Overview

• FCC chair Brendan Carr urged broadcasters to "take action" on Kimmel, warning "we can do this the easy way or the hard way," after which Nexstar and Sinclair said they would preempt the show and ABC announced an indefinite suspension.
• Republican Sen. Ted Cruz condemned Carr’s remarks as "mafioso" tactics even as President Donald Trump praised the regulator and mused that networks should "maybe" lose licenses over negative coverage.
• Crowds rallied outside Disney and ABC locations calling for Kimmel’s return and users pushed boycott calls online, while multiple outlets reported Kimmel planned to address the controversy when Disney pulled his show.
• Sacramento police said shots were fired at a building housing an ABC affiliate on Friday, underscoring heightened security concerns linked to the fallout.
• Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, FCC Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez, and editorial pages criticized the move as a free‑speech risk, as reporting detailed pending approvals and probes involving Disney, Nexstar, and Sinclair that amplify regulatory leverage.