News

California Governor Gavin Newsom said that the devastating fires in Los Angeles, which have leveled Pacific Palisades and Altadena, require a rebuilding response he’s characterizing as a “Marshall Plan” for the region.

In an interview with Meet the Press with NBC News’ Jacob Soboroff, Newsom also agreed that the fires will end up being the worst natural disaster in U.S. history “in terms of the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope.”

The governor said that when it comes to rebuilding, he has a team “looking at reimagining L.A. 2.0.” “We’re just starting to lay out. I mean, we’re still fighting these fires, so we’re already talking to city leaders. We’re already talking to civic leaders. We’re already talking to business leaders, with nonprofits. We’re talking to labor leaders.”

Newsom also issued a new executive order to try...

The Christmas holiday is here, and Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, the prominent faces on the Today Show, have been on vacation with their families.

As Monsters and Critics has reported, Hoda will leave the Today show in January, and everyone has been reacting to the significant changes.

Still, Hoda and the other co-hosts enjoyed a lengthy break from anchoring the Today Show during the holiday week as others filled in for them on the show.

Dylan Dreyer and Peter Alexander have been mainstays on Today during Christmas week, giving everyone else a much-needed break.

One of Today’s regular contributors, Vicky Nguyen, was on the show for one of her financial pieces when a co-worker pointed out a funny wardrobe mishap she had.

During a recent segment and after a busy Christmas day, Vicky Nguyen was “outed” for something she missed due to the busyness of returning to work after the holiday.

Editors note: Errol Morris is the documentary filmmaker behind features including the Oscar-winning The Fog of War and The Thin Blue Line, works renowned for their investigative style. His latest film, Separated, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, played in theaters nationwide and aired on MSNBC, is available digitally December 17.

***

Does anyone know what family separations are really about? Do I? There was a confrontation at the Republican National Convention between Donald Trump, Jr. and Jacob Soboroff. That is, the son of the President-elect and the NBC News reporter who covered the story and subsequently wrote a book, Separated, about the policies. It was this book — more specifically, my enthusiasm for it — that convinced me to make a movie about the issue.

But back to the confrontation.

Jacob Soboroff: I know immigration is important to him. I covered the family separation crisis closely. Will we continue to see policies...

Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris explores the 2016 Trump administration's use of "cruelty as a tool" in Separated, a damning indictment of child separation as official US government policy to thwart illegal immigration. Adapted from the book Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, by NBC News journalist Jacob Soboroff, the film focuses on former employees of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Orr). They discuss how political vitriol and fierce anti-immigration sentiment became a human rights debacle that still reverberates to this day.

Separated cannot be viewed in a vacuum considering that Trump, and many of the people who implemented child separation, will soon return to power in the executive branch. Immigration was the second-top concern for American voters after the economy. Outrage at the policy, and its disturbing aftermath, had little effect on those who view immigration as an existential crisis for America. Thus, the film will be judged on its informative merits and artistic execution,...

On Wednesday December 4 2024, NBC broadcasts Today 3rd Hour!

Season 7 Episode 51 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Today 3rd Hour” promises to be both informative and entertaining. Scheduled to air on NBC, this episode will focus on financial moves that viewers can make to prepare for the new year. With the end of the year approaching, many people are looking for ways to manage their finances better, and this segment will offer valuable tips and insights.

Author Jacob Soboroff will also make an appearance. He is known for his engaging style and thought-provoking ideas. Soboroff will share his perspectives on current events and how they relate to everyday life. His contribution is sure to spark interesting discussions and provide viewers with a fresh outlook.

In addition to financial advice, the episode will feature wellness gifts. As the holiday season approaches, many people are searching for thoughtful gifts that promote health and well-being.

Oscar winner Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) has directed a new documentary, “Separated,” which confronts one of the darkest chapters in recent American history: family separations. The film is based on NBC News political and national correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, and both men joined Gold Derby for a recent webchat to discuss the movie. Watch the full video interview above.

“I might have thought at the outset of this whole project that I was doing some historical account of a policy that was instituted and rejected, but is in our rearview mirror,” Morris says. “As time went on, this movie became more and more relevant, and more and more current. Not about the past, but about the present and future and our fears of what could possibly happen next in this country.”

In the film, Morris speaks to insiders and whistleblowers, both former and current government officials,...

We’ve had a couple weeks now to let the news sink in: Hoda Kotb is leaving ‘The Today Show‘.

