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Jon Stewart asks whether 'The Daily Show' is like high-sugar food giving US 'political diabetes'
Talk show host Jon Stewart told former first lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday that he questions whether shows like his have been a net positive or net negative for the country.
On her "IMO" podcast, Obama asked Stewart whether it’s healthy for young people to get their news from "The Daily Show."
"Do you think comedy helps or hurts the political climate?" she asked. "I wonder what you think, because sometimes I think, ‘Is it good that most young people are getting their news from The Daily Show?’ Or that they — you know — they want you to run for president?"
Stewart began by questioning his show's impact, saying that late night shows are becoming a "relic."
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"We are in some ways a relic of a previous era where it's sort of like I'm running a Blockbuster, a video store inside of a Tower Records," Stewart replied, noting social media’s impact and how even his show has had to adapt to it to boost reach. Multiple commentators have noted that the late night talk show as an entire format appears to have been increasingly outmoded by long-form podcasts.
Stewart went on to note that he has learned not to confuse cultural power with actual power, but nonetheless appreciated how cathartic shows like his can be. He said the format feels somewhat "impotent" and possibly like something of an "opiate" for American citizens.
"Is it an opiate?" he asked. "Is it creating a, you know ... And having worked on some of those things on Capitol Hill and all that, I know the difference now, which I didn't before. The difference between activists who are in the trenches doing that day-to-day work, trying to bend that arc of the moral universe slowly towards justice, not realizing there's a bunch of people trying to bend it back."
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Stewart said he is curious about what a double-blind study would show about his work.
"Like, does this help? Does it corrode? Does it pervert? Is it something to be — is it ultra-processed, you know, food that's given the country a kind of political diabetes? I don't know," he said.
"I think I also have to step back on — it may not be an honorable thing we do, but we do it as honorably as we can in that it is not in bad faith," Stewart continued. "So the way that I try and judge it is, any good faith art, material, speech, talk that goes into the universe, I feel like is a win."
"There's so much bad faith," he warned. "But I can't sit here and honestly answer like, ‘It's a win for society. What I've done over these past 25 years,’ you know, I'd hate to think, obviously, but there's many people on social media who would tell me, you know, that that is the case."
Tim Graham, the Executive Editor of the NewsBusters division of the Media Research Center, agreed that Stewart is right to question what his show has done for political discourse.
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"The concept of Americans getting their 'news' from comedy shows is always a terrifying prospect," Graham began. "Stewart's right with his metaphor of ultra-processed food. Political comedy's a Twinkie and not a bran muffin. People can have very distorted views on a comedy-alone diet, like thinking Sarah Palin actually said ‘I can see Russia from my house.’"
"Late-night comedy can be compared to an opiate, because their natural audience uses their overwhelming tilt against Trump to get over their anger that Trump won the White House again," he continued. "In 2024, the late-night shows devoted 82 percent of their political jokes to Trump and the Republicans."
"It's a little bit funny that they're discussing partisan hackery on the Michelle Obama podcast," Graham added. "The Obamas have been the most fawned-over couple in modern American media history. Late-night comedians never act on the Michelle principle, ‘when they go low, we go high.’"
Ex-ESPN host Cindy Brunson embarrasses herself trying to discredit Caitlin Clark
We previously discussed the all-time low the sports media reached in defending DiJonai Carrington after she clotheslined Sophie Cunningham and then posted "White privilege" from the locker room following her ejection. In doing so, no one embarrassed themselves more than former ESPN broadcaster Cindy Brunson.
Brunson claimed Carrington did not deserve a Flagrant 2. Instead, she argued that Cunningham should have been ejected — not the player who clotheslined her.
Brunson also shared a post claiming white WNBA players benefit from "reverse DEI."
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If it appeared Brunson's remarks were driven by an agenda, she later confirmed it. She said she is Team DiJonai "all day every day."
"I’m team @dijonai all day every day and at most that should’ve been a flagrant 1 not an ejection," she posted on Threads.
One player Brunson does not support "all day every day" is Caitlin Clark.
In another bizarre Threads tangent, Brunson attempted to discredit Clark while discussing a game that did not involve the Fever.
