Yippee-Ki-Yay Wolf Blitzer!

“Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on” - Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison is the founder of Oracle and now owns Skydance, which in turn owns Paramount and CBS. Nearly $400-billion and 6 wives later he also owns lots of resort and luxury properties and a complete Hawaiian island.

If King Croesus were alive today, the phrase would be "As rich as Larry."

And now, he is apparently about to buy Warner Brothers, which isn't just the movie studio anymore, but CNN, HBO, Comedy Central, TCM and more. all this soon to be run by a guy who looks like a Temu version of Hans Gruber...

Now, we've discussed what's going on at CBS, which is run by his son David, who looks like Eric Trump's dumber brother, though there is competition for that.

We know that CBS is now pretty much MAGA curious with a new compliant, pretty boy anchor Tony Dokoupil, who is married to the defiantly liberal anchor at MSNBC/MSNOW or whatever they are called these days, Katy Tur. Her dad, by the way, was a newsman who later transitioned to a woman, which, to be fair, she was livid about. But still, why Tony is not currently sleeping on the couch is beyond me.

Dave put former conservative newspaper columnist Bari Weiss in charge of CBS News, and the heads are rolling. Producers, editors, and on-air folks are either being pushed out or bailing.

• Scott MacFarlane (March 2026): Left after five years covering Washington, D.C., and federal courts.
• Anderson Cooper (Feb 2026): Leaving 60 Minutes after nearly two decades.
• Shawna Thomas (March 2026): Exiting as executive producer of CBS Mornings.
• Liz Quirantes (April 2026): Retiring after 35 years as a news anchor.
• Maurice DuBois & John Dickerson (Dec 2025): Both departed CBS Evening News as part of a major overhaul.

Sharyn Alfonsi has been one of the anchors at 60 Minutes for 16 years and had prepared and vetted a tough story on President Trump's deportations. “Inside CECOT,” which exposed the abuse endured by two Venezuelan men when they were deported from the U.S. to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador, eventually aired in January—but not before internal CBS drama spilled into public view.

Bari wanted the White House to weigh in on the controversy, and as any good journalist would, Alfonsi had already asked for a response. When told to go pound sand, she prepared it without the administration's point of view. Any good reporter, even me, knows that even down to the City Hall level, when they say "no comment," you try to let them know how bad that looks to the viewer. Many times, that works. This time it didn't.

So, Bari cancelled the story hours before airtime, when it had been extensively promoted.

She had never worked in broadcast journalism and didn't understand how curious that would look. An angry email from Alfonsi was leaked, and now it appears she will be fired. Excuse me, her contract will not be renewed at the end of May.

The current roster of anchors on the 58-year-old program includes Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper, Bill Whitaker, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim, and Norah O'Donnell.

Look for that list to become shorter and for Bill Whitaker to do more hard-hitting stories on humpback whales or something. The result, by the way, of all this is that CBS news ratings are swirling down the porcelain fixture.

And now, David's dad, Larry, is about to buy the parent company of CNN, and a lawsuit has been filed. Here's how Mediaite reported it...

Two press freedom groups are accusing Paramount Skydance owner Larry Ellison of promising “favors” to the Trump administration to win regulatory approval in its bid to take over CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Those favors allegedly include making “sweeping” staff changes at CNN, a network that President Donald Trump often bashes as “fake news.”

The groups, Freedom of the Press Foundation and Reporters Without Borders, own shares in Paramount Skydance, and sent a letter to the company’s chief legal officer Thursday demanding to see internal documents that could be related to Ellison’s alleged attempt to curry favor with the White House.

Well, since the chairmen of the FCC and FTC are both Trump lickspittles, I don't expect this to go anywhere, and that being the case, even I expect to be mailed one of Jake Tapper's resumes. I mean, the FCC is busy now figuring out what jokes Jimmy Kimmel can tell and stay out of the Alligator Alcatraz. Stephen Colbert is soon to be gone at CBS, and I fully expect The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight to go the way of the dodo as well. So why should Trump's least favorite news team survive?

And when I say "least favorite," that pretty much includes every one of them except "Fox and Friends."

I wrapped up 56 years in the broadcast news trade last month, and in my last gig, I worked with another 40+ year veteran, and a talented young 22-year-old college grad at the beginning of his career. I commented to my veteran colleague, and he agreed, we wouldn't want to be starting out in the business today.

But, hey, how about some better news? OK, the war with Iran is not going well, or is going well or is over or will be over when NATO joins in or, screw NATO, I guess. I can't keep up.

But the economy isn't doing as badly as many feared. Job creation last month amounted to 115,000 new jobs, and that is a big improvement over the last few months. It's nowhere near as good as, say, 2022, but better than expected. Consumer sentiment is still at record lows, but we are still buying, so that is a plus.

And since our budget deficit looks like the aftermath of Three Mile Island, and the national debt is equal to the national income, we have good news for the President. He doesn't need a ballroom. We already have one.

No, not at the Hinckley Hilton, but an actual, big, elegant, gothic, roomy event facility.

I mean, let's be honest, the Trump ballroom started at $200 million, went to 300, then 400, and now those madcaps in Congress want to allocate $1-billion taxpayer dollars for it. It was supposed to be donor money, but maybe after the revelation of the donor contract details, and how all the tech bros can basically hide their bribes, it was decided to have you and me pay for it.

But, look at this...

Here's the Wikipedia description...
The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium is a 750-seat historic Neoclassical auditorium located at 1301 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. The auditorium, which connects two wings of the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building, is owned by the U.S. government but available for use by the public. 

It was finished in 1935 and is more tastefully elegant inside than the Woolworth's Versailles that the President has planned. And, since it isn't attached to the White House, it is rented out. Not only for government functions like the signing of the original NATO and NAFTA Treaties, but even part of the 2020 Republican Convention was held there.

Trump has even spoken there, so he knows where it is.

You can rent it out for corporate functions, weddings, galas, and yes, state dinners, so it literally brings in revenue. It is exactly one mile from the White House, and a 15-minute walk away, depending on how swollen your ankles are at the moment.

I know, the President wants one that is ensuite, but why reinvent the wheel...for a billion dollars American. He can even add more gold, I guess. Home Depot is open late.