Republican US senators knock FCC chair for threatening Disney over Kimmel

Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from the United States, criticized the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr for making threats against Disney and local broadcasters for Jimmy Kimmel Live.

After Carr threatened investigations and judicial action against licensed broadcasters, the US television network ABC, which is owned by Disney, suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

Carr’s threat was directed at broadcasters who had followed Kimmel’s remarks on the host’s September 15 show about Republicans stepping up against the alleged shooter behind the alleged murder of conservative icon Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, on September 10.

Owners of dozens of ABC-affiliated local TV stations announced they would no longer air Kimmel’s show after he made those remarks live.

Carr had “no business weighing in on this,” Paul Paul claimed on NBC’s Meet the Press program on Sunday. He claimed that while making offensive comments, employees could be fired, the government shouldn’t put pressure on businesses.

There is no business in the government, the government claims. And it was incorrect to comment. And I’ll oppose any government-related attempts to interfere with speech,” Paul said.

Republican chairman Ted Cruz of the US Senate Commerce Committee said Carr’s threat to fine broadcasters or revoke their licenses on the content of their shows was risky.

Cruz reacted with a quote that came straight out of “Goodfellas,” which invoked the Martin Scorsese gangster film. “Nice bar you have here, Mafioso, right out of a Mafioso entering one,” the statement reads. It would be unfortunate if something did to it. “

Republican Senator Todd Young praised Cruz’s remarks on the subject on Monday. We as Americans must respect and preserve free speech, Young wrote on X.

Republican Senator Dave McCormick said on X that he concurred with Cruz’s concerns late on Friday.

“Good riddance to Jimmy Kimmel and his offensive rhetoric,” Ted also raises significant questions about the FCC chairman’s remarks, McCormick said.

Carr’s resignation has been accompanied by calls for an inspector general’s investigation and hearings from the electorate’s Democratic leaders.

Carr’s comments were described as “dangerous as hell,” according to Cruz, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

On Sunday, Carr did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Carr’s comments were supported by US President Donald Trump, who was appointed Carr. Trump told The Sunday Briefing on Fox News that “he has done nothing that goes against the grain.”

Kimmel’s support is also shown by celebrities.

In response to Kimmel’s suspension, hundreds of Hollywood and Broadway stars, including Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Hanks, and Meryl Streep, pleaded with Americans to “fight for and defend our constitutionally protected rights.”

More than 430 actors, comedians, directors, and writers from the film, television, and stage industries signed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday, claiming it was “a dark moment for freedom of speech in our country.”

We all love our country, the letter declares, regardless of our political affiliation or whether or not we are politically active. We also hold the view that those in power should never let their voices down, because it happens to everyone.

Noah Wyle, the newly crowned Emmy winner, Florence Pugh, the comedian David Cross, Kelli O’Hara, the Tony winner, and Molly Ringwald, the veteran actor, make up the signatories. Additionally, Kevin Bacon, Kerry Washington, Billy Crystal, and Pedro Pascal all signed.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka – Asia Cup: Match time, Super Fours table, teams

Who: Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan
What: T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours
When: Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30pm (14:30 GMT)
Where: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 11:00 GMT ahead of our comprehensive text commentary stream of the match.

In their T20 Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours match, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are aware that a defeat in Abu Dhabi could put their place in danger.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

Both former champions will have a chance to resurrect their campaign for the final after losing their opening matches in the second round of the regional competition.

The top two teams from the Super Fours’ round-robin tournament will advance to the Sunday final in Dubai.

After their respective victories against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, the other Super Fours teams, each have two points.

In a close-fought match on Saturday, the Tigers took six wickets, while India took the other eight against Pakistan on Sunday, giving them a second defeat.

The team of Charith Asalanka, who won their last five T20 international (T20I), will start as favorites to face Pakistan, who they have defeated in Group B.

After two devastating defeats to archrivals India, Pakistan will have a chance to rekindle some pride in the match.

Watch out for Pakistan.

    Fakhar Zaman, the veteran batter, returned to the team after a protracted, forceful layoff. Zaman is known to demoralize opposition bowlers once he gets in the flow, even though he hasn’t consistently posted high scores. The longer the opener spends in the crease, the better chance Pakistan has of posting a big target or chasing one down.

  • Abrar Ahmed, who has only managed four wickets in his four Asia Cup games thus far, has been Pakistan’s most economical bowler. Abrar is a key member of Pakistan’s lineup because of his often tight spells that make the opposing batters attack the other bowlers and lose wickets at the opposing end.

Watch out for Sri Lankan players.

    Pathum Nissanka, the opener for Sri Lanka, has been putting together an exceptional run of form, scoring at least 30 runs in 16 of his last 25 T20I starts with a 124 strike rate. Nissanka leads India in the Asia Cup 2025 with 146 runs in four games, 27 runs behind Abhishek Sharma, an outstanding batter.

  • Wanindu Hasaranga: Despite suffering numerous injuries, Hasaranga’s position on the Sri Lankan team has suffered. At a rate of under six, he has taken five wickets in five Asia Cup 2025 games. Hasaranga has 14 wickets and 61 runs scored in his five matches against the 2012 Asian champions, which he enjoys playing against.

