U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada announces charges against former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, who agreed to plead guilty and resign from his supervisor seat today.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
Federal officials called it "Robin Hood in reverse" in announcing that Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do had agreed to plead guilty to a bribery charge and will resign effective today.
Federal officials said Do and his family received more than $700,000 in bribes. Of the $9.3 million in COVID relief money directed by Do, United States Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said just 15% went for the purpose it was intended, feeding needy people during the pandemic.
The backstory: Last November, an LAist investigation uncovered millions of unaccounted for taxpayer dollars Supervisor Do directed to his daughter’s nonprofit without disclosing the family relationship. That story was the first of several investigative pieces examining what happened to the taxpayer funds. The practice of directing money to a group run by an elected official's adult daughter was not illegal at the time — but those laws are now changing under recently signed legislation introduced in response to LAist’s reporting on Do’s awarding of the funds.
Keep reading... for details about Do's plea deal, what federal investigators say happened and more on LAist's nearly yearlong investigation.
Andrew Do has resigned as Orange County supervisor and agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy to steal millions of dollars meant to feed needy seniors, following a months-long LAist investigation and federal probe.
The criminal charges and plea deal were announced Tuesday morning by U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada at a news conference in downtown Santa Ana. Out of $9.3 million in taxpayer dollars that were supposed to feed people, only 15% went to people in need, Estrada said.
“Mr. Do and his co-conspirators stole money from the poor,” said Estrada, who called the conspiracy “Robin Hood in reverse.”
Do agreed to plead guilty and signed a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and faces a possible five year prison term. He accepted over $550,000 in bribes for directing and voting in favor of more than $10 million in COVID funds to a charity affiliated with his daughter Rhiannon Do, according to aU.S. attorney's office news release.
In what that office described as a “package deal,” Rhiannon Do admitted to filing a falsified mortgage application that disguised her use of taxpayer dollars in the purchase of a house in Tustin. The deal calls for Rhiannon Do, a 23-year-old law student, to be placed on three years’ probation through a pretrial diversion program. Do admitted in his plea agreement that $381,500 in public funds were transferred to an escrow company and used by his daughter Rhiannon Do to purchase the home in Tustin for $1,035,000.
Through the investigation, Estrada said, investigators seized more than “$2.4 million in illicit proceeds generated in the scheme.” Andrew Do, he said, has agreed to forfeit his rights to any of that as well as “forfeit two properties, one in Santa Ana and one in Tustin, related to the scheme to purchase using proceeds from the scheme.”
Andrew Do will also forfeit his pension accrued from June 2020 when the scheme began.
O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do at the county Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 23, 2024.
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Nick Gerda
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'Media reports' led to federal investigation
Estrada said the U.S. attorney’s office began their investigation when they saw media reports about how then-Supervisor Do had directed money to Viet America Society. LAist was the first to report on how Andrew Do directed the money to the nonprofit, without disclosing his familial ties. That report last November has been followed by a series of exclusive investigative pieces into alleged misuse of public funds in Orange County.
“We take action when we see those reports," Estrada said. "We brought our federal partners into the case to fully investigate, and we discovered this extensive and very troubling bribery."
Orange County DA Todd Spitzer echoed the seriousness of the findings.
The money “was literally stolen out of the mouths of our most vulnerable residents,” Spitzer said.
Spitzer said the charges marked the first time in 50 years that an O.C. supervisor faced criminal conviction.
Following the money: Credit card payments, property taxes
According to Spitzer, Rhiannon Do received around $8,000 a month in taxpayer money while Andrew Do’s other daughter, who was not named at the news conference, received over $100,000 funneled through COVID federal funds.
“The monies were used to pay off American Express cards, Mr. Do's American Express card, pay the property taxes of their home in Westminster and the home in North Tustin,” Spitzer said.
Spitzer was also sharply critical of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for allowing the allocation of tens of millions of dollars in COVID relief money to be distributed outside of public view. That lack of transparency, Spitzer said, allowed Andrew Do to "fill the pockets of insiders, himself and his loved ones — his family members” instead of helping the public.
