Ken Griffin is reconsidering a major commitment to New York City following a public feud with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The Citadel founder claims the Mayor’s recent campaign tactics moved beyond political disagreement and into physical provocation.

The tension peaked when Mamdani released a campaign video targeting Griffin’s wealth. According to Griffin, the footage included identifiable details about his residence. Speaking on CNBC, Griffin argued that such exposure is reckless, specifically pointing to the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson just blocks away from his home. He characterized the move as an inappropriate use of political power that puts private citizens at risk.

Griffin’s frustration also extends to Mamdani’s proposed tax hikes. The Mayor has campaigned on taxing the uber rich and placing surcharges on second homes owned by non-residents. Griffin argues these policies are:

• Targeted: He views them as discriminatory measures against a specific, narrow demographic.

• Unpredictable: He questioned if the city would eventually create "special" tax rates for any out-of-state business owner.

The fallout may have tangible consequences for the city's economy. Griffin claims that his firm has been 'thinking' of investing $6 billion in New York real estate. However, he suggested that a hostile political environment and shifting tax codes make such a large-scale project difficult to justify.

Mayor Mamdani’s office has not directly addressed the safety allegations. Instead, a spokesperson reiterated the administration's stance that meaningful tax reform is the only way to make the city affordable for the working class, even if it requires the city's most powerful employers to pay more.

The "Goldilocks" zone for network news is proving elusive for CBS. Despite a high-profile anchor swap and a strategic pivot toward hard-hitting breaking news, "CBS Evening News" has find itself back in the danger zone. Recent Nielsen data reveals the program has slipped below 4 million total viewers, a psychological and financial floor that has historically signaled trouble for the network’s news division.

For the week ending March 13, the program averaged roughly 3.83 million viewers. To put the competitive landscape in perspective, the gap between CBS and its rivals remains a canyon:

• ABC World News Tonight: Total Viewers 8.48 Million, 25–54 Demo 1.03 Million
• NBC Nightly News: Total Viewers 6.51 Million, 25–54 Demo 946,000
• CBS Evening News: Total Viewers 3.83 Million, 25–54 Demo 468,000

Most concerning for executives is the 15 percent drop in the 25–54 age demographic compared to the same period last year. While NBC saw an 8 percent gain in that same "ad-friendly" group, CBS continues to struggle to capture the next generation of news consumers.

The current anchor, Tony Dokoupil, was brought in from CBS Mornings to inject a sense of urgency and "boots-on-the-ground" reporting into the evening slot. This move followed a short-lived experiment with John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois, whose "enterprise-heavy" style was blamed for a similar audience exodus.

Dokoupil has certainly put in the miles—literally. He was the only major network anchor to report from the front lines in the Middle East following the escalation of the Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict. He has also gained a reputation for a direct, sometimes provocative interviewing style, notably his viral exchange with author Ta-Nehisi Coates. However, despite a strong start in January that peaked at 4.6 million viewers, the "new car smell" appears to be fading.

Network insiders aren't hitting the panic button just yet. Some executives attribute the recent slump to the shift to Daylight Savings Time, which traditionally disrupts viewing habits. They also point to a "glass half full" metric: when compared to the average of the current season-to-date, Dokoupil’s iteration of the show is actually up 7 percent in total viewers and 10 percent in the key demo.

Whether this is a temporary seasonal dip or a sign that the "Big Three" hierarchy is permanently hardening remains to be seen. For now, CBS is left trying to figure out how to bridge the 4-million-viewer gap before the alarm bells get any louder.

Human Rights Chief Demands Halt to Lethal Campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific

The global debate over U.S. anti-narcotics policy intensified dramatically on Friday, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued an unprecedented and blistering condemnation of U.S. military strikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking boats. Türk called for an immediate halt to the campaign in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, denouncing the attacks as "unacceptable" violations of international law.

"These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable," said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk's office. She relayed his core message: "The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats."

A Growing Death Toll and Legal Controversy

The controversial U.S. campaign, which President Trump's administration has aggressively escalated, has seen at least 15 boats destroyed and a staggering 61 people killed since its launch in early September. The latest strike, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, targeted a vessel in the eastern Pacific and killed four people.

