☕ Kimmel off the air

Good morning!

The big story today is the decision by ABC to take ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ off the air, after the FCC Chair criticized comments made by Kimmel relating to Charlie Kirk.

In today’s newsletter, we introduce you to the media companies involved in this decision, the FCC, and explain how we got here.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• Three police officers were killed and two others critically injured in a shootout during a domestic investigation in central Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon. Pennsylvania State Police said the officers were fired upon while conducting the investigation, and the shooter was killed at the scene. Governor Josh Shapiro visited Wednesday evening, saying "this kind of violence is not OK, we need to do better as a society." State flags will be lowered to half-mast to honor the officers' sacrifice.

• A Louisiana immigration judge has ordered Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil to be deported to Algeria or Syria on Wednesday, citing misrepresentation on his green card application. Khalil, a permanent resident who led Columbia University's pro-Palestine protests in 2023, was previously detained by the Trump administration and missed his son's birth while in custody. The activist is married to a US citizen and his lawyers say they will appeal the ruling. His legal team accused the Trump administration of weaponizing a "kangaroo immigration court" to restrict his free speech.

• President Trump dined with eight members of the British royal family at Windsor Castle on Wednesday night, alongside UK politicians and tech CEOs. Four protesters were arrested for projecting an image of Trump with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during his arrival. Trump praised the UK-US relationship in his speech, saying "the word special does not begin to do it justice," while King Charles highlighted Ukraine, trade relations, and environmental issues. The President will meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday before departing Windsor Castle.

• Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigned from the ice cream company on Wednesday, alleging parent company Unilever tried to silence his activism on peace and human rights issues. Greenfield, known alongside co-founder Ben Cohen for activism on climate change and social justice, said the company had "been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power." He called the resignation "one of the hardest and most painful decisions" he has ever made. A Unilever spokesperson told The Guardian the company "disagreed with his perspective" and had attempted "constructive conversation."

I’ve got 1 minute

The body of a 15-year-old girl was discovered in a Tesla registered to TikTok star and singer D4vd, sparking a homicide investigation in Los Angeles. Police say the social media personality is cooperating with authorities as they work to determine how Celeste Rivas ended up dead in his vehicle. Here's what you need to know.

What happened

Workers at a Hollywood tow yard called police September 8 after smelling a foul odor from a Tesla that had been impounded three days earlier. Inside the front trunk, officers found human remains that were too decomposed to immediately identify.

The car is registered to D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke), though police say multiple people have access to his vehicles. The Tesla had been abandoned in West Hollywood for over three days before being towed, and was never reported stolen.

The victim

The remains were identified as Celeste Rivas, a 15-year-old from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County. She was first reported missing in April 2024 when she was 13 years old.

The medical examiner described Rivas as 5-foot-1, 72 pounds with wavy black hair. She was wearing a tube top, black leggings, and had a finger tattoo reading "Shhhh."

D4vd

D4vd is a popular TikTok creator and singer who released his debut album this year. He cancelled a Seattle concert on Wednesday when news of the discovery broke.

Police say he is cooperating with the investigation, but have not identified him as a suspect. The Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division is leading the case.

Police are still working to determine the cause of death, and the circumstances that led to Rivas' death. Her remains were not intact and appeared to have been decomposing for an extended period.

No arrests have been made, and investigators continue gathering evidence in what they're treating as a homicide case.

I’ve got 2 minutes

Television network ABC has pulled ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ off the air indefinitely, after Kimmel criticized the reaction to the assassination of political commentator Charlie Kirk.

The suspension came after federal regulators threatened ABC’s owner, Disney, and a major TV partner of the network dropped the show from 32 stations across the country. Here’s what you need to know.

Kimmel’s comments

On Monday night’s show, Kimmel said: “The MAGA gang [are] trying to characterise this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Kimmel also mocked Trump’s response to Kirk’s death.

Answering a question about his ally’s death, Trump talked about the construction of the White House ballroom. Kimmel said it “is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.”

FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the government agency that regulates television, radio, and telecommunications.

The FCC issues TV networks licenses to broadcast and can suspend them if it believes they are not operating in the “public interest”. It also approves all major media mergers or sales.

In a podcast interview released Wednesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr criticized Kimmel’s comments, calling them “truly sick.”

Carr said it was “a very, very serious issue right now for Disney,” and that “we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

“These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said.

“They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”

Nexstar and ABC

Nexstar is the largest television station owner in the country. It works with major networks to broadcast high-profile programs across around 200 stations. Kimmel’s show airs on more than 30 stations.

Shortly after Carr’s comments, Nexstar announced it would immediately pull Kimmel’s program from all of its stations.

The FCC is currently evaluating a $6.2 billion merger proposal between Nexstar and fellow television giant Tegna.

In a statement, Nexstar broadcasting president Andrew Alford said airing Kimmel’s show “is simply not in the public interest at the current time,” and that it was suspended “in an effort to let cooler heads prevail”.

Shortly after Nexstar’s comments, The Hollywood Reporter published comments from an ABC spokesperson that Kimmel’s show would be replaced with other programming “indefinitely”.

ABC, owned by Disney, is the employer of Kimmel, his writers, producers, and staff. Kimmel has hosted the show on ABC since 2003. He is yet to respond.

Lawsuits

A number of major media outlets are facing lawsuits over broadcast or published comments critical of Trump and his administration.

In 2024, Trump sued ABC for airing comments relating to his 2023 civil lawsuit, where he was found liable for sexual abuse. The case was settled for $16 million.

He has also settled a lawsuit against Paramount over the way an interview with Kamala Harris was edited, and announced a $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times this week.

Paramount owns the channel CBS, which cancelled ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ in July, three days after Colbert criticized Paramount’s settlement with Trump.

CBS called it “purely a financial decision”. Paramount is also currently awaiting FCC approval for a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media.

Posting on social media, Trump called Kimmel’s suspension “great news for America”.

He said it “leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers, on Fake News NBC” in the late-night space, calling on NBC to cancel both shows.

FCC response

In a post to X, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said: “I want to thank Nexstar for doing the right thing. Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest.

“While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values. I hope that other broadcasters follow Nexstar’s lead.”

TDU asks