Super Fours points table and qualifying scenario

India leads the Super Fours table with two points and a net run rate (NRR) of 0. 689, followed by Bangladesh, which has a NRR of 0. 121 but fewer points.

The losing team must win their previous game by a significant margin and rely on their NRR to determine their position, and the winner of Tuesday’s match could rank anywhere between first and third.

In T20Is, Pakistan and Sri Lanka square off.

The Lions have consistently been the dominant team in the T20I format over the past six years, despite Sri Lanka’s overall dominance.

Sri Lanka has lost to Pakistan 13 out of 23 T20I matches, but it was in 2019.

Formal instructions for Pakistan

In the T20 Asia Cup, Pakistan has won both matches against defending champions India and lower-ranked teams Oman and the UAE.

It’s always difficult to predict which Pakistani team will arrive on match day, whether it be hot or cold.

L W L W W W (most recently first): the final five results

Formal manual: Sri Lanka

Prior to the Super Fours loss to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka defeated all three of their Group B rivals, but they did have a few inconsistent T20I results in 2025. In their bilateral series, they defeated Zimbabwe 2-1, but they also lost to Bangladesh 2-1 a few weeks later.

L W W W W W W W (most recently first): the final five results

Pakistan team news

Over the course of the tournament, Pakistan have, as you can imagine, changed their XIs a few times, but not all of them have paid off.

Hussain Talat, the player in his place, was criticized for not improving Nawaz’s performances in the match against India on Sunday.

Salman Agha’s team has also switched to using pace bowlers and two spinners.

Sri Lanka could be played back by Nawaz and Sufiyan Muqeem.

Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Hasan Nawaz/Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi/Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem,

Sri Lanka team news

Given his low strike rate and recent 3 games, lower-order batter Kamil Mishara’s place in the starting lineup will be under scrutiny. On Tuesday, Jinah Liyanage might take over from Mishara.

China plans evacuations as Typhoon Ragasa barrels through Philippines

The terrifying spectre of an internet shutdown in Afghanistan

Afghans used to call their relatives outside of Pakistan whenever they needed to call them as children. We are actually in a position to be forced to use the internet in a neighboring country today.

In a move that may affect the entire nation, Kandahar, Helmand, and Balkh were among the provinces that suspended fibre-optic internet services last week. If the Taliban leadership doesn’t change its course, Afghanistan could be cut off from the rest of the world.

We might not be able to connect to the internet, so you might soon be unable to read my stories or those of millions of Afghans. The nation would experience total silence.

Haji Zaid, a spokesperson for the Balkh provincial government, claimed on X that Haibatullah Akhunzada’s direct order to stop “vice” was behind the suspension of fiber-optic internet in Balkh province.

However, many people disagreed with his post, arguing that a legitimate alternative was required before this policy could be put into effect.

Afghan citizens would experience a number of adverse effects if internet access was blocked nationwide. The banking and business systems would immediately be affected. Without them, there would be no opportunities for online education and scholarships. Online workers would lose their jobs in a number of national and international organizations, NGOs, and e-government services. There would be no communication with the outside world.

My family would also suffer. I’ve been struggling with unemployment for a while, and I’ve discovered on the internet various ways to make money, including starting a YouTube channel to show off some of my country’s beautiful regions. Importantly, we would struggle to communicate with our extended family who currently reside abroad and whom we are unlikely to see for many years if it weren’t for a strong internet connection.

Afghanistan would be marginalized at the global level if the internet was shut down. It would be similar to imposing a self-imposed embargo on Afghanistan, which would have a negative impact on many public spaces, particularly the country’s already struggling economy.

Afghanistan should follow China’s example instead of going this far. The second-largest economy in the world, China, is credited with its economic growth being a result of Deng Xiaoping’s 1978 policy of opening up and reform. With this strategy, China gained a reputation as a major manufacturer.

Beijing’s authorities recognized risks when internet use expanded throughout the nation in the 2000s. However, they instead invested in developing home-grown internet filters and infrastructure rather than preventing their nation from being connected to the rest of the world and reversing the policy of openness. Without having to largely shut off China’s 1.4 billion citizens from the rest of the world, risky internet content is then removed.

Citizens in Afghanistan are already preventing them from accessing immoral content because it is already censored. There is undoubtedly a technological remedy to improve the effectiveness of these filters if the government is concerned about their failure. Additionally, it should be acknowledged that blocking access to the internet for everyone won’t stop “immorality” in real life.

This won’t work either if the policy’s goal is to pressure the international community into accepting it officially. Instead of effectively influencing other nations to change their position on Afghanistan, it would simply harm the Afghan people.

Nowadays, the internet is a basic requirement, just like food and water. Being cut off from the rest of the world in the era of technological advancements and AI, living the life of my forefathers after 20 years as a citizen seems frightening to me.

I’ve had to check my internet connection frequently as I write this article because I was concerned that I’d lose access before I could send it. I’m apprehensive about living in a world where radio was the only way to learn about what was happening in both Afghanistan and the rest of the world.

We want the world to hear our stories and stand with us when times are difficult, and we want them to. No one’s interests are served by a marginalized, disengaged, and poverty-stricken Afghanistan. Afghans want to remain connected to the global community and interact with other countries without being forced to live in complete isolation.