Another member of the conservative Heritage Foundation has resigned following a video posted by the organization’s president defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

In a post to Facebook, board member Robert P. George said he can no longer remain part of the foundation without a “full retraction” of the video released last month by the organization’s president, Kevin Roberts.

“Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content. So, we reached an impasse,” George said.

Carlson’s interview with Fuentes — who has previously expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler — received widespread condemnation for antisemitism, and the aftermath has exposed fault lines among conservatives.

In his Oct. 30 video, Roberts denounced the "venomous coalition” criticizing both Fuentes and Carlson, adding that Carlson is a “close friend.” He said that though he disagrees with and even “abhors” things Fuentes said, he did not believe in “canceling” him or Carlson. On Sunday, President Donald Trump also defended Carlson, telling reporters “you can’t tell him who to interview.”

Fuentes, a well-known provocateur on the right, has previously said that “organized Jewry” is leading to the disappearance of white culture.

Roberts later said he “didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy,” and that his video script was written by an aide who has since resigned.

George on Monday said that Roberts is a “good man” who acknowledged a “serious mistake.”

“What divided us was a difference of opinion about what was required to rectify the mistake,” George added.

A spokesman for the Heritage Foundation confirmed George's resignation in a statement to POLITICO, thanking him for his service and calling him a "good man" before defending Roberts.

"Under the leadership of Dr. Roberts, Heritage remains resolute in building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish. We are strong, growing, and more determined than ever to fight for our Republic," the spokesman said.

George, the McCormick professor of jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, had been a Heritage trustee since 2019, according to the foundation’s website.

His resignation is one of several in light of Roberts' video, including at least five members of the foundation’s antisemitism task force, according to CBS News.

“I pray that Heritage’s research and advocacy will be guided by the conviction that each and every member of the human family, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, or anything else, as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, is “created equal” and “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” George said.

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

President Donald Trump endorsed more than 50 Republicans on Sunday night — but didn’t specifically name Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears ahead of Tuesday’s critical elections.

In dozens of social media posts, the president threw his support behind both first time hopefuls and those seeking reelection, including Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Earle-Sears, facing off against Democrat Abigail Spanberger, was not mentioned by name among the 53 endorsements Trump issued Sunday.

The president, however, made clear that he hopes voters cast their ballots for the Republican candidates in Virginia and in New Jersey, where Jack Ciattarelli is in a heated battle against Mikie Sherrill for the governor’s mansion. Trump endorsed Ciattarelli in October.

“Why would anyone vote for New Jersey and Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, when they want transgender for everybody, men playing in women’s sports, High Crime, and the most expensive Energy prices almost anywhere in the World?” Trump said in one post. “VOTE REPUBLICAN for massive Energy Cost reductions, large scale Tax Cuts, and basic Common Sense!”

Trump has hedged around an official endorsement for Earle-Sears, telling reporters last monththat the “Republican candidate” in Virginia should win “because the Democrat candidate is a disaster." Last week, the president joined the term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin for a virtual rally for the entire Virginia Republican ticket.

Some polling shows Earle-Sears trails Spanberger by double digits.

Neither the White House nor Earle-Sears campaign immediately responded to requests for comment.

© Robert Yoon/AP

Kat Abughazaleh, a progressive Democrat running for an open House seat in Illinois, faces federal charges after attending a protest at a U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement processing center outside Chicago.

Abughazaleh, a social media influencer who recently moved to the state, was charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer and assaulting or impeding an officer as they engaged in official duties at the Broadview ICE detention center.

According to the indictment, Abughazaleh was among several protesters who in September allegedly surrounded a government vehicle, banged on the hood and windows and scratched the body of the car, including etching the word “PIG” into the vehicle. The indictment also alleges the protesters broke one of the vehicle’s side mirrors and a rear windshield wiper.

Video of the encounter that day, posted by Abughazaleh, showed her and protesters placing their hands on the vehicle as the agent continued to slowly drive forward into the line of protesters, with some banging on the car.

Abughazaleh is one of the more than a dozen Democratic candidates running for Congress to fill the seat now held by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who announced earlier this year that she won't seek reelection in 2026.

In a statement, Abughazaleh called the charges “political prosecution” and a “gross attempt to silence dissent.”

“This case is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up,” Abughazaleh said, adding that the charges are “unjust.”

Other political figures named in the indictment include Catherine Sharp, a chief of staff to a Chicago alderman and a candidate for Cook County Board; Michael Rabbitt, a Chicago Democratic ward committeeman; and Brian Straw, a member of the suburban Oak Park Village board.

Sharp's attorney, Molly Armour, called the charges "ludicrous," saying, "we are confident that a jury of Ms. Sharp’s peers will see them for exactly what they are: an effort by the Trump administration to frighten people out of participating in protest and exercising their First Amendment rights.”

