CBS insider lifts the lid on what’s really unfolding behind the scenes
CBS News staffers have been “on edge” since the abrupt departure of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, according to a network insider.
“Everyone is talking about it, even today,” the CBS staffer told Fox News Digital on Monday, nearly a week after Owens announced his departure.
In a memo sent to colleagues, Owens suggested his decision was brought upon by corporate overreach he said impacted his ability to maintain an independent newsroom.
“Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience,” Owens wrote in the memo. “So, having defended this show – and what we stand for – from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.”
‘60 MINUTES’ CALLS OUT CORPORATE OWNER PARAMOUNT ON THE AIR, SAYS PRODUCER WHO QUIT FELT INTERFERED WITH
CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global, is currently in a legal battle against President Donald Trump, who filed a now-$20 billion lawsuit last year (it was initially $10 billion) alleging election interference over the network’s handling of its “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
There was speculation Paramount was hoping to settle the suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing potential retribution by the FCC, which has the authority to halt the multibillion-dollar transaction. Both parties agreed to mediation, signaling their courtroom feud would result in a settlement.
Leading up to Owens’ exit, however, it was reported that Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, “kept tabs” on which upcoming “60 Minutes” segments were about Trump.
CBS ANCHORS SALUTE OUTGOING ’60 MINUTES’ PRODUCER, SAY EFFORT TO SETTLE TRUMP LAWSUIT TIED TO CORPORATE MERGER
The speculation was affirmed by journalists on “CBS Evening News” and “60 Minutes” who saluted the beloved network producer while addressing Trump’s looming lawsuit.
“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it,” veteran CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley told “60 Minutes” viewers on Sunday. “Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories have been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism required.”
“CBS Evening News” executive producer Guy Campanile has been outspoken about how upset he is about Owens leaving, so much so that he urged his staff to watch Pelley’s on-air comments, according to the network insider. Campanile previously worked under Owens as a “60 Minutes” producer before he began spearheading the evening newscast last fall.
“Nobody knows what the next shoe that will drop,” they told Fox News Digital. “And internally, it’s just very chaotic because everyone doesn’t know what will happen next.”
‘60 MINUTES’ PRODUCER’S ABRUPT EXIT FUELS DRAMA AT CBS NEWS AS NETWORK BATTLES TRUMP LAWSUIT
The insider said the network anxiety stemming from Trump’s lawsuit and the pending merger “has everyone on pins and needles.”
“And I’m ready to get back to work,” the CBS staffer said with frustration.
CBS staffers believe Trump’s lawsuit is “BS” and that no one wants to see Paramount settle. Some are even “scared” about the prospect of a settlement, believing it will “hurt the news division and the perception of it.”
“I hope they don’t because it insinuates we did something wrong,” the insider told Fox News Digital. “If we weren’t in the midst of the merger we wouldn’t, and we would be more vocal at defending ourselves.”
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Speaking on behalf of CBS News colleagues, the staffer had one simple message for Redstone.
“Get out of our way and let us keep working how we have been for decades,” the insider told the Paramount honcho.
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Giants official fires back at Trump after president’s Saquon Barkley claim
The New York Giants fired back at President Donald Trump on Monday after he claimed he told the team to keep running back Saquon Barkley before he left for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Barkley and some of his Eagles teammates were at the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX victory.
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“By the way, I have to tell you something,” Trump said while discussing Barkley’s tremendous feat against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he hurdled backward over a defender. “I was with the Giants and the head coach and some people and said, ‘Do anything you have to, but don’t lose Saquon.’ They lost Saquon.
“That was not good. I called that one. That was an easy one to call because he played damn well for the Giants. I can tell you that. He made the right decision because it is a team sport, and there’s great people on this team.”
However, the remark did not appear to sit well with Big Blue.
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Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon told Front Office Sports “there were no conversations” between the organization and Trump about the star running back. Hanlon also remarked about Trump’s comments on social media.
“With all due respect, stop yapping. Be the leader we all want you to be. And my 401K wants you to be. I’m trying to retire!!” he added on X, tagging the president’s account.
Barkley hung out with the president on Sunday. He was seen at Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, before he flew back to Washington with the president on Air Force One.
He defended his decision to kick it with Trump in a post before the White House celebration.
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“lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT. Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump ! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have amazing day.”
House Democrat announces impeachment push against President Trump
Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., announced on Monday that he introduced seven articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unfit to serve as President and represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s constitution and our democracy,” Thanedar said in a news release.
