Overview

• ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live after major affiliates, including Nexstar, stopped carrying the show following FCC chair Brendan Carr’s public warning over Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killing.
• Carr told broadcasters “we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” a message that landed as Nexstar seeks FCC approval for a merger, heightening concerns about regulatory leverage over programming decisions.
• A February video of Vice President JD Vance promising to “fight to defend” opposing views resurfaced as he urged that people who “celebrate” Kirk’s death be called out to their employers, drawing accusations of hypocrisy.
• Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to pursue what she called “hate speech,” prompting constitutional objections from civil-liberties advocates and conservatives who note such speech is generally protected under the First Amendment.
• Barack Obama and Kamala Harris condemned what they called an assault on free speech, citing administration threats toward media companies and contrasting them with Trump’s Executive Order 14149 pledging to end federal censorship.