The News for 12/20/25
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We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, December 20th.
Tech news website The Verge reported Thursday that FCC chairman Brendan Carr faced lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week in his first Senate hearing since he threatened ABC and local TV stations in September over airing Jimmy Kimmel Live!, remarks that even some Republicans say crossed a line. Carr spent nearly three hours before the Senate Commerce Committee, clashing repeatedly with Democrats over comments he made after Kimmel joked about the political ideology of the killer of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. At the time, Carr had told broadcasters they could deal with the FCC “the easy way or the hard way.” However, Carr now insists that was not a threat, calling criticism from Democrats “projection and distortion.”
The Verge says Carr refused to express regret for his statements, saying his job is to enforce the FCC’s “public interest” standard, and that broadcast television is different from other media. But Democratic senators said Carr is weaponizing the agency to silence speech. One FCC commissioner, Democrat Anna Gomez, warned that the public interest standard is being used as cover for censorship, calling it “contrary to the First Amendment.” Even Republican committee chair Ted Cruz compared Carr’s language to “mafia talk.”
During the Senate hearing on Wednesday, The Verge further reports that Brendan Carr said under oath that the FCC is no longer an independent government agency, directly contradicting how the FCC has long described itself. During a tense exchange, Carr refused to say that the commission operates separately from the White House, and when asked whether the FCC’s own website was wrong to call it an independent agency, he said “possibly.” Shortly after, the word “independent” was removed from the FCC’s website, which The Verge warned is a clear signal that the FCC is operating directly under the control of Trump and his administration. So far, The Verge says that Carr has rejected calls to resign as FCC chairman, and there’s little sign that Congress will act, as concerns continue to fester over the future of free speech on these public airwaves.
Meanwhile, in higher education news, the New York Times reported last week that “a conservative overhaul of the University of Texas is underway.” UT Austin had historically been a liberal stronghold in the conservative state, but now the campus is “no longer led by an academic, but instead by a Republican lawyer,” the Times said. The University of Texas has promised curriculum changes that favor conservative ideas, restricted academic speech around race and gender, gutted faculty control, and gave the state power to approve its academic leaders. Students at UT Austin told the Times they were considering transferring out of Texas as a result. It’s all part of an ongoing “aggressive attack against higher education” by the Trump administration, the Times reported.
Finally tonight, the Times also reported on Monday that beloved film director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were killed at their own home on Sunday, allegedly by their own 32-year-old son, Nick. Reiner directed a string of legendary films in the ’80s and ’90s, including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and A Few Good Men. In recent years, he was highly visible as a vocal advocate for progressive political causes, including LGBTQ* equality.
The Times further reported that Donald Trump seized on Reiner’s death to make a series of baseless attacks against him, drawing widespread outrage across the political spectrum. Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, said on Monday, “This is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said, “He’s just lost it,” and added on Wednesday that Trump’s constant and relentless attacks on American people and institutions show that he’s “such a sad, damaged person.”
And that’s… the news.