Sunday, May 18 Evening Cable News Ratings: CNN Sees Biggest Audience for News, Not Originals
Fox News' The Big Weekend Show at 7 p.m. ET and One Nation with Brian Kilmeade were the top shows of the evening in total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo, respectively. Meanwhile, CNN's newsier hours between 4 and 8 p.m. ET saw more viewers in both measured categories than its original programming lineup between 8 p.m. and midnight. Over at MSNBC, PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton was the top show in total viewers, and a re-air of The Briefing with Jen Psaki won the demo.
25-54 Demographic (Live+SD x 1,000)
Total Day: FNC: 138 | CNN: 42 | MSNBC: 40Prime: FNC: 161 | CNN: 41 | MSNBC: 45
FNC:
CNN:
MSNBC:
4PM
Scott:136
CNN Newsroom/Whitfield:52
Wallace*:46
5PM
Levin*:100
CNN Newsroom/Dean:59
Sharpton:37
6PM
Big Weekend Show:133
CNN Newsroom/Dean:66
Weekend:42
7PM
Big Weekend Show:163
CNN Newsroom/Dean:61
Weekend:54
8PM
Levin:132
Gupta Reports:43
Weekend:52
9PM
Gowdy:164
Eva Longoria:48
David Frost:27
10PM
Kilmeade:187
My Happy Place:32
Psaki*:56
11PM
Big Weekend Show*:126
Gupta Reports*:24
Weekend*:50
Total Viewers (Live+SD x 1,000)
Total Day: FNC: 1.149 | CNN: 304 | MSNBC: 347Prime: FNC: 1.366 | CNN: 248 | MSNBC: 317
FNC:
CNN:
MSNBC:
4PM
Scott:1.096
CNN Newsroom/Whitfield:329
Wallace*:396
5PM
Levin*:799
CNN Newsroom/Dean:419
Sharpton:433
6PM
Big Weekend Show:1.023
CNN Newsroom/Dean:362
Weekend:381
7PM
Big Weekend Show:1.469
CNN Newsroom/Dean:413
Weekend:383
8PM
Levin:1.295
Gupta Reports:259
Weekend:342
9PM
Gowdy:1.374
Eva Longoria:297
David Frost:298
10PM
Kilmeade:1.428
My Happy Place*:189
Psaki*:311
11PM
Big Weekend Show*:896
Gupta Reports*:125
Weekend*:287
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Used Ex-Girlfriend 'Jane' As A Drug Mule, Last 'Freak-Off' Occurred Just Before Arrest, Sex-Trafficking Trial Hears
Drugs were a big part of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' life and so-called 'freak-offs,' the jury in the Bad Boy Records founder's sex-trafficking trial have repeatedly heard, and this morning the court learned how he used the people in his inner circle to get Ecstasy and more in his hands. They also heard how Combs continued to engage in the drug-fueled sex sessions ever as the law closed in on him last year. 'I just asked her if this was safe and okay,' Combs' ex-girlfriend 'Jane,' a pseudonym, said detailing a conversation with the ex-mini mogul's then top aide Kristina Khorram about her concerns of taking a bag of drugs from LA to Miami. On her second day on the stand, Jane revealed that 'KK' replied, 'it's fine, I do it all the time, just put it in your checked in luggage.' More from Deadline Judge Threatens To Bar Sean 'Diddy' Combs From Courtroom If He Continues To Interact With Jurors Sean 'Diddy' Combs: An Updated Timeline Of Charges, Allegations & Consequences The Rap Mogul Faces George Clooney Previews Saturday's Live Telecast Of 'Good Night, And Good Luck' On CNN: "Some Networks Aren't Really Up For Doing This Right Now"; How To Watch In her sometimes-tear-filled testimony under questioning from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, 'Jane' spoke of other occasions when she transported Ecstasy across state lines in a plane for Combs. On the subject of drugs, which 'Jane' like previous witness and Combs' ex Cassie Ventura testified as well, said pills, cocaine and more were a primary inducement for the marathon 'freak-off' sex sessions with male escorts. To that, the witness spoke of Combs getting his personal assistants and security details to procure more when his current stash ran out for the often filmed 'freak-offs' Those sex sessions took more and more of a toll on 'Jane,' the witness said Friday, stating how she unsuccessfully begged Combs to have the other men wear condoms, the long days some of the 'freak-off' went, and the fears she had things could get violent with everyone on drugs. On trial in New York City since May 12, the 55-year-old Combs could end up spending the rest of his life in prison if found guilty on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution and more. From 'Jane' the past two days and before that Ventura's pal Bryana Bongolan, who had told the court Wednesday that Combs had dangled her off a 17th-story balcony in 2016, the panel of eight men and four women in the courtroom has heard explicit and sometimes heartrending testimony about rapes, emotional and physical violence, blackmail, and filmed drug-juiced 'freak-offs' from the 'Me & U' singer, male escorts, and his ex-personal assistant 'Mia.' Like other witnesses in the trial, 'Mia' also spoke of watching the much-accused Combs beat, abuse and manipulate Ventura, as he did to many of the people in his orbit. In a preemptive move from their opening statement, the defense has admitted their client is guilty of domestic violence, has been a heavy drug user, a swinger, and is overall not a very nice person. Yet, in that admission, which also saw attempts to undermine the credibility of accusers like Ventura, and 'Jane,' attorney Teny Geragos made a point over and over of emphasizing that Combs isn't on trial in this criminal case for any of that, and that his relationships, as kinky as things could get, were always with consenting