the agreement, with “its sorry fate continuing to cast a shadow over the future”.

Western powers and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.

Neither US intelligence nor the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said they found any evidence this year that Iran was pursuing atomic weapons.

Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers are currently deadlocked.

“Iran remains sceptical of the utility of engaging with the US given its history with President Trump, while Washington still seeks a maximalist deal,” Vaez told AFP.

On Monday, Trump said he wanted a peace deal with Iran, but stressed the ball was in Tehran’s court.

Tehran has repeatedly said it remains open to diplomacy with the US, provided Washington offers guarantees against military action during any potential talks.

The US joined Israel in striking Iran during a 12-day war in June, which hit nuclear sites, but also killed more than 1,000 Iranians, including hundreds of civilians, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Angered that the IAEA did not condemn the attacks and accusing the agency of “double standards”, President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law in early July suspending all cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and prompting inspectors to leave the country.

For its part, the IAEA has described its inability to verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile since the start of the war “a matter of serious concern”.

The three European powers last week announced they will seek to restart talks to find a “comprehensive, durable and verifiable agreement”.

Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said during an interview last week that Tehran does “not see any reason to negotiate” with the Europeans, given they triggered the snapback mechanism.