By DAVID BAUDER

CBS says its decision to end Stephen Colbert’s late-night comedy show is financial, not political. Yet even with the ample skepticism about that explanation, there’s no denying the economics were not working in Colbert’s favor.

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The network’s bombshell announcement late Thursday that the “Late Show” will end next May takes away President Donald Trump’s most prominent TV critic and the most popular entertainment program in its genre.

The television industry’s declining economic health means similar hard calls are already being made with personalities and programming, with others to be faced in the future. For the late-night genre, there are unique factors to consider.

As recently as 2018, broadcast networks took in an estimated $439 million in advertising revenue for its late-night programs, according to the advertising firm Guidelines. Last year, that number dwindled to $220 million.

Once a draw for young men, now they’ve turned away

Late-night TV was a particular draw for young men, considered the hardest-to-get and most valuable demographic for advertisers. Increasingly, these viewers are turning to streaming services, either to watch something else entirely or catch highlights of the late-night shows, which are more difficult for the networks to monetize.

More broadly, the much-predicted takeover of viewers by streaming services is coming to pass. The Nielsen company reported that during the last two months, for the first time ever, more people consumed programming on services like YouTube and Netflix than on ABC, CBS and NBC or any cable network.

Networks and streamers spent roughly $70 billion on entertainment shows and $30 billion for sports rights last year, said Brian Wieser, CEO of Madison & Wall, an advertising consultant and data services firm. Live sports is the most dependable magnet for viewers and costs for its rights are expected to increase 8% a year over the next decade. With television viewership declining in general, it’s clear where savings will have to come from.

Wieser said he does not know whether Colbert’s show is profitable or not for CBS and parent company Paramount Global, but he knows the direction in which it is headed. “The economics of television are weak,” he said.

In a statement announcing the cancellation, George Cheeks, Paramount Global’s president and chief executive officer, said that “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Cheeks’ problem is that not everyone believes him.

Colbert is a relentless critic of Trump, and earlier this week pointedly criticized Paramount’s decision to settle Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. He called Paramount’s $16 million payment to Trump a “big fat bribe,” since the company is seeking the administration’s approval of its merger with Skydance Media.

On Friday, the Writers Guild of America called for an investigation by New York’s attorney general into whether Colbert’s cancellation is itself a bribe, “sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump administration as the company looks for merger approval.”

CBS’ decision made this a pivotal week for the future of television and radio programming. Congress stripped federal funding for PBS and NPR, threatening the future of shows on those outlets.

Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, called the decision to end Colbert’s show the end of an era.

“Late-night television has historically been one of comedy’s most audience-accessible platforms — a place where commentary meets community, night after night,” Gunderson said. “This isn’t just the end of a show. It’s the quiet removal of one of the few remaining platforms for daily comedic commentary.

Trump celebrates Colbert’s demise

Trump, who has called in the past for CBS to terminate Colbert’s contract, celebrated the show’s upcoming demise. “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “His talent was even less than his ratings.”

Some experts questioned whether CBS could have explored other ways to save money on Colbert. NBC, for example, has cut costs by eliminating the band on Seth Meyers’ late-night show and curtailing Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight” show to four nights a week.

Could CBS have saved more money by cutting off the show immediately, instead of letting it run until next May, which sets up an awkward “lame duck” period? Then again, Colbert will keep working until his contract runs out; CBS would have had to keep paying him anyway.

CBS recently cancelled the “After Midnight” show that ran after Colbert. But the network had signaled earlier this year that it was prepared to continue that show until host Taylor Tomlinson decided that she wanted to leave, noted Bill Carter, author of “The Late Shift.”

“It is a very sad day for CBS that they are getting out of the late-night race,” Andy Cohen, host of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” told The Associated Press. “I mean, they are turning off the lights after the news.”

Colbert, if he wanted to continue past next May, would likely be able to find a streaming service willing to pay him, Wieser said. But the future of late-night comedy on the entertainment networks is genuinely at risk. Trump, in fact, may outlast his fiercest comic critics. Jon Stewart, once a weeknight fixture, works one night a week at “The Daily Show” for Paramount’s Comedy Central, a network that seldom produces much original programming any more.

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who was chided on social media by Trump on Friday — “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next” — has a contract that also runs out next year. Kimmel, 57, openly wondered in a Variety interview before signing his latest three-year contract extension how long he wanted to do it. He’s hosted his show since 2003.

“I have moments where I go, I cannot do this anymore,” Kimmel told Variety in 2022. “And I have moments where I go, what am I gonna do with my life if I’m not doing this anymore?’ It’s a very complicated thing … I’m not going to do this forever.”

Colbert, Kimmel and Stewart were all nominated for Emmy awards this week.

AP journalist Liam McEwan in Los Angeles contributed to this report. 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.

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE

The state of New York agreed Friday to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit from an ex-aide to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo who alleged Cuomo sexually harassed and groped her while he was in office.

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The former aide, Brittany Commisso, had sued Cuomo and the state, alleging sexual harassment from the then-governor and retaliation against her after reporting the incidents. The allegations were part of a barrage similar misconduct claims that forced Cuomo to resign as governor in 2021.

Commisso’s lawyers said the settlement “is a complete vindication of her claims” and that Commisso is “glad to be able to move forward with her life.”

The settlement came as Cuomo is in the midst of a so-far bruising political comeback with a run for mayor of New York City. Cuomo lost the Democratic primary last month to Zohran Mamdani by more than 12 percentage points and this week relaunched his campaign to run in the general election as an independent candidate, beginning a potentially uphill battle in a heavily Democratic city where support is coalescing behind Mamdani.

