Latest news with #SesameStreet
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
PBS, NPR face ‘tremendous changes' as funding cut looms
PBS and NPR face an uncertain future after the Senate voted to slash funding to the public broadcasters — leading the heads of both companies to make dire warnings about looming changes. NPR CEO Katherine Maher gathered rattled staffers Thursday for a closed-door meeting at their Washington DC, office, shortly after the early-morning vote by the GOP-controlled Senate clawed back roughly $9 billion in spending for foreign aid, NPR and PBS. The House has until Friday to seal their fate and send it to President Trump's desk, who is expected to sign the legislation. Advertisement Roughly $1.1 billion of the targeted cut would defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that funds NPR — home to flagship shows 'Morning Edition' and 'All Things Considered' — and PBS, the decades-long carrier of 'Sesame Street' and Ken Burns documentaries. 4 NPR CEO Katherine Maher led a 30-minute meeting Thursday, addressing network staffers ahead of Friday's critical House vote. Getty Images About 70% of that goes directly to the 330 local PBS outlets and 246 NPR stations. Advertisement On average, PBS says 15% of its stations' budgets come from public funding. But there are wide variations. Stations in larger markets usually get more money through philanthropy and fund drives, while smaller stations depend much more on the government. NPR receives about 1% of its funds from federal sources annually, and about 3% indirectly from stations, the company has reported. The bulk of NPR's funding comes from member station fees, corporate sponsorships and individual donations. 4 The funding cuts will hit PBS, home of 'Sesame Street' and 'PBS NewsHour.' REUTERS Maher predicted 'a tremendous amount of change' if federal funding goes away, according to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik, who posted her comments from the meeting on X. Advertisement PBS CEO Paula Kerger expressed the same gloomy sentiment in an interview with CNN, saying that public TV stations will be 'forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead.' Neither exec adressed whether federal spending cuts would result in layoffs or force them to slash programming. 4 PBS' 'Sesame Street' should be safe after the popular childrens' show inked a deal with Netflix in May. AP PBS and NPR did not return requests for comment. Advertisement One PBS show that should be safe is 'Sesame Street.' The home of Elmo and Big Bird signed a deal with Netflix in May to stream the upcoming 56th season and 90 hours of previous episodes of the popular kids show. Terms of the Netflix deal weren't released. The streaming giant swooped in after Warner Bros. Discovery decided against renewing a deal that reportedly paid Sesame Workshop between $30 million and $35 million a year. 4 NPR execs did not address whether federal spending cuts would result in layoffs or a scaleback in programming. Getty Images Trump and other conservative critics have accused NPR and PBS of being politically biased towards Democrats. Earlier this week, Maher denied claims of bias, saying they 'serve all Americans.' 'The intent [of the legislation] is to make CPB no longer function,' NPR's chief government affairs executive Marta McLellan Ross told staffers, Folkenflik wrote. In an effort to rally the troops, Maher said public media is fighting and are 'taking this one all the way to the end,' according to Folkenflik. Both PBS and NPR sued President Trump and other administration officials in May to block his executive order stripping federal funding.
Los Angeles Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Elmo returns to his wholesome self, promoting love instead of racism and Epstein claims
Elmo's everlasting mission of kindness and all things wholesome is back in full swing, days after the puppet's official X account platformed racist and antisemitic remarks, and popular claims about the sex-trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. 'Thank you for being kind to Elmo and all the people in your neighborhood,' the iconic 'Sesame Street' furball tweeted Tuesday. 'Elmo loves you.' Earlier this week, the permanently 3½-year-old mascot shocked followers when he posted numerous hateful tweets, including those threatening violence against the Jewish community and others demanding that President Trump release Epstein's purported 'client list.' In the series of since-deleted posts, Elmo dubbed Trump a 'puppet' for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and alleged the president was involved in Epstein's sex-trafficking operation. The tweets, obviously out of line with Elmo's regular playful programming on social media, naturally went viral as users circulated screenshots of the disturbing posts. 'The Daily Show' and host Jon Stewart also had their fun with Elmo's uncharacteristic tweets, creating a segment that generated more out-of-pocket takes for the normally innocuous puppet. Amid the online buzz, the 'Sesame Street' organization Sesame Workshop alleged in a statement that Elmo's X account was 'compromised by an unknown hacker' and condemned the 'disgusting messages.' A spokesperson for X told The Times that it could not comment 'on the specifics of individual accounts,' adding that it encourages all users to 'leverage the security methods' outlined in its help center page. While X did not confirm the takeover of Elmo's account, the alleged hacker left a link — that has since been deleted — on the character's page directing followers to a user's Telegram channel. On Telegram, the user appears to take credit for the hack and also shared a message praising Adolf Hitler and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. In a Tuesday statement shared to Elmo's X account, Sesame Workshop doubled down on its allegations that a hacker was behind the disturbing tweets 'in spite of the security measures in place.' Sesame Workshop echoed disapproval of the 'abhorrent' posts and assured fans it has since regained control of Elmo's account. Sesame Workshop added: 'These posts in no way reflect the values of Sesame Workshop or Sesame Street, and no one at the organization was involved.'