On Sunday, Clark scored 37 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including 8-of-12 from three-point range. She also had 10 assists as the Fever defeated the Sky, 113-90.
Brunson wasn't impressed. She quickly argued that Clark’s performance should be discounted because the game was not competitive.
"Miss me with that stat padding 37 points, on the floor up 20 w/ a minute to go BS. The 32 points in just 26 minutes was WAY more impressive from the ⭐ on the playoff team from the lone star state," Brunson posted above a story about Seattle’s game against Dallas, in which Clark did not play.
Apparently, Brunson could not praise Paige Bueckers without taking a shot at Clark.
Brunson later deleted the post. But she did not do so because it was personal, desperate, or demeaning. Instead, she said she removed it because it prompted "racist" and "transphobic" comments her way.
Look familiar?
LET'S HAVE AN HONEST CONVERSATION ABOUT CAITLIN CLARK, RACISM, AND MEDIA COWARDICE
Like so many players in the WNBA, Brunson took an unprompted shot at Clark — again, she didn't even play in the game Brunson was discussing — Clark's fans defended her, and the aggressor cried racism.
They all so badly want to be victims.
Brunson has since continued her crusade against Clark on X.
This week, Clark recorded her fifth career 30-point, 10-assist game. She now has more 30-point, 10-assist games than the rest of WNBA history combined. Every other player in league history has combined for just four.
Yet Brunson was, again, not impressed by Clark's achievement. She dismissed the accomplishment as a "small sample size."
Huh?
Clark has accomplished something more times in fewer than three full seasons than every other player in the WNBA’s 30-year history combined. By definition, that is not a small sample size.
Elsewhere, on Tuesday night, Brunson celebrated Bueckers’ 22 points and 11 assists in a — wait for it — 96-78 Wings victory. Yet there were no complaints about stat-padding due to the margin of victory this time.
Why? According to Brunson, it is "different."
Apparently, it is also different when Angel Reese sets records early in her career, which Brunson might call a "small sample size" if Clark were involved.
"So impressive @Reese10Angel just broke a record that has stood since May of 2003 when Chamique Holdsclaw hauled in 24 rips for her Mystics vs the Shock. Reese finished w/ 26 rebounds, 18 on the defensive glass. So TUFF. #WNBA," Brunson posted this week.
When users pointed out the blowout and the level of competition, the same arguments Brunson used to diminish Clark, she said those qualifications did not matter anymore.
"It doesn’t matter who the competition is, she set not one, but two WNBA records tonight‼️ Plus, Smesko doesn’t use his bench much, esp w/ Bri Jones hurt. ALL of his starters were on the floor to end this game."
Got that? The competition, score and playing time do not matter when it's Reese setting the record.
Further, Reese actually has padded her stats throughout the season. Literally. There are videos of her team deliberately allowing her to inflate her statistics late in games. You can see and read more about that here.
To be clear, Brunson does not appear as bitter or racially motivated as some of Clark and Cunningham’s most vocal detractors. In her videos, she comes across as pleasant. And yet, she has greatly damaged her credibility. Her coverage of Clark and Cunningham is so nonsensical that it looks plainly personal.
Compare how she belittles the two Fever players with how she celebrates the rest of the league. It's obvious. It is pathetic.
It is unfortunate to watch someone who has spent nearly 30 years covering the WNBA damage her credibility because she cannot control her emotions when discussing Clark and Cunningham.
Brunson likely knows the WNBA well. But how can anyone view her commentary as honest moving forward when she has so clearly abandoned honesty in her recent coverage?
They cannot.
For those who claim White Fever fans are the reason the WNBA has become toxic, Brunson’s timeline offers a more honest explanation. She and people like her are fueling the league’s divisiveness. They have clear personal vendettas against Clark and Cunningham, then claim victimhood when others notice it.
Perhaps pandering to a small group of people on WNBA Threads is worth sacrificing credibility with the broader public. We doubt it, though.
Busy Philipps diagnosed with rare brain tumor after undergoing body scan her doctor told her she didn't 'need'
Busy Philipps is sharing how she was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor.
