Today is
Wednesday June 03, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) – CBS News fired longtime “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Tuesday, a day after he reportedly said Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss was “murdering the show” and accused its new producer of having “slender qualifications” for the job.
The move deepened the turmoil at the nation’s most influential TV news program, days after a leadership overhaul.
Pelley, 68, criticized management Monday during a fiery staff meeting with Nick Bilton, the program’s new executive producer installed by Weiss last week, according to a detailed report on the Status website.
In a termination notice obtained Tuesday night by The Associated Press, Bilton, a technology journalist and filmmaker with no traditional broadcast news experience, accused Pelley of carrying out an “ambush” against him.
“Yesterday, you hijacked my first meeting with staff to disparage me, my qualifications, and my intentions with remarkable incivility and contempt,” the letter states.
Pelley said in a statement that “60 Minutes” has lost its DNA under new management. He accused them of asking him to “inject falsehoods and bias” into his work, without sharing specific details.
Pelley is accused of a ‘performative display of hostility’
Status, which said it had a recording of the Monday meeting, reported that Pelley had said Weiss was brought in to kill the news outlet, “and she’s doing exactly that.” Weiss was not present for the meeting.
Pelley reportedly grilled Bilton about the firings last week of Bilton’s predecessor, Tanya Simon, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega.
Alfonsi had criticized Weiss last year for postponing a segment about deportees sent to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador as part of President Donald Trump’s
Pelley said in his statement that those colleagues “stood for fairness against the forces of political bias.” He also accused CEO David Ellison of casting aside the show’s reputation “apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.” Ellison, an ally of the Republican president, has owned CBS since 2025, when its parent company, Paramount, merged with Skydance Media.
In the dismissal letter Tuesday, Bilton said Pelley’s “performative display of hostility” demonstrated that he has “no interest in contributing to the future success of the show.”
An uneasy stretch for CBS News
Since Weiss took over the network’s news operation last October, it has traveled a bumpy road.
Pelley’s termination came just five days after Weiss, who has become a polarizing figure in the media world since taking the reins, told staff in a memo that it was time for a “new approach” at the top-rated newsmagazine.
In the memo, Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski said their goal for “60 Minutes” was “building a show that thrives in the 21st century.” That could include extending the show beyond a 60-minute broadcast, they said.
“60 Minutes” first aired in 1968 and is the longest-running prime-time show in TV history. Its investigative journalism and probing interviews, sometimes with unwilling subjects, have given it the reputation of uncompromising journalism — precisely the trait that Pelley said he feared was under assault.
Pelley started working for CBS in 1989. He was its chief White House Correspondent from 1997 to 1999, during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and anchored “CBS Evening News” from 2011 to 2017. He has won 51 Emmy Awards, according to his CBS bio.
Mason Thames has joined the John Wick universe.
The actor is set to star in the upcoming Lionsgate film Caine, ABC Audio has confirmed. Caine will be a John Wick spinoff directed by and starring actor?and martial artist Donnie Yen as the titular fan-favorite character from John Wick: Chapter 4.
As previously announced, Rina Sawayama has also been cast in Caine. She will reprise her role as Akira. Also part of the cast is Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery.
Thames' role is currently being kept under wraps, as is the film's logline. According to Lionsgate, it will continue Yen's story arc through the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, "as Caine has been freed from his?obligations to?The High Table."
The film is currently in production, with John Wick star Keanu Reeves producing.
The Batman Part II?writer Mattson Tomlin, who also wrote the adaptation of the Reeves-created comic book? BRZRKR, wrote the screenplay with Michael McGrale.
Lionsgate says Caine will be "shaped by Yen’s signature approach to action filmmaking, blending precision choreography with emotional storytelling."
Thames recently finished production on the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon 2. He will appear in the upcoming Green Day inspired film Nimrods as well as the Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. starring film Idiots.
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Backrooms is now the highest-grossing A24 film at the domestic box office.
The Kane Parsons-directed film crossed $100 million in the North American box office on Wednesday, A24 confirmed to ABC Audio.
This makes it the studio's first film to reach such an achievement. It surpassed the Timothée Chalamet film Marty Supreme's domestic total of $96 million in only six days.
