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Viewers and journalists alike slammed CBS News over this week’s firing of Catherine Herridge — an award-winning senior correspondent who sources said had run into “internal roadblocks” at the network as she covered the Hunter Biden laptop story.

The veteran investigative reporter, who has a First Amendment case that’s being closely watched by journalists nationwide, was among 20 CBS News staffers who lost their jobs Tuesday as part of a broader purge of 800 employees across parent company Paramount Global, sources told The Post.

Inside the halls of CBS News, staffers were outraged and bewildered by Herridge’s ouster, according to sources close to the Tiffany Network.

“People can’t make sense of this decision,” said a source, noting that staffers inside the network’s Washington bureau where Herridge worked are “shocked and dismayed” that CBS would oust a journalist who “brought credibility” to the company.

Herridge came to CBS in 2019 to be a balanced voice, covering both sides of the aisle, after having served as chief intelligence correspondent for Fox News.

But Herridge’s most recent assigment — covering the Hunter Biden probe — put her under a microscope at the left-leaning network, The Post has learned.

It was well understood on Capitol Hill that Herridge was among the first to receive tips about the Hunter Biden investigation but she ran into “internal roadblocks at CBS News,” sources said.

In 2021, CBS News brought in Matt Mosk to lead the network’s investigative unit from ABC News where he led coverage on the Mueller investigation and Trump impeachments. Mosk also served as senior investigative producer on the 2021 Hulu documentary “Out of the Shadows: The Man Behind the Steele Dossier.”

The Steele Dossier, which has been debunked, accused former President Donald Trump’s campaign of conspiring with Russians to tilt the result of the 2016 election.

Insiders said Herridge also clashed with CBS News President Ingrid-Ciprian Matthews, a sharp-elbowed executive who was investigated in 2021 over favoritism and discriminatory hiring and management practices, as previously reported by The Post.

CBS News declined to comment.

Author and journalist Michael Shellenberger, an expert on censorship and free speech, called Herridge a “hero” on X, saying she lately has been “facing financial ruin and even prison for protecting her sources.”

“CBS execs have behaved cowardly,” Shellenberger wrote. “Shame on them.”

Meghan McCain, daughter of late Arizona senator John McCain, also weighed in, calling Herridge a “national treasure.”

“I cant tell you what an insane move it is for @CBSNews to let her go particularly during an election year,” McCain wrote.

Others speculated that her exit was linked to recent reporting that President Biden may have kept evidence that he had foreign business dealings while in office.

Collin Rugg, who co-owns conservative website Trending Politics, posted on X: “Herridge was fired just hours after she reported on how Biden may have ‘retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his familys foreign business dealings’… Wild.”

In 2022, CBS News co-president Neeraj Khemlani signaled that the network was looking to bring in more Republican voices ahead of the midterm elections that year.

“Being able to make sure that we are getting access to both sides of the aisle is a priority because we know the Republicans are going to take over, most likely, in the midterms, Khemlani told staff at the time, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. A lot of the people that were bringing in are helping us in terms of access to that side of the equation.

While the shift ruffled feathers among some of the left-leaning rank and file, insiders at CBS News said that mandate came from top brass, including Shari Redstone, the chair of Paramount Global.

Herridges departure comes as the journalist faces heat for not complying with US District Judge Christopher Coopers order to reveal how she learned about a federal probe into a Chinese American scientist who operated a graduate program in Virginia.

Critics ripped CBS for ousting Herridge when she is fighting for the rights of journalists, with one CBS News insider calling the network’s decision “tone deaf.”

Herridge may soon be held in contempt of court for not divulging her source for an investigative piece she penned in 2017 when she worked for Fox News and be ordered to personally pay fines that could total as much as $5,000 a day.

A source close to the situation said Fox News is paying for Herridges legal counsel.

Herridge “brought balance to the reporting and is facing possible jailing over her refusal to disclose her sources,” Jonathan Turley, Shapiro chair of public interest law at George Washington University, posted on X. “CBS should be standing with her and the journalistic values that she is fighting to protect.”

The scientist, Yanping Chen, had been investigated for years on suspicions she may have lied on immigration forms related to work on a Chinese astronaut program, according to Herridges report.

Chen is suing the FBI for damages claiming the leaked information was par of a campaign to damage her reputation. Federal prosecutors ended their six-year probe of Chen without bringing charges.

 

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Cyclones name WSU’s Rogers to replace Campbell

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Cyclones name WSU's Rogers to replace Campbell

Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers has agreed to a six-year deal to become the next coach at Iowa State, the school announced Friday.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard moved quickly to replace departing coach Matt Campbell, who agreed to an eight-year deal to take over Penn State on Friday, and landed Rogers, a proven winner at the FCS level who just concluded his first regular season at Washington State.

“Jimmy Rogers is a rising star in college athletics who has very strong ties to the Midwest both as a player and as a coach,” Pollard said in a statement. “He has been on my short-list ever since the first time I met him. He immediately impressed me with his interest in Iowa State University and told me during our first visit several years ago that he wanted to be the next head coach at Iowa State.

“Since our initial meeting, I have stayed in close contact with him and have been very impressed with his work ethic and understanding of what it takes to be successful at Iowa State,” Pollard added. “He is a proven winner who has demonstrated throughout his career that he will fit our culture.”