"This was while Do was bragging about [providing] 2,700 meals a week, meanwhile the elderly were dying," Spitzer said.
Attorneys Paul S. Meyer and Craig Wilke, who represented former Anaheim Mayor Sidhu on federal corruption charges, are now representing Andrew Do.
Meyer said in the statement Tuesday: “Out of respect for the legal process, no statement is appropriate at this time. However, it is appropriate to convey Andrew Do’s sincere apology and deep sadness to his family, to his constituents in District One and to his colleagues.”
They previously said that the former supervisor looked "forward to a thorough and fair investigation.”
David Wiechert, an attorney for Rhiannon Do, reached Tuesday said they have no comment.
Andrew Do’s wife is O.C. Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham. Spitzer said she is entitled to a thorough investigation and she’s “entitled to a presumption of innocence.”
Chris Wangsaporn, chief of staff to O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do, at the O.C. Board of Supervisors meeting on Dec. 19, 2023.
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Nick Gerda / LAist
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“I can only say that there's an ongoing investigation with respect to Mr. Wangsaporn and his wife,” Spitzer said.
LAist reported earlier this month that Wangsaporn’s then-girlfriend, now wife, Josie Batres, was hired by a nonprofit, Mind OC, to carry out a $275,000 mental health contract funded by the county. County officials told LAist the county paid out the full contract, but none of the required work turned in to the county. Batres and Wangsaporn got married about one year into the two-year contract.
“This is like a spiderweb of involvement and so it's going to take time. We know a lot,” Spitzer said. “We obviously have a lot of documents, we've seized a lot of information from homes, we have a lot of electronic data that's being analyzed that we do not have all the results.”
Do submitted his resignation on Tuesday to O.C. Supervisors Board Chair Don Wagner, according to a county spokesperson who provided the resignation letter to LAist. Wagner will oversee District 1 duties until a new supervisor is elected in the upcoming elections, according to a county spokesperson.
LAist's investigation
The former supervisor's funding of Viet America Society — and the lack of answers about what happened with the funds — has been the focus of nearly a year of investigative articles by LAist.
Starting last November, LAist reporting uncovered millions of taxpayer dollars then-Supervisor Do directed to his daughter’s nonprofit without disclosing the family relationship, and that have gone unaccounted for.
In all, LAist’s investigation reported Andrew Do directed more than $13 million to the group using a process outside of public view, which was not illegal at the time. (Those laws are now changing, under recently signed legislation introduced in response to LAist’s reporting on Do’s awarding of the funds.)
LAist also revealed in December that the group failed to submit required audits showing whether the money was spent appropriately.
Read the U.S. Attorney's allegations
Read Andrew Do's plea agreement
Listen
Listen
38:22
Go deeper: The backstory on LAist's investigation
Antonia Cereijido, host of LAist's podcast Imperfect Paradise, talks with Nick Gerda about how his investigation into the alleged misuse of millions in public funds in Orange County began and where the reporting led him.
What do other supervisors say now?
In a joint statement, the four remaining board members reacted separately to their colleague's resignation and plea agreement.
Board Chairman Donald P. Wagner thanked federal investigators and added that the county's lawsuits remain active.
"The County remains committed to continuing its civil lawsuits in order to hold all responsible parties accountable and to recover misused public funds," Wagner said.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee called it "a troubling moment for our County. It's disheartening to witness a betrayal of public trust by someone in a position of responsibility. This highlights the critical need for ethical leadership. The Board remains dedicated to serving the people with integrity."
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento underscored that investigations must continue.
"The unsealing of the indictments demonstrates years of unethical and illegal acts that directly harmed the most vulnerable in our County," he said. "We must not discontinue the investigations until all parties involved are brought to justice, and the systemic problems that led to these abuses are reformed."
And Supervisor Katrina Foley expressed disgust at what she called "the staggering level of corruption, greed, and deception described in the unsealed federal indictment."
"Andrew Do and his associates carried out an overt scheme to enrich themselves off our hard-earned tax dollars, "Foley said. "Andrew Do must pay for his crimes. This Board is united in continuing to do the people's business of governing and moving forward from this dark day in Orange County."