adults. Thursday saw things get even more immediately tense for Combs, as the usually lenient Judge Arun Subramanian threatened to have the sweater wearing and white-haired defendant removed from his own trial if he kept 'nodding vigorously' and interacting with the jury. There was little response from usually verbose lead defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo except a promise to make sure Combs maintained proper courtroom decorum. Combs certainly made a few looks in the jury's way today, but the judge seemed to let it go – for now. Having been involved with Combs since early 2021, self-described online influencer and single mother 'Jane' first told the lower Manhattan courtroom of who sweet and loving Combs was during the early days of their relationship. How he offered to pay for a house for her, and supplement her income now that she was spending so much time with him. However, as Ventura and others have stated, that shifted over time and the accused appeared to employ old school pimp tactics to control and totally dominate the woman. Again, like he did with Ventura and others, as the prosecution clearly intends to convey to the jury, a sometimes semen-smeared Combs used the same M.O. of drugs, blackmail, fear and violence to make a baby oiled up, lingerie and high-heels wearing 'Jane' participate in the 'freak-offs.' 'Jane' told the jury of a September 2023 text she sent to Combs on her anguish over the 'freak-offs' and being forced to have sex with other paid men for Combs' pleasure. 'It's hurting me, she told Combs, 'It's dark, sleazy and makes me feel disgusted with myself.' The text added: 'I don't want to play this role anymore. I'm so much more than this …I feel like it's the only reason you have me around and pay for the house.' 'Girl, stop,' Combs tersely replied. Originally only taking place in upscale hotel suites from May 2021 to October 2023, sometimes with escorts and sometimes with porn stars, the 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights' came to an end for about three months, 'Jane' said today. The conclusion of the sex sessions came about a month before Ventura filed her very quickly settled ($20 million) abuse and assault suit against her 2007-2018 boyfriend Combs. After that suit, dozens and dozens of other civil suits against Combs followed, as well as raids of his L.A. and Miami homes by the feds and CNN's broadcasting of hotel security footage of the 'All About the Benjamins' performer kicking, berating and beating Ventura as she sought to escape a 2016 L.A. 'freak-off.' On her last day on the stand, the then heavily pregnant Ventura was forced by the defense to admit she is going to receive a $10 million settlement from the owners of the InterContinental. Today, 'Jane' said that the 'freak-offs' picked up again in February 2024, but now they took place at Combs' Florida home. There were a total of five such sessions, 'Jane' noted, with the last one occurring in August 2024, just a few weeks before Combs was arrested in NYC on the charges he is facing in this trial. Set to end before the July 4 holiday, Judge Subramanian promised the jurors, the trial runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET every weekday – except when it goes longer at the judge's discretion. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
California officials bracing for potential large-scale Trump funding attack on state
SACRAMENTO — California officials were bracing Friday for a potential major escalation in President Donald Trump 's efforts to starve the state of federal funding, including possibly the elimination of money for the University of California, sources said. CNN reported Friday morning that the Trump administration is preparing to terminate a wide array of federal grant funds to the state, an effort which could begin as soon as Friday. Sources told the Chronicle that the state has not received official notification of the cuts, and it was not immediately clear which grants might be targeted or how widespread they might be. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said he has been on alert about UC funding in particular. The Trump administration launched an investigation into the university system in March over allegations of antisemitism on the school's campuses. Wiener, who is Jewish and has been a vocal critic of antisemitism, derided any efforts to cut federal funding from UC. 'We don't know exactly what they're going to do and when they're going to do it, but we've been bracing ourselves for a while for Trump to go after UC,' he said. 'This has nothing to do with antisemitism and everything to do with Trump's desire to go after higher education. … Trump doesn't care about jews or antisemitism, he only cares about his own power. They are on a methodical quest to destroy higher education in this country.' California is heavily reliant on federal funding to run both the UC and California State University systems, its health care program for low-income people and its public k-12 schools. Trump has repeatedly threatened various federal funding sources over California's policies. On Wednesday, his administration moved to cut billions in high speed rail funding, and last week he threatened to cut federal education money over the California rules that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls sports. Any efforts by the Trump administration to cut federal funds will be challenged in court. So far, California is already involved in dozens of lawsuits against the federal government over efforts to pull back federal funds and challenge other policies targeting the state. Trump tried to cut federal funds from California during his first term, too, much of which the state successfully blocked in court. Wiener said he could not comment on exactly what conversations are happening in state government around the threatened cuts, but confirmed that state officials are bracing themselves and preparing to sue. 