After 17 years, the co-host stunned viewers on September 26 by sharing the surprising new:

“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new.”

While we applaud Hoda for knowing her own mind and for coming to a decision that benefits her and her family, the race is now on to see who will be filling her shoes on the Today Show panel.

Since she made her announcement, everyone has weighed in on the topic, from longtime fans to studio execs – to Hoda herself!

Who will replace Hoda on The Today Show? Well, now we know.

Hoda Kotb announces here that she is leaving the Today show. (Nathan Congleton / Today) You’re on, Craig!

Craig Melvin step into Hoda’s shoes on “Today...

Paul Rudd is showing his support for university students in Pennsylvania voting in the 2024 presidential election.

MSNBC caught Rudd handing out water to students waiting in line to cast their votes.

As Jacob Soboroff was live and reporting for Deadline: White House from Temple University in Philadelphia, the Avengers star made a surprise appearance. Watch a clip above.

“I just wanted to give people water,” Rudd told Soboroff during the MSNBC live broadcast. “They’re waiting in line for a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.”

Soboroff told Rudd that some students had been waiting for up to two hours to vote. “That’s impressive,” the Ant-Man star said.

Related: Trump Celebrity Endorsements: A Full List Of Celebrities Supporting The Ex-potus

“We’ve been doing lots of stuff today here in Pennsylvania,” Rudd added. “We wanted to come out and...

Paul Rudd took to the voting lines at Pennsylvania universities to hand out water to students waiting for hours on Election Day.

The Ant-Man star was seen carrying a large pack of water bottles at Temple University by MSNBC National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff, who ran over to Rudd and asked him what brought him out.

“I just wanted to give people water,” Rudd replied with a smile. “They’re waiting in line for a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.

The other Avengers might’ve gathered to make their voices heard together in a political promotion last week, but Paul Rudd saved his activism for the day of. On Tuesday (November 5) night’s live election coverage at MSNBC, contributor Jacob Soboroff was shocked to find a very familiar face in the crowd at the polling place for Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That’s right, Ant-Man himself was on hand to deliver bottles of water to those waiting in line, and he approached him live on air to discuss his bit of altruism. While reporting from the ground during Nicholle Wallace’s broadcast, he interrupted her to say, “Nicholle, hold on one second. Excuse me for interrupting you. But someone’s here, I think, that I heard came out when they heard there was a long line here. Here he is… Paul Rudd just showed up because he heard the line was so long.

Paul Rudd made a surprise visit to voters waiting in long lines on Election Day.

During an MSNBC broadcast on Tuesday, the actor was spotted by NBC News political and national correspondent Jacob Soboroff handing out water bottles to voters waiting in long lines at Temple University in Pennsylvania.

“I just wanted to give people water,” Rudd said. “They’re waiting in line for a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.”

After Soboroff noted that the voters had been waiting for two hours, Rudd praised them and said it was “impressive.”

“When you heard that, did you say, right away, ‘I’ve got to come out here. I’ve got to get to this line’? Soboroff asked the actor, to which Rudd responded, “We’ve been doing lots of stuff today here in Pennsylvania. We wanted to come out and...

Paul Rudd made a surprise appearance at universities in Pennsylvania to hand out water to students waiting in hours-long lines to vote.

While reporting live from Philadelphia’s Temple University, MSNBC National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff spotted the “Ant-Man” and “I Love You, Man” star and sprinted over to him.

“Hey, Paul, I’m on live with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC!” Soboroff said before asking the actor what brought him out to Pennsylvania voting lines.

“I just wanted to give people water,” Rudd said. “They’re waiting in line for a long time, and it’s a wonderful thing that all these young people are out voting.”

When Soboroff told Rudd that some people have waited up to two hours to vote, Rudd said, “That’s impressive.”

“We’ve been doing lots of stuff today here in Pennsylvania,” Rudd said. “We wanted to come out and tell these students they’re doing really great things.

Hoda Kotb did a recent interview where she looked back on her stint on Today and discussed what was next. She also talked a little about who she thinks should replace her as the co-host on the morning talk show. In the end, it was all about her wanting what was best for Jenna Bush Hager.

Here is what Hoda said and her thoughts on her replacement.

Hoda Kotb Talks Replacement On Today

Hoda Kotb sat down with E! News guest correspondent Daryn Carp at her Making Space wellness event at the Miraval Austin Resort and Spa in Texas. While there, they talked about what she thinks NBC should do when it comes to replacing her on Today after she leaves in 2025.