The backstory
Law enforcement searched the Tustin home of Rhiannon Do, on Aug. 22, 2024.
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Jason Armond
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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FBI agents outside of Andrew Do and Cheri Pham's home in Orange County on Aug. 22, 2024.
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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
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LAist
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In August, federal agents searched homes owned by Andrew Do and his wife — Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham of O.C. Superior Court — and their daughter, Rhiannon Do. That same day, agents also searched a home owned by Viet America Society founder Peter Pham, a restaurant that received millions from VAS and another home associated with Peter Pham.
From left supervisors: Don Wagner, Doug Chafee, Andrew Do, Vicente Sarmiento and Katrina Foley.
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Yusra Farzan
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LAist
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For almost a decade, Do had been one of the most powerful government officials in Orange County. For years during his time on the Board of Supervisors, he’s had a key role in overseeing how billions of dollars in funding were spent to address homelessness and mental health.
He’d been one of the five elected county supervisors since winning a 2015 special election by a razor thin margin of 43 votes, and ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2022. Prior to resigning, Do already was termed out of office this December.
He was also one of the highest ranking Vietnamese American officials in Orange County, home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States.
The week before the federal searches in August, county officials sued the nonprofit Viet America Society (VAS) and its leaders, including Rhiannon Do — accusing them of an “illegal and fraudulent scheme” to divert federal COVID dollars then-Supervisor Do directed to the group. The nonprofit’s leaders also were accused by the county of using the money to purchase homes in Orange County and converting the taxpayer dollars to cash through “voluminous, unaccounted for” ATM withdrawals.
Andrew Do has not returned dozens of requests for comment from LAist since last November asking about his funding of his daughter’s group. In a Vietnamese-language radio broadcast in August, a few hours after the county sued his daughter, Do defended his family and Viet America Society from accusations of wrongdoing. He said the nonprofit was complying with the law, and that allegations otherwise are “slander.”
Rhiannon Do’s attorney, David Wiechert, previously told LAist she’s a "very honest, law-abiding, hardworking young woman" before declining to comment Tuesday.
"It’s our intention to demonstrate to the government the error of their ways if they think she’s done something wrong,” he said.
Judge Pham has previously declined to comment through the court’s spokesperson, citing a statewide ethics rule barring judges from commenting on cases or issues that are likely to come before the courts.
FBI agents carry material out of a home owned by Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife Orange County Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham during searches in August.
Two weeks later, all four of his colleagues voted to publicly condemn Supervisor Do with a censure. It cites “reckless judgment and favoritism he has demonstrated in directing millions of dollars” to “organizations with no proven track record,” while not disclosing his family ties.
Catch up on LAist’s investigation so far
In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist obtained and reported public records showing more than $13 million in public money that was approved to a little-known nonprofit that was led on and off by Rhiannon Do, the now 23-year-old daughter of former Supervisor Do.
Most of that money was directed to the group by Andrew Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties. The law at the time didn’t require it. Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.
LAist also reported that VAS was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
And LAist reported, based on county records we obtained, that the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than what appeared on public agendas.. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist.
After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned it could be forced to repay the funds.
On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Andrew Do.
LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Andrew Do's home, and other properties, were also searched by the FBI and IRS.
On Sept. 10, the O.C. Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to remove then-Supervisor Do from his committee assignments, including his role as a board member for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
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An LAist investigation uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to Viet America Society (VAS) without disclosing his daughter was a leader at the nonprofit. County officials now allege that money was “brazenly plundered” for personal gain. Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido speaks with LAist correspondent Nick Gerda, who broke the story, about the ongoing investigation.
OC Supervisor Andrew Do to plead guilty to corruption charge following LAist investigation
An LAist investigation uncovered more than $13 million in public funds directed by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to Viet America Society (VAS) without disclosing his daughter was a leader at the nonprofit. County officials now allege that money was “brazenly plundered” for personal gain. Imperfect Paradise host Antonia Cereijido speaks with LAist correspondent Nick Gerda, who broke the story, about the ongoing investigation.