'I can't comment on exactly who we've talked to, but I can say we're very aware of Trump's threats against California, both against UC and California's k-12 education system,' he said. 'If he takes these actions, we are planning to fight.' U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, criticized the potential cuts in a post on X, linking to CNN's reporting. 'It's impossible to argue that Trump cares about Americans. Impossible,' she wrote. 'This will hurt millions of Americans, destroy the US's competitive advantage in science & medicine. And all for spite & ego.'
New York Post
41 minutes ago
- New York Post
MSNBC silent on fallout from Karine Jean-Pierre's White House memoir
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's upcoming memoir in which she reportedly calls the Democratic Party 'broken' is making waves across major news networks — except at MSNBC. The left-leaning network has remained silent since Jean-Pierre announced on Wednesday that she is ditching the party and becoming a registered independent, Former President Joe Biden's mouthpiece touted the party switch while plugging the release of her book, 'Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines.' 4 MSNBC has not devoted coverage to the fallout from an upcoming memoir by former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. REUTERS In the book, due out in October, she distances herself from the Democratic Party and reportedly paints a damning portrait of her former workplace, describing the Biden administration as 'broken.' Jean-Pierre spent two years as the public face of the Biden White House and was the first black, openly gay woman to hold the role. Her abrupt political shift, combined with criticism of the president she once loyally defended, has triggered a flurry of reaction — especially among Biden allies. Former colleagues have not held back. Several have dismissed the book as a 'grift' and criticized her performance as press secretary, echoing complaints that have appeared in anonymous leaks to outlets like Politico and Axios. One former staffer reportedly told Axios: 'Nobody took her seriously in the building.' While harsh, the wave of criticism arguably reinforces the core claim of her book: that dysfunction inside the administration runs deep. The media response has been swift — at least on some networks. 4 Jean-Pierre revealed in her new memoir due out this fall that she is no longer a member of the Democratic Party. AP According to transcript data, Fox News mentioned Jean-Pierre by name 72 times between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, according to Mediaite. CNN, despite its closer proximity to the Biden administration, referenced her 44 times. But MSNBC, where Jean-Pierre once worked as a contributor and was a regular on-air presence, has not mentioned her once, said Mediate, which first reported on the network's odd silence. 'The fact that MSNBC is still ignoring the story (as of 1:15 p.m. Thursday) reveals that the editorial direction at the left-leaning network is not yet ready to cover political news that may not align with their past comments and positions,' one media analyst told Mediaite. 4 Former Biden officials have anonymously criticized Jean-Pierre in several news reports. Getty Images The Post has sought comment from MSNBC and Jean-Pierre. Before joining the White House, Jean-Pierre was a frequent progressive voice on the network, where she appeared on panels to support Democratic messaging and criticize the first Trump administration. Her visibility on the network played a key role in raising her public profile and likely aided her appointment to the White House podium following the departure of Jen Psaki. This isn't the first time MSNBC has avoided uncomfortable stories involving the Biden administration. Earlier this year, the network largely sidestepped coverage of 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' the book co-authored by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson that revealed new details about Biden's cognitive decline and internal efforts to shield him from scrutiny. At the time, CNN and Fox News featured wall-to-wall coverage. MSNBC, by contrast, barely acknowledged the book at all. 4 Jean-Pierre was a frequent contributor to MSNBC before she joined the Biden administration. Shutterstock Critics say this selective editorial approach reflects a broader hesitance by MSNBC to air narratives that contradict its on-air talent's previous claims — especially about Biden's fitness for office or the strength of his administration. That discomfort, they argue, translates into silence.
