Jimmy Kimmel figured his ABC late-night show was toast during last month’s firestorm over his comments following conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s shooting.
“I said to my wife: ‘That’s it. It’s over,’” Kimmel recalled Wednesday night at the Bloomberg Screentime media conference in Hollywood in a lengthy sit-down interview three weeks after the controversy.
The 57-year-old comedian has all along felt his statements about the Kirk shooting were misconstrued. But he recognized his show was in deep trouble on Sept. 17 when his bosses benched him and two ABC affiliate station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, initially refused to air the program.
Kimmel provided fresh details about his dealings with Walt Disney Co. brass, his emotional hiatus and the late night television business in the wake of rival CBS announcing it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” next spring.
Kimmel declined to say whether he would extend his long ABC run when his contract is up in May, but he acknowledged an interest in producing other projects.
Kimmel’s future was in doubt last month after his comments and the political backlash spawned boisterous protests that shined a light on 1st Amendment freedoms, the role of the Federal Communications Commission and the challenges facing Disney as it looks for a new leader to replace Chief Executive Bob Iger next year.
The controversy began with his Sept. 15 monologue when Kimmel said Trump supporters “are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Right-wing influencers howled; FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s actions “the sickest conduct possible.”
The sentiment he was trying to convey “was intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized,” Kimmel said.
He didn’t sense the initial fallout was “a big problem,” but rather a “distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks,” he said.
Kimmel had planned to clarify his remarks Sept. 17, but Disney executives feared the comedian was dug in and would only inflame the tense situation. That night, about an hour before showtime, Disney hit pause and released a statement saying the show had been pre-empted “indefinitely.”
He was off the air for four days.
“I can sometimes be aggressive. I can sometimes be unpleasant,” he said.
A protester calls for the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Walt Disney Co. yanked the ABC comedian in September over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
He recognized the show’s precarious position when Sinclair and Nexstar bailed. He recalled an episode from early in his career when he made a joke about boisterous Detroit basketball fans, saying “They’re gonna burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win,” so he hoped the Lakers would prevail.
The comment riled up the Motor City, prompting the local ABC affiliate to briefly shelve Kimmel’s show.
An ABC executive at the time told Kimmel the loss of the Detroit market could be catastrophic. That pales in comparison to the threatened loss of Nexstar and Sinclair, which own dozens of stations, including in such large markets as Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
“The idea that I would not have …. 40 affiliates [stations] … I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’” Kimmel said.
But he said he “was not going to go along” with demands made by station broadcasters.
Sinclair, a right-leaning broadcaster, said in a statement it would not air Kimmel until he issued “a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the right-wing group Kirk founded.
Both Sinclair and Nexstar resumed airing the show Sept. 26. ABC offered no concessions.
Kimmel complimented Disney’s co-chair of entertainment Dana Walden’s handling of the crisis, saying she was instrumental in helping him sort through his emotions.
“I ruined Dana’s weekend. It was just nonstop phone calls all weekend,” Kimmel said, saying he doubted the situation would have turned out so well “if I hadn’t talked to Dana as much as I did, because it helped me think everything through, and it helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from.”
When asked who might become the next CEO of Disney, Kimmel said it would be “foolish” to answer that question.
“But I happen to love Dana Walden very much, and I think she’s done a great job,” Kimmel said.
Throughout the controversy, Walden and Iger were skewered by critics who asserted the company was caving to President Trump, who has made it clear that he’s no Kimmel fan. The Disney leaders were accused of “corporate capitulation.”
“What has happened over the last three weeks … was very unfair to my bosses at Disney,” Kimmel said. “It [was] insane, and I hope that we drew a really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept.”
Kimmel returned Sept. 23 with an emotional monologue that championed the 1st Amendment.
Ratings soared.
The controversy — and CBS’ upcoming cancellation of Colbert — has focused new attention on the cultural clout of late night hosts, despite the industry’s falling ratings.
Millions of viewers now watch monologues and other late night gags the following day on YouTube, which means networks that produce the shows have lost valuable revenue because Google controls much of that advertising.
Networks acknowledge the late night block is challenged, but Kimmel said such shows still matter.
He scoffed at reports that cite unnamed sources suggesting Colbert’s show was on track to lose $40 million this year.
“If [CBS] lost $40 million, they would have canceled it already,” Kimmel said. “I know what the budgets for these shows are,” alluding to the ABC, CBS and NBC shows.
“If we’re losing so much money, none of us would be on,” he said. “That’s kind of all you need to know.”
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson continued firing verbal shots at each other Friday, escalating a week-old battle that risks extending into next month’s Democratic National Convention.
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, suggested that Jackson is using “for his own purposes” the controversy that followed Clinton’s condemnation of a black rapper during a Rainbow Coalition speech last Saturday.
Responding to questions during a televised appearance before a convention of radio talk-show hosts in Washington, Clinton said Jackson’s continuing anger over the incident is “a mystery to me,” especially considering the fact that Jackson seems more angry now than he did a week ago.
“Each day the temperature has been turned up,” Clinton said.
In an interview published Friday in the New York Times, Jackson was quoted as saying Clinton used the speech before his organization to “stage a well-planned sneak attack, without the courage to confront but with a calculation to embarrass.”
Jackson also said Clinton was using the rapper’s comments to advance his presidential campaign with white voters by “containing Jackson and isolating Jackson.” Such a racial appeal, he said, “again exposed a character flaw” in Clinton, a reference to questions about Clinton’s morality that the candidate has worked hard to erase in the minds of voters.
The interview was the latest in a series of efforts by Jackson to exclaim how offended and embarrassed he was by Clinton’s behavior.
In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, Jackson said Clinton failed to address his proposal for a $500-billion program to aid urban areas at the Rainbow meeting, but chose to engage in “a divisive political maneuver” aimed at him.
“Clinton has a ploy and I have a plan,” he said.
In his speech before Jackson’s organization, Clinton complained that rapper Sister Souljah urged blacks to kill whites instead of killing each other. He also chastised the coalition for recognizing Souljah at a convention which was honoring a white man who filmed the Rodney G. King beating and several blacks who risked their lives to rescue white riot victims.
“After I gave that speech, Jesse Jackson invited me to come back that night and play the saxophone,” Clinton told reporters here Friday. “He went back and had a very cordial meeting with me. So all these discoveries of things after the speech are for his own purposes.”
