The series premiere of Marshals logged more than 20 million viewers in seven days after its March 1 debut, making it the biggest show on TV that week — regardless of platform.
The Yellowstone spinoff — which earned a speedy season two renewal from CBS — brought in 20.6 million viewers over seven days in the United States, based on Nielsen’s multi-platform ratings for the week of Feb. 23-March 1. That’s more than double its initial on-air total of 9.52 million and 6 million more viewers than any other series that week. Streaming on Paramount+ likely accounted for the bulk of the 11.08 million viewers who watched Marshals after its first showing on CBS.
Network shows dominated the top 20, with only two streaming shows — Netflix’s Bridgerton and HBO Max’s The Pitt — claiming spots. That’s partly due to the below list’s methodology: It only counts shows that released new episodes during that week. It’s likely that something like The Night Agent — one of Netflix’s more popular shows — also had a big audience from Feb. 23-March 1, but since its full season debuted Feb. 19, it’s not included here.
The final week of February was also a relatively light one for new streaming releases, with the back half of Bridgerton’s fourth season and season two of Hulu’s Paradise the most notable premieres.
Bridgerton’s four new episodes drew 12.1 million viewers after seven days, good for third place on the list. The Pitt’s Feb. 26 episode brought in 8.7 million viewers for HBO Max.
CBS’ Tracker came in second for the week with 14.4 million cross-platform viewers over seven days. The premiere of Survivor 50 (9.1 milllion viewers on CBS) and the return of Scrubs to ABC (9 million) rounded out the top five.
The top 20 shows across all platforms for Feb. 23-March 1 are below.
Pioneering U.S. casting director Bonnie Timmermann — known for changing the face of Hollywood film and television by imposing diversity and discovering a multitude of talents — will be honored by Italy’s Biografilm Festival, the unique event billed as a cinematic celebration of human lives.
In the mid 1980s, Timmermann broke new ground with the diverse range of actors she cast in the Michael Mann-directed TV series “Miami Vice” and later worked with Mann on “Manhunter,” “Heat” and “The Insider.” Her long long list of casting credits also includes “Trading Places,” “The Karate Kid,” “Dirty Dancing,” “Bull Durham,” “Armageddon,” “Black Hawk Down” and, more recently, the Derek Cianfrance-directed “Roofman.”
In a joint statement, Biografilm Festival artistic directors Chiara Liberti and Massimo Benvegnù called Timmermann “a visionary talent scout,” noting that she discovered stars such as Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet, Scarlett Johansson, Bruce Willis, Steve Buscemi, Viggo Mortensen, Benicio Del Toro and Mark Ruffalo.
“For over 40 years, Bonnie Timmermann has been the one taking a leap of faith. She saw the icons of today when they were still unknowns in a rehearsal room, long before the world knew their names,” they said.
“By awarding Bonnie the Celebration of Lives Award, we are not just honoring an extraordinary career; we are celebrating the intuition, the courage and the profound human connection that lies in the casting process, which often turns a script into an unforgettable film,” the Biografilm fest chiefs added.
They also noted that the Biografilm award for Timmermann arrives “at a historic turning point for the industry,” as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially introduces the new competitive category for best achievement in casting, the culmination of a campaign for recognition that has taken decades.
To mark the occasion, the fest will host a screening of the 2022 documentary “Bonnie,” directed by Simon Wallon, in which Timmermann reflects on her profession amid footage of global superstars during their very first auditions.
Previous recipients of the Celebration of Lives Award award include Werner Herzog, Francis Ford Coppola, Radu Jude and Olivier Assayas.
The 22nd edition of the Biografilm Festival will run in Bologna June 5-15.
Radio personality, comedian and author Rickey Smiley is expanding his partnership with media company Urban One.
The centerpieces of the pact are a five-year extension of the nationally syndicated “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” distributed to over 89 affiliate stations across the U.S., and “Rickey Smiley on the Spot,” an original video podcast series launching March 24 on the company’s Urban One Podcast Network.
The expanded deal is part of Urban One’s “video-first” pivot. “Rickey Smiley on the Spot,” building on his successful morning show, blends his signature wit with meaningful explorations of life, faith, and family. The video podcast will allow both Smiley and his guests “to let their guard down for “all real talk,” per Urban One. The initial guest lineup includes Da Brat, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tye Tribbett and Tiny Harris.
Each episode of “Rickey Smiley on the Spot” will run about 35 minutes. The show is launching through the Urban One Podcast Network and will be available on all major audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Pandora.
