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BY: Andrew Springer, NOTICE News co-founder

Good morning! It’s Monday, December 22, 2025. Only three more sleeps until Christmas! In today’s newsletter:

  • Top story: CBS kills 60 Minutes Trump investigation

  • Making news: JD Vances take a break from the couch

  • In depth: The real reason Trump is seizing Venezuelan oil tankers

  • Stories the algorithm is keeping out of your feed

⏱️ Estimated read time: 7 minutes, 42 seconds

⁉️ Questions? Comments? Just reply to this email!

TOP STORY

CBS kills 60 Minutes Trump investigation

60 Minutes just killed a fully vetted, legally cleared story about Venezuelan men deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison—and the correspondent who reported it is publicly accusing CBS of caving to political pressure.

"The public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship," Sharyn Alfonsi wrote in an internal memo obtained by CNN.

WHAT'S GOING ON: Alfonsi's segment featured accounts from men deported by the Trump administration to CECOT, El Salvador's maximum-security prison.

The story had been screened five times—an unusually high number—and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. CBS even promoted it Friday afternoon.

Then Saturday morning, CBS News’ fascist editor-in-chief Bari Weiss "spiked the story," according to Alfonsi. Weiss's main complaint? The Trump administration hadn't responded to interview requests. According to Alfonsi, CBS reached out to DHS, the White House, and State—they all refused to engage.

OF COURSE: Weiss—installed by new Paramount owner David Ellison after he bought her startup The Free Press for $150 million—suggested the show try interviewing Stephen Miller, even providing his phone number.

Meanwhile, Trump has been attacking 60 Minutes on Truth Social, complaining the show "has actually gotten WORSE" since the ownership change and pointedly noting the Ellisons are "friends of mine" who should "do the right thing."

BUT BUT BUT: Weiss claims holding stories "that lack sufficient context" or are "missing critical voices" is normal newsroom practice.

But Alfonsi isn't buying it: "Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient."

WHY IT MATTERS: This isn't just about one story. It's about whether a major news organization will allow an administration's silence to function as a veto over critical journalism.

Alfonsi wrote that the men who spoke to CBS "risked their lives" to share their stories. "Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless." CBS sources told CNN that staffers are "threatening to quit" and fear the program is being "dismantled."

BOTTOM LINE: A billionaire buys a news network, installs his preferred editor, and suddenly a damaging story about the president's deportation operation—one that was fully reported, vetted, and ready to air—gets killed at the last minute. Call it what it is.

➡️ Question of the Day

Do you still trust mainstream media?

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🗞️ Making News

Vance Takes Time Off Couch to Bomb as Stand-Up Comic

Vice President JD Vance tried his hand at comedy during Turning Point's AmericaFest, mocking Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh as "mayor of Mogadishu"—because apparently xenophobia passes for humor in MAGA land. Fateh's response? "Vance took time away from the couch to try out comedy." The escalating cruelty isn't just racist theater—it's testing how far Republicans can push dehumanization of immigrants and people of color before 2026. Full story from The Hill

Bipartisan Duo Threatens "Inherent Contempt" After DOJ's Sketchy Epstein Files Drop

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Ca.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) aren't buying the Justice Department's heavily redacted Epstein files release, threatening to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in "inherent contempt." The Friday document dump—missing photos, loaded with redactions—looks less like transparency and more like a cover-up. When a progressive and a libertarian Republican both smell a rat, you know something's deeply wrong with how the Trump DOJ is protecting powerful people in Epstein's orbit. Full story from The Hill

Trump Administration Purges Nearly 30 Career Diplomats in Loyalty Test

The Trump administration is recalling almost 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial posts worldwide, replacing expertise with MAGA true believers. This isn't normal presidential turnover—it's ideological purge designed to ensure only "America First" loyalists represent U.S. interests abroad. When competence becomes a liability and sycophancy becomes the job requirement, American diplomacy isn't just weakened—it's weaponized for Trump's personal agenda. Full story from Associated Press

🗳️ Yesterday’s poll results

Yesterday we asked, Should Pam Bondi be impeached over the Epstein files? Overwhelmingly you agreed; 98.80% voted yes.

TJ voted yes and said: “The Attorney General should be held to the highest standard of accountability as the chief of the Department of Justice which is the people’s Attorney of Justice. She must uphold the constitution and defend the law explicitly!”

Susan also voted yes: “Not only impeached but sent to prison for life.”

Jomapa voted yes: “Everything she is doing is illegal. She is protecting Trump and all government officials and billionaires that are in the Epstein files. She is inhumane person who doesn’t support women and young girls that have been sexually violated. She is beholden to a criminal!!”

👀 Kept Out of Your Feed

Here are some stories the algorithms may be keeping out of your feed.

IN DEPTH

The real reason Trump is seizing Venezuelan oil tankers

The Coast Guard is now actively hunting oil tankers in the Caribbean like it's running a privateer operation from the 1700s. On Sunday, U.S. forces were pursuing yet another vessel—the third tanker seizure or pursuit in less than two weeks—as the Trump administration wages what it's calling a "blockade" against Venezuela.

But here's what the headlines aren't telling you: this isn't really about sanctions enforcement. It's about…

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Thank you for reading! - Andrew & Anthony

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