Clinton said he would “not back down” in his criticism of Souljah. “If Jesse Jackson wants to ally himself with that now and claim that’s the way he felt then, that’s his business,” Clinton said. He added: “Something has happened since the speech. This is not about the speech.”
If Jackson continues drawing attention to his dispute with Clinton, it risks becoming an issue at the July nominating convention, a prospect that Clinton forces had not anticipated.
Many key Democratic Party officials are former Jackson associates, including chairman Ronald H. Brown, but they were hoping for a harmonious meeting that could showcase Clinton. The dispute dominated discussions during convention planning sessions in New York on Friday, where Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was reportedly selected as a keynote speaker.
Some officials feared that Jackson would use delegates pledged to former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. to seek the vice presidential nomination, but Jackson denied he was interested.
Jackson is publicly flirting with the independent candidacy of Texas businessman Ross Perot. But Clinton said he does not believe the controversy with Jackson will cost him black votes. “I’ve got to stand for what I believe and say what I believe and voters either respond one way or the other,” Clinton said.
Times staff writer Geraldine Baum from New York contributed to this story.
Kimmel’s cancellation is the latest in a spate of firings related to comments made about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
United States television network ABC has announced it will indefinitely cease airing Jimmy Kimmel Live due to comments made by the popular chat show’s host about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday the show would be “preempted indefinitely” due to Kimmel’s comments suggesting the man charged with Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week, Tyler Robinson, is a supporter of US President Donald Trump.
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“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on Monday in a monologue on his long-running late-night talk show.
Earlier, Nexstar Media, one of the country’s largest local TV station owners, including at least 28 ABC affiliates, announced it would stop airing the show over Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk killing.
Announcing the move, Nexstar Media President Andrew Alford said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”.
“We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” he said.
While Utah prosecutors have formally charged Robinson with the murder of Charlie Kirk and said they will seek the death penalty, questions remain about a possible motive.
Kimmel’s comments also drew condemnation on Wednesday from Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent US government TV, radio and internet regulator.
In an interview with right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson, Carr described Kimmel’s comments as “the sickest conduct possible”, and he also appeared to threaten ABC affiliate licences over the presenter’s remarks.
“What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a licence granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said.
Carr explicitly called on ABC affiliates to “push back” on the network’s airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live as they run the risk of ” licence revocation” due to a “pattern of news distortion”.
“When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” he said.
Following news of Kimmel’s cancellation on Nexstar, Carr told The Hollywood Reporter news outlet he wanted to thank the firm “for doing the right thing”.
At least one other station group had contacted ABC about the Kimmel show, suggesting that an affiliate revolt may have played a role in the decision, an unnamed source told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kimmel’s cancellation is the latest in a spate of firings over the past week, brought on by a conservative backlash to public comments about Kirk’s killing that have been deemed insensitive.
Conservatives have mourned Kirk as a martyr who championed patriotism, open debate and Christian values. Others have rebuked his divisive views, including on immigration and Islamophobia, with some also celebrating his death.
Journalists, academics and doctors are among those who have been fired or investigated by their employers over comments made about Kirk, mirroring the much-maligned cancellation campaigns of recent years associated with America’s left and sparking debate over the limits of free speech in the US.
Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster ABC said it is pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” indefinitely following backlash over the host’s remarks about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The move comes after station owner Nexstar Media Group said it is pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from its ABC affiliate stations as a result of the comments.
The Irving, Texas-based Nexstar announced Wednesday that Kimmel will be off its stations for the foreseeable future.
“Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” a company representative said in a statement.
Kimmel said during a monologue on his Monday program that Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused in the shooting death of Kirk, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. He said MAGA supporters “are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel then mocked President Trump for talking about the construction of a new White House ballroom after being asked how he was reacting to the murder of his close ally.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.
Alford said continuing to give Kimmel a broadcast platform “is simply not in the public interest at this current time.”
Nexstar’s decision comes just after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel and threatened to take action against ABC. Appearing on the podcast of right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, Carr said one form of punishment could be pulling the licenses of ABC affiliates, which likely got Nexstar’s attention.
Nexstar has ABC affiliates in 32 markets across the U.S., including in New Orleans, New Haven, Nashville and Salt Lake City.
Network affiliates dropping a late-night program over the political views expressed in it is unprecedented. The closest situation goes back to 1970, when CBS blacked out the image of activist Abbie Hoffman when he appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” wearing a shirt made out of an American flag.
Sept. 11 (UPI) — The trial is underway for a man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Ryan Routh, who is defending himself in the case, was interrupted by Judge Aileen Cannon minutes into Routh’s opening remarks when he began veering off topic Thursday.
Cannon excused the jury, then chided Routh, directing him to keep his comments relevant to the case. Routh apologized but continued on a tangent, discussing the “history” of human existence.
Canon then told Routh his opening remarks were over.
In court, Secret Service agent Robert Fercano identified Routh as the man hiding behind a shrub-covered fence near the sixth hole of the lush golf course, aiming an AK-style assault weapon at Trump. Fercano was the first government witness to take the stand in the trial.
Prosecuting attorney John Shipley Jr. said during his testimony that Routh “decided to take the choice away from the American people.”
Routh was found with a handwritten note stating his intention to assassinate Trump. Eyewitness accounts, cellphone data and security footage prove the case against Routh beyond a reasonable doubt, Shipley said.
Fercano said he noticed the muzzle of a gun protruding from the shrubbery and called out to Routh, then proceeded to call for law enforcement backup. “Hey, sir!” Fercano said he yelled.
The court then played audio of Fercano discharging his weapon in Routh’s direction and radioing colleagues. “Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” Fercano yelled. The agent testified that he believed he came within five feet of Routh.
Fercano testified that the barrel of the assault rifle was pointed directly at his face and that he feared Trump’s life was in danger. He said he initially did not think Routh was a threat until he saw the gun muzzle.
During the trial, Fercano presented a Russian-designed SKS semiautomatic weapon officials believe Routh obtained illegally and used in the assassination attempt.
Routh, a 59-year old construction worker, does not have any formal legal training.
Egypt says forced Palestinian displacement a ‘red line’ as Qatar calls it a ‘extension’ of Israel’s policy of violating Palestinian rights.
Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025
Egypt and Qatar have expressed strong condemnation over remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the displacement of Palestinians, including through the Rafah crossing.
In a statement on Friday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the comments as part of “ongoing attempts to prolong escalation in the region and perpetuate instability while avoiding accountability for Israeli violations in Gaza”.
