An internal CBS News battle over a “60 Minutes” story critical of the Trump administration has exploded publicly, with a correspondent charging it was kept off the air for political reasons and news chief Bari Weiss saying Monday the story did not “advance the ball.”

Two hours before airtime Sunday, CBS announced that the story where correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi spoke to deportees who had been sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prisonwould not be a part of the show. Weiss, the Free Press founder named CBS News editor-in-chief in October, said it was her decision.

The dispute puts one of journalism’s most respected brands — and a frequent target of President Donald Trump — back in the spotlight and amplifies questions about whether Weiss’ appointment was a signal that CBS News was headed in a more Trump-friendly direction.

Alfonsi, in an email sent to fellow “60 Minutes” correspondents said the story was factually correct and had been cleared by CBS lawyers and its standards division. But the Trump administration had refused to comment for the story, and Weiss wanted a greater effort made to get their point of view.

“In my view, pulling it now after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one,” Alfonsi wrote in the email. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Alfonsi said in the email that interviews were sought with or questions directed to — sometimes both — the White House, State Department and Department of Homeland Security.

“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi wrote. “Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient.”

“Spike” is a journalist’s term for killing a story. But Weiss, in a statement, said that she looked forward to airing Alfonsi’s piece “when it’s ready.”

Speaking Monday at the daily CBS News internal editorial call, Weiss was clearly angered by Alfonsi’s memo. A transcript of Weiss’ message was provided by CBS News.

“The only newsroom I’m interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues,” Weiss said. “Anything else is completely unacceptable.”

She said that while Alfonsi’s story presented powerful testimony about torture at the CECOT prison, The New York Times and other outlets had already done similar work. “To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more,” she said. “And this is ‘60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera.”

It wasn’t clear whether Weiss’ involvement in seeking administration comment was sought. She reportedly helped the newscast arrange interviews with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff this past fall to discuss Trump’s Middle East peace efforts. Trump himself was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell on a “60 Minutes” telecast that aired on Nov. 2.

Trump has been sharply critical of “60 Minutes.” He refused to grant the show an interview prior to last fall’s election, then sued the network over how it handled an interview with election opponent Kamala Harris. CBS’ parent Paramount Global agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying Trump $16 million this past summer. More recently, Trump angrily reacted to correspondent Lesley Stahl’s interview with Trump former ally turned critic Marjorie Taylor Greene.

“60 Minutes” was notably tough on Trump during the first months of his second term, particularly in stories done by correspondent Scott Pelley. In accepting an award from USC Annenberg earlier this month for his journalism, Pelley noted that the stories were aired last spring “with an absolute minimum of interference.”

Pelley said that people at “60 Minutes” were concerned about what new ownership installed at Paramount this summer would mean for the broadcast. “It’s early yet, but what I can tell you is we are doing the same kinds of stories with the same kind of rigor, and we have experienced no corporate interference of any kind,” Pelley said then, according to deadline.com.

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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Inside a storage room at the Clark County Health Department are boxes with taped-on signs reading, “DO NOT USE.” They contain cookers and sterile water that people use to shoot up drugs.

The supplies, which came from the state and were paid for with federal money, were for a program where drug users exchange dirty needles for clean ones, part of a strategy known as harm reduction. But under a July executive order from President Donald Trumpfederal substance abuse grants can’t pay for supplies such as cookers and tourniquets that it says “only facilitate illegal drug use.” Needles already couldn’t be purchased with federal money.

In some places, the order is galvanizing support for syringe exchange programs, which decades of research show are extremely effective at preventing disease among intravenous drug users and getting them into treatment.

In others, it’s fueling opposition that threatens the programs’ existence.

Republican-led Indiana passed a law allowing exchanges a decade ago after the tiny city of Austin became the epicenter of the worst drug-fueled HIV outbreak in U.S. history. Unless lawmakers extend it, that law is scheduled to sunset next year, and the number of exchanges has been dwindling. State officials told remaining programs to comply with Trump’s order — and even to discard federally funded supplies such as cookers and tourniquets.