According to the studio, Backrooms' global box office number stands at $144 million as of Wednesday. This means Backrooms is close to surpassing the best picture Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once's worldwide total of $148 million to become A24's second highest grossing movie. Marty Supreme is currently A24's highest grossing movie worldwide with a total of $191.3 million.
Backrooms opened in theaters on May 29. It brought in more than $81 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, off a $10 million budget. This made it the biggest debut in history for an original horror film, as well as the biggest debut for a first-time filmmaker on a non-franchise film. At 20 years old, Parsons is the youngest director to have a #1 film at the box office.
The horror film is based on Parsons’ popular YouTube series. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve as two people who enter a secret doorway into a maze of seemingly endless rooms.
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The 2026 ESPY Awards are almost here and this year, the annual awards ceremony honoring the best in sports will feature a new host.
Comedian Marcello Hernández will present the star-studded evening, which is returning to New York City this year. Hernández is taking over duties from comedian Shane Gillis, who hosted last year from Los Angeles.
"It is an honor, and frankly feels crazy to be hosting the ESPYS this year in New York," Hernández said in a statement Wednesday. "I'm sure the energy is going to be great."
Hernández is described by ESPN as an "avid sports fan" who played soccer at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
The ESPYS, which first began at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1993, will take place on Wednesday, July 15 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
The 2026 ESPYS will air live at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and stream on the ESPN app. The awards ceremony will also be available to stream on Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App, and ABC Video on Demand on July 16.
Craig Lazarus, executive producer of the ESPYS, called Hernández a "natural fit" to serve as this year's ESPYS host.
"Marcello is one of the most electric, young comedians today. His genuine enthusiasm for sports and his ties to New York City make him a natural fit to host this year's ESPYS," Lazarus said in a statement. "We are excited to partner with him to celebrate the best moments in sports and look forward to the fresh take he'll bring to the show."
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News, "Good Morning America," and ESPN.
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A sequel to War Machine looks to be in the works. Deadline reports that Netflix is moving forward with a second installment with director Patrick Hughes back at the helm. Hughes will produce and co-write the movie with James Beaufort. The outlet reports that star Alan Ritchson is likely to return for the sequel to the original film, which follows the final recruits of a Special Ops boot camp as they encounter a mysterious deadly force ...
You can now watch the trailer for A24's upcoming film, Onslaught. The action movie stars Adria Arjona as an army sniper and a mother who lives in a desert trailer park and fights to protect her family from genetically engineered super soldiers. Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard helmed the film, which also stars Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, Rebecca Hall, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Eric Wareheim and Dan Stevens. It arrives in theaters on Sept. 4 ...
The official trailer for America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders season 3 has arrived. The Netflix documentary series returns for its third season on June 16. It follows the 2025–2026 squad through auditions, training camp and the NFL season, offering a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the iconic cheerleading team ...
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The 25th anniversary edition of New York's Tribeca Festival kicks off Wednesday night with a screening of a new Earth, Wind & Fire documentary, followed by a performance by the legendary band. The festival, which runs through June 14, features TV, movie and documentary screenings, plus premieres, panels, reunions and stars galore. Not bad for an event that started as a one-off.
The festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal as a way to revitalize downtown New York City after the 9/11 terror attacks. "It was only, how could we bring people back downtown, how we could give our neighbors something to look forward to. As far as I was concerned, it was one and done," Rosenthal told ABC Audio. "Bob always believed we were gonna do it again, though."
"I felt very positive about it once it happened," De Niro said. "My feeling was it'd be great if it could be part of the fabric of New York, a New York tradition that just goes on forever, you know?"
De Niro will also appear at one of this year's special events: a 50th anniversary Taxi Driver screening and conversation with him, director Martin Scorsese and co-star Jodie Foster. De Niro said celebrating any of his films — even a classic like Taxi Driver — after the fact isn't something he ever thought would happen.
"When you're doing a movie, a project, you don't ever think that it would be received in the way you're saying Taxi Driver's been received, ever," he told ABC Audio. "You just don't think that. So it's nice, but you just don't ever expect it ... it's just, you do the project and that's it."