Today: Hoda Kotb

“The person who I want is someone who has beautiful chemistry with Jenna,” Hoda said in the interview. She continued, “That’s all I want.

The great documentarian Errol Morris had a new film in limited theaters this month based on Jacob Soboroff's book, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. Separated uses Morris' typically stylish aesthetic to combine archival footage, interviews, dramatizations, and music to tell the story of the family separation policy from 2017 to 2018 under President Donald Trump's administration, and the ramifications of it ever since. The film was set to be aired on television as well, with NBC News Studios co-producing it from the beginning, and MSNBC acquiring distribution rights. But instead of airing this pertinent documentary before the election, which has centered so much on the border, the executives at NBC postponed it.

Dec. 7 is the new premiere date for Separated, a decision which is being criticized by not only the filmmakers but other members of the media, even within NBC. See Morris' latest post, from Oct. 5, 2024, below:

Why is my...

Hoda Kotb will be leaving The Today Show in January 2025. Fans have been showing their sadness at her departure, although they also seem happy she will get more time with her kids. However, fans are also wondering who will replace her with several options. Now, many have come up with the perfect choice.

Here is who many fans think should replace Hoda on Today.

Fans Have Idea On Hoda Kotb Replacement On Today

There are a few ideas on who could replace Hoda Kotb on Today. The big option that everyone on the network is talking about is Laura Jarrett. However, there are other choices like Halle Jackson, Jacob Soboroff, and Tom Llamas. There are some fans who want someone new brought in.

Hoda Kotb-YouTube

Much like how Good Morning America signed former NFL star Michael Strahan to be a co-host, there are Today fans who are thinking outside the box as well.

MSNBC Films and Submarine Deluxe is set to premiere “Separated,” a new documentary from Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris, December 7 on MSNBC. The film confronts one of the darkest chapters in recent American history: family separations. Based on NBC News Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” Morris merges bombshell interviews with government officials and artful narrative vignettes tracing one migrant family’s plight. Together they show that the cruelty at the heart of this policy was its very purpose. Against this backdrop, audiences can begin to absorb the U.S. government’s role in developing and implementing policies that have kept over 1,300 children without confirmed reunifications years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Watch the trailer above.

“Separation from your parent is a profoundly traumatizing event,” we hear in the trailer. “Systematic separation of children from parents ‘officially’ wasn’t happening, but it was happening.

Sam and Colby: The Legends Of The Paranormal from popular ghost-hunting YouTubers Sam Golbach and Colby Brock scared up a no. 6 spot at the domestic box office. Also this weekend, Mubi continued a series of firsts for the indie distributor with The Substance. And Columbia Pictures’ Saturday Night saw $280k at just 21 locations.

Sam and Colby grossed circa $1.76 million with a cume of $2.15 million on 295 Cinemark theaters, according to Comscore. The paranormal investigators and best friends have hunted ghosts at the world’s most iconic haunted locations. Here they set out with their friend Nate to investigate a mysterious desert ranch famous for ghosts, UFO sightings, and terrifying monsters lurking in the dark. It’s rare for social media stars to bridge the theatrical divide and this is a big one.

Meanwhile, in its third weekend, Mubi’s release of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance starring Demi Moore is holding...

It was a troubling time in recent history. In early 2017, just after taking office, the new administration put a cruel plan into action. They would take children away from their parents at the southern border. The goal was to discourage others from coming to seek a better life. But in reality it caused immense suffering.

Veteran filmmaker Errol Morris wanted to shed light on this painful period. His film “Separated” captures the full story through meticulous research. It’s based on award-winning journalist Jacob Soboroff’s book, which uncovered what really happened. Both Morris and Soboroff interview those involved, from officials who helped enact the plan to those who fought against it. We also hear archival recordings showing the real impact on families.

Morris guides us through step by step. We learn how the idea formed and was carried out. Government agencies meant to help ended up being used to cause harm instead.

Once an outsider to the system, now as influential a doc maker as the industry has, Errol Morris has dedicated his career to drawing our attention to subjects — be they individuals or issues — we might otherwise overlook. Sometimes they are frivolous and fringy, like a Florida pet cemetery (“Gates of Heaven”) or a drug-induced defenestration (“Wormwood”). But the ones that really matter force us to confront truths we may be actively trying to avoid, such as euthanasia (“Mr. Death”) or the use of torture at Abu Ghraib prison (“Standard Operating Procedure”).