For now, Clark County health workers have found a way to keep distributing cookers and other items: buy them with private money and package them in “mystery bags,” assembled by employees who aren’t paid with state or federal funds.

Democratic-led California, meanwhile, has continued using state funds for supplies such as pipes and syringes. California is home to a rising number of exchanges, with 70 of the more than 580 listed by the North American Syringe Exchange Network.

Some public health experts lament that syringe services programs have become subject to growing politicization and dissent.

Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel says IV drug users will likely inject themselves with or without clean supplies. Exchanges prevent people from sharing needles and spreading disease, he said, “decreasing the public health risk for the whole population.”

But Curtis Hill, a Republican former Indiana attorney generalis among critics who raise the same concern Trump’s order does: “We don’t want to get into a situation where we’re promoting drug use.”

Help without judgment

When participants arrive at the Clark County health department, they look down at a list of services and say they are there for “No. 1.”

They choose from a cart with needles, bandages, sharps containers and the overdose reversal drug naloxone. They can receive testing for HIV and hepatitis C; information on drug treatment; and fliers on food banks, housing, and job placement. There are even handmade knit hats with encouraging notes like, “You’ve got this!”

“We spend a half hour, 45 minutes or so talking to them about where they are, if they want treatment, if they’re ready,” Program Director Dorothy Waterhouse said. “These are our brothers, our sisters, our mothers, our fathers. … We need compassion to make sure they’re getting into treatment.”

It’s the closest exchange to Austin, a 35-minute drive away. Scott County, where Austin is located, already ended its program.

Joshua Gay lived in an apartment across the street when he used the Clark County exchange. He shot up meth daily.

“The addiction, it took away everything. It took away my life. It took away my job, took away my health. I mean, it made my mind so bad that I wouldn’t even shower,” said the 44-year-old, who now lives in Austin. “God was telling me, ‘You need to do something,’ and he led me to the needle exchange.”

He’s sober today. He sought drug treatment at LifeSpring Health Systems after encouragement from health workers and now encourages others in recovery to stay healthy.

He believes the syringe exchange not only saved him, but helped him save someone else, providing the naloxone he used to revive a friend who overdosed on heroin.

Keeping the program going

After Trump’s order — which focused on homelessness — Indiana health officials told exchanges that certain items they provided were now off-limits, citing a letter from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Although Clark County workers have found ways to provide privately funded items for now, they worry about Indiana’s exchange law expiring on July 1. Six counties have exchanges — down from nine in 2020 — despite the programs’ successes.

Statewide, exchanges have made more than 27,000 referrals to drug treatment and provided naloxone that reversed nearly 25,000 overdoses, according to information collected by the nonprofit Damien Center in Indianapolis.

Since its 2017 start, Clark County’s program alone has given out more than 2,000 doses of naloxone; made more than 4,300 referrals to drug treatment; and made more than 4,400 referrals for HIV or hepatitis C testing. Its syringe return rate is 92%.

Local and national public health and addiction experts point to research showing exchanges don’t increase syringe litter, crime or IV drug use — and that every dollar invested returns an estimated $7 in avoided health care costs.

Exchanges are associated with an estimated 50% reduction in the incidence of HIV and hepatitis C, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last year. Scott County — where the HIV outbreak ultimately sickened 235 people — had fewer than five new cases a year in 2020 and 2021, just before that syringe program ended. The numbers have stayed low.

“When these programs first started, I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t get it,” Yazel said. “And then I took a deep dive and started to understand the impact.”

Elsewhere, a mix of support and opposition

Indiana is among 43 states with syringe services programs, according to health care research nonprofit KFF.

Support remains strong in many places. This year in Hawaii, for example, legislators passed a law allowing people to get as many clean needles as needed rather than only one for one.

But bills elsewhere, including two introduced in West Virginia this year, propose eliminating syringe programs.

