Shari Redstone Has Been Diagnosed With Thyroid Cancer

As the future of her father's sprawling entertainment empire hangs in the balance, Shari Redstone has made a startling health revelation, divulging that she has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
The news, first reported by the New York Times, was confirmed by a spokesperson on Thursday, who said she was diagnosed earlier this spring. 'While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining all professional and philanthropic activities throughout her treatment, which is ongoing. She and her family are grateful that her prognosis is excellent,' the spokesperson said.
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Redstone's condition was discovered when she went to her doctor about two months ago for symptoms including fatigue. Redstone's thyroid gland was removed in a surgery that took place last month, she told the Times. After cancer cells were found to have spread to her vocal chords, she is currently undergoing radiation treatment.
Her health troubles arrive as Redstone's Paramount Global is attempting to complete an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, a transaction that is awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
In a move that threatened to thwart the proceedings, President Donald Trump in November sued one of Paramount Global's key programs, CBS' 60 Minutes, alleging that the program had aired a 'heavily tampered interview' with his political rival, former vice president Kamala Harris, in a bid to bolster her presidential chances. While legal observers have argued the case has little merit and 60 Minutes did some routine television news editing, the Trump-appointed head of the FCC, Brendan Carr, reinstated a complaint against CBS over the issue, even as he has claimed he believes it is separate from Trump's $20 million suit.
Fearing that Redstone would seek to settle the Trump suit to smooth the way for the Skydance merger, Democratic senators including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have called on her not to back down, calling the legal complaint 'an attack on the United States Constitution and the First Amendment' and an attempt to 'extort' 60 Minutes.
In the meantime, CBS News leaders have suggested they're facing extra scrutiny as the merger remains in limbo. Producer Bill Owens left in April, saying he was unable to make 'independent decisions.' CBS News head Wendy McMahon resigned the next month, saying she and the company did not agree on 'a path forward.'
More to come.
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New York Post

40 minutes ago

• New York Post

Kerry Kennedy allegedly getting $1M+ to save family's reputation — as cousin Caroline is ‘virtually blacklisted' over son's odd behavior

