CHANGE: Expect CBS News to undergo a major overhaul under Skydance boss David Ellison.

In fact, from what I hear, continuing in the grand tradition of Murrow, Wallace and Cronkite is not at the top of Ellison’s mind because, for one, it ain’t so grand any longer, and two (maybe most important), he knows it’s a lousy business.

It’s not worth the trouble that it generates. We don’t even know if it’s profitable since Paramount doesn’t disclose the news division’s P&L statements. Plus, its product has moved so far to the left that it angers more than half the country.

Full disclosure: I don’t know David Ellison personally but people I trust do, and they tell me he’s substantive, much more than a lucky sperm kid that being Larry’s son confers. His independent studio Skydance has produced such recent blockbusters as “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.”

He doesn’t get his news from ­TikTok — far from it.

For the time being, he wants to keep the news division but also move away from its progressive leanings. (A person close to him says look for investments in “truth-based” news.) He does appreciate the CBS News legacy that he is about to buy — as long as the numbers are working and he believes they aren’t, I am told.

And that’s where things could get scary for the news division.

Ellison, I am told, equates CBS with football more than he does with Cronkite. If he’s looking to grow stuff, he and his point man in running the new company, former NBCU chief Jeff Shell, are looking at CBS Sports as the tip of the spear.

Everything else is about to get the mother of all efficiency reviews, my sources say.

Layoffs are likely, as are smaller salaries and squeezed budgets.

The TV news industry is tough. It’s tougher when you make it your mission to annoy more than half your potential viewers.

DAVID MANNEY: Trump’s ‘Take It or Leave It’ Tariff Blitz Is Bigger Than Monday.

THE TRUTH HURTS, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS GETTING SHOT BY A BERNIE BRO:

pic.twitter.com/ciJ22tphpU

— Rick Partlow (@RickPartlow66) July 6, 2025

HMM: Xi, Putin Absent As BRICS Nations Meet In Rio.

Xi’s absence, the first in his 12 years as president, is widely seen as a setback to the political weight of the summit.

Analysts say the Chinese leader may be seeking to avoid diplomatic friction with the United States after recent talks to ease trade tensions.

Others suggest internal geopolitical calculations, such as avoiding being overshadowed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is being hosted with full honours in Brazil.

Also missing is Russian President Putin, who will participate virtually due to his standing arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian will not attend either, amid lingering tensions following a brief but intense conflict with Israel.

The absence of key figures like Xi and Putin is a diplomatic blow to host president Lula, who is using the summit to showcase Brazil’s global relevance ahead of a busy international calendar that includes the G20 summit and COP30.

“Brazil is the superpower of the future — and always will be” is a joke older than I am.

Meanwhile, just south of Brazil:

Argentina’s economy grew 7.6% Year-on-Year in Q2! 🇦🇷

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 6, 2025

Cutting spending and red tape works wonders, but remain anathema to Lula.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Mars Will Have a Tesla Dealership Before Musk Has a Viable Third Party. “Conservative activists like me have long been frustrated with the GOP. Trust me, there have been many late-night conversations about a new party. My frustration/resentment bank regarding the Republican Party dwarfs Elon’s. In the end, those of us who have been in the trenches know that it’s best to try and affect change by work with — and through — the GOP. We’re aware that it’s a slog.”

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP, RACIST:

The desire to preserve one's culture and homeland is only xenophobic when white people are the ones expressing it https://t.co/sAsDAKtYUN

— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) July 6, 2025

BIG AND BEAUTIFUL: Eyeing Arctic dominance, Trump bill earmarks $8.6 billion for US Coast Guard icebreakers.

China and Russia have been working together to develop Arctic shipping routes and fortify their defenses. The United States, Canada and Finland last year announced a trilateral partnership called the “ICE Pact” to build a fleet of 70 to 90 ice-breaking ships over the coming decade to “project power” into the polar region and enforce international norms and treaties.

Trump has also repeatedly called for the United States to acquire as many as 40 new icebreakers to enhance national security in the Arctic. Those icebreakers could help companies with logistics and keep open supply lines for potential oil and gas and mineral development in the rugged and frigid region.

Russia has the world’s largest fleet of icebreakers and ice-capable patrol ships with 57, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

China has a far smaller fleet, but is also investing in growing it. The two countries in May pledged to raise cooperation to a new level and “decisively” counter U.S. influence.

More background here on X, courtesy of Rod D. Martin.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS GUY? Tucker Carlson to Serve as PR Lackey for the President of Iran, Provide Platform for the Regime.

YES:

Reading about Javier Milei — paragraphs like this should be internalized by every public policymaker in the west pic.twitter.com/wu9EJq5NXZ

— John Loeber 🎢 (@johnloeber) July 6, 2025

But this reply nails it: “The people against don’t actually care about outcomes.”