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In an interview with the Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, Netanyahu claimed there were “different plans for how to rebuild Gaza” and alleged that “half of the population wants to leave Gaza”, claiming it was “not a mass expulsion”.
“I can open Rafah for them, but it will be closed immediately by Egypt,” he said.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its “categorical rejection of forcibly or coercively displacing Palestinians from their land”.
“[Egypt] stresses that these practices represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes that cannot be tolerated,” the ministry added.
The statement affirmed that Egypt will never be complicit in such practices nor act as a conduit for Palestinian displacement, describing this as a “red line” that cannot be crossed.
‘Collective punishment will not succeed’
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also fiercely criticised Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them an “extension of the occupation’s approach to violating the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people”.
“The policy of collective punishment practised by the occupation against the Palestinians … will not succeed in forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land or in confiscating their legitimate rights,” it said in a statement.
It stressed the need for the international community to “unite with determination to confront the extremist and provocative policies of the Israeli occupation, in order to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence in the region and its spread to the world”.
The war of words comes as Egypt and Qatar continue to lead mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, seeking to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said Netanyahu’s comments were “incredibly controversial” since it’s the Israeli government which has outlined that “it wants the Palestinians out of Gaza”.
“The condemnation from both Qatar and Egypt is essentially telling Israel this is all a part of its larger plan, that Israel is the one that waged war on the Gaza Strip, that the continuation of crimes against the Palestinian people and the total closure of the Rafah border crossing is the reason why they’re imprisoned in Gaza, not because of anything else,” she said.
“It is Israel that single-handedly created this policy.”
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (UPI) — Washington has noted “with interest” a recent statement by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggesting a willingness to resume dialogue with the United States under certain conditions, a U.S. State Department official said.
Seth Bailey, acting deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remark at a public event Thursday in reference to comments made last week by Kim Yo Jong.
In a published statement, Kim dismissed the notion of resuming denuclearization talks with Washington but appeared to leave open the possibility of a new approach to negotiations.
“The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … should be a prerequisite,” Kim said. “It would be advisable to seek another way of contact on the basis of such new thinking.”
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
She added that her brother’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump was “not bad.”
“We have seen high-level statements from the DPRK leadership, including recent statements from Kim Yo Jong, which we note with interest,” Bailey said at an event in Arlington, Va., held by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for family members of missing troops from the Korean War.
Bailey said that the Trump administration remains committed to the principles outlined in a joint statement from his 2018 Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un.
“Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, he has made clear his willingness to engage in negotiations with North Korea to achieve these policy goals,” Bailey said. “The president has offered to engage Chairman Kim Jong Un on multiple occasions.”
Bailey also noted the efforts by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to improve relations with the North.
“The new ROK administration has demonstrated a willingness to engage with North Korea, taking meaningful steps to reduce tensions across the Korean Peninsula,” Bailey said, using the official acronym for South Korea.
Earlier this week, the South Korean military removed loudspeakers that had been installed along the DMZ to blast anti-Pyongyang messages across the border. Seoul also recently repatriated six North Koreans and has made multiple public calls for the North to resume inter-Korean communications.
On Thursday, the United States and South Korea announced details of their upcoming large-scale Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. Roughly half of their 40 planned field training exercises will be postponed until next month, both militaries said, citing factors such as an ongoing heat wave. However, speculation has swirled that the move was made in an effort to avoid provoking Pyongyang, which frequently condemns the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Friday echoed Bailey’s calls for the resumption of diplomacy with North Korea.
“South Korea and the United States share the position that they are open to dialogue with North Korea for peace on the Korean Peninsula and a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue,” ministry spokeswoman Chang Yoon-jeong said at a press briefing when asked about Bailey’s remarks.
“The government has also repeatedly expressed its active support for the resumption of North Korea-U.S. talks,” she said.
Chang added that the Unification Ministry is working on proposals for cooperation between Seoul and Washington on North Korean issues ahead of an expected summit between Presidents Lee and Trump later this month.
“In preparation for the South Korea-U.S. summit, we are in close consultation with relevant organizations regarding peace on the Korean Peninsula and the restoration of inter-Korean relations,” she said.
Beijing warns Manila to stop ‘playing with fire’ after Marcos signals potential Taiwan conflict involvement.
China has sharply criticised Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after he suggested his country would be drawn into a potential conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.
During a state visit to India this week, Marcos said the Philippines’ geographic proximity and the large Filipino community in Taiwan meant the country would be forced to get involved in the event of war.
“If there is an all-out war, then we will be drawn into it,” Marcos told Indian broadcaster Firstpost. “There are many, many Filipino nationals in Taiwan and that would be immediately a humanitarian problem.”
In response, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Friday, warning Manila not to “play with fire” and urging it to uphold the one China principle.
“Geographical proximity and large overseas populations are not excuses for interfering in others’ internal affairs,” the statement read.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have intensified in recent years over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Both sides have accused each other of provocations, with altercations at sea involving ramming incidents, water cannon blasts, and clashes involving weapons such as spears and knives.
Beijing continues to assert that Taiwan is part of its territory and a breakaway province, a position Taipei rejects.
China also dismissed Marcos’s justification as undermining both international law and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations charter, saying his comments risk destabilising regional peace and harming the interests of the Philippine people.
Marcos’s trip to India also saw the signing of new security agreements aimed at strengthening defence ties between New Delhi and Manila, including cooperation between both countries’ armies, air forces and navies. Indian warships recently began joint patrols with the Philippine Navy in the contested South China Sea in a move likely to anger China.
In another sign of rising tensions, Philippine officials earlier this week condemned the launch of a Chinese rocket, which they said dropped suspected debris near a western province, alarming residents and threatening local ships and aircraft. No damage or injuries were reported.
The escalating maritime standoff has also increasingly drawn in the United States, which has a mutual defence pact with the Philippines. Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to defend Filipino forces, including coastguard personnel, aircraft and public vessels, should they come under attack anywhere in the South China Sea.
Prosecutors make closing arguments in six-week trial that heard harrowing testimony from people who faced alleged abuse.
United States prosecutors argued that Sean “Diddy” Combs used his wealth and influence to evade accountability for violently abusing women in closing arguments in the entertainment mogul’s trial.
Prosecutors told the jury on Thursday that Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, oversaw a vast criminal conspiracy.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told jurors in her address. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
The trial of the billionaire former rapper, a central figure in the rise of hip-hop in US popular culture, has included harrowing testimony from women who described an atmosphere of cruelty, exploitation, and intimidation.