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Advocates and politicians have protested regularly outside the Broadview detention center since President Donald Trump ordered ICE agents into the city to conduct mass arrests.

Abughazaleh has previously protested outside the center, including at least once prior when she was teargassed and thrown to the ground by an ICE agent.

Following the release of the indictment, Evanston mayor Daniel Biss — who is also running for the seat — called the charges “frivolous” and accused ICE of engaging in “violent and dangerous behavior at Broadview.”

“As someone who has protested at Broadview multiple times, I know these protests are nonviolent demonstrations against the kidnapping of our neighbors,” Biss said in a statement posted on X. “Now, the Trump Administration is targeting protestors, including political candidates, in an effort to silence dissent and scare residents into submission. It won’t work.”

© Screenshot from Abughazaleh campaign site

Conservative influencer Candace Owens has been denied entry into Australia after the country’s High Court on Wednesday sided with the government and ruled she could "incite discord” among communities.

While the Australian Constitution does not explicitly protect free speech, High Court Justices Stephen Gageler, Michelle Gordon and Robert Beech-Jones jointly ruled that implied freedom of political communication “is not a ‘personal right,’ is not unlimited and is not absolute.”

The court’s unanimous decision added that the country’s Migration Act — which covers temporary and permanent visas — protects the Australian community from visitors who would "stir up or encourage dissension or strife on political matters.”

“Ms Owens Farmer's submissions should be emphatically rejected,” High Court Justice James Edelman said in a separate judgment. Farmer is Owens’ married name.

As part of the High Court’s ruling, Owens has been ordered to pay the government’s court costs.

A representative for Owens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Owens originally applied for a visa to enter Australia in November 2024 as part of a speaking tour. But Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected her application through the character requirements under the Migration Act. Owens then petitioned the country’s High Court, arguing that the law was unconstitutional because it infringed upon implied freedom of political communication.

Australia’s Department of Home Affairs explains that “good character” generally refers to “enduring moral qualities of a person.”

In his decision, Burke said Owens had made "extremist and inflammatory comments towards Muslim, Black, Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities which generate controversy and hatred."

“In the current environment where the Australian community is experiencing heightened community tensions, as per the advice of Australia's security apparatus, I find that there is a risk that Ms Farmer's controversial views will amplify grievances among communities and lead to increased hostility and violent or radical action,” Burke said at the time.

Neither Burke nor Australia’s Department of Home Affairs immediately responded to requests for comment.

This is the second prominent American to have their Australian visa revoked. In July, the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, had his visa revoked over concerns he promoted Nazi ideology in his song "Heil Hitler.”

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

The former employer of the Secretary of Defense joined CNN, ABC and NBC in refusing to sign the agreement.

© Evan Vucci/AP

Bari Weiss, co-founder and CEO of The Free Press, has been appointed CBS News’ editor-in-chief, Paramount announced on Monday. The Free Press will now operate under the company as well.

It’s a major move from the company, which merged with Skydance Corp. in August under CEO David Ellison. Under Ellison, the company has made several strategic acquisitions and is reportedly exploring acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.

“This move is part of Paramount’s bigger vision to modernize content and the way it connects – directly and passionately – to audiences around the world,” Ellison said in a statement. “We believe the majority of the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based, and we want CBS to be their home.”

Though she will remain CEO and editor-in-chief of The Free Press, Weiss will report directly to Ellison. The Free Press will maintain its own independent brand and operations, the company said.

Weiss and her wife, Nellie Bowles, launched The Free Press in 2021 with Weiss’ sister Suzy. She was previously an opinion writer for The New York Times.

Partnering with Paramount, Weiss said, allows The Free Press to expand its audience of 1.5 million.

“The values that we’ve hammered out here over the years—journalism based in curiosity and honesty, a culture of healthy disagreement, our shared belief in America’s promise—now have the opportunity to go very, very big,” Weiss wrote in a blog post on The Free Press.

Earlier this year, CBS and Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount then hired an ombudsman to analyze bias in CBS reporting.

Weiss said she believes in Ellison and “the entire leadership team who took over Paramount this summer.” She added that they plan to make CBS “the most trusted news organization of the 21st Century.”

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© Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Free Press

Jimmy Kimmel's suspension from the late-night airwaves has thrust lawmakers, government officials and the president to the forefront of the debate over free speech while also deepening the partisan divide amid the fallout over conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killing.

