By DAVID BAUDER

Stephen Colbert isn’t backing down in an extraordinary public dispute with his bosses at CBS over what he can air on his late-night talk show.

On “The Late Show” Tuesday, Colbert said he was surprised by a statement from CBS denying that its lawyers told him he couldn’t show an interview with Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico — which the host said had happened the night before.

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He then took a copy of the network statement, wrapped it in a dog poop bag, and tossed it away.

Colbert had instead shown his Talarico interview on YouTube, but told viewers why he couldn’t show it on CBS. The network was concerned about FCC Chairman Brendan Carr trying to enforce a rule that required broadcasters to give “equal time” to opposing candidates when an interview was broadcast with one of them.

“We looked and we can’t find one example of this rule being enforced for any talk show interview, not only for my entire late-night career, but for anyone’s late-night career going back to the 1960s,” Colbert said.

Although Carr said in January he was thinking about getting rid of the exemption for late-night talk shows, he hadn’t done it yet. “But CBS generously did it for him,” Colbert said.

Not only had CBS been aware Monday night that Colbert was going to talk about this issue publicly, its lawyers had even approved it in his script, he said. That’s why he was surprised by the statement, which said that Colbert had been provided “legal guidance” that broadcasting the interview could trigger the equal time rule.

“I don’t know what this is about,” Colbert said. “For the record, I’m not even mad. I really don’t want an adversarial relationship with the network. I’ve never had one.”

He said he was “just so surprised that this giant global corporation would not stand up to these bullies.” CBS is owned by Paramount Global.

Colbert is a short-timer now at CBS. The network announced last summer that Colbert’s show, where President Donald Trump is a frequent target of biting jokes, would end in May. The network said it was for economic reasons but others — including Colbert — have expressed skepticism that Trump’s repeated criticism of the show had nothing to do with it.

This week’s dispute with Colbert also recalls last fall, when ABC took late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a remark made about the killing of conservative activist founder Charlie Kirk, only to reinstate him following a backlash by viewers.

As of Wednesday morning, Colbert’s YouTube interview with Talarico had been viewed more than 5 million times, or roughly double what the comic’s CBS program draws each night.

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 OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and JULIE WATSON

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Crews pushed through mountainous wilderness near Lake Tahoe during a snowstorm to rescue six backcountry skiers who survived an avalanche but were trapped by its snow and ice. Nine others from their tour group remained missing.

Two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.

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The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that there were 15 skiers on the trip — not 16 as initially believed.

Search and rescue crews were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after a 911 call reporting an avalanche and people buried. A powerful winter storm was moving through California at the time.

Extreme conditions in the Northern California mountains slowed the rescue effort. It took crews several hours to reach the skiers and take them to safety, where they were evaluated by the Truckee Fire Department.

The sheriff’s office said it would provide another update on rescue efforts at a news conference Wednesday morning.

A three-day ski trip

The skiers were on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing trek, said Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center, which had contact with people on the ground in the area. He said the skiers spent two nights at huts on a trip that required navigating “rugged mountainous terrain” for up to 4 miles while bringing along all food and supplies.

Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by the ski tour company that led the expedition, Blackbird Mountain Guides, and by emergency beacons the skiers were carrying. Rescuers made their way cautiously toward the scene of the avalanche because of the danger of more avalanches.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement on its website that it was coordinating with authorities on the rescue operation.

Dangerous backcountry conditions

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm bringing treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

“It’s particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we’re at the height of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest lead avalanche forecaster at the Sierra Avalanche Center, based in Truckee.

The center issued an avalanche warning for the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday with large slides expected into Wednesday.

The town of Soda Springs, near where the avalanche took place, recorded at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snow piling on fragile snowpack layers coupled with gale-force winds.

The storm wreaked havoc on roads from the Sierra Nevada to Sonoma County. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 over and around Donner Summit due to spinouts and crashes, the authorities reported.

Several Tahoe ski resorts were fully or partially closed due to the weather. Resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry, where travel in, near or below avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged, the center said.

Area has dark history

Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot mountain north of Donner Summit, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. The summit, which can be perilous in snow, is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-1847.

In January an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

Training in avalanche assessment and rescue and safety equipment is highly recommended for backcountry skiing, also known as off-piste skiing, involves venturing deep into the wilderness far outside the confines of a resort. Backcountry skis are wider and heavier and have other features to handle going up and down ungroomed terrain, unlike cross-country skis, which are narrower and designed for flat, more groomed trails.

Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

Cabbage is a shape-shifter among vegetables. Unlike kale, with its recognizable ruffle, or collards, which are always their leafy green selves, cabbage can transform in a cook’s hands. Slice it into crunchy slaw. Ferment it into bracing sauerkraut or kimchi. Broil it until charred and sweet. Simmer it into silky submission. Cabbage will be whatever you want it to be.

And this time of year, I want it to be the foundation of a warming, weeknight-friendly one-pot pasta.

A note about one-pot pasta: It’s not necessarily easier than making pasta the usual way. Yes, you’ll have one fewer pot to wash, but plenty of classic recipes require only a pot and a skillet anyway. The real reason to love a one-pot pasta is its depth of flavor. When pasta cooks surrounded by aromatics and vegetables in broth instead of water, it absorbs every nuance, gaining character that you simply can’t replicate by tossing cooked pasta with a sauce. One-pot pastas are a way to bank flavor, to accumulate the richness of ingredients until, like Scrooge McDuck, you’re basically swimming in a wealth of deliciousness.

The key is choosing the right ingredients, ones that will release liquid and flavor as they simmer. Juicy vegetables are ideal to infuse the sauce. Add enough of them and your one-pot pasta becomes a one-pot meal.

In this recipe, I sauté the cabbage first along with some leeks, coaxing out sweetness through gentle caramelization. This soft tangle becomes the base of the dish. Vegetable or chicken broth instead of water deepens everything further, while salty, nutty Gruyère and tangy sour cream round out the sauce. A sprinkle of smoked paprika adds heat and complexity, and fresh dill (or whatever herbs you have), a pop of color and freshness.

You can use any short pasta here — rigatoni, penne, shells — just keep a close eye on it as it cooks. You want the pasta to be just tender, absorbing the flavorful liquid without turning mushy. If the pot threatens to dry out before everything is done, add a splash more broth or water. If there’s too much liquid at the end, let it simmer uncovered for a minute or two to evaporate.

The result is a comforting weeknight dish you’ll want to make again and again, especially as the weather stays cold. Cabbage will be there for you; cabbage, being cabbage, will always oblige.

One-Pot Cheesy Orecchiette with Cabbage and Paprika

A sweet, soft mix of cabbage and leeks forms the base of this homey one-pot dish. Using vegetable broth instead of water as the liquid in the pot deepens the flavor, which is rounded out with salty, nutty Gruyère cheese and sour cream, and finished with smoked paprika and dill (or another fresh herb). You can use any short pasta here, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t overcook; it should be just tender without being mushy.

By Melissa Clark

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (or use 4 scallions)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
Pinch of red chile flakes, more for serving
1/2 small green cabbage (about 1 pound), sliced (5 cups)
1 teaspoon cider vinegar, more to taste
1 pound small pasta, such as orecchiette, shells or fusilli
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup shredded Gruyère (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup sour cream, crème fraîche or mascarpone
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, more to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or parsley, more for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium. Add leek and a pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook until tender and very lightly golden at the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and chile flakes, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute longer. Add the cabbage and season with more salt and pepper. Cook until soft and collapsed, about 15 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, then taste and add more salt, pepper and vinegar until it’s nicely seasoned.

2. Add pasta, broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Let the liquid come to a boil, then cover the pan and cook, stirring and tossing the pasta once or twice, until it is cooked through but still al dente, 12 to 15 minutes. If the skillet dries out before the pasta is cooked through, add a little water. And if there’s a bit of water left in the pan at the end, fear not, the pasta will absorb it in the next step. Just make sure to take the pan off the heat before the pasta gets too soft.

3. Remove pan from heat and stir in Gruyère, crème fraîche and smoked paprika, and toss well. Stir in the dill. Season to taste with more salt (if you used salt-free broth, you might need to add more than you’d think) and cider vinegar if needed. Serve topped with more paprika, olive oil and dill if you like.

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WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump vitiated scientific facts Thursday, helping fossil fuel fat cats by eliminating the government’s ability to regulate treacherous gases, a reporter asked what he says to people worried about the very real hazards of a hotter planet.

“I tell them don’t worry about it,” he shot back.

The administration has even coined a word to denigrate those who push back on Trump’s rash policies: “panican,” as in one who panics.

In a world steeped in violence and menace, we are constantly being told by the people in charge not to worry.