For decades, the Kennedys — America's so-called royal family — were known for politics, scandals and tragedies. Today, they're earning a schoolyard reputation for infighting, with mean-spirited attacks on siblings and cousins, bizarre social media rants and revelations of historically bitchy personal feuds. Hoping to quell the embarrassing, reality show-worthy drama and bring the family together before it implodes, Kerry Kennedy has signed what sources describe as a seven-figure deal for a book paying tribute to her mother, family matriarch Ethel Skakel Kennedy who passed last October at 96. 10 Kerry Kennedy is writing a new book about family matriach Ethel Kennedy. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP This is somewhat ironic given that penned by Kerry, the seventh of Ethel's and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's brood of 11, is one of the most vocal leaders in the family's current display of bad blood. 'Kerry's well-varnished book will be little more than a last-ditch attempt to salvage the increasingly tarnished Kennedy name,' one insider told The Post. Kerry Kennedy declined to comment. Entitled 'Ethel: Faith, Hope, Family, and an Extraordinary Life' and penned with a ghostwriter, the book is planned for fall 2026. Whether it can bring the family together, or truly spiff up their tarnished legacy, remains to be seen. 'Like the Titanic, the Kennedy brand is a sinking ship,' the insider said. 10 Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg is said to be ostracized by her famous cousins' over her son's odd behavior on social media. FilmMagic 10 Caroline has called cousin RFK Jr. a 'predator' while her son Jack (right) has called him a 'liar' and a 'guru shaman.' Democratic National Convention via CNP / MEGA But, for all their talk about public service, the family's battles are no surprise. In fact, sources said, RFK's staunchly Democratic widow, Ethel, who died of a stroke, would have 'savored and enjoyed the very public attacks and controversy' involving some of her children — including the verbal assaults on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — when he briefly ran for president last year and later became Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services. At least some of the 'attacks and snubs against Bobby Jr. were actually at the behest of Ethel,' alleged the insider. 'She also was behind the photo [taken March 2024, just before RFK Jr. announced his presidential run] of three generations of her family with a smiling Joe Biden in their midst — all as a subtle [message] to Bobby. He was her least favorite son.' 10 Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former US President John F. Kennedy, has mocked cousin RFK Jr.'s vocal disorder and made strange jokes about Second Lady Usha Vance. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post It was alleged favorite daughter Kerry who, on her mother's instructions, posted the photo on X, declaring of Biden, 'You make the world better.' In addition to six of RFK Jr.'s living siblings — former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy, former US Rep. Joe Kennedy II, human rights activist Kerry Kennedy, filmmaker Rory Kennedy, lawyer Max Kennedy and businessman Christopher Kennedy — rebuking his presidential campaign by calling it 'dangerous' and publicly endorsing Joe Biden, his cousin Caroline also made her feelings known. Early this year, Caroline, now 67, and. the former US Ambassador to Japan and then Australia, wasn't very diplomatic when it came to her first cousin, calling him a 'predator' and hypocrite and unqualified to run HHS. She also claimed: 'Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign and groveled to Donald Trump for a job.' 10 John. F Kennedy and wife Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Getty Images Nonetheless, according to insiders, Caroline has been 'virtually blacklisted' by some of her cousins over the bizarre social media postings of her son, Jack Schlossberg. The 31-year-old has posted videos of himself making fun of RFK Jr.'s spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that affects his speech and which other members of the family may also have. Schlossberg has also called the health secretary a 'liar' and a 'guru shaman figure who runs a cult' and taunted Vice-President J. D. Vance and his wife, Usha, joking about having a baby with her and writing, 'True or false: Usha Vance is way hotter than Jackie O' — his maternal grandmother. 10 Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 at a hotel in Los Angeles. Getty Images His various remarks prompted RFK Jr.'s daughter, Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy to previously tell The Post: 'I hope he gets the help he needs.' Sources say Schlossberg's behavior has led to Caroline — whose parents and brother are deceased — being completely isolated from the Kennedy tribe, which 'is hurtful to her.' The Post has reached out to Caroline for comment. 'Jack's more Schlossberg than Kennedy in attitude,' a close source said, referring to Schlossberg's father, the very private and eccentric artist and designer Edwin Schlossberg, 73, who comes from a prominent Jewish New York family. 10 RFK Jr. shocked and upset many members of his own staunchly Democrat family when he first supported Republican Donald Trump's election then joined his government at secretary of Health and Human Services. REUTERS Snarky Spy magazine once called Edwin 'a well-to-do hippie-yuppie who's self-consciously interesting… Camelot's egghead-in-residence.' Although little known publicly, the current feuds within the Kennedy family have a long history going back to Ethel and her late sister-in-law, John F. Kennedy's widow, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, whom Ethel ruthlessly attacked. 'She thinks she's a queen. When Jackie once mentioned she dreamed of being a ballet dancer, Ethel stared at Jackie's slender size-11 feet, muttering to her face, 'With those clodhoppers of yours? You'd be better off going into soccer,' ' a source commented for my book 'The Other Mrs. Kennedy: An Intimate and Revealing Look at the Hidden Life of Ethel Skakel Kennedy.' 10 RFK Jr.'s daughter Kick Kennedy waded into the fray to call out cousin Jack Schlossberg. Getty Images for RFK Human Right Meanwhile, Jackie, sources added, considered Ethel 'crude and boorish,' and referred to her as a 'baby-making machine — wind her up and she becomes pregnant.' Jackie's revenge against the insults was to distance her own children, John Jr. and Caroline, from Ethel's children. When Ethel extended an invitation to her niece and nephew to stay for a couple of weeks at her family's home Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia, Jackie declared, 'No way!'' And through the generations the feuding continues. JFK Jr. also got his digs in when he was founding editor of the political magazine George in the mid-1990s. 10 The Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. AP In a signed editorial, he pilloried his Kennedy cousins — Ethel's sons Michael (who died as the result of a skiing accident in 1997) and Joe — as 'poster boys for bad behavior' regarding their marital scandals. While Kerry Kennedy's planned book is said to paint her mother as a virtual saint, and the Kennedys as a close and loving family, an insider told The Post that 'dysfunction rather than perfection' was a way of life for the late matriarch. As Ethel's fourth-born, David Anthony Kennedy, who died of a heroin overdose in 1984 at 36, once revealed, 'Those stories about what a big, happy family we had at Hickory Hill were all bulls—t. Life at home was mayhem, a mess. 'My mother was always having screaming rages. The house looked like a shithole. She didn't know how to deal with so many kids.' 10 RFK Jr. originally ran for president himself in 2024, before dropping out and endorsing Trump. Paul Martinka A child-care sitter retained by Ethel once even admitted that the middle children — Courtney, David and RFK Jr. – 'were virtually left to fend for themselves, with little or no supervision.' The sitter also called Ethel a 'distant, detached, and standoffish mother. When popular Look magazine decided to do a cover story on Ethel, then pregnant, as the possible next future first lady when RFK began his ill-fated 1968 presidential run, the bi-weekly's crack photographer-reporter team, Stanley Tretick and Laura Bergquist, were assigned. The magazine ran an upbeat story, but Tretick and Bergquist were privately shocked by what they witnessed. Tretick later revealed: 'I never thought she was a great mother… The kids all went their separate ways. It was like bedlam, everyone running around crazy… one night Ethel was going to fix food for us, but she said 'I don't know how to fix s—t!' She couldn't handle anything in the kitchen. Bobby looked at her and said, 'Mother of the year.' 'Our view of Ethel was, 'God, it's going to be bedlam, just nuts, if she goes to the White House, because that place will become a real zoo.''