Over six weeks of testimony, prosecutors also said that Combs pushed people to participate in drug-fuelled sex parties known as “freak offs”, with footage of people engaged in sex acts then used as leverage by Combs.
Slavik said that Combs “again and again forced, threatened and manipulated” singer and former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to have sex with escorts for his own entertainment and used a “small army of employees” from his entertainment empire to cover up abuses and intimidate anyone who tried to push back.
Combs sat with his head down while Slavik made her remarks before the jury, wearing a light-coloured sweater and khaki trousers. His lawyers have argued that while Combs has a violent temperament and has committed violent acts against romantic partners, prosecutors have misrepresented a sexually unorthodox lifestyle as evidence of crimes such as racketeering and trafficking.
Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury that they would hear final statements from the defence on Friday, with the prosecution given a chance to offer a rebuttal before jurors are instructed on their responsibilities and sent to begin deliberation.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Friday or Monday, and Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison if he is convicted on all counts.
Tehran, Iran – Iran’s political and military leaders are pointing the finger back at Donald Trump after the United States president sharpened his rhetoric during his first major tour of the Middle East.
In a speech to a group of teachers gathered for a state ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said some of Trump’s comments were not even worth responding to.
“The level of those remarks is so low that they are a disgrace for the one who uttered them and a disgrace to the American nation,” he said, to chants of “Death to America” and others from the crowd.
Khamenei added that Trump “lied” when he said he wants to use power towards peace, as Washington has backed “massacring” Palestinians and others across the region. He called Israel a “dangerous cancerous tumour” that must be “uprooted”.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also told a gathering of navy officers on Saturday that Trump is extending a message of peace while threatening destruction at the same time as backing Israel’s “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
“Which one of this president’s words should we believe? His message of peace, or his message of massacre of human beings?” the Iranian president said, pointing out that Trump sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a move that was internationally criticised.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting with members of the Iranian Navy in Tehran, Iran, on May 17, 2025 [Iran’s Presidential website/WANA/Handout via Reuters]
The statements came after Trump used his Middle East tour – during which he signed huge deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – to heap praise on Arab leaders neighbouring Iran and blasting the leadership in Tehran.
The US president told Arab leaders they were developing their infrastructure while Iran’s “landmarks are collapsing into rubble” after its theocratic establishment replaced a monarchy in a 1979 revolution.
He said Iran’s leaders have “managed to turn green farmland into dry deserts” as a result of corruption and mismanagement, and pointed out that Iranians are experiencing power outages several hours a day.
The blackouts, a result of a years-long energy crisis that is hurting Iran’s already strained economy, are expected to linger for the rest of this year as well, according to Iranian authorities.
The largest associations of the mining, steel and cement industries in Iran on Saturday wrote a joint letter to Pezeshkian, urgently requesting him to review a 90 percent electricity use restriction imposed on the critical sectors.
Trump, who hailed Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and lifted sanctions on Damascus, also took aim at Iran’s regional policy.
He described Tehran’s support for the fallen establishment of President Bashar al-Assad as a cause of “misery and death” and regional destabilisation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the US president’s remarks as “deceptive”, telling state media on Friday it was the US that hampered Iran through sanctions and military threats while backing Israel and attacking Syria.
Parliament chief Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was addressing an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Indonesia, said Trump’s remarks showed he was “living in a delusion”.
Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), addressed Trump directly on Friday and said even though Iran has beautiful landmarks, “we take pride in the elevation of character, identity, culture, and Islam”.
The sharp rhetoric in response to Trump’s latest controversial comments come days after he teased that he may start calling the “Persian Gulf” the “Arabian Gulf” soon.
This angered Iranians across the board, prompting criticism of any attempt to rename the key waterway from average citizens online, authorities, local media, and even some pro-Trump Iranians outside the country who have been advocating for US sanctions and regime change.
A banner in downtown Tehran’s Palestine Square shows numerous locations in Israel as a Yemeni dagger (jambiya) with writing in Farsi reading: “All targets are within range, Yemeni missiles for now!” and in Hebrew “All targets are within reach, we will choose”, on May 5, 2025 [Vahid Salemi/AP]
Scepticism over Iran-US deal
Both Iran and the US say they would prefer an agreement that would serve to quickly de-escalate tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, despite the latest war of words.
But after four rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman, any prospective deal – which would lift sanctions in exchange for making sure Iran would not have a nuclear bomb – still appears to face significant hurdles.
Trump said Tehran has been handed a proposal to rapidly advance towards a deal, but Iran’s Araghchi on Friday said no written proposal was produced yet amid “confusing and contradictory” rhetoric from Washington.
“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other NPT signatories, too,” he wrote in a post on X, in reference to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior nuclear negotiator, on Friday rejected reports by Western media outlets that Iran may agree to fully halt its enrichment of uranium for the remainder of the Trump presidency to build trust.
“The right to enrich is our absolute red line! No halt to enrichment is acceptable.”
Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear accord signed between Iran and world powers three years earlier, imposing the harshest sanctions yet by the US that have only intensified during the latest negotiations.
The nuclear deal set a 3.67 percent enrichment rate with first-generation centrifuges for civilian use in Iran, in exchange for lifting United Nations sanctions. Iran is now enriching up to 60 percent and has enough fissile material for multiple bombs, but has made no effort to build one yet.
Jimmy Kimmel says foes ‘maliciously mischaracterized’ his Charlie Kirk remarks
Jimmy Kimmel figured his ABC late-night show was toast during last month’s firestorm over his comments following conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s shooting.
“I said to my wife: ‘That’s it. It’s over,’” Kimmel recalled Wednesday night at the Bloomberg Screentime media conference in Hollywood in a lengthy sit-down interview three weeks after the controversy.
The 57-year-old comedian has all along felt his statements about the Kirk shooting were misconstrued. But he recognized his show was in deep trouble on Sept. 17 when his bosses benched him and two ABC affiliate station owners, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, initially refused to air the program.
Kimmel provided fresh details about his dealings with Walt Disney Co. brass, his emotional hiatus and the late night television business in the wake of rival CBS announcing it was canceling “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” next spring.
Kimmel declined to say whether he would extend his long ABC run when his contract is up in May, but he acknowledged an interest in producing other projects.
Kimmel’s future was in doubt last month after his comments and the political backlash spawned boisterous protests that shined a light on 1st Amendment freedoms, the role of the Federal Communications Commission and the challenges facing Disney as it looks for a new leader to replace Chief Executive Bob Iger next year.