BLUE CITY BLUES: Chicago Aggressively Defending Its Hard-Won Title of ‘Murder City USA’ in July. “Thanks in part to immigration enforcement pulling some of the worst of the worst violent illegals from the streets of Chicago, America’s Murder City has become relatively tranquil in recent weeks. Gang violence had even simmered down. But hoo boy, did that change with the start of July and the unofficial start of the Windy City’s summer ballistic festival. In just 40 hours, fifty-one (51!) people suffered gunshot wounds and nine of them died.”

UGH: Death Toll Rises in Texas Flooding.

Related: Texas Floods: More Than 60 Dead, Digital Ghouls Smirk.

HARSH BUT FAIR:

There’s not a five-figure-an-hour prostitute on the planet that tossed Hunter Biden’s salad more enthusiastically than the American mainstream media https://t.co/JE3jNH2h1m

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) July 30, 2023

INDEED:

One shows the illegal internment of lawful residents. (Democrat run.)

The other shows the lawful internment of illegal residents. (GOP run.)

It's actually a useful contrast. https://t.co/505ApgvGXn

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) July 6, 2025

IT’S HOW BIG? Two asteroids the size of 32 George Washingtons to pass Earth on Fourth of July. “And no, we’re not referring to one-dollar bills, but rather the man himself. And also no, this is not referring to the American inventor and peanut pioneer George Washington Carver, but the former US president.”

And he became a unit of measurement when, exactly?

Previously: Massive Asteroid About the Size of 69 American Alligators Will Pass by Earth Tuesday, NASA Warns.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): George Washingtons? Alligators? Further evidence that Americans will do anything to avoid using the metric system.

I’M NOT SURE CUOMO’S EGO WILL PERMIT HIM TO DROP OUT: Billionaire Bill Ackman Backs Adams, Asks Cuomo to Drop Out. “Ackman, posting on X, said that he met Wednesday with Adams and Cuomo for about an hour each, and as a result, his ‘takeaway is that Adams can win the upcoming election and that the Governor should step aside to maximize Adams’ probability of success.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA:

.@POTUS on tomorrow's One Big Beautiful Bill signing: "We're signing at about 5:00p — and at about 5:00p, we're going to have B-2s and F-22s and F-35s flying right over the White House … so we'll be signing with those beautiful planes flying right over our heads." 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/40CjzwfvF9

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 3, 2025

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: A Truly Happy Independence Day to All! “Yeah, I’m going to enjoy this. I hope all of you do as well.”

INTERVIEW: Los Alamos Scientist’s Insights On The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. “So you’d have to have those in a sequence that took all of that into account. You’re surely going to have suspended material. But if you can avoid the shock from the initial explosion for the second and third penetrators – you know that that is really highly, highly tuned delivery, and we have gotten very good now. I’m not saying that I know anything about that. I’m just saying that that was part of the discussion during the time that I was working on it, could we actually do these sequential miracles and get these things on target? And when we watch Elon Musk land rocket ships, we go, maybe we’re in that kind of a world.”

ICYMI [VIP]: What the Hell Is Going on in China?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA: SRT is Back: Stellantis Revives Street and Racing Technology Division. “In a move guaranteed to crank the driveshafts of performance junkies and Mopar faithful alike, Stellantis announced the triumphant return of its iconic Street and Racing Technology (SRT) performance division. The revived SRT brand will now unify high-performance efforts across Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, promising a new (reborn) era of factory-built horsepower and street-and-track engineering prowess.”

ASHLEY MCCULLY: North Carolina Addresses Teacher Shortage by Doing Nothing. “I am the kind of person you want teaching your kids. I don’t have funky piercings or hair color; I will shut down any discussion about pronouns faster than a New York minute; I can take any topic (except math, let’s be real) and make it interesting. But, I’m out.”

Read the whole thing.

PAULA BOLYARD HAS THE DETAILS: We’re Learning More About That Church Shooting in MI—and the Good Deacons With Guns.

THEY SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT RAMA: NASA confirms that mysterious object shooting through the solar system is an ‘interstellar visitor’ — and it has a new name.

IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: The Return of Kremlinology — Now with Chinese Characteristics. “Having undone Deng’s reforms, there are now multiple signs that Xi’s rule is coming undone. Over the last several months, I’ve read a series of credible-looking reports that Xi might have received a modified Khrushchev treatment.”

INDEED:

The far right in Congress believes we should deport illegals & kick them off welfare.

The far left in Congress wants to trans kids and eliminate the combustion engine. These 2 centers of gravity are not equidistant from the center of the spectrum

— James (@MoronDoctor_) July 3, 2025