The remaining correspondents at “60 Minutes” have issued a warning to the new regime.
Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker, and Jon Wertheim say they will stay. “We do not want to see 60 Minutes die,” they wrote in a memo.
But they also say, “Newsrooms are not supposed to be run like dictatorships.”
And so the gauntlet has been thrown down. How will the new regime respond? I guess we’ll see how stories develop over the summer.
Hunter Biden is off and running.
Just now he hinted — on his new Twitter account — that he’ll be starting a Substack. Paid subscriptions. Here we go!
President Joe Biden’s controversial ex-drug addict son has cleaned up his act and is ready to take on mortal enemy, Donald Trump.
Trump doesn’t know what to do. He posted a fake photo of Hunter making a sketch of Trump that says “world’s greatest president.”
Hunter responded by asking if Trump might be crushing on him. “Is he gay?” Hunter wrote.
Hunter is hitting back on Twitter with a deft back hand, and is willing to go on the offensive as needed. If he adds Substack, it will be a slam dunk hit.
Trump is being out played, for once. Bring it on!
The “60 Minutes” clock is ticking like a time bomb.
Lesley Stahl, now the most senior and tenured of the show’s correspondents, isn’t fooling around.
Stahl is bringing out the big guns. She’s reportedly hired Bryan Lourd of Creative Artists Agency to represent her in the CBS debacle.
Matt Belloni reports this in his Puck newsletter over night.
In the last two weeks, Stahl — who’s 84 and has no plans to retire — has seen four of her colleagues leave the show. Anderson Cooper went on his own. But dislikes CBS News chief fired Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega. Then new Executive Producer Nick Bilton fired Scott Pelley.
Also gone are Executive Producer Tanya Simon and senior production staff.
Weiss and Bilton are no match for Lourd or CAA, believe me. Weiss may not care, but Bilton will want some kind of career after this blows up in his face. Lourd knows that.
Losing Lesley Stahl would be ‘game over’ for the new regime. She’s the last link to the classic “60 Minutes” of Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner, and Ed Bradley. Her skills and connections drive the show’s authority and public trust. As it is, Pelley’s exit is devastating. His political pieces are incisive and on the money. That piece on the Vietnam caves will win awards.
As for Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim: they better take a page from Stahl’s book if they want to stick around.
And new correspondents? Now that CNN and CBS will be corporate cousins, watch for self-aggrandizing Jake Tapper to try to get a foot in the door.
PS The Joe Rogan rumor has been put to bed. Rogan’s appearance on “60 Minutes” would be the end of CBS News completely.
So this is the Taylor Swift song that made everyone crazy a few days ago.
“I Knew It, I Knew You” is from “Toy Story 5.” It was written and produced with Jack Antonoff, of course. She returns to her country roots.
The title is similar to a Gracie Abrams song.
This is the first in the “Toy Story” franchise that someone other than Randy Newman contributed music.
Taylor will probably play this at the sketchy Songwriters Hall of Fame next week, too, where she’s getting a lifetime achievement award at age 36.
Is the song good? Yes. Off to the Oscars!
Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time. Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and… pic.twitter.com/gewjzSS0qg
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 5, 2026
The weekend looked bleak enough with steady rain coming.
But the two “light” releases that started previews tonight look pretty bad.
Jennifer Lopez stars in her umpteenth bad romcom in “Office Romance.”
Brett Goldstein is her co-star and the PR mill behind this one has been working overtime to make us think the two actors have been knocking boots.
They did, they are, they were, they will, who cares? The movie is terrible, with a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Why keep making these things? Lopez is capable of much more. We saw that in “Unstoppable,” a movie Amazon threw away. But she might as well stay home for a unless the goal is to remain queen of B movies.
Then there’s “Scary Movie.” Many decades ago, I sat in the premiere for “Scary Movie 1.” This was the one with all the Wayans. The parents came to the screening. Mrs. Wayans was in a wheelchair. At some point a gigantic pink penis that resembled an Oscar Meyer wiener came on screen and pushed its way across into Shawn’s ear. As this happened, someone bumped into the back of my seat. It was Mr. Wayans escaping with his wife. They were horrified.
So, too, are reviewers of this movie. It sits at 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. I like Anna Faris and wish her well, but this is not the path forward.
Madonna is trying very hard to sell her new album.
She appeared in Times Square today and performed a few songs from her forthcoming “Confessions on a Dance Floor II.”
Times Square was packed tonight as thousands gathered for Madonna’s free Pride Month celebration with Grindr.
— New York Mickey (@MickmickNYC) June 4, 2026
At 67, the Queen of Pop still knows how to bring New York City to a standstill, and get everyone dancing pic.twitter.com/m1BjIyz6wr
One of them was a new song which she dropped into the world this evening (see below). Her voice sounds nasal and more natural, not as processed as her many hits of the past. That’s her ‘real’ voice, for better or verse.
Of course, there was a lot of lipsyncing. But there had to be, considering the production.
Did she spend more than she’ll make? Sure, but who cares? It’s not about that. Madonna wants to be relevant.
She’s leaning hard on her gay fans, picking Pride Month and appearing at gay clubs. That seems like a small sales yield, but who knows? Anyway, this keeps her busy and gives us some stories.