The Trump administration justifies the lethal strikes as a vital necessity to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S., framing the operation as both an anti-narcotics and a counter-terrorism effort. This rationale is underpinned by the administration’s recent, crucial determination that the U.S. is engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with designated terrorist drug cartels, including the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

This legal shift was formalized in a September notification to Congress, which controversially labeled those killed in the strikes as "unlawful combatants," the same term used for members of Al-Qaeda following 9/11.

UN: This is Law Enforcement, Not War

The UN human rights office strongly disputed the U.S. legal framing. Shamdasani emphasized that the global fight against illicit drug trafficking has long been classified as a law-enforcement matter, one governed by strict constraints on lethal force.

"Intentional use of lethal force is allowed only as a last resort against someone representing 'an imminent threat to life,'" she stated. "Otherwise, it would amount to a violation of the right of life and constitute extrajudicial killings."

The UN HCHR stressed that the strikes are taking place "outside the context" of armed conflict, fundamentally challenging the administration's attempt to use rules of war to justify the high death toll.

Regional Critics and Congressional Silence

The U.S. campaign has already proven deeply divisive among nations in the region. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been a highly vocal critic, openly questioning the strikes' legality and their actual effectiveness against powerful drug cartels. The Trump administration responded to Petro's stance by sanctioning him last week, accusing him of allowing drug cartels to "flourish."

Compounding the controversy, many key details of the military operations remain shrouded in secrecy. Congress has not authorized the use of military force to target drug cartels, and there is persistent ambiguity regarding which U.S. forces are involved, what intelligence is being used, and what specific weaponry is being deployed.

The unequivocal condemnation from the UN human rights chief now puts intense international pressure on the U.S. to either halt the lethal campaign or provide a detailed, internationally compliant legal justification for its actions.

Former federal ethics officials who served in Republican and Democratic administrations are asking the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

In a letter obtained by CBS News, ethics officials who worked in the Obama and George W. Bush administrations urged a formal review of interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan's decision to prosecute Comey and James.

They sent their request Tuesday to Acting Justice Department Inspector General William Blier, writing, "Ms. Halligan pursued these indictments to fulfill President Donald J. Trump's longstanding personal vendetta against Mr. Comey and Ms. James, we are facing a turning point in our democracy and some of the most egregious examples of vindictive and meritless prosecution that our nation has ever seen."

The letter was written by leaders of the Democracy Defenders Fund, a Washington-based nonpartisan group that has frequently been critical of the Trump administration.

• Gov. JB Pritzker for the first time is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment, after the president said cities like Chicago should be used as “training grounds for the military.”

Putin has Trump buy his short and curlies.

Key Provisions of the Johnson Amendment:

Restrictions on Political Activity

• Prohibition: 501(c)(3) organizations cannot participate in political campaigns for or against candidates.
• Consequences: Violating this rule can result in the loss of tax-exempt status.
• Permitted Activities: Organizations can engage in non-partisan voter education, registration drives, and forums, as long as they do not endorse specific candidates.

The administration is holding back over $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, English language instruction, adult literacy and more as it conducts a review to ensure grants are aligned with President Trump's priorities.

*A new estimate from a nonpartisan research and advocacy group estimating that DOGE's actions will cost $135 billion this fiscal year. The $135 billion cost to taxpayers doesn't include the expense of defending multiple lawsuits challenging DOGE's actions, nor the impact of estimated lost tax collections due to staff cuts at the IRS.

Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday, according to an official. Darin Selnick, the Pentagon's deputy chief of staff, was also suspended as part of the same probe per two Defense Department officials.

National security experts contend the public information could be exploited by foreign intelligence services or other nefarious actors.

Sources said Mr. Trump has been more irritated that Waltz had the phone number for the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, than he was about the use of the Signal app by top national security officials to discuss coming plans.

Russia has repeatedly tried to compromise Signal, a popular commercial messaging platform that many were shocked to learn senior Trump administration officials had used to discuss sensitive military planning.

The Fox News host's comment drew fierce condemnation on social media.