During a recent interview with People magazine, the 47-year-old "Cougar Town" actress shared the terrifying moment her doctor told her she had a brain tumor, the day after her "Dawson's Creek" co-star, James Van Der Beek, died following a battle with colorectal cancer.
"Dr. Devinsky says to me, 'I'm just going to say this to you the way I would want someone to say it to me,'" she recalled. "And that was when the wind like sort of knocked out of me and I had to sit down. He was like, 'I need you to breathe. I can hear that you're not breathing.' And I was like, 'Just tell me what's happening.' And he's like, 'This isn't any of those other things that they said it could be. This is a real tumor and it's inside your brain and Busy, it's got to come out. We got to take it out.'"
She was then connected with Dr. John Golfinos of NYU Langone and scheduled the five-hour surgery for March 2, during which surgeons removed a 2.6-centimeter mass from her brain.
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The mass was then biopsied and revealed to be a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare tumor that Dr. Alexandra Miller, Philipps’s neuro-oncologist at NYU Langone told People, affects 1,100 to 1,300 people a year in the U.S. She added that "it is considered malignant, but it has the best prognosis of all of the malignant gliomas."
"It’s sort of defined as a cancerous tumor based on the ability of the tumor to regrow over time, rather than it looking very malignant under the microscope," Miller said.
The diagnosis came after Philipps told her cousin’s husband, a doctor in Los Angeles, that she was interested in getting a Prenuvo scan but that her primary care doctor had told her in 2025, "You're super healthy. We've done all this other blood work. We've done like all kinds of tests. You're super healthy. There's no need for you to get one."
"'Oh, I love them,'" he told Philipps about the scan. "And I was like, 'Okay, cause my doctor just a few months ago said that I shouldn't get one.' He's like, 'Oh, like respectfully, don't know your doctor, but disagree. I think knowledge is power.' And what he said really resonated with me. And I was like, 'That was kind of what I was feeling, too. I think I want to get one.' He's like, 'Well, I'd be happy to help you set that up.'"
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After getting the scan, the "Freaks and Geeks" star went to an audition and later that night got a call from her cousin's husband, who let her know there was a lesion on her brain and that she should get an MRI.
Dr. Devinsky later told her the MRI showed a tumor that needed to be removed.
Philipps’ neurosurgeon, Dr. John Golfinos, told People that the early detection of the tumor ultimately made the surgery much easier, adding that had they found the tumor later, it "would have been two or three times the size."
Over a month after recovery, Philipps was back on the operating table after her dermatologist flagged that her incision site looked concerning.
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She had contracted staphylococcus, which required another surgery to cure, leaving Philipps feeling "really upset" and "like I was back at square one."
Despite her health scares, Philipps still managed to film her upcoming legal drama, "Cupertino," in which she plays the ex-wife of an AI billionaire who becomes the financier of a new law firm.
Philipps does not need chemotherapy or radiation, but will get regular scans to monitor any potential reoccurrence. Through this experience, the actress learned to trust her instincts.
"We are frequently told by doctors that there is nothing to worry about [when] you kind of know that there’s something to worry about," she says. "There’s nothing to be afraid of in having information. It’s only empowering."
Why Dolly Parton could bring together Americans who agree on almost nothing
Throughout her life, Dolly Parton kept reminding me of something beautiful about being human.
Perhaps you noticed it too.
Her death has brought an outpouring of affection from people who otherwise might agree on very little. And it leaves me wondering: What was it about Dolly? Talent alone doesn't explain it. Success doesn't explain it. Even her extraordinary generosity doesn't fully explain it.
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I suspect we recognized something deeper — a way of being human that somehow enlarged the humanity around her.
Many years ago, my friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu introduced me to an African word that has stayed with me ever since: Ubuntu. It is often translated as "I am because we are."
Over time, I have experienced Ubuntu less as a definition and more as a way of moving through the world. It is the quiet conviction that another person's life can become larger because you showed up. It is the belief that another person's humanity matters too much to be reduced to a label, a failure, a fear or someone else's judgment.
Dolly Parton struck me as someone who intuitively Ubuntued her way through life.
