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‘South Park’ Season 27 premiere: Show skewers Trump and Paramount in fiery return

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CNN
 — 

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought their show back with a vengeance on Wednesday, in an episode that took swings at both the parent company of the network that airs their popular animated series and President Donald Trump.

The delayed Season 27 premiere of the satirical show revolved around the ending of “wokeness” and a Trump character suing residents of South Park for $5 billion after they protest Jesus appearing in local schools.

“I didn’t want to come back and be in the school, but I had to because it was part of a lawsuit and the agreement with Paramount,” the Jesus character says, referencing Comedy Central’s parent company and litigation around its pending sale.

“You guys saw what happened to CBS? Well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount. You really want to end up like Colbert? You guys got to stop being stupid,” Jesus continues, before referencing the Trump character. “He also has the power to sue and take bribes and he can do anything to anyone. It’s the f**king president, dude… South Park is over.”

The town agrees to settle and produce pro-Trump PSAs.

The Trump character is portrayed as a sensitive bully who threatens to tariff or sue anyone who disagrees with him in the episode. Never a show to shy away from controversy, one scene superimposes a photo of the president over animation, depicting Trump in bed with Satan.

“It’s weird that whenever it comes up, you just tell everyone to relax,” the Satan character tells the Trump character about the Epstein case.

Longtime “South Park” viewers will remember that the creators did something similar in 1999, when they depicted Saddam Hussein in a relationship with Satan. Wednesday’s episode includes Satan telling the Trump character that he reminds him of a guy he used to date.

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers downplayed the episode in a statement to CNN.

“This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,” the statement read. “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”

On Thursday, Parker briefly responded to the anger while at an event in San Diego, saying “we’re terribly sorry,” followed by a long, dead-pan comic stare, according to the Associated Press.

Parker was asked for his reaction while attending a panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con International alongside Stone.

Just weeks ago, Parker and Stone expressed their dissatisfaction about the planned acquisition of Paramount Global by Skydance Media and its impact on their contract negotiations.

“This merger is a s**tshow and it’s f**king up South Park,” the two wrote in a post shared on social media. “We are at the studio working on new episodes and we hope the fans get to see them somehow.”

The season premiere this week coincided with an announcement that the two creators had reached a $1.5 billion deal to stream all “South Park” episodes on Paramount+ with an order for 50 more episodes to air on Comedy Central.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed the $1.5 billion valuation for the “South Park” streaming deal to CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information.





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Israel destroys second high-rise as assault on Gaza City intensifies

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Rushdi AbualoufGaza correspondent reporting from Istanbul and

Wyre DaviesBBC News, Jerusalem

AFP via Getty Images People search for salvage at the mound of rubble at the site of the collapsed Sussi Tower, which was destroyed earlier by Israeli bombardment, in Gaza City on 6 September 2025.AFP via Getty Images

The Sussi Tower is the second Gaza City high-rise to be destroyed in as many days

The Israeli military has destroyed a high-rise block in Gaza City, the second major tower it has targeted in as many days.

Defence Minister Israel Katz posted video of the building collapsing on X, with the caption: “We’re continuing”.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which has been expanding operations in Gaza, said the Sussi Tower was being used by Hamas – a claim denied by the militant group.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. Ahead of Saturday’s strike, Israel dropped leaflets repeating calls for Palestinians to relocate to what it calls a humanitarian zone in the south.

In a social media post, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee urged residents to “join the thousands of people who have already gone” to al-Mawasi – an area between Khan Younis and the coastline.

The IDF has repeatedly encouraged civilians to move there, saying medical care, water and food will be provided.

However, the UN has said the tent camps in al-Mawasi are overcrowded and unsafe, and that southern hospitals are overwhelmed.

On Tuesday, five children were killed while queuing for water in al-Mawasi. Witnesses said they were struck by an Israeli drone, an incident which the IDF said was “under review”.

Anadolu via Getty Images Huge clouds of smoke erupt against the blue sky from Mushata Tower in the West of Gaza, following an Israeli airstrike. The building is beginning to collapse, and two people can be seen in the foreground. Anadolu via Getty Images

The Mushtaha Tower, located west of Gaza City, was destroyed on Friday

The Sussi Tower is the second high-rise to be destroyed in as many days. On Friday social-media footage showed the Mushtaha Tower, in the city’s al-Rimal neighbourhood, collapsing after a massive explosion at its base.

The IDF said precautionary measures had been taken to mitigate harm to civilians, “including advance warnings to the population” and the use of “precise munitions”.

But Palestinians said displaced families had been sheltering in the Mushtaha Tower, and Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal accused Israel of enacting “a policy of forced displacement”.

Satellite imagery shows several neighbourhoods in parts of the city have been levelled by Israeli strikes and demolitions over the past month.