This month, West Virginia’s Cabell-Huntington Health Department stopped giving out needles. Naloxone and fentanyl test strips remain available, along with services such as education, disease testing and links to care.

“The folks who come in to see us are going to get the same smiles and the same hugs,” said Health Officer Dr. Michael Kilkenny. “We’re just not going to be dispensing syringes or the other things that are in disfavor.”

Andrew Nixon, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stressed in an email that federal funds can still be used for “life-saving services” like education and naloxone, reflecting a “commitment to addressing the addiction and overdose crisis impacting communities across our nation.”

A murky future

Yazel expects a difficult path ahead in Indiana.

“To be very blunt,” he said, “we have an uphill battle coming up this legislative session.”

Damien Center CEO Alan Witchey, whose organization runs a syringe program, said he and a group of advocates created a website with information and a way to contact lawmakers. They’ve met with elected officials, and a state senator introduced a bill to extend the sunset date to 2036.

“Without these programs, there will be one less tool to address the diseases of substance use disorder, hepatitis C and HIV,” Witchey said. “And that could lead to a very dangerous place for us. We have seen where this leads.”

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Rapper Nicki Minaj on Sunday made a surprise appearance at a gathering of conservatives in Arizona that was memorializing late activist Charlie Kirkand used her time on stage to praise President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vancecalling them “role models” for young men.

The rap star was interviewed at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention by Erika Kirkthe widow of Charlie Kirk, about her newly found support for Trump — someone she had condemned in the past — and about her actions denouncing violence against Christians in Nigeria.

The Grammy-nominated rapper’s recent alignment with the Make America Great Again movement has caught some interest because of her past criticism of Trump even when the artist’s own political ideology had been difficult to pin down. But her appearance Sunday at the flagship event for the powerful conservative youth organization may shore up her status as a MAGA acolyte.

Minaj mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsomreferring to him as New-scum, a nickname Trump gave him. Newsom, a Democrat, has 2028 prospects. Minaj expressed admiration for the Republican president and Vance, who received an endorsement from Erika Kirk despite the fact he has not said whether he will run for president. Kirk took over as leader of Turning Point.

“This administration is full of people with heart and soul, and they make me proud of them. Our vice president, he makes me … well, I love both of them,” Minaj said. “Both of them have a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.”

Minaj’s appearance included an awkward moment when, in an attempt to praise Vance’s political skills, she described him as an “assassin.”

She paused, seemingly regretting her word choice, and after Kirk appeared to wipe a tear from one of her eyes, the artist put her hand over her mouth while the crowd murmured.

“If the internet wants to clip it, who cares? I love this woman,” said Erika Kirk, who became a widow when Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September.

Last month, the rapper shared a message posted by Trump on his Truth Social network about potential actions to sanction Nigeria saying the government is failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the West African country. Experts and residents say the violence that has long plagued Nigeria isn’t so simply explained.

“Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God,” Minaj shared on X. She was then invited to speak at a panel at the U.S. mission to the United Nations along with U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz and faith leaders.

Minaj said she was tired of being “pushed around,” and she said that speaking your mind with different ideas is controversial because “people are no longer using their minds.” Kirk thanked Minaj for being “courageous,” despite the backlash she is receiving from the entertainment industry for expressing support for Trump.

“I didn’t notice,” Minaj said. “We don’t even think about them.” Kirk then said “we don’t have time to. We’re too busy building, right?”

“We’re the cool kids,” Minaj said.

The Trinidadian-born rapper is best known for her hits “Super Freaky Girl,” “Anaconda” and “Starships.” She has been nominated for 12 Grammy Awards over the course of her career.

In 2018, Minaj was one of several celebrities condemning Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy that split more than 5,000 children from their families at the Mexico border. Back then, she shared her own story of arriving to the country at 5 years old, describing herself as an “illegal immigrant.”

“This is so scary to me. Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now?” she posted then on Instagram.

On Sunday on stage with Erika Kirk, Minaj said, “it’s OK to change your mind.”