The festival will close with the documentary Alicia Keys: Girl from Hell's Kitchen; Keys will appear after the screening.
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Will Arnett is set to star with Kristen Stewart in The Challenger.
The actor will play George Abbey, the influential NASA official often referred to as the architect of the modern astronaut corps, in Prime Video's upcoming limited series, ABC Audio has confirmed.
Arnett joins Stewart, who, as previously reported, will portray Sally Ride in her TV debut.
The Challenger is created by Golden Globe winner Maggie Cohn. She also writes, executive produces and showruns the program, which is inspired by Meredith E. Bagby’s 2023 book The New Guys. James Hawes, who has worked on Slow Horses and Black Mirror, will direct and executive produce the show. Kyra Sedgwick, Stewart and Bagby also executive produce.
The series follows "the gripping story of one of the most defining moments in space history, both the unprecedented events leading up to the tragedy, and the shocking investigation that followed," according to Prime Video.
"As the members of the 1986 Rogers Commission interrogate the complex inner workings of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to find what, or who, was responsible for the Challenger's doomed fate, the show explores Commission member Sally Ride's personal journey," its description continues. "We follow Sally, and the rest of the diverse Astronaut Class of ’78, through the ranks of the shuttle program, through initial recruitment and training, professional and personal highs and lows, until Sally’s historic glass ceiling moment as she becomes the first American woman in space."
"There is no one better than Maggie Cohn to bring to life the complex story of the Challenger and the new class of astronauts recruited by NASA in the early 1970s, all through the eyes of an American hero, Sally Ride," Sedgwick said in a press release when the project was announced back in March.
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Tom Holland is opening up about delaying production on Spider-Man: Brand New Day so that he could be part of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
In a recent interview with GQ, Holland spoke about an "uncomfortable conversation" he had with Sony Pictures head Tom Rothman about the possibility of delaying production on Spider-Man: Brand New Day in order to star in Nolan's epic, as both films had the exact same production start date.
“So I said to Chris, like, ‘Look, I want to do this movie, but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to have to call Sony and have a very uncomfortable conversation,’" Holland said.
The call went well, Holland said, partly due to Nolan's reputation as a filmmaker. The Odyssey's production started on schedule and actually finished nine days early, Holland noted.
“I think one of the reasons why Sony were happy to move is because Chris has that reputation of, ‘This movie isn’t going to go five months over, and we aren’t actually going to lose Tom for two years,’" Holland said. “Any other director, it might have been a slightly different conversation.”
Both films are premiering to theaters this summer. Holland said this period really "feels like the beginning of the next chapter of my life."
“I really feel like a young man now," Holland continued. "I have so much amazing stuff happening in my personal life to take me through to the rest of my life, and I feel like I have a new perspective on where I want to exist in Hollywood."
The Odyssey arrives in cinemas and to IMAX screens on July 17, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Marvel Entertainment.
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NEW YORK (AP) — K-pop band BTS, Benson Boone, Cardi B, Lainey Wilson, Major Lazer, Muse, Snoop Dogg and Zara Larsson are among the performers this fall at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. It will be broadcast live.
The lineup for the event, which will take place Sept. 18-19 at the T-Mobile Arena, also includes Weezer, Goo Goo Dolls and Kenny Chesney. More artists will be announced at a later date.
Ryan Seacrest will once again host, and fans can hear it all on iHeartMedia radio stations or watch it streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The general public can buy tickets on AXS.com starting at 2 p.m. EDT/11 a.m. PDT on June 12. Capital One cardholders will be able to access a presale beginning at 1 p.m. EDT/10 a.m. PDT on June 10.
“The iHeartRadio Music Festival is all about bringing together the biggest artists across every genre for two unforgettable nights, and this year’s lineup truly reflects the incredible diversity of music today,” Tom Poleman, chief programming officer, and John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises of iHeartMedia, said in a joint statement.
Earlier this year, BTS made a triumphant return after a nearly four-year musical hiatus. “ARIRANG,” the 14-track, fifth studio album from the septet is huge; an ambitious reunion and the band’s first original full-length release since the seven members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Not that it has been all quiet at team BTS: The band staggered their enlistments, giving ample time for its members to focus on solo projects while the group was on a break.
