The Brief

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered The Walt Disney Company's ABC to seek early broadcast license renewals for the eight TV stations it owns.

The move follows criticism from first lady Melania Trump who objected to a joke about her made by late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel. President Donald Trump followed up with a social media post calling for Kimmel to be fired.

As the early license renewal order went out, FCC Chair Brendan Carr criticized ABC's parent company, Disney. Speaking on a podcast hosted by Katie Miller — whose husband is White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — Carr said there are multiple ways the FCC can handle broadcast licenses.

"You can accelerate when a license comes due and say, 'hey, we have significant concerns with the value of conducting your operations. We want to review your license now and decide if you're in the public interest,'" Carr said. "If we find that a broadcast hasn't been doing that, then the statute requires us to issue a hearing designation order."

Carr criticized Disney's diversity, equity and inclusion policies, but did not specifically mention Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The FCC's order comes after Kimmel made a joke during a sketch on his late night show — a mock speech for an alternative White House Correspondents' Dinner. "Our first lady Melania is here. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel quipped.

The sketch aired three days before the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner, when a heavily armed man allegedly attempted to enter the ballroom where President Trump and other senior members of the administration were present. The suspect, Cole Allen, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate the president.

In a post on X, Melania Trump called Kimmel's joke about her "hateful and violent" and urged ABC — which airs his show — to take action.

Kimmel responded on his show the following Monday, defending the joke. "Obviously [it] was a joke about their age difference, and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together." He said it was a "light roast" and was "not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination. And they know that." Kimmel added that he's been very vocal for many years against gun violence.

This is not the first time, Kimmel, ABC or Disney have faced backlash from the Trump administration. In September, Disney briefly suspended Kimmel's show after the comedian said the "MAGA gang" was trying to score political points from the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. The comments prompted a backlash from conservatives, and Carr warned that the FCC could take action against ABC affiliates that continued airing the show.

"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Carr said on a podcast hosted by Benny Johnson in September. "These companies can find ways to change conduct … or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."

Kimmel's show was reinstated six days later after leading entertainment figures and even conservatives, including Senator Ted Cruz criticized Kimmel's sidelining.

Now, the FCC is ordering Disney and ABC to file a license renewal application for the stations within 30 days. Those licenses were not scheduled for renewal until 2028 at the earliest.

In a statement, a Disney spokesperson said the company has always complied with FCC rules and is confident it meets the qualifications to remain a license holder.

The new FCC order is drawing scrutiny from Democrats on Capitol Hill and others in Washington. "The FCC has just pulled out a sword to hang over every single news organization in America," Sen. Elizabeth Warren told NPR. "And to say: you report things that Donald Trump doesn't like and your entire station, your entire outfit, your entire business model could just disappear in the blink of an eye."

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, the commission's lone Democrat, wrote in a statement, "This is the most egregious action this FCC has taken in violation of the First Amendment to date." The commissioner added, "As part of its ongoing campaign of censorship and control, the White House called publicly for the silencing of a vocal critic, and this FCC has now answered that call."

First Amendment advocates have also weighed in, "this is all an exercise to intimidate broadcasters," Andrew J. Schwartzman, a longtime public interest media lawyer, told NPR.

Schwartzman said the process of early license renewal could take years and could ultimately result in broadcasters losing their licenses, calling it "harassment." He went on to say that, "Brendan Carr knows full well that he lacks any legitimate legal basis for taking action against these broadcasters. He's trying to harass and bludgeon them," Schwartzman said.

Schwartzman is representing a group of former FCC chairs and the Radio Television Digital News Association, which filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The group is asking the FCC to repeal its News Distortion policy, which Schwartzman argues is being used to influence coverage, including commentary from figures like Kimmel.
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It’s taken over a decade and $1.3 billion, but Hollywood Burbank’s new terminal is finally ready for action. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the first passengers will be taking off and arriving at the brand-new structure.

Visitors note: The new terminal entrance has moved from Thornton Avenue to the intersection of Winona Avenue and Hollywood Way. There’s also a central security checkpoint and an indoor baggage claim.

The project stemmed from Burbank’s Measure B, passed in 2016.

LAist reporter Cato Hernandez got a sneak peek inside the building last week and reported on the scope and the thinking behind the decor.

William Contreras hit a tying homer in the fifth and singled home the go-ahead run an inning later as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.

Four relievers combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead over the two-time defending World Series champions in this best-of-seven series, which heads to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Brewers are chasing their second pennant and first in the NL. They made their lone World Series appearance in 1982, when they were in the American League.