Al Bawaba
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Elmo returns to X after 'kill all Jews' and Epstein client list posts
Published July 16th, 2025 - 05:57 GMT ALBAWABA - Just days after Elmo's official account on X (formerly known as Twitter) was hacked, resulting in posts calling for the death of Jews and the release of the Epstein client list, the account has returned to its rightful owner. Three days prior, the hacked Elmo account referred to itself as "mechahitler" while calling US President Donald Trump the puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a client on the notorious Epstein list. The viral incident sparked widespread controversy on social media due to the posts' political topics. Elmo returns to X after 'mechahitler' and Epstein client list posts On Sunday, Elmo's X account was briefly hacked by an outside party, in spite of the security measures in strongly condemn the abhorrent antisemitic and racist content, and the account has since been secured. These posts in no way reflect the values of Sesame Workshop… — Elmo (@elmo) July 15, 2025 Elmo's X account released a statement condemning the hacker's words, which read, "On Sunday, Elmo's X account was briefly hacked by an outside party, in spite of the security measures in place. We strongly condemn the abhorrent antisemitic and racist content, and the account has since been secured." The statement added, "These posts in no way reflect the values of Sesame Workshop or Sesame Street, and no one at the organization was involved." Before posting the statement, the account wrote on X, "Thank you for being kind to Elmo and all the people in your neighborhood. Elmo loves you." The statement resulted in a flood of comments from angry parents demanding an apology from Elmo. A parent wrote on X, "I now can't stop my kids from repeating the words and language you used that day. Thanks Elmo." Another parent added, "This is bigger than an apology. How can parents know @sesamestreet apps are safe for kids? sorry does not get to the root for how this happened. What safety measures have been taken to ensure it never happens again?" Reports about Jeffrey Epstein were reignited by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after they revealed that he committed suicide during his prison sentence and didn't have a client list for his notorious island. In addition to its official claims, the DOJ released a video that captured Esptein in his cell alone during the night he died, revealing no foul play or an external factor. However, the closure of years of speculation, conspiracy theories, and political tensions didn't sit well with many individuals, sparking more debate and rumors on social media. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Top Democrat presidential hopeful delivers bizarre speech about 'Sesame Street in Iraq'
Top Democrat Jasmine Crockett has delivered a rambling speech about how Iraqi 'Sesame Street' helps fight anti-American radicalization. The Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in February over its alleged misuse of taxpayer money, including spending $20 million on a Middle Eastern version of the children's show. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Crockett defended USAID's support for the muppet-based TV program, saying it helps prevent potentially hostile countries from becoming 'radicalized' against the US. '[When] we start to talk about whether or not 'Sesame Street' or anything else that's on NPR or PBS ends up in other places, this is so there is not this warped thought process about the western world or the United States,' the Texas lawmaker said. 'We're talking about making sure that we don't end up allowing people to be radicalized against us because they have a terrible vision of us because they maybe in a government that actually puts out bad, terrible propaganda about us.' Crockett, 44, who has represented Texas's 30th congressional district since 2023, did not elaborate on how the show prevents anti-American radicalization. It comes as news emerged that the Missouri-born politician appears to be considering running for the US Senate in the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview last week with liberal comedian Hasan Minhaj, Crockett said that she already has her 'expiration date in mind for the House,' and has been 'eyeing people to replace' her. Polling released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) this week shows Crockett leads a hypothetical Democratic primary with 35 percent of likely voters, followed by former Rep. Colin Allred at 20 percent. As a rising star in the Democratic Party, Crockett could even become the next presidential hopeful for liberals. Crockett isn't alone in defending USAID's funding of the Iraqi Sesame Street scheme, as other progressives have also spoken out in favor of the project. USAID gave the $20 million grant to a nonprofit called Sesame Workshop, which delivers the show known as Ahlan Simim, or 'Welcome Sesame', in order to help it make a slicker version of the show in 2021. The project is made