Cuomo, who has denied wrongdoing, has been dogged by the scandal during his campaign for mayor.

“The settlement is not a vindication, it is capitulation to avoid the truth,” Cuomo’s lawyers said Friday in a statement in which they called Commisso’s allegations “false.”

The attorneys, Rita Glavin and Theresa Trzaskoma, added that they “oppose the dismissal of Ms. Commisso’s lawsuit.”

“Until the truth is revealed, the lawsuit should not be dismissed,” they said in the statement.

Cuomo resigned as governor after a report from the state attorney general determined that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, with some alleging unwanted kissing and touching, as well as remarks about their appearances and sex lives.

Commisso filed her lawsuit in late 2023, just before the expiration of the Adult Survivors Act, a special law that created a yearlong suspension of the usual time limit to sue over an alleged sexual assault.

She later filed a criminal complaint accusing Cuomo of groping her but a local district attorney declined to prosecute, citing lack of sufficient evidence.

The Associated Press doesn’t identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as Commisso has done.

Anthony Hogrebe, a spokesperson for current Gov. Kathy Hochul, said Friday that the state “is pleased to have settled this matter in a way that allows us to minimize further costs to taxpayers.”

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it is eliminating its research and development arm and reducing agency staff by thousands of employees.

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The agency’s Office of Research and Development has long provided the scientific underpinnings for EPA’s mission to protect the environment and human health. The EPA said in May it would shift its scientific expertise and research efforts to program offices that focus on major issues like air and water.

The agency said Friday it is creating a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions that will allow it to focus on research and science “more than ever before.”

Once fully implemented, the changes will save the EPA nearly $750 million, officials said.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement that the changes announced Friday would ensure the agency “is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while Powering the Great American Comeback.”

The EPA also said it is beginning the process to eliminate thousands of jobs, following a Supreme Court ruling last week that cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce, despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.

Total staffing at EPA will go down to 12,448, a reduction of more than 3,700 employees, or nearly 23%, from staffing levels in January when Trump took office, the agency said.

“This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars,” Zeldin said, using a government term for mass firings.‘

‘Heart and brain of EPA’

Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee, called the elimination of the research office “a travesty.”

“The Trump administration is firing hardworking scientists while employing political appointees whose job it is to lie incessantly to Congress and to the American people,” she said. “The obliteration of ORD will have generational impacts on Americans’ health and safety.”

The Office of Research and Development “is the heart and brain of the EPA,” said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents thousands of EPA employees.

“Without it, we don’t have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment,” Chen said. “Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.”

The research office — EPA’s main science arm — currently has 1,540 positions, excluding special government employees and public health officers, according to agency documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the House science panel earlier this year. As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists could be laid off, the documents indicated.

The research office has 10 facilities across the country, stretching from Florida and North Carolina to Oregon. An EPA spokeswoman said Friday that all laboratory functions currently conducted by the research office will continue.

In addition to the reduction in force, or RIF, the agency also is offering the third round of deferred resignations for eligible employees, including research office staff, spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said. The application period is open until July 25.

‘Declaration of dissent’

The EPA’s announcement comes two weeks after the agency put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a “declaration of dissent” with agency policies under the Trump administration. The agency accused the employees of “unlawfully undermining” Trump’s agenda.

In a letter made public June 30, the employees wrote that the EPA is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face retaliation for speaking out.

By TRAVIS LOLLER and JONATHAN MATTISE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The owner of a factory where six workers died last year in flooding from Hurricane Helene won’t face charges after a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found no criminal wrongdoing. First Judicial District Attorney General Steven Finney announced the decision to close the case on Friday, saying no further action will be taken.

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The investigation found no evidence that Impact Plastics employees were told they could not leave the factory or that they would be fired if they left, according to a news release from the district attorney. It also found employees had a little more than an hour during which they could have evacuated from the Erwin, Tennessee, industrial park. The conclusion mirrors that of a similar investigation by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found in April that workers had time to evacuate the premises, albeit by makeshift routes.

A statement from Impact Plastics attorney Stephen Ross Johnson on Friday said company president and founder Gerald O’Connor welcomes the results of the TBI investigation.

“The true and accurate facts are now known,” the statement reads.

Five employees and one contractor who cleaned the offices once a week were killed on Sept. 27 after they were washed away by floodwaters. They were among 12 people who stuck close to the Impact Plastics building, waiting for the water to recede, after realizing the exit road was already submerged. When the water kept rising, they climbed onto the bed of a semitrailer loaded with giant spools of plastic piping that was parked outside the factory. When floodwaters eventually overwhelmed the truck, six people were able to use the piping for flotation and were later rescued. The other six drowned.

FILE – The area around Impact Plastics Inc. is damaged from flooding during Hurricane Helene in Erwin, Tenn., Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

The TOSHA report notes that several Impact Plastics employees did escape the flood. Some were able to drive or walk over an embankment to a nearby highway after workers at a neighboring business dismantled a fence there. Others escaped by driving over a makeshift path onto nearby railroad tracks that an employee at a neighboring business created with a tractor. Still others were able to escape by walking to the railroad tracks, according to that report.

Although the criminal case is being closed, the company still faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Johnny Peterson, and other civil suits are planned.

Attorney Luke Widener, who represents the families of several flood victims, said in a statement that they “categorically disagree that Impact Plastics employees were given any meaningful opportunity to escape. …Indeed, if Impact Plastics’ account were true, Bertha Mendoza, Sibrina Barnett, and the others who perished would still be with us.”