“Separated” finds Morris back in “The Fog of War” mode: angry, engaged and determined to expose an injustice too monumental to be ignored — despite so many Americans’ efforts to do just that. Adapted from NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book of the same name, the blood-boiling doc offers a damning analysis of how the Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy...

For the next three months, lots of people will show up on Today to say goodbye to Hoda Kotb. This week, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay made the stop, and she was very emotional as she said goodbye. Hoda’s last day will come in January 2025.

Here is what Mariska had to say to Hoda and the offer she made to The Today Show.

Mariska Hargitay Says The World Will Miss Hoda Kotb

Mariska Hargitay appeared on Today on Tuesday, and she was there to talk about her 26th season on Law & Order: Svu. However, Mariska also wanted to talk about something different. She had some kind words to say to Hoda Kotb in regards to the host announcing last week she was leaving the daytime talk show.

“I love you. I love you so much and I am so proud and inspired by you,...

Errol Morris’ hailed Venice and Telluride premiere “Separated” has finally landed a release date. It’s a multi-pronged release from MSNBC, Submarine Deluxe, and Greenwich. Co-produced by NBC News Studios, Participant, Fourth Floor and Moxie Pictures, the film about the Trump administration’s inhumane immigration policy will have a one-week theatrical run at the IFC Center starting October 4 and will launch on MSNBC December 7.

MSNBC Films has acquired the hard-hitting exposé by Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”), probing family separation at the U.S./Mexico border. Based on NBC News Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” Morris interviews government officials and creates a dramatic narrative tracing one migrant family’s harrowing journey to the U.S./Mexico border. The U.S. government developed and implemented policies that kept over 1,300 children without confirmed reunifications years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Hoda Kotb announced on Thursday that she was leaving The Today Show to spend more time with her children. Her last episode will air in January 2025. This was a surprise since she has been a host on the show for 17 years. However, it was just as shocking when Kathie Lee Gifford announced she was leaving Today in 2018.

Now, Kathie Lee has commented on Hoda’s announcement and what it means to her.

Kathie Lee Gifford On Hoda Kotb Leaving Today

Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford co-hosted The Today Show together from 2008 until 2018. Gifford was a holdover, and Hoda became her new partner in that first season. However, in 2018, Gifford left the show and stepped back. Now, Gifford, 71, has commented on Hoda’s recent announcement.

Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford from Today, NBC, sourced from YouTube

Kathie Lee made her thoughts known on Twitter. “Bittersweet news as my dear...

When Hoda Kotb announced she was leaving The Today Show, it shocked both her fans and colleagues. However, after people got over the initial shock, the questions moved to who would replace Hoda. She has been on the show for 17 years, so it will be strange to see the morning talk show without her face on the screen.

Here is what NBC has said about replacing the long-time talk show host when she leaves at the start of 2025.

Who Is Replacing Hoda Kotb On The Today Show?

Hoda Kotb announced on Thursday, September 26, that she was leaving The Today Show. She is not moving to another network or another show. Hoda is leaving because she wants to spend more time at home with her kids. However, Hoda leaving will leave a big vacancy on Today.

Hoda Kotb – Today

It looks like NBC already has its eyes on a replacement. “The...

“Separated,” from veteran documentarian Errol Morris (Oscar-winner for “The Fog of War”), is one of his best nonfiction forays, mostly because the filmmaker is angry and hits his points home. He’s showing us how cruel and inhumane the Trump administration was when they separated children and parents at the Mexican border in 2017 and 2018. Trump was forced to end the policy once it was brought to light by negative public opinion and the courts.

As disturbing as the film is, like too many worthy nonfiction films these days, “Separated” lacks a distributor. Because it’s based on NBC newshound Jacob Soboroff’s book “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” the movie was backed by NBC News. So you’d think streamer Peacock, or theatrical distributor Focus, might take it on. Not so fast.

It’s often a challenge to get an unfinished movie into a film festival, and Labor Day weekend...

Each day during the 2024 Venice Film Festival, IndieWire will update this article with a review of the day’s screenings, activities, and buzz.

Pardon me for kicking things off with an esoteric complaint, but as someone who often has to go to a premiere in order to take the audience’s reaction into consideration for a film’s awards prospects, my 2024 Venice Film Festival experience has been uniquely stressful.