Boyle Heights is turning the World Cup into a neighborhood celebration with a free block party next month aimed at supporting local businesses and bringing residents together along the 1st Street corridor.
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Jessica Perez
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Boyle Heights Beat
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Topline:
Boyle Heights is turning the World Cup into a neighborhood celebration with a free block party next month aimed at supporting local businesses and bringing residents together along the 1st Street corridor.
The details: The celebration will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. June 18 to mark the Mexico vs. South Korea match. The block party is expected to close 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets. A large LED screen will be set up near Eastside Luv. Metro, along with Angel City Football Club, will activate the Mariachi Plaza station as a “welcoming platform” with screens showing highlights of the match.
Boosting local businesses: Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce said the event aims to boost local businesses facing economic strain tied to the recent federal immigration raids. Many of the businesses along the corridor will be participating, including Espacio 1839, Street Tacos and Grill, Tenampal, Casa Fina, Birrieria Don Boni, SuperNova Thrift and Distrito Catorce. Some may offer food and merchandise outdoors or host DJs similar to past CicLAvia events in Boyle Heights.
Boyle Heights is turning the World Cup into a neighborhood celebration with a free block party next month aimed at supporting local businesses and bringing residents together along the 1st Street corridor.
The celebration will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. June 18 to mark the Mexico vs. South Korea match.
“There’s a lot of focus on tourism and trying to make LA suitable for people to visit us, but at the end of the day, it’s our business members, our community members, who are here day to day, and they deserve to have a safe space to watch the game,” said Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce.
What to expect
The block party is expected to close 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets. A large LED screen will be set up near Eastside Luv. Metro, along with Angel City Football Club, will activate the Mariachi Plaza station as a “welcoming platform” with screens showing highlights of the match, Rodriguez said.
Many of the businesses along the corridor will be participating, including Espacio 1839, Street Tacos and Grill, Tenampal, Casa Fina, Birrieria Don Boni, SuperNova Thrift and Distrito Catorce.
Some may offer food and merchandise outdoors or host DJs similar to past CicLAvia events in Boyle Heights.
A music lineup is in the works and other details are still being finalized, Rodriguez said.
Las Fotos Project, JD Sports, Neighborhood Music Schools, and the Angel City Football Club supporter group, known as PodeRosas, are among the participating organizations.
A boost for local businesses
Rodriguez said the event aims to boost local businesses facing economic strain tied to the recent federal immigration raids.
“Soccer brings unity,” Rodriguez said. “We want to … let our community know that even in hard times we’re still here for our businesses.”
“We can all come together and watch and celebrate our culture,” she said.
1st Street Corridor Block Party
When: Thursday, June 18
Time: 5-10 p.m.
Where: 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets
“Kick it in the Park”: L.A.Mayor Karen Bass on Monday announced a series of recreation and parks facilities hosting more than 100 free FIFA World Cup watch parties across the city, including El Sereno Recreation Center, which will be showing 21 matches.
Find the full schedule, additional celebrations and key information at kickit.lacity.gov.
Casa Mexico Los Angeles 2026: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown L.A. will host Casa Mexico Los Angeles 2026, a five-week community-centered celebration of soccer and culture. The event will feature free public programs, including live match viewing parties, music, gastronomy, exhibitions and more.
Find the full schedule, additional celebrations and key information at casamexico.netlify.app.
The Long Beach Unified School District main office in Long Beach on Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022.
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Thomas R. Cordova
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Long Beach Post
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Topline:
A normally sleepy school board race in northeast Long Beach has gotten an unexpected injection of partisan politics and campaign spending this year.
Why it matters: For 14 years, incumbent Long Beach Unified Trustee Diana Craighead has easily held onto the District 5 seat. First appointed to the board in 2012 to fill an empty spot, she has often won re-election without facing a challenger. This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome.
Teachers union: The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty.
Read on... for more on the school board race.
A normally sleepy school board race in northeast Long Beach has gotten an unexpected injection of partisan politics and campaign spending this year.
For 14 years, incumbent Long Beach Unified Trustee Diana Craighead has easily held onto the District 5 seat. First appointed to the board in 2012 to fill an empty spot, she has often won re-election without facing a challenger. This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome.