The residential and commercial tower blocks in Gaza City represented an important chapter in the city’s history, tied to hopes of ending the Israeli occupation and building an independent Palestinian state.

The rise of multi-storey towers – more than five floors – began after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which allowed tens of thousands of Palestinians to return from exile to Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Following the Israeli withdrawal from most of Gaza in 1994, vertical expansion became a necessity to accommodate the influx of returnees.

The Palestinian Authority encouraged large investments in the construction sector, with entire neighbourhoods named after the towers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel’s intention to seize all of the Gaza Strip after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down in July.

The UN estimates nearly one million people remain in Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of an imminent “disaster” if the assault proceeds.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 63,746 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry also says 367 people have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation.

Additional reporting by Ruth Comerford



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College football scores, live updates: Week 2 schedule features Texas, Illinois, Iowa State in action early

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Week 2 of the 2025 college football season begins Saturday with a handful of intriguing matchups in the early window, and the main event — which happens to be the only ranked-on-ranked game of the entire weekend — coming later in the day.

After losing its season-opener to Ohio State on the road, Arch Manning and No. 7 Texas will look to bounce back in a showdown against San Jose State. In the same window, College Football Playoff hopeful No. 11 Illinois travels to Durham, North Carolina, to face Duke. And if you like rivalry games, this window has that, too, as No. 16 Iowa State hosts Iowa with the Cy-Hawk Trophy on the line.

During the afternoon window, No. 6 Oregon faces Oklahoma State on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET. No. 8 Clemson is coming off a loss to LSU and will look to record its first win of the season against Troy.

The top game on this weekend’s slate is a matchup between No. 15 Michigan and No. 18 Oklahoma in the evening window. The Sooners are coming off a blowout win over Illinois State, while Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood led his team to a victory over New Mexico.

CBS Sports will be here every step of the way to update you with the latest scores, highlights and storylines throughout the evening. All times Eastern

College football scores, schedule: Week 2

No. 11 Illinois at Duke — ESPN — GameTracker
Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State — Fox — GameTracker
San Jose State at No. 7 Texas — ABC — GameTracker
Oklahoma State at No. 6 Oregon — 3:30 p.m. on CBS — Expert picks, preview
Grambling at No. 1 Ohio State — 3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
No. 20 Ole Miss at Kentucky — 3:30 p.m. on ABC — Expert picks, preview
South Florida at Florida — 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network
Bethune-Cookman at No. 5 Miami — 7 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 12 Arizona State at Mississippi State — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Louisiana Tech at No. 3 LSU — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma — 7:30 p.m. on ABC — Expert picks, preview
Check out the entire Week 2 scoreboard

Check these out …





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What The Critics Are Saying — TIFF

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Sydney Sweeney‘s latest performance in the David Michôd-helmed boxing biopic Christy has premiered at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews.

The 2x Emmy nominee stars as boxer Christy Martin, who never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for knocking people out. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim (Ben Foster). But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it, as she confronts family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.

While some critics have praised Sweeney for disappearing into the role of the professional boxer, others say that’s all the movie has going for it.

Deadline’s Pete Hammond said Christy is an “overlong (at 135 minutes), somewhat repetitive and finally, in the third act, excruciating-to-watch movie,” although he admitted, “Sweeney delivers, and then some, putting her all into this sometimes extremely dark tale, and really does show she has the acting chops to pull it off, as if we didn’t already know.”

“If only the movie didn’t feel like we have seen this before because Martin’s personal story … is worthy of it being told to as many people as possible,” adds Hammond. “Let’s hope Christy, despite its flaws, gets an audience for that reason alone.”

‘Christy’

Black Bear

In IndieWire‘s review, Kate Erbland wrote that Sweeney “disappears into the role, not just changing her hair color, eye color, accent, and way of moving, but her general air, her overall mien, the space she takes up in a room.”

The New York Post‘s Johnny Oleksinski called Sweeney “a knockout” in her performance, adding that the film is “a major step to showing there’s much more to her than rom and com.”

Meanwhile, Nick Schager wrote for The Daily Beast that Sweeney “gives a believable performance that almost transcends her role’s derivativeness. This manipulative hybrid of Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, and Monster, however, is so rote that even an A.I. wouldn’t dare try to pass it off as original.”

TheWrap‘s Chase Hutchinson wrote, “It succeeds about half the time, making for a split decision where Sweeney and Christy both emerge as champions while the film itself can’t quite go the distance.”

For The Guardian, Benjamin Lee concluded, “Christy Martin’s life was filled with devastating blows but in her biopic, we barely feel the impact.”

Producers are Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Teddy Schwarzman, Brent Stiefel, Justin Lothrop, Michôd and Sweeney, and the movie premieres Nov. 7 in theaters via Black Bear.



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