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In an America increasingly divided into competing camps and tribes, she was one of our great exceptions. Conservatives admired her. Liberals admired her. Christians admired her. People with no religious affiliation admired her. Rural America admired her. Urban America admired her.
She seemed to delight in people. She didn't require that people become more like her before she could enjoy them.
Want to have some of what Dolly had? Lean into Ubuntu.
Most of us know what it feels like to be reduced to a label, a mistake, a fear or someone else's judgment.
And most of us have encountered someone who refused to leave us there.
Perhaps you've known someone who saw more in you than the labels that had been placed upon you.
Perhaps you've encountered someone who made it feel safe to speak in your own voice.
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Perhaps you've known what it feels like when another person's belief in you arrived before your belief in yourself.
Perhaps you've known someone who called forth a larger version of yourself than you could yet imagine.
People like this leave us feeling more alive.
Perhaps that's because we are not completed in isolation. We are enlarged through encounter.
I have yet to meet anyone who isn't carrying more than they should. Maybe that's why another person's humanity can feel so nourishing. Someone sees us. Believes in us. Delights in us. And something in us comes alive.
I have no idea whether Dolly Parton ever heard the word Ubuntu. But I suspect she understood it instinctively.
Her Imagination Library put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children, most of whom she would never meet. The number is extraordinary. But perhaps more revealing is what it says about her: She believed in the possibilities of children she did not know.
We saw that same instinct in the way she encountered people — in her easy laughter, her delight in others and her apparent belief that the person in front of her mattered. She used her success to enlarge possibilities for people far beyond herself.
Dolly Ubuntued.
One of the things I love most about Ubuntu is that nobody has to qualify for it. There is no means test, no dress code, no success code, no educational requirement, no preferred political party, no preferred religion, no preferred heritage, no preferred ZIP code, no VIP entrance and no secret handshake.
Bring your humanity. That's it.
In a world that constantly encourages us to sort, rank, label and separate ourselves from one another, Ubuntu offers an astonishing possibility: None of us becomes fully human alone. Your humanity strengthens mine while mine expands yours.
We need one another's humanity in order to thrive.
Ubuntu may help us survive difficult seasons. But its deeper promise is that we flourish.
Not despite one another.
Through one another.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that this is not simply a beautiful idea. It is a practical truth. We are changed, nourished, challenged and enlarged through our encounters with one another — sometimes most unexpectedly by people whose lives seem different from our own.
And we don't encounter this only in people whose names the world knows.
It appears in teachers and neighbors, nurses and firefighters, grandparents and lifelong friends and complete strangers. In someone who saw more in you than you could see in yourself. In someone whose humanity surprised you because their life seemed so different from your own.
And chances are, you've been that person for someone else.
Ubuntu is not merely a word. It's a human thing — a way of helping one another flourish, of becoming more fully ourselves and of discovering that neither of us necessarily leaves an encounter unchanged.
Humanity is one of the few things in life that grows when it is shared. When we strengthen another person's humanity, we strengthen our own.
Dolly Parton is gone. But what we loved in her isn't.
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It is still possible every time someone refuses to reduce another person to a label. Every time someone believes in another person before that person can believe in themselves. Every time one human being calls forth something larger in another — and discovers that they, too, have been enlarged.
Maybe that's some of what Dolly was showing us all along.
So let's celebrate humanity.
Let's celebrate the people who enlarge it.
You've been Ubuntued.
Perhaps you've Ubuntued others.
Let's Ubuntu together.
'Tragic accident' unfolds as travelers, employees witness deadly passenger jet incident
An airport worker was killed on the job this week after being struck by a passenger jet.
The incident took place at YUL Montréal-Trudeau International Airport in Quebec, Canada, Monday, airport officials said.
The incident involved an Airbus A350 operated by French Bee, a low-cost airline, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
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The employee, who was not identified by airport officials, worked for ground-handling company Samsic.
French Bee told Fox News Digital the accident occurred during ground operations ahead of the departure of Flight BF5761 to Paris-Orly.
The airline said the accident occurred during the aircraft's pushback operation, though the exact circumstances "remain to be established."