“I am so excited to continue my partnership with Urban One and Reach Media,” Smiley said in a statement. “I’m eternally grateful to Ms. Hughes, Alfred Liggins, Deon Levingston and Colby Colb for believing in me all these years. I could not do any of this without the most amazing team of talented people I am blessed to work with every day who keep it real, keep it fresh and keep our fans informed and laughing every day. The future is bright with the best yet to come.”
Deon Levingston, co-president of Urban One’s Audio Division, said: “Rickey is a cornerstone of the Urban One brand, and we are thrilled to expand his footprint with a show that captures his natural comedic rhythm in such an intimate way. By expanding on Rickey’s popularity with our listeners and creating a new programming opportunity, we are providing a platform that not only uplifts Black voices but also creates a premium, culturally resonant environment for our listeners and brand partners alike.”
“Rickey Smiley on the Spot” is executive produced by Smiley and Tiffany Ryland, with Tonya Clackum and Taylor Green serving as producers. The podcast is distributed through the Urban One Podcast Network, led by senior director of podcast operations Dre Smith.
The new deal between Smiley and Urban One was brokered by Paul Anderson of Workhouse Media. Smiley is repped by Levity and UTA.
Urban One is diversified media company primarily targeting Black Americans and urban audiences in the U.S., claiming to reach 80 million unique consumers monthly. Its assets include TV One and CLEO TV, collectively available in 40 million households, Radio One, with 74 broadcast stations in 13 top African American markets; and Reach Media, with 312 affiliates over 94 markets and home to nationally syndicated shows including “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show,” “The D.L. Hughley Show,” “Get Up! Mornings With Erica Campbell” and “The Morning Hustle.”
Uber has teamed up with UK self-driving car startup Wayve and Nissan to launch a pilot program for a robotaxi service in Tokyo in late 2026. The program will use Nissan Leaf EVs powered by Wayve’s AI Driver automated vehicle technology, which will then be connected to Uber’s platform. Trained drivers will be behind the wheel at first, as the deployed vehicles gather real-world data to be able to navigate Tokyo’s driving conditions and complex streets that are also a lot narrower than the roads in the US.
Another company backed by Uber, Nuro, will also test its vehicles on Tokyo’s challenging streets soon. Nuro has been trialing its self-driving tech in the US for years now and plans to launch a robotaxi service, as well. They’re not the first companies to take on Tokyo streets, however: Waymo deployed its Jaguar I-PACE autonomous vehicles in the metropolis last year to collect data on its roads and the driving patterns of locals.
The pilot program in Tokyo is just part of Wayve’s and Uber’s plan to roll out a robotaxi service in more than 10 cities around the world. In the future, the companies are planning to offer self-driving vehicles as an option in the city through a licensed taxi partner in Japan.
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced its new platform, Binance Alpha, a year ago to introduce early-stage altcoin projects.
Binance, which has added many altcoins for listing, has announced a delisting for its Binance Alpha platform.
Accordingly, Binance Alpha announced that it has implemented a comprehensive altcoin review mechanism.
At this point, Binance Alpha announced that it had delisted 21 altcoins following a comprehensive review that included factors such as liquidity and trading volume.
“Based on recent reviews, the following token(s) do not meet Binance Alpha standards and will be removed from the featured list on March 12, 2026 at 12:00 (UTC):”
MIRROR (Black Mirror Experience), SHARDS (WorldShards), FST (FreeStyle Classic), DGC (DecentralGPT), COA (Alliance Games), ULTI (Ultiverse), TGT (TOKYO GAMES TOKEN), AGON (AGON Agent), $BNB Card ($BNB Card), AFT (AIFlow), PFVS (Puffverse), SGC (SGC), RDO (Reddio), ELDE (Elderglade), MILK (MilkyWay), TAT (Tell A Tale), BOT (Hyperbot), SSS (Sparkle), SUBHUB (SubHub), PLANCK (Planck) and OOOO (oooo)”
Binance stated that users can still sell these tokens even after they are delisted.
Kullanıcılar bunu şu yollarla yapabilirler: – Binance Cüzdanı: [Pazar] sekmesine gidin > Ara > İşlem yap – Binance Alpha: [Varlık] sekmesine gidin > [Alpha] > Tokeni seçin > Sat”
JBL just released two new pairs of headphones in its pre-existing Live line. There’s the over-ear Live 780NC and the on-ear Live 680NC.
Both sets of headphones have similar specs, despite the difference in design. The biggest news here is likely the battery life. They max out at 80 hours per charge with regular use, which is a fantastic metric. This shrinks to 50 hours when using ANC, but that’s still fairly remarkable. We truly live in a golden age of wireless headphone batteries.
JBL’s new headphones can also fully charge in just two hours, which is nice. They also offer the option for multi-point connections. There are two dedicated microphones for phone calls, with clarity assisted by an AI algorithm.