The controversy began with his Sept. 15 monologue when Kimmel said Trump supporters “are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Right-wing influencers howled; FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s actions “the sickest conduct possible.”
The sentiment he was trying to convey “was intentionally, and I think maliciously, mischaracterized,” Kimmel said.
He didn’t sense the initial fallout was “a big problem,” but rather a “distortion on the part of some of the right-wing media networks,” he said.
Kimmel had planned to clarify his remarks Sept. 17, but Disney executives feared the comedian was dug in and would only inflame the tense situation. That night, about an hour before showtime, Disney hit pause and released a statement saying the show had been pre-empted “indefinitely.”
He was off the air for four days.
“I can sometimes be aggressive. I can sometimes be unpleasant,” he said.
A protester calls for the return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after Walt Disney Co. yanked the ABC comedian in September over comments he made about the shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
He recognized the show’s precarious position when Sinclair and Nexstar bailed. He recalled an episode from early in his career when he made a joke about boisterous Detroit basketball fans, saying “They’re gonna burn the city of Detroit down if the Pistons win,” so he hoped the Lakers would prevail.
The comment riled up the Motor City, prompting the local ABC affiliate to briefly shelve Kimmel’s show.
An ABC executive at the time told Kimmel the loss of the Detroit market could be catastrophic. That pales in comparison to the threatened loss of Nexstar and Sinclair, which own dozens of stations, including in such large markets as Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
“The idea that I would not have …. 40 affiliates [stations] … I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’” Kimmel said.
But he said he “was not going to go along” with demands made by station broadcasters.
Sinclair, a right-leaning broadcaster, said in a statement it would not air Kimmel until he issued “a direct apology to the Kirk family” and “make a meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA,” the right-wing group Kirk founded.
Both Sinclair and Nexstar resumed airing the show Sept. 26. ABC offered no concessions.
Kimmel complimented Disney’s co-chair of entertainment Dana Walden’s handling of the crisis, saying she was instrumental in helping him sort through his emotions.
“I ruined Dana’s weekend. It was just nonstop phone calls all weekend,” Kimmel said, saying he doubted the situation would have turned out so well “if I hadn’t talked to Dana as much as I did, because it helped me think everything through, and it helped me just kind of understand where everyone was coming from.”
When asked who might become the next CEO of Disney, Kimmel said it would be “foolish” to answer that question.
“But I happen to love Dana Walden very much, and I think she’s done a great job,” Kimmel said.
Throughout the controversy, Walden and Iger were skewered by critics who asserted the company was caving to President Trump, who has made it clear that he’s no Kimmel fan. The Disney leaders were accused of “corporate capitulation.”
“What has happened over the last three weeks … was very unfair to my bosses at Disney,” Kimmel said. “It [was] insane, and I hope that we drew a really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept.”
Kimmel returned Sept. 23 with an emotional monologue that championed the 1st Amendment.
Ratings soared.
The controversy — and CBS’ upcoming cancellation of Colbert — has focused new attention on the cultural clout of late night hosts, despite the industry’s falling ratings.
Millions of viewers now watch monologues and other late night gags the following day on YouTube, which means networks that produce the shows have lost valuable revenue because Google controls much of that advertising.
Networks acknowledge the late night block is challenged, but Kimmel said such shows still matter.
He scoffed at reports that cite unnamed sources suggesting Colbert’s show was on track to lose $40 million this year.
“If [CBS] lost $40 million, they would have canceled it already,” Kimmel said. “I know what the budgets for these shows are,” alluding to the ABC, CBS and NBC shows.
“If we’re losing so much money, none of us would be on,” he said. “That’s kind of all you need to know.”
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New Barbs Fly in Clinton-Jackson Feud : Democrats: Risk arises that squabble, which began with remarks about rap singer, will intrude on party convention.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson continued firing verbal shots at each other Friday, escalating a week-old battle that risks extending into next month’s Democratic National Convention.
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, suggested that Jackson is using “for his own purposes” the controversy that followed Clinton’s condemnation of a black rapper during a Rainbow Coalition speech last Saturday.
Responding to questions during a televised appearance before a convention of radio talk-show hosts in Washington, Clinton said Jackson’s continuing anger over the incident is “a mystery to me,” especially considering the fact that Jackson seems more angry now than he did a week ago.
“Each day the temperature has been turned up,” Clinton said.
In an interview published Friday in the New York Times, Jackson was quoted as saying Clinton used the speech before his organization to “stage a well-planned sneak attack, without the courage to confront but with a calculation to embarrass.”
Jackson also said Clinton was using the rapper’s comments to advance his presidential campaign with white voters by “containing Jackson and isolating Jackson.” Such a racial appeal, he said, “again exposed a character flaw” in Clinton, a reference to questions about Clinton’s morality that the candidate has worked hard to erase in the minds of voters.
The interview was the latest in a series of efforts by Jackson to exclaim how offended and embarrassed he was by Clinton’s behavior.
In a telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this week, Jackson said Clinton failed to address his proposal for a $500-billion program to aid urban areas at the Rainbow meeting, but chose to engage in “a divisive political maneuver” aimed at him.
“Clinton has a ploy and I have a plan,” he said.
In his speech before Jackson’s organization, Clinton complained that rapper Sister Souljah urged blacks to kill whites instead of killing each other. He also chastised the coalition for recognizing Souljah at a convention which was honoring a white man who filmed the Rodney G. King beating and several blacks who risked their lives to rescue white riot victims.
“After I gave that speech, Jesse Jackson invited me to come back that night and play the saxophone,” Clinton told reporters here Friday. “He went back and had a very cordial meeting with me. So all these discoveries of things after the speech are for his own purposes.”
Clinton said he would “not back down” in his criticism of Souljah. “If Jesse Jackson wants to ally himself with that now and claim that’s the way he felt then, that’s his business,” Clinton said. He added: “Something has happened since the speech. This is not about the speech.”
If Jackson continues drawing attention to his dispute with Clinton, it risks becoming an issue at the July nominating convention, a prospect that Clinton forces had not anticipated.
Many key Democratic Party officials are former Jackson associates, including chairman Ronald H. Brown, but they were hoping for a harmonious meeting that could showcase Clinton. The dispute dominated discussions during convention planning sessions in New York on Friday, where Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly was reportedly selected as a keynote speaker.