"The airline extends its deepest condolences to the individual’s family and loved ones as well as its support to colleagues and all teams affected by this event," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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"French Bee is fully cooperating with the relevant Canadian authorities," the airline said, "and providing them with all necessary assistance to support the ongoing investigation."
In a statement, officials from Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) said they were "deeply saddened" by the incident.
"The loss of a member of our airport community affects us all deeply," said Yves Beauchamp, president and chief executive officer of ADM.
"During this difficult time, our thoughts are with the employee's family, loved ones and colleagues, to whom we extend our heartfelt sympathy and sincere condolences."
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ADM said it worked with its partners to provide assistance and support to employees and passengers "who witnessed this tragic accident."
ADM is also "cooperating with the authorities responsible for the investigation since the outset of their work," it said.
The Quebec coroner's office was also notified of the death and is investigating its causes and circumstances, CityNews reported.
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ADM said it would not provide further comment out of respect for the victim and the victim's loved ones. It directed media inquiries to the authorities leading the investigation.
Fox News Digital reached out to Samsic and the TSB for additional information.
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The fatal incident in Montreal comes just months after two other deadly incidents at major North American airports.
Earlier this year, a Delta Air Lines employee was killed on the job after an airport tug vehicle crashed into a jet bridge at Orlando International Airport.
At around the same time, a Frontier Airlines jet struck and killed a person who was walking on a runway at Denver International Airport.
Hegseth upgrades Abbey Gate Marines' valor awards after 5-year delay: 'Those days are over'
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth upgraded valor awards Wednesday for three Marines who risked their lives to save others during the deadly Abbey Gate bombing, saying their original award submissions were "inappropriately" downgraded after one of the darkest days of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
"For half a decade, this building allowed bureaucratic caution, or maybe politics, to stand in the way of proper recognition," Hegseth said during a Pentagon ceremony marking exactly five years since the Aug. 26, 2021, terrorist attack.
"Today, on this milestone anniversary, we declare that those days are over."
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Hegseth presented upgraded Bronze Star Medals with "V" devices for valor to Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan Eby and Lance Cpl. Jordan Houston. Cpl. Michael Gretzon received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a "V" device for valor.
"For too long, leadership in this capital city failed to match that frontline courage with administrative backbone, inappropriately downgrading the original award submissions that these men rightfully deserved," Hegseth said.
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Eby, then a staff sergeant, was screening evacuees from an exposed position when the suicide bomber struck. With his platoon commander and half his platoon wounded or killed, Eby took command, rallied his remaining Marines to establish security and helped evacuate the wounded, according to his award citation.
His actions "undoubtedly saved the lives of many," the citation said.
Houston was roughly 32 feet from the blast and knocked unconscious. He awoke with shrapnel wounds but remained in an exposed position to cover fellow Marines and provide lifesaving treatment to those more seriously wounded, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said.
Houston concealed his injuries because he feared being taken out of the fight and later removed shrapnel from his own body before receiving medical treatment.
"I don't know where we find such men, but I'm not sure we deserve them," Commandant Gen. Smith said.
Gretzon was also struck by shrapnel, suffering an arm wound severe enough that he applied his own tourniquet. After medical personnel bandaged him, he immediately returned to his squad and continued helping until his platoon sergeant personally ordered him to the casualty collection point, Smith said.
The ISIS-K suicide bombing killed 13 American service members as U.S. forces carried out the final evacuation from Afghanistan.
The fallen were Marine Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola and Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui; Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak; and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss.
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"Today our hearts remain anchored to the memory of the 13 warriors who gave their last measure of devotion on August 26th of 2021," the ceremony's chaplain said, asking for continued comfort for their Gold Star families.
The award upgrades come as the War Department's Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel continues examining the attack and withdrawal.
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Sean Parnell, who chairs the panel, said Wednesday that investigators recently recovered "highly relevant classified documents," material he said should have been disclosed but was "stashed and hidden away in safes where they would not be found."
After investigators examined the material, Parnell said, "it became clear why someone tried to hide them."
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Parnell did not disclose the documents' contents because they are classified, and the War Department has not publicly identified who allegedly concealed them.
Hegseth said the broader Afghanistan review is ongoing and that the department expects to have a full report to provide by the end of the calendar year.
"Marines, on this fifth anniversary, your valor is now officially, permanently and properly recognized," Hegseth said. "You represent the very heart of peace through strength."
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Girl Scouts denies teaching religion amid scrutiny of Muslim faith awards, mosque visits
Girls Scouts of the USA pushed back Wednesday on reports that mosque-based troops incorporated Islamic prayer, hijab lessons and faith-specific patches into scouting activities across several states, saying outside faith organizations independently run the optional programs.
"Girl Scouts is proudly for every girl. Contrary to misinformation circulating online, Girl Scouts is not a religious organization and does not teach religion. For more than a century, we've welcomed girls of every faith and background," a GSUSA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Our national My Promise, My Faith pin invites girls to connect the Girl Scout Law with their own faith. Any other faith-based patches are developed by independent faith organizations, not GSUSA, and participation in these programs is always optional."
GSUSA’s own materials state that the organization has approved religious-recognition programs created by faith groups and permits their insignia on official uniforms. A chart currently hosted on its national website says each religious organization develops and administers its own curriculum.
The chart lists four Islamic recognitions — Bismillah, In the Name of Allah, Quratula’in and Muslimeen — alongside programs for Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Baha’i and other faith communities. It directs Muslim families to the Islamic Committee on Girl Scouting.
A 2025 Girl Scouts of Orange County, California, faith toolkit says the Islamic Committee on Girl Scouting provides Muslim Girl Scouts with activity booklets and medals. The toolkit also lists churches, mosques and temples as possible venues for faith events.
A separate All About Islam Patch website aimed at Girls Scouts requires every age level to complete sections on all Five Pillars of Islam and at least three activities. Options include attempting a partial fast, donating to charity and completing a Five Pillars worksheet. The program is hosted separately from GSUSA's national website.
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Moms for Liberty New Jersey Ambassador Alexandra Bougher criticized the religious recognition programs in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday, arguing that faith-specific badges could exclude girls who do not share the beliefs required to earn them.
"No Girl Scout chapter should push one faith over another by incentivizing it with badges some girls, because of their own faith, will not be able to earn," Bougher said. "Girl Scouts should rededicate itself to its true mission instead of getting involved in ideological battles that exist to endorse a particular faith or exclude young scouts of another faith from earning merit badges."
The scrutiny followed a report Saturday by White House correspondent Natalie Winters alleging that mosque-based troops had incorporated Quran study, Islamic prayer, Ramadan observances and hijab activities into Girl Scout programming. The report cited programs in California, Illinois, New York and Virginia.
The cited examples involved local troops, councils and faith organizations rather than a compulsory national curriculum. GSUSA’s website has also highlighted Orange County Muslim troops that organized an Open Mosque Day for Girl Scout families.
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American Heritage Girls (AHG), a Christian scouting organization founded in 1995 as an alternative to Girl Scouts, emphasized its upfront disclosure of religious programming in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"American Heritage Girls is unapologetically Christ-centered, and we lead with that identity rather than obscure it. Every family is told upfront, before they ever join a troop, that our programming — including our curriculum, activities, or any other facet of the ministry — is built around a relationship with Jesus," an AHG spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said AHG discloses what girls will learn from the outset and vets outside materials for consistency with its Christian mission.
"We welcome girls from all faith backgrounds, but we don't soften or hide our core beliefs and values," the spokesperson continued.
"Faith formation shouldn't be a surprise for a parent to discover. For us, it’s something we’re intentional about, transparent about, and proud of. And parents appreciate that."
NFL ends Pro Bowl after decades of declining interest, will turn all-star game into an award for 88 players
The Pro Bowl is dead. The NFL finally laid its season-ending All-Star event to rest Wednesday.
(This was a long time in coming because the Pro Bowl has been something of a corpse for years and the NFL has finally admitted it needed to be buried.)
The NFL will no longer stage an AFC vs. NFC Pro Bowl game. Instead, the league will place greater emphasis on the moment a player is selected, the recognition that accompanies that distinction, and bringing the Pro Bowl class together to celebrate the achievement.
"The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL," said Peter O’Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business, International and League Events. "A Pro Bowl selection will return to its original purpose, honoring the best of the best. We want that distinction to carry even greater meaning for the players, their families, their clubs and our fans."
Beginning with the 2026 season, 88 players will comprise the official Pro Bowl roster, with none of the replacement selections that in recent years diminished the honor. The roster will continue to be determined through an equal-weighted voting process among players, coaches and fans.
By limiting the honor to the 88 players originally selected, the Pro Bowl will "return its focus squarely to recognizing the league’s most outstanding performers, reinforcing the significance of an achievement held in especially high regard by players themselves," the NFL said in a statement.
This had to happen.
The modern NFL Pro Bowl began in January of 1951, following the 1950 season, as an East-vs.-West all-star game. In 1971, it became the familiar AFC-vs.-NFC format.
Its television high point came with the 2000 Pro Bowl, which drew 13.24 million viewers on ABC.
But the game’s standing noticeably eroded thereafter as fear of injuries and venue changes led to withdrawals, replacements and low-effort football because players concluded that an exhibition was not worth jeopardizing their health.
After the league ended the tackle edition of the Pro Bowl in February 2022, it was replaced by the Pro Bowl Games in 2023.
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It was a farce.
The Games were built around skills competitions and AFC-NFC flag-football games.
The Games were something of a curiosity the first year and 6.2 million viewers tuned in. But that quickly crashed and the ratings cratered this year at 2 million viewers – below even preseason viewership.
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The Pro Bowl announcement will come in late December through an "enhanced announcement," highlighting the 88 selected players across NFL, club, social and broadcast partner platforms and celebrating the performances that earned them the honor.
The NFL never loses. It is ending one television event in February but possibly adding another in December and billing it as an "enhanced announcement."
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo apologizes to Chicago Cubs after sign stealing controversy: 'bush league'
It's one of baseball's oldest, and often most misunderstood, traditions: stealing signs from the opposition.
Despite popular misconceptions, sign stealing in baseball is perfectly legal. If, say, a runner at second base is able to pick up signs from the catcher to the pitcher, he's within his rights to relay them to the hitter. It's up to the pitcher and catcher to come up with their own elaborate system to keep the other team guessing.
The Houston Astros in 2017 and into 2018 are the most obvious and prominent example of how sign stealing could be abused, particularly in the pre-pitchcom era. Should players or coaches pick up on signs and relay them on the field, there's no issue. However, when teams employ video technology to relay signs in real time from the dugout, as the Astros did, that crosses into cheating. That distinction is precisely why the Astros' 2017 World Series title carries the asterisk it does.
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Even though advancements in pitchcom have eliminated physical signs for some pitchers and catchers, sign stealing remains part of baseball. Whether through picking up on tipping or through decoding other physical movements. And that sign stealing tradition boiled over during a recent game between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cubs and Diamondbacks played a series this week in Phoenix, with tempers boiling over during the fifth inning of Chicago's 7-0 win on Monday evening. The disagreement started when the Diamondbacks' dugout came to believe that Cubs' third base coach Quintin Berry was picking up on signs from pitcher Merrill Kelly, then relaying those signs from his position on the field.
A breakdown from popular baseball account Jomboy showed what seemingly happened.
"Stealing signs is as old as baseball," Kelly said Monday night after the game. Though he added that he does not believe it's acceptable coming from a coach. "I think it’s a little bulls--- when it comes from a coach."
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"If it’s a guy on second base, and they see a grip in your glove or if the hitters can see something you’re doing with your glove, I think that’s fair game. I think guys have been doing that since the beginning of baseball. I think it’s a little bush league when it comes from outside that. I think inside the lines is one thing. I think the guys that are standing outside the lines I think it’s a little bush league," he said.
This resulted in a shouting match between the two dugouts, with Arizona personnel seen yelling across the field. Manager Torey Lovullo, pitching coach Brian Kaplan, and bench coach Jeff Banister in particular used some flowery language to tell Berry to stop relaying signs.
Lovullo went so far as to reach out to Major League Baseball's league office, asking for confirmation that Berry's actions were against the rules. After Tuesday night's game, however, he explained to the media that the league told him Berry and the Cubs hadn't done anything wrong.