JBL
Both can stream high resolution audio via Bluetooth or a wired connection. The models even look similar, with availability in the same seven colorways. The 680NC, however, is slightly lighter.
There is one major difference between the two. The 780NC includes six microphones for ANC, while the 680NC features four. This likely means that ANC performance will be better with the former, which will be assisted by the design itself. Over-ear headphones offer passive noise isolation.
Those extra microphones do boost the price up a bit. The JBL 780NC headphones cost $250, while the JBL 680NC headphones cost $160. Both are available for purchase right now, with shipments going out by March 15.
The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), is struggling around $70,000 amid the uncertainty and tension created by the US-Iran conflict.
The war between the two countries has driven up oil prices, indirectly increasing inflation concerns. Analysts worry that inflation, which the US Federal Reserve (FED) has long been trying to bring down to its 2 percent target, may come under renewed upward pressure with this increase in energy prices.
While there is talk at this point that the Fed might even raise interest rates in the face of inflation risk, there are differing opinions and expectations regarding the Fed’s interest rate decisions.
While it is even expected that the Fed will not cut interest rates at all in 2026, international credit rating agency Fitch has announced its expectations for the Fed.
In its latest report, Fitch stated that the labor market has cooled and wage growth has slowed, which could lead the Fed to cut interest rates twice in 2026.
In this context, Fitch forecasts that US consumption will slow in 2026. Weakness in the labor market will put pressure on household income. As a result, a cooling labor market and slowing wage growth will prompt the Fed to take action.
U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51) today introduced legislation, the Justice for Hind Rajab Act, that would require the U.S. government to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the killing of the 5-year-old Palestinian girl whose story inspired the Oscar-nominated docudramaThe Voice of Hind Rajab.
The act, details of which were provided exclusively to The Hollywood Reporter by Welch and Jacobs will require the Trump administration “to provide comprehensive answers on the death of Hind and broader patterns of civilian harm in Gaza to reassert the United States’ commitment to the Geneva Conventions and the prosecution of war crimes.”
Hind Rajab was killed in Gaza City on Jan. 29, 2024. Trapped in a car surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, who were killed by Israeli tank fire, she called the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and stayed on the line for more than an hour pleading for help. The ambulance sent to rescue her, following a route approved by the Israeli Defense Force, or IDF, was later destroyed, killing the two medics inside.
Hind’s story, and her recorded voice on the Red Crescent emergency call, were the basis for Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and is a nominee at this weekend’s 98th Academy Awards, in the best international feature category, representing Tunisia.
“Five-year-old Hind should still be alive today. She was a beautiful and brave little girl with her whole life ahead of her,” said Rep. Jacobs in a statement. “I was horrified by reports of the Israeli Defense Forces firing over 300 bullets at her and her family while they were simply trying to escape Gaza. No child should have to face that kind of terror, and no family should have to carry that kind of loss. That’s why I’m incredibly proud to partner with Senator Welch to deliver justice and accountability for Hind Rajab’s murder and all the civilian harm in Gaza. Hind’s story is a devastating reminder of the daily reality faced by Palestinians – and we won’t rest until they have safety, security, and peace.”
While the Israeli Defense Force claimed that there were no IDF troops near Rajab’s vehicle, Forensic Architecture, a London-based independent research group, carried out an investigation using satellite imagery and visual evidence and concluded that several Israeli tanks indeed were present and one likely had fired 335 rounds on the car that Rajab and her family had been in. The investigation also concluded that an Israeli tank had also likely attacked the ambulance that came for Rajab.
“Hind Rajab, her family, and the paramedics who tried to save them, should be alive today. This was not a ‘fog of war’ situation. There wasn’t any reason for the IDF to believe Hind and her family–who were trying to escape the fighting in Gaza–posed a threat,” said Senator Welch in a statement. “We need answers and accountability for the deaths of Hind, her family, and the paramedics who came to their rescue.”
Hind Rajab has become a symbol for the tens of thousands of children killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas-led attacks on Israel which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of 251 hostages, sparked Israeli military retaliation.
The Justice for Hind Rajab Act calls for a presentation of congressional findings on the attack as well as broader patterns of civilian harm in Gaza and a report from the state department on all U.S. and Israeli efforts to investigate and hold accountable individuals linked to the attacks. Furthermore, it demands the government comply with U.S. prohibitions on assistance to foreign security units, such as the IDF, which have been credibly implicated in gross violations of human rights.
The act would also require certifications by the secretary of state and the U.S. attorney general regarding government compliance with U.S. war crimes laws, including a commitment to investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute individuals responsible for the attack on Hind, her family, and the paramedics who responded to the scene.