They’ve returned to the stage since then, and iHeartRadio Music Festival is another victory lap.
Robert De Niro enjoyed working with Ariana Grande on their upcoming comedy Focker-In-Law — but he has yet to see her in Wicked, the movie that earned her an Oscar nomination.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the legendary actor said, "I didn't see her movie, and I still am trying to see it, believe it or not, but I want to see it. I'm going to see it with my daughter. And she's, of course, seen it."
Despite missing Wicked, De Niro tells EW he was aware of Ariana because "I had seen her in some stuff with my daughter, some sitcom thing she had done. I'm forgetting the name. My kid was into that. I was aware of her then and, of course, aware of her in other ways. She was great."
De Niro was likely referring to one of Ariana's Nickelodeon shows, Victorious or Sam & Cat.
The actor, who's 82, praised Ari's work in Focker-In-Law as Olivia, the girlfriend of Henry Focker, who's the grandson of De Niro's character, Jack.
"She was very professional," he says. "She's terrific and very quick and got it all. She was very much part of the whole process."
"I liked her. Nice kid."
Focker-In-Law is in theaters Nov. 25.
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Disney is bringing its magic to America's 250th anniversary celebration with a series of special events, including a live concert in Nashville, one-of-a-kind experiences at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort and a two-hour primetime special on ABC.
The company-wide initiative, Disney Celebrates America, will also include a 24-hour multiplatform broadcast led by World News Tonight anchor David Muir that will take viewers across all 50 states beginning Friday, July 3 through Saturday, July 4.
The cross-platform broadcast will span ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, FX, Freeform, ABC News Live, ESPN, and ABC Owned Television Stations and affiliates and will feature anchor Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan, Nightline co-anchors Juju Chang and Byron Pitts, 20/20 co-anchor Deborah Roberts and Prime and WNT Sunday anchor Linsey Davis.
On Monday, June 29, 20/20 anchor Deborah Roberts and ABC News national correspondent Will Reeve will host a two-hour primetime special, Disney Celebrates America: The Pursuit of Happiness, reporting from Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, respectively.
The special will air from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT across ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic, and ABC News Live.
Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida will also celebrate America's 250th anniversary with the launch of "Soarin’ Across America" at EPCOT and Disney California Adventure Park, patriotic lighting on Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, special performances and decor and limited-time merchandise, food and beverages leading up to July 4.
Disney Parks will continue the celebration with community events and offerings honoring veterans and military families.
In Nashville, Disney Celebrates America: Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash will feature live music performances and one of the largest fireworks and drone shows in the U.S. set to a live score by the Nashville Symphony.
As part of the celebration of America, National Geographic and ABC News will also, between now and July 4, unveil a new list, “Seven Natural Wonders of America,” highlighting seven awe-inspiring locations across the country.
“As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, ‘Disney Celebrates America’ is our way of honoring this historic milestone by celebrating the people, places, and shared moments that define who we are,” Ken Potrock, president of major events integration for The Walt Disney Co., said in a statement Tuesday.
“Through immersive and creative park experiences and unprecedented broadcast moments, Disney invites everyone to come together and celebrate America in a truly meaningful way by reflecting on where we’ve been and imagining the extraordinary future we can create together.”
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.
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The official trailer for Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You has arrived. Netflix will release the series on June 18. The show follows an innocent father serving life in prison for the murder of his own son. He breaks out of prison after he discovers his child may still be alive. The series stars Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Logan Browning and Chi McBride ...
Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 has received a new teaser trailer. Starz will premiere the second season of the Outlander spinoff series on Sept. 18. The trailer shows off the continued love stories of Henry Beauchamp and Julia Beauchamp, as well as Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie. The trailer reveal came on Monday, June 1, which is also known as World Outlander Day, as it's the anniversary of the first Outlander book being published ...
Zoë Kravitz is set for Megan Park's next film. Deadline reports that Kravitz will star in the lead role in Apple's upcoming movie from director Park. The film, which is currently untitled, is also keeping its logline under wraps. Park will executive produce and direct from a script she wrote ...