While attendees book tickets to screenings through a website, as is the case with most of the major film festivals now, many of the big premieres at Venice aren’t listed for press and industry passholders, so I’ve spent a good percentage of my last two days asking anyone who would hear me if they had a connect to get into the first public screening of Pablo Larraín’s “Maria.”

I spent much of yesterday in a panic about getting...

Midway through “Separated,” celebrated documentarian Errol Morris’ new film about the Trump Administration’s policy of splitting up parents and children attempting to enter the U.S. via the southern border, ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt makes a key point when he talks about his legal challenge to the policy. The strategy, Gelernt tells Morris, was to stay away from inflammatory words like abuse and torture, however accurate they may have been.

“This is the worst thing I have ever seen in the immigration field,” says Gelernt. “It was better to just tell the stories of those children and let the facts speak for themselves.”

The strategy worked in the courtroom, but Morris himself doesn’t make use of it in “Separated,” which had its world premiere on Thursday at the Venice International Film Festival.

To be sure, Morris tells the story of those children, of their parents and of the...

Accepting his party’s nomination for president for a third time, Donald Trump addressed the Republican National Convention in July, returning to a familiar theme.

“We… have an illegal immigration crisis, and it’s taking place right now, as we sit here in this beautiful arena,” he told delegates. “It’s a massive invasion at our southern border that has spread misery, crime, poverty, disease and destruction to communities all across our land. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it.”

Related: Venice Film Festival 2024: All Of Deadline’s Movie Reviews

Never mind that ABC News fact checkers called his assertion false, writing, “There is no evidence of a major surge in crime caused by recent arrivals and Trump’s claims ignore the fact that crime is down across the country overall.” Never mind, either, that Trump tanked a bipartisan bill that would have addressed immigration reform. When you’ve...

If you go back to the earliest days of his career — Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida — Errol Morris’ great gift appeared to be giving voices to people on the margins of American society.

Morris’ interests have shifted or evolved somewhat since then. Sometimes he’s issue-driven and sometimes he’s determined to get under the skin of famous and notorious figures. There isn’t always a simmering rage driving his filmmaking — his last outing, The Pigeon Tunnel, was pretty close to hero worship. But it’s become more common than the curious empathy that fueled his first works.

The prolific director’s fury is at a full boil in his NBC News documentary Separated, which is now getting a fall festival showcase. Examining the border policy of family separations, Morris rips into the xenophobes who stealthily crafted it, the unqualified bureaucrats who set it in motion and the paranoid...

Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris (Fog of War) and acclaimed NBC journalist NBC’s Jacob Soboroff took aim at the immigration policies of the previous administration of Donald Trump in their press conference for Separation at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday.

Morris’ documentary adaptation of Soboroff’s book of the same name looks at the Trump administration’s mandate that ordered the separation of migrant families who crossed the Mexican border into the U.S. Before Trump ended the policy, some 5,500 families had been pulled apart. As depicted in dramatized sequences of the documentary, the hardship endured by the families was, frankly, inhuman, with children taken from their parents, and kept in detention cages. Some were infants.

“The idea that somehow you would hurt children as a matter of policy seemed unthinkable. It seemed just wrong, morally wrong,” Morris said, speaking at a press conference for Separation at the Venice Film Festival,...

Of all the policies implemented by the Trump administration, the most outrageous — at least to many critics — was Family Separation.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris, for one, doesn’t mince words in his assessment of it.

“The policy, when you really look at it square in the face, is appalling,” Morris tells Deadline. “Not a policy of deterrence, not a policy as some would argue of ‘just following the law,’ whatever that means. A policy of cruelty.”

Morris’s new documentary, Separated, premiering at the Venice Film Festival later today, investigates the Trump administration mandate that ordered the pulling apart of migrant families who crossed the Mexican border into the U.S. Parents were detained and sent for criminal prosecution; their children, taken from them, were detained separately, under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Some of the children were infants.

We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about The Bachelorette, Seal Team, Industry, the prolific Ryan Murphy and more!

1 | Just three episodes into this final season, is Seal Team dialogue feeling awfully repetitive? Jason and Mandy have had the same talk about three times so far; ditto Bravo vs. lone wolf Drew, and Sonny/Davis/the whole “discreet” thing. (What, can colleagues not talk to each other in a workplace hallway?) Also, is toasting “the new era of warfare” and talking about your...

We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about The Bachelorette, Seal Team, Industry, the prolific Ryan Murphy and more!