Some officials feared that Jackson would use delegates pledged to former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. to seek the vice presidential nomination, but Jackson denied he was interested.
Jackson is publicly flirting with the independent candidacy of Texas businessman Ross Perot. But Clinton said he does not believe the controversy with Jackson will cost him black votes. “I’ve got to stand for what I believe and say what I believe and voters either respond one way or the other,” Clinton said.
Times staff writer Geraldine Baum from New York contributed to this story.
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ABC to indefinitely halt Jimmy Kimmel Live! after Charlie Kirk remarks | Donald Trump News
Kimmel’s cancellation is the latest in a spate of firings related to comments made about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
United States television network ABC has announced it will indefinitely cease airing Jimmy Kimmel Live due to comments made by the popular chat show’s host about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Walt Disney-owned ABC said on Wednesday the show would be “preempted indefinitely” due to Kimmel’s comments suggesting the man charged with Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week, Tyler Robinson, is a supporter of US President Donald Trump.
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“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on Monday in a monologue on his long-running late-night talk show.
Earlier, Nexstar Media, one of the country’s largest local TV station owners, including at least 28 ABC affiliates, announced it would stop airing the show over Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk killing.
Announcing the move, Nexstar Media President Andrew Alford said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse”.
“We do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” he said.
While Utah prosecutors have formally charged Robinson with the murder of Charlie Kirk and said they will seek the death penalty, questions remain about a possible motive.
Kimmel’s comments also drew condemnation on Wednesday from Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent US government TV, radio and internet regulator.
In an interview with right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson, Carr described Kimmel’s comments as “the sickest conduct possible”, and he also appeared to threaten ABC affiliate licences over the presenter’s remarks.
“What people don’t understand is that the broadcasters … have a licence granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said.
Carr explicitly called on ABC affiliates to “push back” on the network’s airing of Jimmy Kimmel Live as they run the risk of ” licence revocation” due to a “pattern of news distortion”.
“When we see stuff like this, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” he said.
Following news of Kimmel’s cancellation on Nexstar, Carr told The Hollywood Reporter news outlet he wanted to thank the firm “for doing the right thing”.
At least one other station group had contacted ABC about the Kimmel show, suggesting that an affiliate revolt may have played a role in the decision, an unnamed source told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kimmel’s cancellation is the latest in a spate of firings over the past week, brought on by a conservative backlash to public comments about Kirk’s killing that have been deemed insensitive.
Conservatives have mourned Kirk as a martyr who championed patriotism, open debate and Christian values. Others have rebuked his divisive views, including on immigration and Islamophobia, with some also celebrating his death.
Journalists, academics and doctors are among those who have been fired or investigated by their employers over comments made about Kirk, mirroring the much-maligned cancellation campaigns of recent years associated with America’s left and sparking debate over the limits of free speech in the US.
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ABC drops ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ indefinitely over host’s Charlie Kirk remarks
Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster ABC said it is pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” indefinitely following backlash over the host’s remarks about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
The move comes after station owner Nexstar Media Group said it is pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live” from its ABC affiliate stations as a result of the comments.
The Irving, Texas-based Nexstar announced Wednesday that Kimmel will be off its stations for the foreseeable future.
“Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” a company representative said in a statement.
Kimmel said during a monologue on his Monday program that Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused in the shooting death of Kirk, might have been a pro-Trump Republican. He said MAGA supporters “are desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel then mocked President Trump for talking about the construction of a new White House ballroom after being asked how he was reacting to the murder of his close ally.
“Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located,” said Andrew Alford, president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division.
Alford said continuing to give Kimmel a broadcast platform “is simply not in the public interest at this current time.”
Nexstar’s decision comes just after Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr blasted Kimmel and threatened to take action against ABC. Appearing on the podcast of right-wing commentator Benny Johnson, Carr said one form of punishment could be pulling the licenses of ABC affiliates, which likely got Nexstar’s attention.
Nexstar has ABC affiliates in 32 markets across the U.S., including in New Orleans, New Haven, Nashville and Salt Lake City.
Network affiliates dropping a late-night program over the political views expressed in it is unprecedented. The closest situation goes back to 1970, when CBS blacked out the image of activist Abbie Hoffman when he appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” wearing a shirt made out of an American flag.
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Ryan Routh trial: Accused would-be Trump assassin goes off-topic with opening remarks
Sept. 11 (UPI) — The trial is underway for a man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Ryan Routh, who is defending himself in the case, was interrupted by Judge Aileen Cannon minutes into Routh’s opening remarks when he began veering off topic Thursday.
“Modern trials seem to eliminate all that is human,” Routh intoned in his opening statement.
Cannon excused the jury, then chided Routh, directing him to keep his comments relevant to the case. Routh apologized but continued on a tangent, discussing the “history” of human existence.
Canon then told Routh his opening remarks were over.
In court, Secret Service agent Robert Fercano identified Routh as the man hiding behind a shrub-covered fence near the sixth hole of the lush golf course, aiming an AK-style assault weapon at Trump. Fercano was the first government witness to take the stand in the trial.
Prosecuting attorney John Shipley Jr. said during his testimony that Routh “decided to take the choice away from the American people.”
Routh was found with a handwritten note stating his intention to assassinate Trump. Eyewitness accounts, cellphone data and security footage prove the case against Routh beyond a reasonable doubt, Shipley said.
Fercano said he noticed the muzzle of a gun protruding from the shrubbery and called out to Routh, then proceeded to call for law enforcement backup. “Hey, sir!” Fercano said he yelled.
The court then played audio of Fercano discharging his weapon in Routh’s direction and radioing colleagues. “Shots fired! Shots fired! Shots fired!” Fercano yelled. The agent testified that he believed he came within five feet of Routh.
Fercano testified that the barrel of the assault rifle was pointed directly at his face and that he feared Trump’s life was in danger. He said he initially did not think Routh was a threat until he saw the gun muzzle.
During the trial, Fercano presented a Russian-designed SKS semiautomatic weapon officials believe Routh obtained illegally and used in the assassination attempt.
Routh, a 59-year old construction worker, does not have any formal legal training.
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Egypt, Qatar condemn Netanyahu remarks on displacing Palestinians in Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News
Egypt says forced Palestinian displacement a ‘red line’ as Qatar calls it a ‘extension’ of Israel’s policy of violating Palestinian rights.
Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025
Egypt and Qatar have expressed strong condemnation over remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the displacement of Palestinians, including through the Rafah crossing.