Rogers, 38, has a 33-9 record over three seasons as a head coach. He went 6-6 in his debut season at Washington State after overseeing a significant roster rebuild following the departure of coach Jake Dickert to Wake Forest.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said in a statement. “Iowa State has been one of the nation’s top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones.”

Rogers previously spent 12 years at South Dakota State and led his alma mater to an FCS national championship in 2023 with a 15-0 season in his first year as the Jackrabbits’ head coach after taking over for longtime coach John Stiegelmeier.

Rogers carried a 29-game win streak into his second year as coach and achieved a No. 3 finish in 2024 with a run to the FCS playoff semifinals and a 12-3 season.

The Jackrabbits also won the FCS national championship in 2022 after Rogers was elevated to being the team’s sole defensive coordinator, and they played for another FCS title in 2020.

Campbell, the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 72 victories, led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons during his decade at the helm and two appearances in the Big 12 championship game.

The Cyclones went 8-4 this season and are awaiting their bowl selection on Sunday.

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Cool it! JMU AD scolds fans for throwing snowballs

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Cool it! JMU AD scolds fans for throwing snowballs

HARRISONBURG, Va. — James Madison athletic director Matt Roan used the public-address microphone to implore Dukes fans to stop throwing snowballs onto the field during the Sun Belt Conference championship game against Troy on Friday night, warning that their actions could cost JMU a penalty.

Roan’s address to the crowd followed an incident that affected the game.

With 4:30 left in the first quarter, Troy’s Evan Crenshaw was nearly hit by a snowball while punting from the end zone with the JMU student section behind him. Crenshaw shanked a 26-yard punt that helped set up the Dukes’ first score, a 40-yard field goal.

Fans in the student section began throwing snowballs during pregame warmups, when the Dukes’ marching band got pelted. They kept it up for most of the first half, despite repeated warnings over the PA system.

Harrisonburg received about 1½ inches of snow Friday, its first measurable snowfall of the season.

No. 19 JMU had an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff field with a win over Troy and a loss by No. 16 Virginia to Duke in Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

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No. 1 recruit DT Lamar Brown signs with LSU

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No. 1 recruit DT Lamar Brown signs with LSU

LSU and coach Lane Kiffin closed a busy early signing period with a bang Friday, officially securing the signature of defensive tackle Lamar Brown, ESPN’s No. 1 overall 2026 recruit.

Brown, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound defender from Erwinville, Louisiana, signed his letter of intent on the final day of the three-day period, the program announced, formally joining Kiffin and the Tigers as the program’s first No. 1 overall addition since Leonard Fournette in 2014.

Committed to the program since July, Brown was not initially expected to sign this week following meetings between Brown’s representatives and members of the LSU staff Tuesday.

While Brown remained verbally committed to the program, sources told ESPN that his camp harbored reservations over Kiffin’s to-be-completed coaching staff. Uncertainty hanging over the futures of Tigers interim coach Frank Wilson and defensive coordinator Blake Barker marked a particular concern for Brown, who attends high school on the LSU campus and developed close relationships with the program’s previous staff during his recruitment.

As of Friday afternoon, the Tigers have not publicly announced plans for the program’s defensive staff. The statuses of Wilson and Baker, a reported candidate for multiple head coach openings across the country, remain unclear, too. But according to ESPN sources, Brown and the Tigers progressed toward his signing through talks across Wednesday and Thursday, culminating in the program officially landing his signature Friday afternoon.

Within an impressive Tigers defensive class in 2026, Brown was not alone in initially holding off on signing this week before ultimately submitting the official paperwork.

LSU officially announced the signing of ESPN 300 defensive tackle Richard Anderson (No. 90 overall) on Thursday after questions swirled over his signature on the opening day of the signing period. Top 60 defensive linemen Deuce Geralds (No. 39) and Trenton Henderson (No. 60) each pushed their signings to Friday. Henderson, amid late flip efforts from Auburn and Florida State, gave the Tigers his signature Friday morning. Geralds, ESPN’s No. 2 defensive tackle in 2026, followed in the afternoon, minutes before the program announced Brown’s signing.

For Kiffin, who officially arrived Sunday, Brown’s signature closes LSU’s class of ESPN 300 additions and marks a strong finish to a hectic first week on the recruiting trail with the Tigers.

Uncertainty surrounding Brown and the program’s top defensive pledges hung over early-week commitments from wide receiver Brayden Allen and former Ole Miss pledges J.C. Anderson (No. 165 in the ESPN 300) and Ryan Miret. Pass catcher Corey Barber, another ex-Rebels commit, also signed with the Tigers on Wednesday. LSU also lost five commitments following Kiffin’s arrival, headlined by safety Dylan Purter (No. 266), who flipped to Florida on Thursday.

Kiffin & Co. took some big swings, as well. Sources tell ESPN that the Tigers made late efforts to flip USC tight end signee Mark Bowman (No. 29 overall) and four-star South Carolina quarterback signee Landon Duckworth (No. 186). LSU also attempted to sway No. 1 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., who affirmed his pledge to Ohio State and signed Friday.

With Brown officially in the fold, the Tigers will close the early signing period with the nation’s No. 14 signing class in ESPN’s latest class rankings for the cycle.

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