1 | Just three episodes into this final season, is Seal Team dialogue feeling awfully repetitive? Jason and Mandy have had the same talk about three times so far; ditto Bravo vs. lone wolf Drew, and Sonny/Davis/the whole “discreet” thing. (What, can colleagues not talk to each other in a workplace hallway?) Also, is toasting “the new era of warfare” and talking about your...

US sales, production and distribution outfit Submarine Entertainment has picked up Errol Morris’ feature documentary Separated for sales ahead of its world premiere at Venice Film Festival.

The film explores the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy which saw parents and children separated from each other at the Mexico-us border in 2018. It is adapted from Jacob Soboroff’s best-selling book Separated: An American Tragedy.

Separated is produced by NBC News Studios and Participant Media with Soboroff serving as executive producer.

“Any new Errol Morris film is an event and Errol is a legendary filmmaker with hardcore fans around the world,...

US sales, production and distribution outfit Submarine Entertainment has picked up Errol Morris’ feature documentary Separated for sales ahead of its world premiere at Venice Film Festival.

The film explores the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy which saw parents and children separated from each other at the Mexico-us border in 2018. It is adapted from Jacob Soboroff’s best-selling book Separated: An American Tragedy.

Separated is produced by NBC News Studios and Participant Media with Soboroff serving as executive producer.

“Any new Errol Morris film is an event and Errol is a legendary filmmaker with hardcore fans around the world,...

Hallie Jackson is taking NBC’s venerable “Nightly News” to Washington D.C. for one night each week.

The NBC News senior Washington correspondent has been named the new anchor of NBC’s Sunday evening-news broadcast, taking the reins from Kate Snow. The Sunday broadcast will originate from the nation’s capital. Jackson’s first official day at the desk will be April 7. NBC News informed staffers of the decision Wednesday.

“Hallie is an exceptional journalist and an extraordinary broadcaster, representing the very best of NBC News. She is a natural fit to anchor our flagship newscast on Sundays,” said Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News’ executive vice president of programming, in a statement.

Jackson will continue her duties leading “Hallie Jackson Now,” a two-hour early-evening program offered via the live-streaming outlet NBC News Now. NBC News expanded that program from an hour after taking note of viewer reaction. And she will...

Have you heard it’s cold in Des Moines? The subzero temperatures are making Monday’s caucuses in Iowa the coldest on record, a running theme of coverage throughout the day and into this evening. It’s not trivial, as the frigid weather may very well impact turnout.

As Iowa’s first votes of the 2024 presidential race come in, expect a lot of analysis, punditry and prediction, even if the results represent just a sliver of the primary electorate. The Hawkeye state’s primacy as the first-in-the-nation often obscures the peculiarities of the caucus system, unless there is some kind of glitch, which is what happened four years ago with the Democrats.

That said, networks see the caucuses as the kickoff of what is hoped a spike in viewer interest in the presidential contest, as was seen in 2020 and 2016. All of the broadcast networks are planning for ongoing coverage of...

Dolly Parton famously (twice!) declined an invitation to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump. It turns out she also rejected a similar overture from President Joe Biden.

The Today Show’s Jacob Soboroff recently interviewed Parton recently to promote her upcoming album Rockstar. While the singer didn’t discuss her decision not to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom on camera, Soborof told The Today Show colleagues that it stemmed from her desire not to be associated with any particular party. “I just don’t want even the appearance of being partisan in any way,” he recalled her saying.

Parton did discuss her distrust of the modern political system in general, however. After Soborof read an uncharacteristically biting lyric from Parton’s new song “World on Fire” (“Greedy politicians present and past/ They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ’em in the ass”), he asked...

As host of NBC’s public affairs program Meet the Press, Chuck Todd generally can’t stray far from D.C. But for part of this week, anway, he’s venturing to the other coast.

“We’re going to Hollywood,” Todd told viewers in a promo for the Meet the Press Film Festival at AFI Fest, a showcase of “the best issue-based documentary shorts that shed light on the most consequential issues of our time.”

“This is our fifth year. This is the first time we’re bringing it to L.A.,” Todd tells Deadline, “because basically we want to expand our aperture a little bit and let people know we’re doing this.”

The event is happening in-person today, with virtual screenings accessible online. Some of the top talent at NBC News is participating. According to a release, “NBC News correspondents and anchors, including Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Jacob Soboroff,...