In a statement on Friday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the comments as part of “ongoing attempts to prolong escalation in the region and perpetuate instability while avoiding accountability for Israeli violations in Gaza”.
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In an interview with the Israeli Telegram channel Abu Ali Express, Netanyahu claimed there were “different plans for how to rebuild Gaza” and alleged that “half of the population wants to leave Gaza”, claiming it was “not a mass expulsion”.
“I can open Rafah for them, but it will be closed immediately by Egypt,” he said.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its “categorical rejection of forcibly or coercively displacing Palestinians from their land”.
“[Egypt] stresses that these practices represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and amount to war crimes that cannot be tolerated,” the ministry added.
The statement affirmed that Egypt will never be complicit in such practices nor act as a conduit for Palestinian displacement, describing this as a “red line” that cannot be crossed.
‘Collective punishment will not succeed’
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also fiercely criticised Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them an “extension of the occupation’s approach to violating the rights of the brotherly Palestinian people”.
“The policy of collective punishment practised by the occupation against the Palestinians … will not succeed in forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land or in confiscating their legitimate rights,” it said in a statement.
It stressed the need for the international community to “unite with determination to confront the extremist and provocative policies of the Israeli occupation, in order to prevent the continuation of the cycle of violence in the region and its spread to the world”.
The war of words comes as Egypt and Qatar continue to lead mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, seeking to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.
Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, said Netanyahu’s comments were “incredibly controversial” since it’s the Israeli government which has outlined that “it wants the Palestinians out of Gaza”.
“The condemnation from both Qatar and Egypt is essentially telling Israel this is all a part of its larger plan, that Israel is the one that waged war on the Gaza Strip, that the continuation of crimes against the Palestinian people and the total closure of the Rafah border crossing is the reason why they’re imprisoned in Gaza, not because of anything else,” she said.
“It is Israel that single-handedly created this policy.”
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What do a US envoy’s ‘animalistic’ remarks to journalists signify | Israel attacks Lebanon News
Anger after US special envoy Tom Barack tells reporters in Beirut to ‘be civilised’.
Outrage in Lebanon after the US envoy calls journalists “animalistic”.
Tom Barrack’s comments come at a time when the US president has stepped up his attacks on media he dislikes.
So, what’s behind this hostility towards journalists within the Trump administration? And are there wider implications beyond the US?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Rami Khouri – Distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut
Jodie Ginsberg – CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Rick Perlstein – Journalist and historian, specialising in the roots and rise of US conservatism
Published On 28 Aug 202528 Aug 2025
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U.S. notes ‘with interest’ North Korean remarks on diplomacy: official
SEOUL, Aug. 8 (UPI) — Washington has noted “with interest” a recent statement by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un suggesting a willingness to resume dialogue with the United States under certain conditions, a U.S. State Department official said.
Seth Bailey, acting deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, made the remark at a public event Thursday in reference to comments made last week by Kim Yo Jong.
In a published statement, Kim dismissed the notion of resuming denuclearization talks with Washington but appeared to leave open the possibility of a new approach to negotiations.
“The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … should be a prerequisite,” Kim said. “It would be advisable to seek another way of contact on the basis of such new thinking.”
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
She added that her brother’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump was “not bad.”
“We have seen high-level statements from the DPRK leadership, including recent statements from Kim Yo Jong, which we note with interest,” Bailey said at an event in Arlington, Va., held by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for family members of missing troops from the Korean War.
Bailey said that the Trump administration remains committed to the principles outlined in a joint statement from his 2018 Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un.
“Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, he has made clear his willingness to engage in negotiations with North Korea to achieve these policy goals,” Bailey said. “The president has offered to engage Chairman Kim Jong Un on multiple occasions.”
Bailey also noted the efforts by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to improve relations with the North.
“The new ROK administration has demonstrated a willingness to engage with North Korea, taking meaningful steps to reduce tensions across the Korean Peninsula,” Bailey said, using the official acronym for South Korea.
Earlier this week, the South Korean military removed loudspeakers that had been installed along the DMZ to blast anti-Pyongyang messages across the border. Seoul also recently repatriated six North Koreans and has made multiple public calls for the North to resume inter-Korean communications.
On Thursday, the United States and South Korea announced details of their upcoming large-scale Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. Roughly half of their 40 planned field training exercises will be postponed until next month, both militaries said, citing factors such as an ongoing heat wave. However, speculation has swirled that the move was made in an effort to avoid provoking Pyongyang, which frequently condemns the drills as rehearsals for an invasion.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Friday echoed Bailey’s calls for the resumption of diplomacy with North Korea.
“South Korea and the United States share the position that they are open to dialogue with North Korea for peace on the Korean Peninsula and a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue,” ministry spokeswoman Chang Yoon-jeong said at a press briefing when asked about Bailey’s remarks.
“The government has also repeatedly expressed its active support for the resumption of North Korea-U.S. talks,” she said.
Chang added that the Unification Ministry is working on proposals for cooperation between Seoul and Washington on North Korean issues ahead of an expected summit between Presidents Lee and Trump later this month.
“In preparation for the South Korea-U.S. summit, we are in close consultation with relevant organizations regarding peace on the Korean Peninsula and the restoration of inter-Korean relations,” she said.
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China warns Philippines over Taiwan remarks amid rising tensions | Politics News
Beijing warns Manila to stop ‘playing with fire’ after Marcos signals potential Taiwan conflict involvement.
China has sharply criticised Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after he suggested his country would be drawn into a potential conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.
During a state visit to India this week, Marcos said the Philippines’ geographic proximity and the large Filipino community in Taiwan meant the country would be forced to get involved in the event of war.
“If there is an all-out war, then we will be drawn into it,” Marcos told Indian broadcaster Firstpost. “There are many, many Filipino nationals in Taiwan and that would be immediately a humanitarian problem.”
In response, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strongly worded statement on Friday, warning Manila not to “play with fire” and urging it to uphold the one China principle.
“Geographical proximity and large overseas populations are not excuses for interfering in others’ internal affairs,” the statement read.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have intensified in recent years over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Both sides have accused each other of provocations, with altercations at sea involving ramming incidents, water cannon blasts, and clashes involving weapons such as spears and knives.
Beijing continues to assert that Taiwan is part of its territory and a breakaway province, a position Taipei rejects.
China also dismissed Marcos’s justification as undermining both international law and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations charter, saying his comments risk destabilising regional peace and harming the interests of the Philippine people.