up of direct healthcare outreach programs, alongside a version of the popular kids program screened to around 29 million children in the Middle East and North Africa, often in areas where schooling has been disrupted by war. The Ahlan Simsim YouTube channel has 1.38 million subscribers and videos dating back nine years. Early videos posted before the USAID funding featured low-quality video production and puppetry. Later videos show classic characters such as Elmo and the Cookie Monster along with 'new characters such as 'Jad,' who was forced to flee his home, 'Basma,' who welcomed Jad when he arrived in his new community, and 'Ameera', who lives with a disability', according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which helps deliver the show. They 'act out stories that help marginalized children understand their emotions and experiences and teach them early learning fundamentals like counting and the alphabet'. Delaware representative Chris Coons also argued the project could benefit the US's interests overseas as a form of soft power. 'This isn't just funding a kids' show for children — millions of children — in countries like Iraq,' Coons told CNN. 'It's a show that helps teach values, helps teach public health, helps prevent kids from dying from dysentery and disease and helps push values like collaboration, peacefulness, and cooperation in a society where the alternative is ISIS, extremism, and terrorism.' Coons quoted President Donald Trump's previous Secretary of Defense General James Mattis, who was also a proponent of soft power. 'If you slash development and aid spending then I'm going to need more bullets for our troops,' he said. Coons also claimed that the project is 'pennies on the dollar' when compared to the $850 billion defense budget. Republican Senator Joni Ernst cited the project as another example of 'wasteful' spending by the embattled federal agency. 'USAID asked, 'Can you tell me how to get how to get to Sesame Street?' and ended up in Iraq,' Ernst said. 'USAID authorized a whopping $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq. USAID has long been a reckless, out-of-control, unaccountable rogue agency.' According to the defunct USAID website, Ahlan Simsim is 'designed to promote inclusion, mutual respect, and understanding'. Over the last six years, Ahlan Simsim has reached over 3.5 million children and caregivers with direct services, as well as millions more through its TV show. René Celaya, Managing Director for Ahlan Simsim, wrote in a 2022 Medium post that USAID funding went towards early childhood development (ECD) services in the Middle East countries including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. 'As we entered a more mature phase of the program, we shifted our focus to scaling and partnerships to ensure the long-term sustainability of Ahlan Simsim's impact on the systems that deliver ECD across the region and around the world,' she wrote. The IRC claims that the project functions in areas where millions of children have been displaced by war, serving as an educational tool when schooling is disrupted. Its Wash Up! program has educated more than 200,000 children on proper hygiene to help prevent deadly waterborne diseases across 15 countries, according to the IRC. USAID spending has come under scrutiny since Elon Musk took a sledgehammer to the agency in hopes of reducing public spending. The White House has touted schemes such as a 'transgender opera' in Colombia, a DEI musical in Ireland and $2.5 million on electric vehicles in Vietnam as evidence of wasteful spending by the department.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump funding cuts to PBS set to hit free educational content for kids
Looming federal funding cuts for PBS put in jeopardy some of the most-used educational videos and games shown to help children improve in literacy and other social skills. The cuts, part of a $9 billion rescissions package Republicans are poised to pass as soon as Wednesday afternoon, pose a serious threat to PBS's bottom line. Last month, multiple projects for kids' education got stalled or canceled after a single grant to public television was taken away. 'The harm that eliminating PBS will cause in communities where children live … public radio and public TV stations provide free, credible news and not just that, but also, educational programming and content. Programs like 'Sesame Street' — that is a staple of many American childhoods and households — were birthed from those stations,' said Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Policy at the Center for American Progress. 'So I think it's concerning that we have — there's a possibility of educational programs being stripped from rural towns and remote areas where public television is really the only source of academically enriching content that many children receive,' she added. The Trump administration is looking to claw back more than $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides some funding to PBS and NPR. The rescissions package, which as of this writing was under debate in the Senate, appeared set for passage after a deal was made to save the international President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The CPB cuts, by contrast, are clearly a priority for President Trump, who accuses its publicly-funded organizations of having a liberal bias. 'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,' Trump said on social media last week, using a derogatory nickname for MSNBC. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement,' he added. Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation director at PEN America, said, 'Certain proposed cuts are really part of this broader effort by the administration to punish dissent, to tighten control over what information Americans can access. I think it's an attempt to silence media outlets that don't align with the president's preferred narrative.' Under PBS LearningMedia, teachers have access to educational videos, lesson plans and interactive activities for kids. It also provides newsletters for educators that keep them up to date on current events and recent research. PBS Kids also offers free, self-paced lessons for students and teachers, along with educational games for students in K-2. It has offered such content for children for more than 50 years and is available in 98 percent of U.S. households. PBS Kids says videos on its website average 13 million viewers, while its YouTube channel gets 34 million viewers per month. On average, 41 million games are played on its site each month. 'Families are tired of their tax dollars going towards woke indoctrination from PBS like 'LGBTQ youth resources,' a map detailing 'Gender-Diverse' cultures produced by an 'Indigiqueer transfemme,' children's programming featuring drag queens, and a guide teaching children about their 'White privilege,' just to name a few examples,' a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday. 'This outrageous indoctrination of American children has continued for far too long, and President Trump's rescissions package will finally put an end to the taxpayer-funded gravy train,' they added. It isn't the first hit PBS will take under the Trump administration, after the Education Department in May canceled $23 million from the Ready to Learn Grant. The department said the grants were canceled due to the recent programs focusing on 'racial justice.' That prior cancelation came as a shock to PBS as the grant had long been tailored to an administration's priorities. 'During the George W. Bush administration, it was No Child Left Behind, and we were really focused on literacy. And through the Obama years, we were very focused on science, STEM and data analysis. And the grant that was terminated in May was actually a solicitation from the first Trump administration, and it was focused on workforce readiness for preschoolers,' said Sara DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager of PBS Kids. Multiple studies have been found success in certain learning aspects among young children who watched PBS programming. A 2021 analysis found those who watched 'Molly of Denali' had better problem-solving skills. DeWitt said that before funding was pulled for a study that was near completion, it 'looked like we were getting good, positive gains, learning gains from the content.' PBS says it would be difficult to find alternative funding sources, emphasizing that charging for content would endanger the model PBS currently uses to create its programs. 'We will be able to do much less of what we're able to do. There's no way to replace that federal funding,' DeWitt said, adding the media landscape for kids is 'really driven by algorithms or driven by revenue potential' by keeping a child 'watching as long as possible, that is considered successful.' 'What we view as success is how well this content is helping a child learn, how well it's preparing them for school, how well it's preparing them to be in their community and to interact with other kids, and I think that will really be lost because there aren't commercial incentives for this kind of content,' she added. Parents may have to look for other options for free educational content, including recommendations from librarians and teachers, but alternatives are also on the fritz amid Trump's government-wide funding cuts. The federal government currently is facing a lawsuit from states after it paused $6 billion in funding for after-school and summer activities, putting these programs at risk of downsizing or closing altogether. 'School districts are having to scramble: can't get their after-school programs started, can't do the training that they need for the teachers that are going to learn science of reading this summer,' said Lisa Guernsey, senior director of Birth to 12th Grade Policy at New America and co-founder and director of the Learning Sciences Exchange. 'There are also these cuts to PBS, also potentially losing access to these community-based learning neighborhood programs. This is going to put school districts and communities in an even tighter spot.'