Since Disney announced Wednesday night that it would pull Kimmel's show indefinitely over the comedian's comments about Kirk's slaying, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr — who last night pressured ABC and local broadcasters to "to take action" against Kimmel — on Thursday morning defended his decision and accused the late-night show host of misleading Americans; House Democratic leadership in turn called on him to resign; and President Donald Trump told reporters in the U.K. that Kimmel was fired over bad ratings.

"They should have fired him a long time ago," Trump said. "You can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent."

Even former Vice President Mike Pence weighed in during an early Thursday morning appearance on CNBC to chide Kimmel for his comments while also expressing discomfort with Carr's pressure campaign.

"The First Amendment doesn't protect entertainers from being fired by their employers,” he said, adding, “I would have preferred that the FCC didn't weigh in in the wake of this.”

The furor over Kimmel's comments highlights how deeply divided America has become and how somewhat insensitive or even offensive remarks by public figures — and even the general public — have become fuel for those seeking to quelch opposing views.

Carr on Thursday accused Kimmel of upsetting “lots and lots of people” and hinted at going even further though, telling CNBC “we’re not done yet.”

“We’re in the midst of a very disruptive moment right now, and I just, frankly, expect that we’re going to continue to see changes in the media ecosystem,” Carr said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday was among those demanding Carr resign.

“I can’t think of a greater threat to free speech than Carr in many, many years,” Schumer told POLITICO. “He’s despicable. He’s anti-American. He ought to resign, and Trump ought to fire him.”

Trump Wednesday night celebrated Kimmel’s show being pulled before calling on NBC to cancel “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday called the administration’s involvement in Kimmel’s cancellation “dangerous.”

“After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like,” Obama said in a post on X on Thursday.

His comments follow remarks he made on Tuesday night during an event in Pennsylvania, where the former president called Kirk’s killing “horrific,” though he added that he disagreed with many of the conservative activist’s statements.

“We can also, at the same time, say that I disagree with the idea that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake,” Obama said. “I can say that I disagree with the suggestion that my wife or Justice Jackson does not have adequate brain processing power. I can say that I disagree that Martin Luther King was awful.”

The Trump administration has also faced backlash from Democrats and some conservatives after Attorney General Pam Bondi proposed the idea of cracking down on “hate speech” in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting.

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused the administration of trying to “intimidate” companies.

“We’ve got the Trump administration literally targeting individuals — you saw it with [Stephen] Colbert, now you’re seeing it with Kimmel — anybody that’s criticizing this administration,” Pritzker said. “They’re using the power of government to intimidate companies to fire people.”

Back in Washington, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said her Republican colleagues have “selective outrage.”

“Republicans scream 'free speech'… until the truth hurts their fragile politics,” she wrote on X. “Jimmy Kimmel gets suspended, but hate, lies, and conspiracy theories run free.”

© Chris Pizzello/AP

Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah said on Monday that she was fired from the publication over social media posts she made following the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Writing in a lengthy Substack post, Attiah said she was dismissed over her posts on Bluesky that she says were deemed to be "unacceptable,” “gross misconduct” and that endangered the physical safety of her colleagues.

“They rushed to fire me without even a conversation,” she wrote. “This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the Post claims to uphold.”

A spokesperson for the Washington Post declined to comment on personnel matters. The Washington Post's public social media policyrequires employees to ensure any posts made do not make "reasonable people question their editorial independence, nor make reasonable people question The Post’s ability to cover issues fairly."

The guidance also urges staffers to "avoid curating your feeds in ways that suggest you have a partisan point of view on an issue The Post covers," though the policy specifically states that does not apply to columnists, critics and other practitioners of opinion journalism posting as part of their work.

Earlier this year, the publication shifted its opinion section to focus on supporting “personal liberties and free markets.” Owner Jeff Bezos said at the time that a “broad-based opinion section” was no longer needed because a diversity of opinions were available online.

In a statement, the Washington Post guild called Attiah's firing "unjust" and said it would continue to defend her rights.

"The Post not only flagrantly disregarded standard disciplinary processes, it also undermined its own mandate to be a champion of free speech," the guild said in a post on X. "The right to speak freely is the ultimate personal liberty and the foundation of Karen’s 11-year career at The Post."

Some of Attiah’s social media posts condemned political violence but also highlighted Kirk’s divisive comments on Black women. In her only post directly mentioning Kirk, she quoted the Turning Point USA founder’s comments that Black women lack “brain processing power.”

“I made clear that not performing over-the-top grief for white men who espouse violence was not the same as endorsing violence against them,” Attiah said.

Attiah, who started her career at The Washington Post in 2014, said the publication “silenced" her. She warned her firing is part of a larger trend.

“What happened to me is part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media — a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful — and tragic,” she said.

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© Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images

The partnership comes as the relationship between Trump and Musk continues to deteriorate.

© Mark Schiefelbein/AP