The articles allege wrongdoing by Trump including “Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Executive Power,” “Usurpation of Appropriations Power,” “Abuse of Trade Powers and International Aggression,” “Violation of First Amendment Rights,” “Creation of an Unlawful Office,” “Bribery and Corruption,” and “Tyrannical Overreach”
SENATOR JOINS GROUP OF FAR-LEFT LAWMAKERS WHO THINK TRUMP HAS — AGAIN — COMMITTED IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES
“His unlawful actions have subverted the justice system, violated the separation of powers, and placed personal power and self-interest above public service. We cannot wait for more damage to be done. Congress must act,” Thanedar said of the president.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
CHUCK SCHUMER DODGES ON WHETHER DEMOCRATS WILL LOOK TO IMPEACH TRUMP IF THEY WIN BACK CONGRESS
The impeachment push will almost certainly fail to go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.
The House impeached Trump twice during his first term in office, but in both cases the respective Senate votes failed to reach the threshold necessary for conviction — the second impeachment took place just before Trump left office, with the Senate acquittal coming after his term was over.
DEM REP. AL GREEN, BOOTED FROM TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS, DOUBLES DOWN ON IMPEACHMENT
Thanedar was born in India and became an American citizen in 1988, according to his House website.
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He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2023.
Social media helps feds catch alleged leader of violent illegal immigrant gang
A Venezuelan illegal alien, and alleged leader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, was arrested in Los Angeles County last week, the Trump administration told Fox News on Monday.
Yonaiker Gallegos, who had been using the name Yoniaker(sic) Rafel Martinez-Ramos, was already in local custody on misdemeanor charges for blank checks and possession of a deceptive government ID.
He was located by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on April 22, according to a senior Trump administration official. Agents were able to determine that Martinez-Ramos was likely a fake identity after obtaining information about the items in his possession when he was arrested by local authorities.
VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT USES TREN DE ARAGUA AS PROXIES TO UNDERMINE US PUBLIC SAFETY, FBI ASSESSMENT FINDS
He was positively identified as Gallegos on April 23 after HSI’s National Gang Unit obtained pictures of Martinez-Ramos’ tattoos and booking photos.
Analysts were also able to locate his social media posts and pictures, which ultimately confirmed his real identity as Yonaiker Gallegos through facial recognition technology, the official said.
A video shared with Fox News from Gallegos’ social media allegedly showed him flaunting grenades and a rifle.
DOJ INDICTS ALLEGED HIGH-RANKING TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER ON TERRORISM CHARGES FOR THE FIRST TIME
He was arrested on April 25 for Title 8 (immigration) violations, according to the senior official, who also said he was “identified as a leader of TDA based in California.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also confirmed Gallegos’ arrest.
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HSI Los Angeles coordinated with state and local authorities to take Gallegos into federal custody on immigration-related charges.
Best-selling author found dead on houseboat as police search for killer
A best-selling German author was found murdered on her houseboat as police search for the suspect responsible for her death.
Police in Hamburg said a 58-year-old woman, who was later identified by the Guardian as Alexandra Fröhlich, a bestselling novelist, was found lifeless by her relatives on her houseboat on Tuesday morning.
One of Fröhlich’s three sons found her body, according to police. Authorities believe she died between midnight and 5.30 a.m.
After investigators looked over the evidence, authorities said they now believe that Fröhlich died “as a result of violence.”
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“Investigators are currently investigating possible suspects. However, given the ongoing investigation, no further details can be provided at this time,” police shared in a news release.
According to German media outlet NDR, police believe Fröhlich was killed by “massive violence” and had been shot.
The outlet reported that Fröhlich lived on a houseboat on the Holzhafenufer in the Moorfleet district of Hamburg.
BODY OF MISSING WASHINGTON STATE GRANDMOTHER FOUND BURIED UNDER SHED PARTIALLY ENCASED IN CONCRETE
Over the course of the week, police divers searched the Elbe River for a possible murder weapon and other traces, but the result of the search was unclear.
Police are asking the public for help to solve the crime and urging any witnesses who “have made suspicious observations” to contact the police.
Fröhlich books “My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Catastrophes” and “People Always Die” were both on Spiegel’sbestseller list, according to a review on Amazon.
17-YEAR-OLD BOY CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER ASSAULT INVOLVING ‘SHARP OBJECT’ AT UK SCHOOL
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“The journalist and author Alexandra Fröhlich has literally achieved a West-East satire to shout with her novel ‘My Russian Mother-in-Law and Other Disasters.’The novel is a fun read not only for Russia insiders that strengthens the laughing muscles on dreary winter days,” one review read.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hamburg Police, but did not immediately receive a response.
Canada’s Liberal Party projected to win in election influenced by Trump’s term
Canada’s Liberal Party is projected to win the country’s federal election for the fourth consecutive time.
The Liberals, led by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took over after Justin Trudeau resigned earlier this year, won the majority in a shocking turnaround sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of annexation and his tariffs on America’s close ally and northern neighbor.
As of late Monday, the Liberal Party was leading with 161 seats won in Parliament as opposed to the 150 seats held by the Conservative Party. A party needs to win 172 of Parliament’s 343 seats to hold the majority.
