The Kushner Slush Fund and the Men Who Bought CNN It’s All Connected | Breaking the News

Recorded live Friday October 23, 2026 -- Christiane Amanpour is leaving CNN after 42 years, and it is no coincidence that she’s walking out the door just as the Ellison-Skydance takeover closes in. Julie Roginsky, Michelle Kinney, and Jeff Jarvis follow the money behind the deal: Gulf sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE financing the acquisition, the same UAE sheikh now tied to a reported slush fund that funneled money to Jared Kushner through an Azerbaijani bank, and a Kremlin meeting where Putin offered a sanctioned oil company to the very same investors. Jeff lays out why Larry Ellison’s debt load makes CNN and CBS a risk to the whole economy, and why Paramount’s reported eight-figure bid for an unreleased Lindsey Graham documentary looks like a catch and kill.

Then Trump melts down on the South Lawn when an NBC reporter asks whether the sexual abuse allegations against Amy Acton’s stepfather mean anything to him, and the three draw the through line nobody in legacy media will: the Ramaswamy ad, the Epstein files, the Lindsey Graham allegations, and a Republican Party that keeps asking women to look the other way. Julie, who worked alongside Graham to pass the Ending Forced Arbitration Act and the Speak Out Act, explains why two things can be true at once.

Plus: YouTube now takes 15 percent of all American TV time, an indie filmmaker is selling his movie for $4.99 straight to fans https://lonelyfeaturefilm.com, and Jeff gives Julie and Michelle homework with You Can See Everything, the Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim film about Elizabeth Holmes. https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/you-can-see-everything-box-office-huge-second-weekend-clayface-leads-1236930604/

Breaking the News is part of The Mayday Network, an independent, women-led independent media where politics meets culture.

Follow The Mayday Network for more commentary, analysis, and rapid response — new content every day.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/the-mayday-network/id6754000270
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3nEYLKKfOvZyIdGCLNiraQ
Substack: https://substack.com/@themaydaynetwork
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheMaydayNetwork
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@TheMaydayNetwork
Website: https://www.themaydaynetwork.com