By Brian Stelter, CNN

(CNN) — “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” went out on a literal high note.

Thursday night’s series finale was the most-watched weeknight episode of Colbert’s eleven-year tenure on the show, according to overnight Nielsen ratings.

Colbert and co. averaged 6.a74 million viewers, even beating his first episode as host back in 2015, which averaged 6.55 million viewers.

The ratings results must be bittersweet for Colbert since it wasn’t his choice to sign off. CBS decided last summer to cancel the show, citing financial pressures evident across the late-night TV landscape.

Late-night talk shows like “The Late Show” have been shedding viewers for years in an increasingly fragmented media environment. Many fans who used to watch at 11:35 p.m. simply catch up later on YouTube or via social media.

In the first quarter of 2026, “The Late Show” averaged about 2.7 million viewers a night, according to CBS.

But Colbert’s finale had all the markings of big-event TV. His two main rivals, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, both opted to air repeat episodes on Thursday night, knowing most eyes would be on Colbert’s show. And Kimmel strongly encouraged his viewers to flip over to CBS for one night only.

The sendoff ended with a big performance of Colbert singing “Hello Goodbye” with ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, alongside Elvis Costello, Louis Cato and Jon Batiste.

So it’s not necessarily surprising that the final episode of “The Late Show” set a ratings record.

Still, it’s a striking result, especially since it was an extra-long episode, which meant viewers stayed up even later than usual to see it through.

The ratings record comes with some caveats: Colbert reached more than 20 million viewers for a special Sunday episode after the Super Bowl in 2016; and “The Late Show” routinely drew larger audiences during the David Letterman era, before YouTube and other platforms offered people infinite viewing options.

Letterman’s farewell episode in 2015 scored 13.7 million viewers.

Going forward, TV analysts have predicted that Kimmel and Fallon will absorb some of Colbert’s usual audience now that “The Late Show” has ended.

CBS won’t attempt to recreate Colbert’s show. The replacement, a roundtable comedy talk show called “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen,” bears little resemblance to “The Late Show.”

“Comics Unleashed” largely avoids topical humor because the episodes are designed to be replayed later. As a result, the show lacks the political commentary that has come to define much of Colbert’s run.

It currently airs after “The Late Show” at 12:35 a.m. and averages about 1.1 million viewers.

Now that “Comics Unleashed” is moving to 11:35 p.m., another show made by Allen’s production company, “Funny You Should Ask,” is moving into the late-late time slot.

Crucially for CBS, the time periods will be immediately profitable for the network. Allen has paid to lease the airtime through a “time buy,” and he would recoup his costs by selling advertising during the shows.

“I want to bring people together using comedy,” Allen said on “CBS Mornings” this week.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Steve Hilton says California’s rising housing costs, crime, and overall cost of living are pushing residents and businesses out of the state — and he believes voters are ready for political change.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate spoke with News Channel Reporter Mina Wahab about his campaign platform and how he hopes to turn a historically Democratic state into a Republican victory.

“I just see the struggles so many people and small businesses have,” Hilton said. “We got to turn that around. We've got to save California.”

The former Fox News host and former adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron is running on what he calls a “Cali-ffordability” platform focused on lowering costs for Californians.

Among his proposals: lowering gas prices, cutting electricity bills, making the first $100,000 of income tax-free, ending taxpayer-funded health care for undocumented immigrants, and increasing housing affordability.

“$3 gas, your electric bills in half, your first 100 grand tax free,” Hilton said. “A home you can afford to buy. So those are the five immediate things that I want to focus on in terms of helping people.”

Hilton argues that what he describes as excessive government regulation and taxation are driving up the cost of living across the state.

“And that's driven by the growth of the bloated, bureaucratic government in Sacramento,” Hilton said. “So that's actually the mission — to cut that all back so that we can lower costs and lower the burden of regulation.”

A major part of Hilton’s tax proposal is aimed at working-class Californians.

“Your first 100 grand tax free — that'll help everybody in California, but it disproportionately helps those who are working class Californians working incredibly hard, on incomes that are really not that high considering how much everything costs in California,” he said.

Hilton also pointed to crime, homelessness, and drug addiction as issues he believes state leaders have failed to adequately address.