Carney won his Ottawa riding on Monday. He is the first prime minister to represent a capital riding since Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald. Former Liberal deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland, whose resignation last December led to Trudeau announcing his plans to resign in January, won re-election in her Toronto riding.
TRUMP THREATS BOOSTED CANADA’S CARNEY, HURT CONSERVATIVES AS COUNTRY VOTES FOR NEW LEADER
The Liberals were projected to win more seats than the Conservatives when polls closed, although it was not immediately clear if they would secure an outright majority, which would allow them to advance legislation without needing votes from the minority.
The majority party appeared to be giving up control when Trump started a trade war with Canada and suggested the country should become a U.S. state. Trump’s moves infuriated Canadians and led to a surge in nationalism that aided the Liberals in flipping earlier election projections to retain power.
“We were dead and buried in December. Now we are going to form a government,” David Lametti, a former Liberal Justice Minister, told CTV.
“We have turned this around thanks to Mark,” he added.
The Conservative Party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, sought to make the election a referendum on Trudeau, whose popularity dropped before he ultimately stepped down in January.
In Trudeau’s final months, Trump repeatedly referred to him as Canada’s governor amid continued comments about turning the country into America’s 51st state. After Trudeau resigned, Carney, a two-time central banker, became prime minister and the Liberal Party’s leader.
Trump even suggested on election day that he was on the ballot and again said Canada should become the 51st state. He also incorrectly claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada.
“Good luck to the Great people of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America.”
“No more artificially drawn line from many years ago,” he continued. “Look how beautiful this land mass would be. Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE! America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
TRUMP SAYS HE WASN’T ‘TROLLING’ ABOUT ACQUIRING GREENLAND, CANADA AS 51ST STATE
Poilievre responded to Trump, urging him not to attempt to influence Canada’s elections.
“President Trump, stay out of our election. The only people who will decide the future of Canada are Canadians at the ballot box,” he wrote on X. “Canada will always be proud, sovereign and independent and we will NEVER be the 51st state. Today, Canadians can vote for change so we can strengthen our country and stand up to the United States.”
Trump’s attacks have frustrated many Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots ahead of election day.
“The Americans want to break us so they can own us,” Carney said before the election. “Those aren’t just words. That’s what’s at risk.”
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Carney and the Liberals made history by securing the party’s fourth consecutive term, but there are challenges ahead.
In addition to the sweeping U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, Canada has been facing a cost-of-living crisis.
More than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., so Trump’s tariffs threat and wish for North American automakers to move Canada’s production to the U.S. could severely hurt the country’s economy.
On the campaign trail, Carney promised that every dollar the government collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers adversely affected by the trade war.
Christie Brinkley tried everything to save marriage to Billy Joel
Christie Brinkley tried everything she could to keep her marriage to Billy Joel alive.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Brinkley talked about her memoir, “Uptown Girl,” a nod to the 1983 hit Joel created about the actress, and what she wrote of her nearly 10-year marriage to the music icon.
In the memoir, Brinkley wrote about Joel’s drinking problem being the “other woman” in their marriage.
“To be clear, I never wanted to end things with Billy. I read every self-help book I could find while, together, we went to see a string of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other medical doctors,” Brinkley wrote in an excerpt obtained by Fox News Digital.
CHRISTIE BRINKLEY ‘OPEN’ TO FINDING LOVE BUT LAMENTS LACK OF OPTIONS: ‘DOESN’T SEEM TO BE ANYBODY OUT THERE’
“I did everything for our marriage, constantly working to make myself, our home, and everything around us into whatever he could possibly want or hope for. I continually told him how much I loved him, making sure he always felt adored and appreciated, because he was.
“But his drinking was bigger than the both of us—booze was the other woman, and it was beginning to seem that, he preferred to be with ‘her’ rather than with me,” Brinkley wrote.
“But his drinking was bigger than the both of us—booze was the other woman, and it was beginning to seem that, he preferred to be with ‘her’ rather than with me.”
During her interview with Fox News Digital, Brinkley shared that Joel met her and his ex-girlfriend, Elle Macpherson, on the same night out. Joel went on to date Macpherson for a brief time before he became serious with Brinkley.
“Elle and I met Billy on the same night, and that was the night that I thought I know I want to be friends with this guy forever, but I had other things going on in my life, but I knew I wanted to keep him as a friend. We hit it off immediately. I mean, immediately,” Brinkley said.
She continued, “And then when he came back into my life and he was so wonderful and I started to see him differently. And so I think it was really great to start out with a friendship and have that friendship evolve into a full-on romantic adventure.”
The title of Brinkley’s memoir seems to be a nod to Joel’s 1983 “Uptown Girl,” which he has admitted to have written for Brinkley.