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Kristin Davis and Tig Notaro are joining the Emily Henry rom-com universe.
The actors have joined the cast of the film adaptation of the bestselling novel Beach Read, Deadline reports. They join Bridgerton actress Phoebe Dynevor and The White Lotus' Patrick Schwarzenegger, who are set to star in the film, as well as Andie MacDowell and Kevin Bacon. Production will begin on the picture in June.
ABC Audio has reached out to 20th Century Studios for confirmation.
Beach Read follows the character January Andrews, a romance novelist who struggles with writer's block due to her grief after the death of her father and her discovery of the secrets he kept.
January spends the summer at her father's Michigan beach house as she prepares to sell it. While there, she reconnects with Gus Everett, a fellow author and her formal college rival. The pair spark an unexpected romance after they agree to partake in a writing challenge to get them out of their respective writing ruts.
Yulin Kuang, who co-wrote the Netflix film adaptation of Henry's novel People We Meet on Vacation, will direct Beach Read for 20th Century Studios from her own script.
This is the latest adaptation of one of Henry's works, following the release of People We Meet on Vacation in January. Three of her other novels — Book Lovers, Funny Story and Happy Place — are also currently being adapted for the screen.
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and 20th Century Studios.
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Backrooms, the psychological horror film from 20-year-old director Kane Parsons, has marked a new bright spot for the horror genre.
The film, which stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass, debuted May 29. It brought in more than $81 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, off a $10 million budget, according to The Numbers, a film industry data site that tracks box office revenue.
Backrooms not only routed at the box office but made history in the process, with Parsons becoming the youngest director to helm a #1 box office film globally, A24 confirmed to ABC News this week.
The film is also the largest original horror debut in history, according to the studio.
Additionally, Obsession, a horror film starring Inde Navarrette that debuted in May, has brought in more than $104 million in the weeks since its May 15 theatrical premiere, according to The Numbers.
According to a brief synopsis from A24, Backrooms centers around a "strange doorway" that "appears in the basement of a furniture showroom" one day.
A trailer for the film shows Ejiofor's character, Clark, the furniture store owner, discovering the doorway before ending up in a large, dimly lit room with nothing but furniture piled up at the center and various voices speaking foreign languages over a fuzzy loudspeaker.
He later explains his confusion to his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline, played by Reinsve, before the trailer returns to the mysterious space, with Clark now exploring with some company. The trailer concludes with Reinsve entering the space as well.
Backrooms was written by Will Soodik, and was produced by horror filmmakers James Wan and Osgood Perkins, Arrival producer Shawn Levy and more. Finn Bennett and Lukita Maxwell also star in the film.
Backrooms is the debut film from director Parsons, who came to prominence via a series of wildly popular YouTube videos exploring a similar premise, most of the videos garnering millions of views apiece.
His most popular video, simply titled The Backrooms (Found Footage), has accumulated more than 81 million views since it was shared on Jan. 7, 2022.
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Anna Kendrick is directing the new film The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo.
The actress and director is set to helm the film adaptation of the bestselling Taylor Jenkins Reid novel for Netflix, ABC Audio has confirmed.
Kendrick will direct from a script written by Little Fires Everywhere scribe Liz Tigelaar, with current revisions by Francesca Sloane. Reid is executive producing the film.
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo follows "a young journalist’s long-awaited interview with Evelyn Hugo, an aging Hollywood starlet, who pulls back the curtain on her seven marriages. As she tells tales of Hollywood scandals, betrayals, and woe, she unveils shocking truths about her own life and the lives of everyone around her," according to an official description from Netflix.
At this time, none of the film's roles have been cast. Netflix says the adaptation is getting ready to enter production and that fans should stay tuned for more soon.
This marks Kendrick's second time directing a film for Netflix, after her 2023 directorial debut crime thriller Woman of the Hour.
The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo was published in 2017. Netflix first announced plans to adapt the novel for its streaming service back in March 2022.
Reid's novel Daisy Jones & The Six was previously adapted into a limited TV series for Prime Video. It released in 2023, and starred Riley Keough and Sam Claflin.
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