Harmless fun at this point!
.@Grindr Presents: @Madonna LIVE in New York 2026.
Madonna performed:
I Feel So Free
Bring Your Love
Love Sensation
Get Together
I Love New York
Hung Up pic.twitter.com/pxiEVUgfTA— Madonna Records (@MadonnaRecords) June 4, 2026
Madonna performs “I Feel So Free” at free concert with Grindr in Times Square. pic.twitter.com/z5tkmU9wgE
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 4, 2026
Donald Trump is planning his own America 250 rally.
Set for June 24th in Washington, the musical acts will feature his hackneyed sycophants Lee Greenwood and Christoper Macchio.
The former will sing his one hit, about being American. The latter is a singer of opera, but not an actual opera singer. He’s known in conservative circles as “America’s Tenor.” Trump compares him to Luciano Pavarotti. The thud you just heard was the famed tenor spinning in his grave.
Trump can’t seem to get anyone else, not even his other sycophants like Kid Rock or Nikki Minaj.
He writes: “We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!”
He’s referring, of course, to the acts who backed out of his Great American fair, like Morris Day, Young MC, Martina McBride, and so on.
No word on whether Vanilla Ice, his one loyal artist, will be part of the new rally.
Of course, it’s hilarious but sad, that he continues to celebrate himself when no one else will. All his cronies will be in the grandstands, like RFK Jr, Little Marco, Pistol Pete, and of course JD. It’s like having a “Saturday Nigh Live” sketch off season!
On the plus side, his name has to come off the Kennedy Center by Friday, June 12th. That will be his birthday present from us!
Clive Davis, I am happy to report, has been sprung from the hospital.
The 94 year old music mogul went to the ER last Friday with an upper respiratory infection.
But good antibiotics and lots of love from around the world got him in shape.
“He’s happy to be home and recuperating,” says his spokesman Sean Cassidy
Viva Clive! I told you he overdid it on Memorial Day weekend with over 100 guests coming and going for various activities.
Like all of us, Clive still thinks he’s 30!
Now he can relax a little and listen to the insane amount of music he helped to create.
Last night, there was a cool shout out to him in the new HBO documentary about Earth Wind & Fire. Clive signed them to Columbia Records in 1970 but he did not go with Maurice White on his UFO spaceship adventure. We needed him here on Earth!
Sunday’s Tony Awards on CBS are set for huge ratings.
The show has no sports competition or anything else of note running against it. Luckily, the NBA finals are off that night.
Singer Pink is the off beat choice as host, and she’s going to surprise everyone with a knockout night.
The opening number at 8pm is written by Pasek and Paul — of “Evan Hansen” and “La La Land” fame — along with Mark Sonnenblick. The number should be spectacular with 170 performers on the stage at Radio City Music Hall.
The show will also feature performances from current musicals The Lost Boys, Schmigadoon!, Titaníque, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Ragtime and Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show.
There will be a special 15th anniversary reunion of the cast of “The Book of Mormon.” No less than Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr. will honor those we’ve lost this year with a moving performance of “Without You” from Rent, in honor of the show’s 30th anniversary.
Also, Queen Latifah and Pink will lead a 30th anniversary tribute to “Chicago,” still playing like crazy thanks to the canny producers Fran and Barry Weissler.
The presenters list is off the charts, too. Look at this:
Adrien Brody, Annette Bening, Ariana DeBose, Ben Platt, Bernadette Peters, Billy Crystal, Bowen Yang, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Carrie Coon, Cole Escola, Darren Criss, Jack O’Brien, Jeremy Pope, John Leguizamo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kara Young, Kelli O’Hara, Kristin Chenoweth, Law Roach, Lena Waithe, Lily Rabe, Maya Rudolph, Megan Thee Stallion, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicole Scherzinger, Patrick Wilson, Paul Rudd, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Sarah Paulson.
Plus Sting, who opens next Tuesday in his musical, “The Last Ship,” at the Metropolitan Opera House, will give an award. (There are very few tickets left!)
Got other plans? Cancel ’em!
PS There’s a pre-show free on Pluto TV (streaming) with Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess giving out a slew of other Tonys. It runs from 6:35 to 8pm. And no, Radio City offers no food to the black tie guests. We’ll be calling Door Dash for a pizza at some point!
Peabo Bryson was such a spectacular singer.
Losing him this week at age 75 was a real blow.
Peabo still had his remarkable voice, and wasn’t done with his career.
It turns out the singer “If I Ever I Have You in My Arms Again” recorded what turns out to be a final album.
The collection is written and produced by two pretty big deals: Jimmy Jam Harris and Terry Lewis.
You may know them from all of Janet Jackson’s hits. Jam and Lewis have about two dozen other superstars under their belt from Mariah to Patti Labelle and the great Alexander O’Neal.
No word yet on a title or when the album will be released, but I am told we could hear by the end of the year. It would be a fitting tribute to Peabo, who was revered and adored by his fans.
Meantime, I see that Jimmy Jam is doing a Q&A tonight at Sony Hall in New York, under the Paramount Hotel. The event starts at 8. I’m sure all of this will be part of the conversation.
As for Jam and Lewis, and Jackson, here’s my favorite of their many hits: