Jorge Ramos Cartoons

Gayle King may need to leave CBS role if Oprah Winfrey runs for president, observers say

"CBS This Morning" co-anchor Gayle King might have to leave the program if her longtime friend and confidant Oprah Winfrey runs for president, media watchers suggested Tuesday.

King’s close relationship with Winfrey would present a potentially significant conflict of interest that could undermine public confidence in CBS’s reporting, several commentators said.

The two women have been good friends since they both worked at a Baltimore television station in their early 20s.
On Tuesday, CBS anchors Norah O'Donnell and Jeff Glor interviewed King about Winfrey’s plans on "CBS This Morning," without mentioning the close relationship between the two women.
King, who attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony Sunday night and spent several hours with Winfrey afterward, said her friend was intrigued by the idea of a candidacy, but didn't think she was "actively considering" it.
King added that "there are people who have said they want to be her campaign manager, who want to quit their jobs and campaign for her."
GAYLE KING: 'I ABSOLUTELY DON'T THINK THAT HER POSITION HAS CHANGED'
Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said King's job "is like having an Oprah press spokesperson on staff. She's helping Oprah milk the speculation for all it's worth."
If Winfrey’s candidacy becomes real, "Gayle's gotta leave," declared CNN's morning host, Chris Cuomo.
"I have the right to change my opinion," added Cuomo, whose brother -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- has been mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential contender. "Does she have to leave? Maybe she does. I guess they could do the coverage in a way where she never handles it. But it would raise questions with people."
CBS will address the apparent conflict of interest if it becomes a problem, CBS News President David Rhodes said.
"It's difficult to be part of the news when you cover the news and she helped people understand what was going on with the story," Rhodes said.
King's insight is useful as long as chatter about Winfrey's candidacy is a parlor game and not reality, said Al Tompkins, an instructor in broadcast journalism for the Poynter Institute.
"The relationship between King and Winfrey is well known and viewers can filter what they hear from Gayle through that filter," Tompkins said. "If Oprah did run, it would be a tougher relationship to navigate. ... Today, with so many people being so skeptical or cynical of what they see, hear and read in journalism, the cleaner we can keep the lines between journalists and politicians the better."
Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said CBS News would have to take King off campaign stories if Winfrey were to run. That could be awkward for the show's format; the three hosts often sit at a table and discuss stories or interview newsmakers together. (King and O'Donnell will soon be joined by John Dickerson, whom CBS named Tuesday as the replacement for Charlie Rose, who left "CBS This Morning" in November after allegations of sexual misconduct.)
"The public needs to be assured that the news they get is as objective as humanly possible," Feldstein said. "That obviously is not the case if an anchor is reporting on a close friend."

Trump deserves 'big credit' for sparking North Korea talks, South Korea's president says

President Trump deserves “big credit” for kicking off the first talks between Pyongyang and Seoul in more than two years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday.

North Korea agreed Tuesday to send a delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics, which are set to begin next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The rival nations’ talks are the first sign of a possible thaw in their relationship.

Officials from North Korea meet with South Korea about the Winter Olympics.  (AP)

The talks were held for the first time since 2015 and Moon credited Trump for sparking them, according to Reuters.
“I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks,” Moon said at a news conference. “It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”
Trump and North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un have gone tit-for-tat with threats and insults over the last year as the rogue regime bolstered its nuclear strength.
The U.S. had expressed concerns that North Korea’s willingness to talk with Seoul could drive a wedge in their relationship, but Moon downplayed that notion saying the main goal was still a denuclearized peninsula.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporters' question during his New Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul  (AP)

“The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula the two Koreas agreed upon jointly [in the past] is our basic stance that will never be given up,” Moon said.
North Korea said it would still not discuss its nuclear weapons program with South Korea because its arsenal was only aimed at the U.S.
“North Korea’s weapons are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, China or Russia,” said Ri Son Gwon, the head of North Korea’s five-member delegation at the talks with South Korea.
Ri added discussing North Korea’s nuclear program will only damage ties with South Korea.
A hat tip from South Korea to Trump could signal another foreign policy win for the administration that started the year with a ton of momentum after defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The Trump administration authorized a more intensive air strategy, which left the so-called “caliphate” decimated. The terror group lost 98 percent of its territory it once held, U.S. military officials said in December.
U.S. officials said fewer than 1,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, down from a peak of nearly 45,000 two years ago.

'That's Deeply Disingenuous': Carlson Battles Jorge Ramos Over DREAMers, Chain Migration

Tucker Carlson debated Mexican-American journalist Jorge Ramos on the prospect of legalizing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.
"I never thought I would be on Fox News listening to you criticize President Trump," Ramos said, referring to Carlson's opening monologue.
Ramos said Trump's eagerness to cut an immigration deal surprised him, but added that he didn't trust the president to follow through on such a liberal promise.

Thanks to all of the Republican and Democratic lawmakers for today’s very productive meeting on immigration reform. There was strong agreement to negotiate a bill that deals with border security, chain migration, lottery and DACA. https://t.co/SdqAQ3aL3z pic.twitter.com/8DYHZHspAy

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018

The Fusion TV anchor told Carlson that Americans are to blame for the amount of illegals in the country, citing the number that work as agriculture harvesters and hotel maids.

What kind of immigration reform is this? Nobody is talking about a solution for the 11M undocumented here. BTW they’re not going away. They’re here because of us and they deserve a chance to legalize their status.

— JORGE RAMOS (@jorgeramosnews) January 9, 2018

"I find your premise somehow deeply disingenuous," Carlson responded. "[It's] not because of me. It's because a small number of employers wanted to pay less for labor and the Democratic Party wanted voters."
He asked Ramos why Americans should allow Democratic policies to import a new electorate and have them decide who runs their government.
Regarding "chain migration," Ramos said he prefers the term "family reunification" and asked Carlson if he enjoys spending time together with his family.
Carlson dismissed Ramos' premise, saying the argument is a backdoor way to accuse people who disagreed with him of bigotry.

A “Bill of Love”? Hard to believe that the same president @realDonaldTrump that ended DACA now wants to help 800,000 Dreamers and follow, next, with legalizing 11M.

The fact is that this goverment ended DACA, TPS, and is trying to cut legal migration. Rest is just talk.
— JORGE RAMOS (@jorgeramosnews) January 9, 2018

Ramos said Trump's previous opposition to chain migration of Hispanic and Asian immigrants is code for "Make America White Again."

Judge rules against Trump administration on rescinding DACA

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday barred the Trump administration from turning back the Obama-era DACA program, which shielded more than 700,000 people from deportation, Reuters reported.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the program must stay intact during litigation is played out. 

Alsup ordered that until a final judgement is reached, the program must continue and those already approved for DACA protections and work permits must be allowed to renew them before they expire.

As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

Dreamers who have never received DACA protections, however, will not be allowed to apply, Alsup ordered. Trump last year ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He gave Congress until March to find a fix.
The Department of Justice said in a statement that the ruling does not change the department's position on the facts.

"DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal aliens. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress, and was susceptible to the same legal challenges that effectively ended DAPA," the statement read.
Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program was intended to keep the immigrant parents safe from deportation and provide them with a renewable work permit good for two years, but it was blocked by a federal judge after 26 states filed suit against the federal government and challenged the effort's legality.
Trump said he was willing to be flexible on DACA in finding an agreement as Democrats warned that the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants hung in the balance.
“I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,” Trump said during a Cabinet Room meeting with a bipartisan group of nearly two dozen lawmakers.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Trump appeared optimistic that Congress could reach a decision on the program.
Trump ended DACA in September. Immigration advocates estimate that more than 100 people a day lose the protected status because they did not renew their permits before the deadline, The Journal reported.
Trump is using border security—including a border wall-- as a bargaining chip and Democrats want to use their sway on the spending bill to protect immigrants under DACA.  
The plaintiffs in the suit included, among others, attorneys general from California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and the University of California
Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, filed a motion seeking the preliminary injunction in November, saying that the move is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and causes “irreparable” harm to DACA recipients.
Becerra said in a statement late Tuesday that the ruling is a “huge step in the right direction.”
“America is and has been home to Dreamers who courageously came forward, applied for DACA and did everything the federal government asked of them,” he said. “They followed DACA’s rules, they succeeded in school, at work and in business, and they have contributed in building a better America.”