60 Minutes: Pulled CECOT Reporting Not Scheduled for This Sunday
· BCPosted in: CBS, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: 60 minutes
60 Minutes: Pulled CECOT Reporting Not Scheduled for This Sunday
The 60 Minutes segment critical of the Trump Administration that CBS News' Bari Weiss pulled isn't scheduled for this Sunday's show.
Published Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:13:04 -0600
by Ray Flook
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The same day that CBS Evening News rolled out its "promises" to its viewers ahead of its revamp this Monday, we've got an update on how things are looking on the 60 Minutes front. Heading into the holidays, CBS News Chief of Staff Bari Weiss justified pulling a segment from the long-running news program that was critical of the Trump Administration, only hours before it was set to air, and after press about the episode had already gone out.
In the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi spoke with several Venezuelan individuals who were detained in El Salvador's CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo/Terrorism Confinement Center) by the Trump Administration to discuss the brutal and torturous conditions they endured. Though the segment was cleared by the network's legal department and Standards and Practices, and given the green light to be sent to the press for promotion, the notice went out on Sunday that the segment was being pulled for a "future broadcast" (we have a full timeline of the controversy that followed here).
Based on the press release sent out, this Sunday's broadcast will not be the "future broadcast" referred to, marking two weeks since the segment was originally set to air. Here's a look at the official overviews for the three segments set for this weekend:
HERE COME THE HUMANOIDS – For decades, engineers have been trying to create robots that look and move like humans, and now breakthroughs in AI are giving humanoid robots a new ability to acquire skills through learning. At Hyundai's new auto plant near Savannah, Ga., correspondent Bill Whitaker watches as Boston Dynamics' humanoid AI-powered robot Atlas learns to perform factory work in a real-world setting for the first time. Marc Lieberman is the producer.
BOOM CHICAGO – If you think America's top laugh factories are only in New York, Chicago, and L.A., think again. Reporting from Amsterdam, correspondent Jon Wertheim takes us inside Boom Chicago, an English-language improv theater founded in the early '90s by two American comics. What sounded like a punchline became a pipeline, launching future stars like Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Amber Ruffin, Brendan Hunt, and Jason Sudeikis. At a moment when American comedy feels under siege, this beloved Dutch theater keeps proving that funny survives – and travels. Michael Gavshon is the producer.
ALYSA LIU – Very few people retire at age 16, but few people have had careers with as many twists as Alysa Liu. After becoming the youngest U.S. women's figure skating champion at just 13, the phenom shocked the sport by walking away a few years later. Now 20, Liu is back and a favorite to win Olympic gold next month. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi speaks with Liu about coming back on her own terms. Draggan Mihailovich and Nathalie Sommer are the producers.
"Right now, the majority of Americans say they do not trust the press. It isn't because they're crazy," read the note from Weiss, President Tom Cibrowski, and new senior editors Charles Forelle and Adam Rubenstein, defending the decision to pull the segment. "To win back their trust, we have to work hard. Sometimes that means doing more legwork. Sometimes it means telling unexpected stories. Sometimes it means training our attention on topics that have been overlooked or misconstrued. And sometimes it means holding a piece about an important subject to make sure it is comprehensive and fair." The memo continued, "Such editorial decisions can cause a firestorm, particularly on a slow news week. And the standards for fairness we are holding ourselves to, particularly on contentious subjects, will surely feel controversial to those used to doing things one way. But to fulfill our mission, it's necessary."
A silver lining in all of this is that, should the segment eventually air, we will have the opportunity to compare it to the original segment. Canadian television network Global TV uploaded and made the original episode available for viewing on its app (but not broadcast). Although the original episode was eventually taken down, it wasn't before many people had a chance to view it, download it, and share it on social media, YouTube, and Reddit.
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