"It was a fantastic conversation," Lovullo said. "The third base coach and the first base coach can do whatever they want, as long as they are inside the dimensions of the base coaching box, so I stand corrected. And I had a chance to call [Counsell], apologized to him, and told him that we were wrong, and they were doing everything right."
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It's funny, because it seems like something that should be against the rules. As long as coaches don't leave their boxes though, they're within the rules. Lovullo, though, admitted that with the team fighting for a postseason spot, each game has become more "intense" than a typical regular season match up.
"It's a very intense time of the year, and you know a lot goes on," Lovullo said. "Two teams trying to protect their turf. I told him that I'd take care of our clubhouse, which I did."
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Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he appreciated the gesture and conversation.
Said Counsell, "I think the world of Torey. I think he runs a great ship here. I think he's done a heck of a job. So I enjoy every conversation I get to have with him. So yeah, he felt like he wanted to do it, and I appreciated it."
In a sense, all's well that ends well, but it's an interesting reminder that sign stealing, even as technology continues to improve, is a part of baseball. Some traditions never die.
Accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 3 co-defendants set for 2028 trial
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and three alleged co-conspirators will stand trial in 2028, a military judge ruled Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Michael Schrama set the trial for June 5, 2028, rejecting prosecutors’ request to begin proceedings in January 2027. Mohammed and the three other defendants have been held at Guantánamo Bay since 2003 in the long-delayed case stemming from the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Schrama said the prosecution’s proposed Jan. 11, 2027, trial date did not leave enough time to resolve outstanding pretrial matters.
"A realistic trial date must account for the hearing and resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions, including the FBI LHM suppression motions," Schrama wrote.
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The scheduling order establishes a series of deadlines and milestones for the case leading up to the June 2028 trial, while leaving existing deadlines governing ongoing pretrial litigation in place.
"The TSO issued today serves as the overarching scaffolding. It assumes the successful completion of the deadlines in the AE 989O TCO and the FBI LHM TCO and establishes milestones leading to a trial on the merits starting on Monday, 5 June 2028," Schrama wrote.
Under the order, jury selection, including assembly, challenges and empanelment of commission members, will begin June 5, 2028.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin 30 days after the members are empaneled. The defendants may choose to defer their opening statements until prosecutors have finished presenting their case.
Prosecutors will begin presenting evidence immediately after opening statements conclude. Once the prosecution rests, the defendants will have 14 days to seek a finding of not guilty under the Rules for Military Commissions.
The prosecution would then have 14 days to respond to such a motion, followed by seven days for the defendant to reply. If prosecutors choose to reopen their case to address an alleged deficiency raised in the motion, the order gives them 45 days after the conclusion of their initial presentation of evidence to do so.
The defendants are scheduled to begin presenting their own evidence 60 days after prosecutors conclude their case-in-chief. The order also sets procedures for rebuttal and surrebuttal evidence, additional motions for findings of not guilty and closing arguments.
Schrama wrote that, absent good cause, the commission will not grant extensions or continuances involving motions for findings of not guilty or the presentation of rebuttal or surrebuttal evidence.
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The trial date comes after years of legal wrangling over the prosecution of Mohammed and his co-defendants, including a failed effort to resolve the case through plea agreements.
A divided federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled in 2025 that then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had the authority to withdraw from plea agreements that would have allowed Mohammed and two co-defendants to plead guilty in exchange for sentences of life in prison without parole, potentially taking the death penalty off the table.
Austin argued that a decision on whether to remove the possibility of capital punishment should rest with the secretary of defense. The D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that Austin acted within his legal authority when he withdrew the agreements.
"Having properly assumed the convening authority, the Secretary determined that the families and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out," Judges Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao wrote in the majority opinion. "The Secretary acted within the bounds of his legal authority, and we decline to second-guess his judgment."
Mohammed, a Pakistani national, is accused of spearheading the Sept. 11, 2001, plot in which hijackers crashed commercial airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania.
The 2028 date sets a timetable for a case that has remained in pretrial proceedings for years as the military commission has addressed disputes over evidence and other legal issues before a trial on the merits can begin.