Marcos’s trip to India also saw the signing of new security agreements aimed at strengthening defence ties between New Delhi and Manila, including cooperation between both countries’ armies, air forces and navies. Indian warships recently began joint patrols with the Philippine Navy in the contested South China Sea in a move likely to anger China.
In another sign of rising tensions, Philippine officials earlier this week condemned the launch of a Chinese rocket, which they said dropped suspected debris near a western province, alarming residents and threatening local ships and aircraft. No damage or injuries were reported.
The escalating maritime standoff has also increasingly drawn in the United States, which has a mutual defence pact with the Philippines. Washington has reaffirmed its commitment to defend Filipino forces, including coastguard personnel, aircraft and public vessels, should they come under attack anywhere in the South China Sea.
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Prosecutors say Diddy used power to abuse women in closing remarks of trial | Courts News
Prosecutors make closing arguments in six-week trial that heard harrowing testimony from people who faced alleged abuse.
United States prosecutors argued that Sean “Diddy” Combs used his wealth and influence to evade accountability for violently abusing women in closing arguments in the entertainment mogul’s trial.
Prosecutors told the jury on Thursday that Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, oversaw a vast criminal conspiracy.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told jurors in her address. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
The trial of the billionaire former rapper, a central figure in the rise of hip-hop in US popular culture, has included harrowing testimony from women who described an atmosphere of cruelty, exploitation, and intimidation.
Over six weeks of testimony, prosecutors also said that Combs pushed people to participate in drug-fuelled sex parties known as “freak offs”, with footage of people engaged in sex acts then used as leverage by Combs.
Slavik said that Combs “again and again forced, threatened and manipulated” singer and former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura to have sex with escorts for his own entertainment and used a “small army of employees” from his entertainment empire to cover up abuses and intimidate anyone who tried to push back.
Combs sat with his head down while Slavik made her remarks before the jury, wearing a light-coloured sweater and khaki trousers. His lawyers have argued that while Combs has a violent temperament and has committed violent acts against romantic partners, prosecutors have misrepresented a sexually unorthodox lifestyle as evidence of crimes such as racketeering and trafficking.
Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury that they would hear final statements from the defence on Friday, with the prosecution given a chance to offer a rebuttal before jurors are instructed on their responsibilities and sent to begin deliberation.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Friday or Monday, and Combs faces a minimum of 15 years in prison if he is convicted on all counts.
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Iran’s leaders slam Trump for ‘disgraceful’ remarks during Middle East tour | Nuclear Weapons News
Tehran, Iran – Iran’s political and military leaders are pointing the finger back at Donald Trump after the United States president sharpened his rhetoric during his first major tour of the Middle East.
In a speech to a group of teachers gathered for a state ceremony in Tehran on Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said some of Trump’s comments were not even worth responding to.
“The level of those remarks is so low that they are a disgrace for the one who uttered them and a disgrace to the American nation,” he said, to chants of “Death to America” and others from the crowd.
Khamenei added that Trump “lied” when he said he wants to use power towards peace, as Washington has backed “massacring” Palestinians and others across the region. He called Israel a “dangerous cancerous tumour” that must be “uprooted”.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also told a gathering of navy officers on Saturday that Trump is extending a message of peace while threatening destruction at the same time as backing Israel’s “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
“Which one of this president’s words should we believe? His message of peace, or his message of massacre of human beings?” the Iranian president said, pointing out that Trump sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a move that was internationally criticised.
The statements came after Trump used his Middle East tour – during which he signed huge deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – to heap praise on Arab leaders neighbouring Iran and blasting the leadership in Tehran.
The US president told Arab leaders they were developing their infrastructure while Iran’s “landmarks are collapsing into rubble” after its theocratic establishment replaced a monarchy in a 1979 revolution.
He said Iran’s leaders have “managed to turn green farmland into dry deserts” as a result of corruption and mismanagement, and pointed out that Iranians are experiencing power outages several hours a day.
The blackouts, a result of a years-long energy crisis that is hurting Iran’s already strained economy, are expected to linger for the rest of this year as well, according to Iranian authorities.
The largest associations of the mining, steel and cement industries in Iran on Saturday wrote a joint letter to Pezeshkian, urgently requesting him to review a 90 percent electricity use restriction imposed on the critical sectors.
Trump, who hailed Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and lifted sanctions on Damascus, also took aim at Iran’s regional policy.
He described Tehran’s support for the fallen establishment of President Bashar al-Assad as a cause of “misery and death” and regional destabilisation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the US president’s remarks as “deceptive”, telling state media on Friday it was the US that hampered Iran through sanctions and military threats while backing Israel and attacking Syria.
Parliament chief Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was addressing an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference in Indonesia, said Trump’s remarks showed he was “living in a delusion”.
Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), addressed Trump directly on Friday and said even though Iran has beautiful landmarks, “we take pride in the elevation of character, identity, culture, and Islam”.
The sharp rhetoric in response to Trump’s latest controversial comments come days after he teased that he may start calling the “Persian Gulf” the “Arabian Gulf” soon.
This angered Iranians across the board, prompting criticism of any attempt to rename the key waterway from average citizens online, authorities, local media, and even some pro-Trump Iranians outside the country who have been advocating for US sanctions and regime change.
Scepticism over Iran-US deal
Both Iran and the US say they would prefer an agreement that would serve to quickly de-escalate tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, despite the latest war of words.
But after four rounds of negotiations mediated by Oman, any prospective deal – which would lift sanctions in exchange for making sure Iran would not have a nuclear bomb – still appears to face significant hurdles.
Trump said Tehran has been handed a proposal to rapidly advance towards a deal, but Iran’s Araghchi on Friday said no written proposal was produced yet amid “confusing and contradictory” rhetoric from Washington.
“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other NPT signatories, too,” he wrote in a post on X, in reference to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior nuclear negotiator, on Friday rejected reports by Western media outlets that Iran may agree to fully halt its enrichment of uranium for the remainder of the Trump presidency to build trust.
“The right to enrich is our absolute red line! No halt to enrichment is acceptable.”
Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear accord signed between Iran and world powers three years earlier, imposing the harshest sanctions yet by the US that have only intensified during the latest negotiations.
The nuclear deal set a 3.67 percent enrichment rate with first-generation centrifuges for civilian use in Iran, in exchange for lifting United Nations sanctions. Iran is now enriching up to 60 percent and has enough fissile material for multiple bombs, but has made no effort to build one yet.
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