NBC News’ Meet the Press Film Festival will move to Los Angeles this year and will be part of the AFI Fest next month.

The Nov. 11 event, a showcase for documentary shorts, will include in-person and online screenings. It’s previously taken place in Washington, D.C., where the network’s Meet the Press is based. On Nov. 11, NBC News Now will stream a special edition of Meet the Press Reports with a look at the films featured in the festival, the the program will be available on demand on Peacock.

Among those moderating the panels will be Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Jacob Soboroff, Shaq Brewster, Ali Vitali and Morgan Radford.

The line up this year will feature more than 15 documentary shorts, with themes including the search for belonging, America as a land of promises, defending democracy, the country’s racial past and the trauma of war. (The complete line...

As California’s gubernatorial recall election inches closer to an end, the hosts of “The View” are lamenting that yet another election is facing voter fraud claims. In fact, Republican guest host Mary Katharine Ham is worried about the long-term fallout.

On Monday, Larry Elder, the GOP hopeful striving to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom, refused to commit to accepting the results of the election when asked by MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff. Soboroff stated the question explicitly and repeatedly, saying “Whether or not you win or lose, will you accept the results of the election?”

“I think we all ought to be looking at election integrity. No matter whether you’re a Democrat, independent or a Republican,” Elder replied, also repeatedly. “Let’s all make sure that the election is a fair election. So let’s all work together, no matter what the results are, to make sure that the results are valid and legitimate.

Lester Holt will anchor NBC Nightly News on Monday from Houston as the network covers the climate crisis with a series of reports throughout the week, dubbed “climate challenge.”

Holt will interview Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in the wake of the brutal storms and deep freeze the paralyzed parts of the city earlier this year. He’ll also speak to a local family whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey and suffered during the deep freeze in February.

Other highlights: Al Roker will interview Epa administrator Michael Regan for Today on Monday and, on Earth Day April 22, NBC News Now’s Meet the Press Reports will focus on the broken water infrastructure system. Steve Patterson, Vicky Nguyen, Sarah Harman, Josh Lederman, Richard Engel, Hallie Jackson, Jacob Soboroff, Jacob Ward, Denise Chow, Andrew McCormick, Safia Ali and Savannah Sellers.

The reports will air on MSNBC, NBCNews.com and NBC News Now.

Joe Biden is facing the media in his first press conference as President of the United States on Thursday, with the remarks set to begin at 1:15 p.m. Et/10:15 a.m. Pt — meaning the broadcast networks will be breaking in to their regularly scheduled lineups to cover it. Below is a guide on how to watch the event.

Donald Trump was 27 days into his presidency when he held his first press conference. Barack Obama did so at just 20 days. George W. Bush waited 33 days before taking questions in a formally. For Biden, it’s been more than two months, prompting ongoing questions about the delay.

The president has plenty to discuss. He surely will seek to play up the fulfillment of his pledge to administer 100 million doses of vaccine in his first 100 days, which he accomplished 42 days early. Then there is the massive $1.9 trillion relief package he signed...

Joe Biden’s administration is preparing to allow for media access to border facilities and will release details in the coming days, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, amid criticism over the ability of reporters and photographers to gain entry to facilities housing a surge in migrant children.

“First of all, we are working to finalize details, and I hope to have an update in the coming days,” Psaki told reporters at the White House press briefing. “We are working through with the Department of Health and Human Services, and also the Department of Homeland Security to ensure privacy and to ensure that we are following Covid protocols. We remain committed to transparency, and of course as I noted last week, we certainly want to make sure the media has access to this sites.”

The issue of media access has drawn attention from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Updated with reactions: Al Roker of NBC’s Today said that he will have surgery next week after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“It’s a good news-bad news kind of thing,” Roker said on Today on Friday. “Good news is we caught it early. Not great news is that it’s a little aggressive, so I’m going to be taking some time off to take care of this.”

Watch him make the announcement and talk about his diagnosis above.

Roker said that the surgery will be to have his prostate removed. He said that he went public with his diagnosis to raise awareness of the risk for men and the need for them to be checked.

The doctor who will perform the surgery, Vincent Laudone, said on the show that “fortunately his cancer appears somewhat limited or confined to the prostate, but because it’s more aggressive,...

NBC News’ Al Roker revealed Friday he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“After a routine check-up in September, turns out I have prostate cancer. It’s a good news-bad news kind of thing. The good news is we caught it early. Not great news is that it’s a little aggressive so I’m going to be taking some time off to take care of this,” the longtime meteorologist said on “Today” Friday.