Flaherty has advocated for vaccine choice rather than mandates, barring trans girls from girls’ sports and curriculum that “educate[s], not indoctrinate[s].” She also wants parents to have more control over the types of books students have access to in school.
She has collected endorsements from a litany of conservative politicians, including gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside County. Her ties with Moms for Liberty, an organization that has advocated for book censorship and against curriculum on critical race theory and LGBTQ rights, have spurred LBUSD teachers to organize against her.
The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty.
Chris Callopy, executive director of TALB, lived and taught in Orange Unified in the 1990s and 2000s when voters elected and later recalled conservative school board candidates, what Callopy called “precursors to the current MAGA and Moms for Liberty movements.”
At a union meeting last month, Callopy warned his membership that a similar school board takeover in Long Beach could threaten their civil rights and protections as teachers — especially for members of the LGBTQ community. “This is crisis mode,” Callopy said, “Pay attention and get involved.”
In response, TALB has endorsed Craighead and so far used about $45,000 in political action committee funding to support her campaign — including through mailers, opposition research, door-knocking and even an attack ad against Flaherty that claims she is “Too MAGA for school board” and “Wrong for our kids.”
Flaherty said TALB is misrepresenting her priorities.
“They’re attacking me without knowing my real positions,” she said, adding, “I’m not one thing. I have multiple beliefs.” She clarified that she wants all students to thrive and feel they belong in school and that she voted for gay rights in the past.
She’s been critical of teachers unions, saying they protect lazy educators. Flaherty said TALB’s campaign against her shows they’re afraid she has a real shot, even with Long Beach’s Democrat-heavy electorate. “They’re obviously worried that I have a chance of winning or they wouldn’t be doing that,” she said.
Craighead and her other challenger, Sara Pol-Lim, espouse more liberal political ideologies.
Craighead has championed a model of governance that aims to boost student performance and close equity gaps — focusing on the performance of Black students in particular. Though outcomes have lagged, Craighead has vowed to “stay the course” in the hopes that more significant improvements are on the horizon. She supports, and voted for, the district’s equity policy and inclusion of the district’s immigrant community.
Pol-Lim, who arrived in California as a Cambodian refugee in 1983, said she jumped into the race relatively late for pragmatic reasons. She decided she couldn’t “afford to just be a bystander anymore” when she learned about the district’s $70 million deficit and declining enrollment. She has advocated for a proactive approach to balancing the district’s budget by seeking alternative funding sources. And she says promoting student and teacher belonging could be keys to boosting both retention and outcomes, she said.
Pol-Lim has raised more than $19,000 for her campaign, primarily small monetary donations from individuals and organizations across the city, she said, as well as a loan to herself and about $3,000 in in-kind donations. Flaherty has raised less than $2,000 in total. And Craighead’s campaign has amassed more than $50,000, mostly in donations and in-kind support from TALB as well as some direct donations. She’s also accumulated endorsements from Long Beach’s largely liberal political establishment, including Mayor Rex Richardson, Rep. Robert Garcia, State Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal.
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Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump paused a U.S. military effort to guide merchant vessels through the strategic waterway.
More details: Moments after the Iranian statement, President Trump wrote online that the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not.
The backstory: The Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices. Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.
Read on... for more updates on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump paused a U.S. military effort to guide merchant vessels through the strategic waterway.
"With the end of the aggressors' threats and in light of new procedures, safe and sustainable transit through the strait will be facilitated," the Revolutionary Guard's navy command said in an online statement. It did not give details about the new terms.
The Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices. Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.
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Moments after the Iranian statement, President Trump wrote online that the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said. "If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."
Iran has confirmed receiving a U.S. proposal and said it is under review.
"The American plan and proposal is still being reviewed by Iran, and after summing up its points of view, Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told Iran's state ISNA news agency on Wednesday, referring to mediating country Pakistan that has relayed messages and hosted talks between Iran and the U.S. NPR has not confirmed the details of the proposal.