In 2010, Joel finally confirmed that “Uptown Girl” was written about Brinkley (she did appear in the music video), although he explained that there was more to the story.
“I wasn’t even dating Christie when I started writing the song, I was dating Elle [Macpherson],” Joel shared on “The Howard Stern Show.” He remembered a moment when he was surrounded by Brinkley, Macpherson and Whitney Houston while he was working on the song.
“That’s why I started writing a song called ‘Uptown Girls’. It was plural. I couldn’t believe, you know, the situation I was in,” he said of having a bevy of beauties near him.
Joel said when he and Macpherson went their separate ways, the nature of the song changed because of his relationship with Brinkley. “And then I started dating Christie and rather than it [being] about all these different girls, she became the ‘Uptown Girl.’ I started writing it about one person.”
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Brinkley and Joel were married from 1985 until the model filed for divorce in 1994 and the couple share a daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. Brinkley told Fox News Digital that it wasn’t easy to end her marriage to Joel.
“Well, I mean, when you have a child involved, you may get those thoughts, but to walk away isn’t easy. And to walk away from Billy was not easy. So it took time, but at a certain point there’s one incident too many, and you just have to have a little self-preservation,” Brinkley said.
Both the model and musician have since moved on. In 1994, Brinkley was briefly married to Richard Taubman. She was married to Peter Cook from 1996 to 2008. They have two children together.
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Joel married Katie Lee in 2004 only to split in 2009. He is now married to Alexis Roderick. The couple has two daughters.
Brinkley hasn’t given up hope of finding romance again in her life.
“I find love is the strongest thing in the whole world, and we are surrounded with love,” she told Fox News Digital. “There’s so many kinds of love: love for our friends, love for our families, love for nature and love for people that protect nature.”
“I just feel like my life is so full of love. And so I think if there’s a romantic love that comes along as well, it would be wonderful. But I also feel very content and happy with the life that I have right now, and I consider my life to be very full of love,” Brinkley said.
Brinkley’s “Uptown Girl” memoir hits the shelves on April 29.
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Archaeologists uncover massive number of skeletons at ‘important’ military site
Archaeologists recently announced the discovery of over 100 buried horses dating back to ancient Rome – but the skeletons weren’t found in Italy.
The excavation took place at Bad Cannstatt, a borough in southwestern Germany, said an April 16 press release from the Baden-Württemberg State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD).
The statement, translated from German to English, noted the town was one of the region’s “most important Roman military sites” in ancient times. A cavalry unit there boasted around 700 horses at its peak.
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Pictures from the site show horse skeletons buried in the soil as excavators worked to clear them.
The excavation began last July, spurred by recent construction projects that “necessitated archaeological investigations,” according to LAD.
Experts say the remains are just under 2,000 years old, dating back to the second century A.D.
“The first horse bones discovered were dated to the second century using the radiocarbon method,” said Sarah Roth, an archaeologist at LAD.
“Based on the archaeological and historical knowledge of Roman Bad Cannstatt, the horses can be attributed to the cavalry unit – a so-called ‘Ala’ – stationed at Hallschlag from around 100 to 150 AD.”
She also noted that “the troop of nearly 500 riders likely had a total horse stock of at least 700 animals, with losses needing constant replacement.”
LONG-LOST CAPITAL OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION MAY HAVE FINALLY BEEN UNCOVERED, ARCHAEOLOGISTS SAY: ‘UNIQUE FIND’
The horses were buried roughly a quarter of a mile away from the cavalry fort and one-eighth of a mile away from civilian residences.
“The carcasses were usually dragged individually into shallow pits, where they were buried lying on their side with legs extended or bent,” LAD explained in the statement.
“The site was likely marked above ground. Despite a sometimes dense arrangement, there were few overlaps of the pits.”
Roth added that the horses did not appear to die during a single event, such as a battle.
Rather, the animals were probably ill or injured when they were buried, or may have been otherwise unfit for military service.
“If the horse could still walk, it would have been brought to the horse cemetery and killed on site to avoid transporting the heavy carcass,” she said.
Archaeologists believe the cemetery site was more extensive than the construction site itself, but its exact size is unknown.
There have been several ancient Roman grave discoveries in the past year.
Interestingly, some horses were buried together with items, perhaps as tokens for the journey to the afterlife.
One animal was found with two jugs and a small oil lamp, and the items were “placed in the crook of its arm as a farewell.”
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“Here we see a particularly close bond between the owner and his horse,” Roth said. “Even after around 1800 years, the grief over the death of this one animal is still evident.”
There have been several ancient Roman grave discoveries in the past year.
In Vienna, Austria, archaeologists recently uncovered a mass grave containing the remains of Roman soldiers and Germanic tribesmen under a soccer field.
Earlier this year, a remarkably well-preserved dog was found at an ancient Roman site in Belgium, highlighting the prevalence of animal sacrifice in antiquity.
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