He will have surgery next week to remove his prostate.

Roker said he wanted to “go public” with his diagnosis because the disease is treatable and “we can all learn together how to educate and protect the men in our lives.”

Roker said prostate cancer is more common than people realize.

“One in nine men are going to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime,” he told his colleagues and viewers. “But for African-American men,...

Joe Biden urged patience during the ongoing vote count that will decide the 2020 presidential race, amid concerns over unrest when a winner ultimately is called.

“Democracy is sometimes messy, so sometimes it requires a little patience,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, De. “But that patience has been rewarded now for more than 240 years with a system of governance that has been the envy of the world.”

There have been some protests in cities across the country, including pro-Trump supporters who chanted “count the votes” outside a Maricopa County, Az vote counting facility on Wednesday. That was the opposite message of pro-Trump protesters in Michigan, where earlier in the day they chanted “stop the count” at a ballot tabulation center in Detroit.

Biden said in his remarks that the campaign continues to “feel very good about where things stand. And we have no doubt that when the count is finished, Senator...

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix has announced the premiere date for “Social Distance,” and Showtime has revealed the premiere date for “Moonbase 8.”

Renewals

Shaftesbury announced “Departure” has been renewed for a second season and started production in Toronto, ahead of the first season launching on Peacock in the U.S. Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer will return to lead the show, joined by Kris Holden-Ried, Mark Rendall, Jason O’Mara, Karen Leblanc, Kelly McCormack, Wendy Crewson, Dion Johnstone and Donal Logue. The show is co-produced by Shaftesbury and Deadpan Pictures in association with Corus Entertainment, Starlings Television and Red Arrow Studios International.

Dates

Showtime announced “Moonbase 8,” starring Tim Heidecker and John C. Reilly, will premiere Nov. 8 at 11 p.m. The sci-fi comedy follows astronauts who train to qualify for their first lunar mission. But their plans change when a series of events forces the astronauts to question their mental sanity.

NBC News is winding down Peacock Productions, an in-house unscripted production unit that has had a hand over the years in everything from true-crime serials to one of daredevil Nik Wallenda’s high-wire walks.

“NBC News is shuttering Peacock Productions, effective March 2. NBC News is shifting its documentary strategy to an entirely new model, consistent with industry trends, and unfortunately the existing operation is no longer viable,” NBC News said in a statement provided to Variety. “We are working with affected employees to help find positions around NBC Universal.”

Approximately 32 people who work for Peacock Productions or MSNBC’s long-form unit will be affected, according to a person familiar with the matter. The staffers were notified Friday.

Some of the employees may find new roles in other NBC News businesses, this person says, including NBC News Now, the unit’s live-streaming operation, or two daily newscasts that NBC News has agreed to produce for Quibi,...

During a presidency in which Ice raids are the largest they have been in a decade (one from August resulted in almost 700 arrests), television writers are fighting back by telling more specific immigration stories in their series.

During the Television Academy’s “Immigration on Television: Stories From America” panel held Tuesday in Los Angeles, Calif., “Bob Hearts Abishola” actor, producer and writer Gina Yashere expressed her feeling that the Trump administration’s polarizing stance on immigration has actually “helped with television.

“Because of the horrible rhetoric that is coming out of what is supposed to be the highest office in the land, that has made people much more open to other stories now. The Trump thing has been horrible, but it has also been great in that way,” she said.

Yashere joined Melinna Bobadilla (“Orange is the New Black”), “The Conners” showrunner and executive producer Bruce Helford, “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Superstore” actor Nico Santos,...

Meet the Press and the American Film Institute are staging their annual film festival in Washington on Sunday and Monday, a showcase of documentary shorts touching on issues like climate change, education, and immigration.

But it is taking place as D.C.’s attention, quite obviously, is riveted on something else: the impeachment inquiry and President Donald Trump’s response to it, a fast-moving crisis that is dominating just about every moment on the news channels.

On Thursday, after Trump publicly urged Ukraine and China to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, Chuck Todd opened Meet the Press Daily by telling viewers that “a national nightmare is upon us,” and that the “basic rules of democracy are under attack from the President.”

Todd said that this type of moment, with an all-dominant story consuming media attention, is “the exact reason” why a film festival makes so much sense for the Meet the Press brand.