This is a developing story that will be updated. Copyright 2026 NPR
Ted Turner — the bullish founder of CNN and a suite of other cable channels, not to mention a bison steakhouse, a non profit designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and an international sports competition — died Wednesday at the age of 87.
CNN: Turner launched the Cable News Network — the nation's first continuous all-news television station — on June 1, 1980, at a converted Jewish country club in Atlanta. The network broadcast news 24/7 from that point on and indeed built a global array of bureaus. Over time, whenever news was happening, CNN was there. CNN broadcasted live when catastrophe struck the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in 1986. And in 1991, CNN experienced a defining moment — effectively owning television coverage of the first U.S.-led war against Iraq. It was the only U.S. network able to broadcast live from Baghdad as bright flashes from bombs lit the sky.
Networks follow suit: Sixteen years later, NBC (in partnership with Microsoft) and Fox would launch sibling cable news channels. Each ultimately found success by embracing strong (though opposing) points of view. Broadcast networks subsequently sought to replicate the original cable ethos with stripped down streaming services.
Ted Turner — the bullish founder of CNN and a suite of other cable channels, not to mention a bison steakhouse, a non profit designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and an international sports competition — died Wednesday at the age of 87. He had announced just before his 80th birthday that he had Lewy Body Dementia, a degenerative disease that causes dementia and muscle failure.
Turner never seemed at a loss for brass or chutzpah.
"If Alexander the Great could conquer the known world, why couldn't I start CNN?" Turner once told Oprah Winfrey.
He launched the Cable News Network — the nation's first continuous all-news television station — on June 1, 1980, at a converted Jewish country club in Atlanta. The network broadcast news 24/7 from that point on and indeed built a global array of bureaus.
Former CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan says Turner took inspiration from 24-hour radio stations that relayed news headlines, and endless sports highlights on ESPN. Turner remained baffled why the broadcast giants — ABC, NBC and CBS — hadn't launched cable stations.
"To him it was just the most logical thing in the world and he couldn't understand why nobody else was doing it," Jordan says. "So he was going to do it."
Sixteen years later, NBC (in partnership with Microsoft) and Fox would launch sibling cable news channels. Each ultimately found success by embracing strong (though opposing) points of view. Broadcast networks subsequently sought to replicate the original cable ethos with stripped down streaming services.
Turner, a colorful figure with a Southern drawl and rail-thin mustache, had pronounced views himself, often (though not exclusively) of a liberal bent. But he wanted his station to reflect the news, not ideology. He thought human understanding across borders would benefit from reporting on stories and people around the world.
"He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder — and he thought there would be a market for it," Jordan says.
Ted Turner sits in his office in October 1986. "He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder," says former CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan.
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Turner often carried a mischievous twinkle in his eye. And his values had been incubated in an earlier era.
Jordan joined CNN in 1982 while he was still in college, working overnights as a desk assistant during his first few years. Back then, Turner often slept in a pull-down Murphy bed in his office above the newsroom. He would come down to the newsroom to grab coffee, Jordan recalls, but did not usually interact with the staff. The first time they met, Jordan says, was because Turner had a guest.
"It was Raquel Welch," Jordan says. "They were both in bathrobes. And Ted was so proud of himself for having such good company that he introduced himself and Raquel Welch to everyone in the newsroom at 4 o'clock in the morning."
"Chicken Noodle News"
CNN has been a mainstay of television journalism for so long it's hard to remember that it was often underestimated in its infancy.
In the 1980s, many people didn't understand what the fuss was about, longtime broadcast journalist Joie Chen recalls.
"Many people didn't even have cable yet. I didn't have cable growing up," says Chen, who joined CNN as an international anchor in 1991. "In those early years, you know, CNN was just considered 'Chicken Noodle News' and Ted Turner was at first just considered a dilettante."
CNN became a training ground for journalists who would be hired by better paying outlets. Chen left CNN in 2001, later working at CBS and Al Jazeera.
"Look, we were young and at times very shoddy, but we were the only game in town and we did some extraordinary things," Jordan says.
Over time, whenever news was happening, CNN was there. CNN broadcasted live when catastrophe struck the space shuttle Challenger and its crew in 1986.