“I think reversing the prison closure program, increasing prison capacity so we can have more accountability and more rehabilitation, I think is a really important part of it,” Hilton said. “The other part of it is actually implement at the state level something that nearly 70% of Californians voted for, which is Prop 36.”

Despite his message, Hilton faces a difficult path in a state where Democrats maintain a significant voter registration advantage.

Still, Hilton says his campaign is aimed not only at Republicans, but also independents and moderate Democrats frustrated with California’s direction.

“It’s not healthy to have one party running everything for this long,” Hilton said. “We don't have any balance in California in terms of our government right now.”

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Por Devan Cole, CNN

El fondo de casi US$ 1.800 millones, creado recientemente por el Gobierno de Trump para aliados del presidente que dicen haber sido atacados injustamente por el Gobierno, recibió una segunda demanda este viernes, sumándose a la creciente reacción legal y política que enfrenta la Casa Blanca.

Este viernes, un grupo diverso de personas y organizaciones —incluidos un exfiscal federal y un destacado grupo de vigilancia gubernamental— pidió a un juez en Alexandria, Virginia, que bloquee al Gobierno de Trump de distribuir cualquier cantidad de dinero, argumentando que el fondo es inconstitucional y viola una serie de leyes federales.

Entre los demandantes del caso están Andrew Floyd, un exfiscal federal que trabajó en casos penales presentados contra personas que participaron en el asalto al Capitolio de Estados Unidos del 6 de enero de 2021, y John Caravello, un profesor en California que fue absuelto de los cargos de haber agredido a un agente federal mientras protestaba una redada migratoria el año pasado.

También impugnan el nuevo fondo la ciudad de New Haven, Connecticut, la Federación Nacional del Aborto y Common Cause, un grupo de vigilancia que con frecuencia cuestiona medidas controvertidas del Gobierno de Trump.

La demanda llega dos días después de que agentes de policía actuales y retirados en Washington que defendieron el Capitolio de Estados Unidos durante el asalto demandaran para bloquear la implementación del fondo, argumentando que potencialmente podría usarse para pagar a personas que participaron en el asalto y financiar diversas organizaciones paramilitares en el país, ambas cosas que, de acuerdo con ellos, serían ilegales.

El fondo anunciado el lunes surgió de un acuerdo extraordinario alcanzado entre el Gobierno y Trump, uno de sus hijos adultos y la Organización Trump en una demanda que presentaron en enero por la divulgación no autorizada de la información fiscal de Trump hace años.

El fondo, que será administrado por cinco comisionados seleccionados por el secretario de Justicia, revisará reclamaciones presentadas por personas que dicen haber sido atacadas injustamente por administraciones anteriores. La enorme bolsa de dinero proviene del Fondo de Sentencias del Departamento de Justicia, que es dinero de los contribuyentes reservado por el Congreso para acuerdos monetarios que el Gobierno alcanza.

En la nueva demanda, los demandantes impugnan específicamente la decisión del Gobierno de Trump de recurrir al Fondo de Sentencias para el nuevo programa, argumentando que es ilegal porque el caso legal subyacente carecía de “mérito” dado el papel único del presidente como demandante y, al mismo tiempo, las agencias del Poder Ejecutivo que fueron nombradas demandadas en la demanda.

También dicen que el fondo viola la Constitución al usurpar la autoridad del Congreso sobre las finanzas del país, entre otras cosas.

“Este más reciente intento del Gobierno Trump-Vance de hacer grande de nuevo el saqueo es profundamente ilegal y no resistirá el escrutinio judicial”, dijo Skye Perryman, presidenta y directora ejecutiva de Democracy Forward y una de las abogadas que presentó la demanda. “Esta demanda trata de proteger el estado de derecho y evitar un abuso peligroso del poder gubernamental, y seguiremos compareciendo ante los tribunales para exigir responsabilidades a este Gobierno”.

El nuevo fondo ha recibido críticas de los demócratas e incluso de algunos miembros del propio partido de Trump, y los republicanos del Senado dijeron esta semana que los tomó por sorpresa y que están divididos sobre cómo ponerle freno, informó CNN.

Durante una reunión privada con el secretario de Justicia interino, Todd Blanche, el jueves, varios senadores habían advertido que el principal proyecto de ley del partido sobre aplicación de la ley migratoria podría descarrilarse con el tema del fondo sobrevolándolo

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