Newsweek

5 hours ago

• Newsweek

Signs Your Baby Is Highly Sensitive, According to a Child Psychologist

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A TikTok video of a baby crying during a song from The Little Mermaid has sparked heartwarming discussion online about highly sensitive children. In the video, Allie, the baby's aunt, filmed the moment her niece swelled with emotion in accordance with the Disney song. Many viewers in the comments speculated that the baby might be experiencing "frisson"—a French term for the physical chills some people get when emotionally moved by music. But could this be something else entirely? Newsweek spoke to Allie, 32, along with a child psychologist to better understand the adorable phenomenon. Allie said that she has seen her niece, Eleanor, have such a strong response to music has been incredible to witness—and started early. Photos from Allie's TikTok video of her baby niece. Photos from Allie's TikTok video of her baby niece. @alliemorganb/TikTok "[It] has been so precious because it's such raw emotion coming out that she obviously can't control, and shows what a tender heart she has," Allie explained. "She has been reacting this way to certain songs since she was six months old." The first time Eleanor showed this emotional response was when her dad was singing Faithfully by Journey around the house. At first, he thought she might be fussy, but after he sat down and continued singing, Eleanor continued to get emotional at certain parts of the song, Allie said. Eleanor's deep emotional sensitivity to music shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, though—her family is filled with musicians and singers. Allie went on to say that Eleanor is the first grandchild in her family. "She has such an infectious and happy personality and is so affectionate to those close to her," she said. "So, to see this happy baby get so moved by music is the most heartwarming thing, but not a big surprise considering our family is very into music." Three Signs Your Baby Might Be Sensitive While many TikTok commenters suggested that Eleanor might be experiencing "frisson," Dr. Kanchi Wijesekera, a clinical child psychologist and founder of Milika Center for Therapy & Resilience, offered Newsweek a different perspective. "The term 'frisson' isn't a clinical term," she said. "There is no evidence confirming that infants can experience frisson in the way adults do." Instead, Dr. Wijesekera believes that Eleanor's emotional response is likely tied to sensory processing and emotional recognition. "What's likely being observed is a combination of sensory processing and emotional recognition," she explained. She also pointed to Dr. Elaine Aron's research on highly sensitive children. Although Aron's studies focused on toddlers and older children, Dr. Wijesekera said that early emotional reactions to music could be an early indicator of emotional sensitivity in infants. She explained three signs that your baby might be more emotionally sensitive: Strong reactions to music or art: "If your baby calms or cries in response to music or expressive faces, it may reflect early emotional attunement. This is not the same as frisson, but it's a sign they're taking in the emotional tone of their environment." Heightened awareness of environment: "Babies who startle easily at loud sounds, track visual stimuli, or seem observant may be more sensitive to sensory and emotional cues." Emotional contagion: "If your baby mirrors your mood or becomes distressed when others are upset, it suggests early empathy, a skill for emotional intelligence." Dr. Wijesekera also suggests that parents and caregivers can support their baby's emotional sensitivity by creating gentle environments that respect the child's need for calm and soothing stimuli. While Eleanor might not be experiencing "frisson" in the scientific sense, her reaction is an adorable reminder that emotional sensitivity can emerge very early in life. Allie concluded, "It could be [frisson], or she could just be more sensitive to music than average, but we will keep an eye out for that as she grows up."

USA Today

10 hours ago

• USA Today

LeBron James jokes that Victor Wembanyama will hasten his retirement

On Saturday, a special episode of LeBron James' show "The Shop" was recorded at Fanatics Fest in New York City. Joining James before a live crowd was 21-year-old San Antonio Spurs superstar center Victor Wembanyama. At one point, James cracked a joke about Wembanyama's incredible shot-blocking abilities and the French native's 7-foot-3 frame. He said that Wembanyama swatting his shots will make him call it quits. 'I can't play that much further… As long as Wemby keeps smacking my [expletive] shots into the stands, it's gonna make me retire.' Wembanyama entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, and he was the most hyped rookie to come into the league since James was a rookie during the 2003-04 season. He quickly lived up to the hype, and this season, he averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and a league-high 3.8 blocks a game before a blood clot cut his year short after 46 games. The Spurs haven't made the playoffs since 2019, but with Wembanyama, star guard De'Aaron Fox and Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, as well as the possibility of at least one big move this summer, they could very well become a powerhouse very soon. At the very least, Wembanyama is already a nightmare to play against because of his shot-blocking, and his offensive game is still fairly rudimentary at this point in his career.