And in 1991, CNN experienced a defining moment — effectively owning television coverage of the first U.S.-led war against Iraq. It was the only U.S. network able to broadcast live from Baghdad as bright flashes from bombs lit the sky.
Anchor Bernard Shaw and Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Peter Arnett were among those CNN journalists who projected calm under fire.
Chen recalls Turner never intended for his journalists to become famous and, she contends, he underpaid his staff.
"We were always told Ted's mantra was, 'You are not the star; the news is the star," she says. She left CNN at the end of 2001.
Competition grows
Even as he struck an exuberant tone, Turner's mood could swing to depression. He also battled again and again with rival media tycoon Rupert Murdoch – and even threatened to do so with his fists in Las Vegas, as The Guardian recounted.
Murdoch's New York Post in turn questioned Turner's sanity. Meanwhile, Turner maintained a friendly rapport with the late Cuban autocrat Fidel Castro.
Ted Turner and his actress wife, Jane Fonda, at their wedding ceremony in 1991.
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In later years, as CNN competed not just with other cable channels but digital news outlets and social media, it lagged behind its TV peers in ratings. Executives turned over prime time to higher-rated opinion panel discussions featuring ideological clashes.
Conservatives and pro-Trump commentators repeatedly accused the network of listing to the left.
But it retained its journalistic DNA to a significant extent, rising to the moment as its reporting teams covered political developments, natural disasters and armed conflicts. That was part of Turner's legacy too.
Turner married and divorced three times; his third marriage was to Hollywood and fitness star Jane Fonda in 1991.
He also took on lots of debt – and investors – to make ambitious deals at a time when his main rivals, including Murdoch, were launching all-news cable stations. Eventually, it became too much.
In 1996, Turner sold CNN and the rest of his company, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., to Time Warner for about $7.34 billion – a move he deeply regretted. A few years later – in 2000 – Time Warner sold itself to AOL, against Turner's wishes. The AOL deal is considered one of the worst mergers in U.S. corporate history. Turner has called it "one of the biggest disasters that have occurred to our country."
In 2001, his marriage to Fonda — a source of strength – ended. And shortly after that, he was completely out at AOL, separating from the company he'd spent a half-century building.
He added, earning laughter from Morgan, "I lost my fortune, most of it, got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize,"
Yet he demonstrated resilience. "You carry on. And I found other things to do."
"Other things to do"
Turner had been finding other things to do for years. He was relentlessly competitive and an accomplished yachtsman — he won the America's Cup sailing competition in 1977.
In the 1970s, Turner bought a television station and made it into the national "superchannel" now known as TBS; He also bought the Atlanta Braves to ensure content for it. The Braves became one of the nation's most popular baseball teams during the generation he owned or ran it; the team appeared repeatedly in the World Series in the 1990s and early aughts.
In 1986, Turner launched the Goodwill Games, an international competition meant to bypass the Cold War fights that had broken out over the Olympics. It lasted until 2001.
Turner hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy after his Atlanta Braves won the 1995 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.
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In 1997, as Turner was being honored by the United Nations, he pledged to donate a billion dollars to it. With that money, he created what's known as The UN Foundation that has helped the international institution endure.
As the years progressed, Turner created the Nuclear Threat Initiative to secure loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republics and elsewhere. He also gave widely to conservation and anti-global warming efforts. His philanthropy helped inspire the "Giving Pledge" of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and other billionaires – and he was one of the first signatories to it.
He also founded Ted's Montana Grill with hopes of making bison a popular alternative to beef. Turner had been raising bison on his many ranches, and saw the restaurant chain as a way to reach customers while saving the species from extinction.
"I was 10 years old when I first read about them," he told Bethesda Magazine in 2015. "I said then I was going to work hard, see if I can make some money, and then I'm going to buy some land and raise bison and see if I can get the herd back away from the door of extinction."
In his final years, the flamboyant showman retreated from the public eye. Ever direct, he publicly acknowledged his affliction with Lewy Body Dementia, or LBD, in 2018. He spent much of his later life out of the public eye, whether in Atlanta or riding horses and fishing at his vast properties in Montana.
