TMI Show Ep 226: “Jimmy Kimmel, Free Speech Martyr?”

What would it take for Jimmy Kimmel to be allowed to come home. Lots and lots of groveling. And paying.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation's largest ABC affiliate owner, demands that Kimmel apologize directly to Charlie Kirk's family and are shaking him down for cash to both the family and right-wing PAC Turning Point USA, all because Kimmel's monologue suggested the killer emerged from the MAGA movement. Sinclair is suspending "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" indefinitely and calling for talks with ABC. The show, averaging 1.77 million viewers and leading the 18-49 demographic in Q2 2025, faces broader late-night declines as podcasts dominate younger audiences. Tonight, Sinclair airs a televised tribute to Kirk in Kimmel’s former time slot.

Plus:

• Orcas Ramming Boats Off Iberia: For over five years, killer whales ram—and occasionally sink—yachts, sailboats, and fishing vessels in waters off Spain, Portugal, France, and Morocco, with juveniles driving the playful encounters targeting rudders for enrichment in the "boring" sea. On September 13, incidents escalated off Portugal: a pod sank a sailboat near Fonte da Telha beach, with five aboard as rescuers towed it to Oeiras harbor, while four on a tourist vessel off Cascais Bay required lifeguard aid after similar interactions. Scientists reject "attack" labels, attributing over 700 events since 2020—peaking during summers—to a cultural fad among bored teens, with experts like Renaud de Stephanis and Naomi Rose noting seasonal overlaps.

• Kentucky Cellphone Ban Boosts Reading: Jefferson County Public Schools sees skyrocketing library checkouts weeks into a statewide cellphone ban, transforming downtime into reading surges. At Pleasure Ridge Park High—where only 17% read proficiently—over 1,200 books circulate in 17 days, nearing half of last year's total, while 40% at one high school borrow versus double prior figures, signaling a "culture shift" reclaiming attention. This heartens against data showing one-third of 2022 12th-graders lacking basic skills, risking adult struggles like map-reading or jury duty, as experts like Tim Daly blame smartphone ubiquity for decade-long declines alongside habitat and test factors.

• Dodo De-Extinction Germ Cell Breakthrough: Texas-based Colossal Biosciences announces culturing pigeon primordial germ cells—the first beyond chickens and geese—advancing dodo revival using Nicobar pigeon relatives tweaked with museum dodo DNA and surrogate chickens. The flightless Mauritius giant, extinct since 1662 after evolving sans flight, nears proxy birds in five to seven years, building on recent dire wolf pups. Experts hail tools for avian conservation amid 2 million at-risk species, though warn of ethical "moral hazards" diverting from habitat threats, with CEO Ben Lamm emphasizing genetic rescue for endangered kin like the pink pigeon.