Los Angeles is trying to become the first NL team to win three straight World Series. The Dodgers last rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a series in 2020, when they beat the Atlanta Braves in a seven-game NLCS before going on to win the World Series.

The Dodgers will need more punch from their lineup to have a chance at getting back to the Fall Classic. They mustered just three hits Monday and went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position to drop to 2 for 26 in those situations this postseason.

Los Angeles couldn’t even get a boost from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who entered 8-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 11 career playoff appearances. Yamamoto lasted just 2 2/3 innings for his shortest postseason start.

The Dodgers took the lead on three occasions in the first five innings. Milwaukee responded each time, the last coming when Contreras tied the game with a 436-foot homer to center off Kris Bubic in the fifth.

That turned the game into a battle of the bullpens, where the Brewers again had the edge.

Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined to shut down the Dodgers after Logan Henderson’s early exit.

The score was tied 4-all when Milwaukee’s David Hamilton was hit by a pitch from Brock Stewart to lead off the sixth. Stewart attempted a pickoff throw that went off the glove of first baseman Freddie Freeman and into foul territory for an error, advancing Hamilton to second.

After Jackson Chourio grounded out, the right-handed Stewart walked the left-handed-hitting Brice Turang to face the right-handed Contreras, who had homered in his previous plate appearance.

Contreras singled to left this time to bring home Hamilton with the go-ahead run.

Turang and Jake Bauers added RBI singles in the eighth to extend Milwaukee’s lead.

Neither starter lasts long

The anticipated pitchers’ duel between Yamamoto and Henderson didn’t work out according to plan.

In three previous playoff starts following Dodgers losses, Yamamoto had gone 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA. When he faced the Brewers in last year’s NLCS, he threw the first playoff complete game since Justin Verlander did it in 2017.

This time, Yamamoto couldn’t even make it out of the third inning before leaving with the Dodgers behind 3-2.

Henderson entered Monday having not allowed more than three runs in any of his 24 career starts (including the postseason). That streak ended when he allowed four runs over four innings.

Because Henderson committed two errors — matching his previous career total — only two of the runs were earned.

Milwaukee trailed 2-1 in the third when Bauers capped a 12-pitch plate appearance by taking a 3-2 offering in the dirt to load the bases with a walk. Christian Yelich followed by lining a single up the middle that brought home two runs and knocked Yamamoto out of the game.

Los Angeles bailed out Yamamoto by scoring twice in the fifth.

After Kyle Tucker hit a leadoff double, Tommy Edman sacrificed him to third. Henderson fielded the bunt and made a wild throw to first, enabling Tucker to score and moving Edman to second.

Edman advanced to third when Mookie Betts grounded out, and scored on Freeman’s sacrifice fly.

Henderson also had made a wild throw to first on a pickoff attempt in the third inning that allowed Edman to score from third.

Up next

Robert Gasser (5-5, 3.87 ERA) is expected to start for Milwaukee in Game 3. Gasser allowed one run over five innings when the Brewers won 3-1 at San Diego to clinch their NL Division Series.

The Dodgers hadn’t announced their Game 3 starting pitcher.

Actor and disability rights advocate RJ Mitte, who brought a lifetime of experience with cerebral palsy to fictional family struggles in an essential role on “Breaking Bad,” died Monday at age 34, authorities and his representatives said.

Cameron County Justice of the Peace Cyndi Hinojosa told The Associated Press she declared Mitte dead at about 1:30 p.m. at what she believed was his home in Brownsville, Texas. She said she was unable to provide a cause, but an autopsy will be performed.

Mitte played Walter White Jr., the son of Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White on nearly every episode of the five seasons of the AMC show, which recently ranked as the best of the 21st century in a New York Times poll.

Diagnosed at age 3, Mitte told the AP in 2014 that his disability and the surrounding struggles with physical therapy, family problems and exorbitant medical bills — all key subjects on the show — made him better at his job.“You develop a different mentality and you develop a different look at how the world sees you and how you see the world,” he said. “You’re able to use that. And I think it’s an asset instead of something that would hinder.”

Mitte was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi.

He landed small guest roles on sitcoms after moving to Los Angeles to act in 2006. Like his character, he was in his mid-teens when he began his work on “Breaking Bad,” starting in 2007. The show ran from 2008 to 2013.

“Mitte brought authenticity to the role and built a platform on disability awareness and inclusion,” the actor’s representatives said in a statement announcing his death. The statement said he used “his platform to challenge stereotypes and promote greater representation.”

His later credits included the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth” and the superhero satire series “Guardians of Justice.”

He was also a producer of several independent films.

As an advocate, he served as an ambassador for United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s. He was also president of his own Mitte Foundation supporting philanthropic and community initiatives around disabilities.