Don’t worry about a sweltering Earth. Don’t worry about all those powerful creeps getting away with abusing young women exploited by Jeffrey Epstein. Instead, just behold the beauty of the rising Dow, as the abrasive, evasive Pam Bondi suggested at a congressional hearing Wednesday.

Don’t worry about the Trump family’s unethical get-rich-quick schemes. Don’t worry about an economy increasingly catering to the well connected. Don’t worry about the president threatening to unilaterally set the rules for state elections — Congress be damned.

The pueri aeterni of Silicon Valley have greased the palm of our King Joffrey in the White House. And now we are told not to worry about safeguards for artificial intelligence, the most spine-tingling technology ever created.

I interviewed Elon Musk in 2017, when he still cared about AI safety as much as he once cared about going to the wildest party on Epstein’s island and now cares about constantly sharing deranged posts about race on X. He told me that the fate of humanity depends on not allowing the algorithms to be concealed and concentrated in the hands of tech and government elites.

“It’s great when the emperor is Marcus Aurelius,” Musk said then. “It’s not so great when the emperor is Caligula.”

Let’s just say that our man in the White House is no Marcus Aurelius.

When I reported in Silicon Valley back then, the debate was whether AI would jump to the dark side once it got smarter than we are.

But since then, even the tech gods who once had good intentions have gone to the dark side, seduced by the billions to be made on AI, including on erotica. These geniuses who were supposed to escort us into a better, safer future turned out to be the biggest sellouts of all time.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, has welcomed erotica, or “adult mode,” as it’s called, saying he wants to “treat adult users like adults.”

Once Musk put up an AI-generated picture of himself in a bikini to demonstrate his AI model’s new feature, people used it to manipulate pictures of women online, stripping off their clothes.

The tech bros are thrilled with their ability to buy influence in Trump world. (Yes, Jeff Bezos, I’m talking about “Melania.”)

As Wired reported, the president of OpenAI, Greg Brockman, was one of Trump’s biggest individual donors in 2025, to the tune of $25 million. Another $25 million is on the way to a PAC that fights politicians who favor regulating AI. OpenAI’s original mission was to protect humanity, but where’s the money in that?

The tech universe shuddered this past week at alarms from several Paul Reveres.

An urgent post on X titled “Something Big Is Happening,” by Matt Shumer, the CEO of two small tech companies, went viral. He warned that AI is leaping ahead faster than we think.

“The future is being shaped by a remarkably small number of people: a few hundred researchers at a handful of companies … Open AI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind,” he wrote, adding: “I am no longer needed for the actual technical work of my job … I tell the AI what I want, walk away from my computer for four hours, and come back to find the work done. Done well, done better than I would have done it myself.” Now, he wrote, OpenAI’s newest model is showing judgment, and it knows how to make the right call on its own.

A week ago Monday, an Anthropic AI safety researcher, Mrinank Sharma, quit his job, posting an apocalyptic warning on X that the “world is in peril” from AI, bioweapons and cascading crises.

Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, has been the most responsible tech executive in acknowledging the awesome, hair-curling power of AI, saying it will “test who we are as a species” and reveal whether humanity has the maturity to handle this “almost unimaginable power.” (The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the company’s AI tool, Claude, had helped the U.S. military capture Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.)

Sharma is not sure if humanity has the maturity to handle AI. “I’ve repeatedly seen how hard it is to truly let our values govern our actions,” he wrote.

He said he will disappear to England and pursue a poetry degree, signing off with a William Stafford poem containing a line that augured AI dominance: “Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.”

Zoë Hitzig, a researcher at OpenAI, also quit last Monday. In a guest essay for The New York Times, she said she had lost faith that OpenAI still wanted to back her work on the two outcomes she fears most: “a technology that manipulates the people who use it at no cost and one that exclusively benefits the few who can afford to use it.”

Another OpenAI executive, Ryan Beiermeister, lost her job in the safety division after complaining about ChatGPT’s rollout of AI erotica, the Journal disclosed.

Beiermeister, the Journal said, did not think the company had enough guardrails in place to stop child-exploitation content and wall off adult content from teens.

OpenAI contended that Beiermeister’s departure was due to sexual discrimination against a male colleague. She adamantly denied that to the Journal.

Despite the smarmy reassurances of the tech lords, some AI insiders are alarmed by what they’re seeing.

The people in charge tell us not to worry. But we should worry. It’s getting scary out there. There’s nothing artificial about that.

Maureen Dowd writes a column for the New York Times.

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