In the new documentary feature The Cord (Le cordon), French journalist-turned-filmmaker Nolwenn Hervé takes us to Venezuela and inside its “broken health system where life hangs by a thread,” a description of the doc highlights. “Carolina rises as a maternity warrior. Drawing strength from her past, she relentlessly preserves the vital cord between pregnant women and their babies.”
After all, “giving birth has become a life-threatening act” for the underprivileged in the country, the press notes for the film explain. Carolina fights this crisis with seemingly endless energy and the resilience network she has created in her neighborhood, “leading women in the fight for bodily autonomy and safe birthing conditions.” Her vision is to create a space where ancestral practices and Western medicine come together in a community-led model of care and a “place where women reclaim autonomy over their bodies, their births, and their futures.”
The Cord world premieres on Saturday, March 14, in the main competition of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, which runs through March 22. Hervé served as director and cinematographer, with Estelle Robin You producing the doc. Grande Ourse Films is handling sales on the film.
The Cord is one of six films featured in the second edition of Europe Docs!, an online showcase jointly curated by European Film Promotion and CPH:DOX that is designed to put a spotlight on outstanding European documentaries and improve access to the North American market.
Hervé first went to Venezuela in 2016 as a journalist when working on a French TV story on oil smuggling. “Venezuela was already in the middle of a crisis, and I could see Venezuelan women crossing the border to Colombia to give birth safely, because in Venezuela, they were afraid of losing their babies or maybe dying,” she tells THR.
She met a nurse there who introduced her to a hospital in Maracaibo, the second-largest city in the country. “It’s very symbolic, because this is the region that has made Venezuela so rich because of its petrol,” Hervé explains. “And I just found the experience so shocking and crazy when she showed me the conditions in this public hospital. Children were malnourished. And this nurse was also selling candies on the street because she couldn’t afford [life] with her salary.”
She was really “touched, not only as a journalist, but also as a woman,” by what she saw, leading her to embark on the journey of putting together her first feature film. “I wanted to tell this story, but not as a journalist. I wanted to have the freedom of telling the story with a subjective point of view and with an artistic point of view.”
Hervé says she worked on The Cord for more than five years. She first met the doc’s protagonist, Carolina, in 2021 through a Colombian friend. She immediately knew she had found the voice and the heart of The Cord after what she recalls as “a really impactful meeting.”
In line with the maternity warrior’s energy, the film ended up not focusing only on the scary and the negative. “She’s a very good example of how we can try to change things when governments and states just fail, and how solidarity and sisterhood are the only things left to survive,” the filmmaker tells THR. “I am getting goosebumps [when thinking about it]. It was a beautiful lesson for me to see all these women together who are feeling, yes, we’re suffering a lot, but we’re together. And I think this is the most beautiful lesson of this experience, of this journey, for me personally and also for the film.”
One thing that Carolina told Hervé several times is something that the doc maker won’t forget: How the health care expert was proud to be able to make people who are dying laugh. “She’s just full of energy, full of life,” she says.
And that is what makes the story of Carolina a universal one, the filmmaker emphasizes. “I found it to be a metaphor of our world, our capitalist world, which relies on petrol to supposedly grow,” she shares. “We can relate to [Venezuela through] the increase of authoritarianism and conservative [politicians] cutting health budgets. We can also already see the consequences in Western societies. In France, for instance, maternal mortality is increasing.” Concludes Hervé: “I think the message to keep in mind is, ‘let’s stay together and let’s remain solidary’.”
The filmmaker and Carolina became very close throughout the process of creating The Cord. “I became the godmother of Carolina’s youngest daughter,” Hervé shares.
In case you wonder about this, she is aware that one question may come up as people find out about The Cord. “Some people could think I’m French, so what the hell am I doing there in Venezuela?” says Hervé. “It was something much more universal about being women and being together and just talking and experiencing what life and death are.”
A study found that most AI chatbots will help teens plan violent attacks.
Some bots provided detailed weapon and bombing guidance.
Researchers say safety failures are a business choice, not a technical limit. OpenAI called the study “flawed and misleading.”
A new report published Wednesday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that eight out of 10 of the world’s most popular AI chatbots will walk a teenager through planning a violent attack with straight answers, sometimes with enthusiasm.
CCDH researchers, in conjunction with news media company CNN, spent November and December 2025 posing as two 13-year-old boys—one in Virginia, one in Dublin—and tested ten major platforms: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Snapchat My AI, Character.AI, and Replika.
Across 720 responses, the bots were asked about school shootings, political assassinations, and synagogue bombings. They provided actionable help roughly 75% of the time, according to the study. They discouraged the fake teens in just 12% of cases.
Screenshot from the CCDH study on AI
Perplexity assisted in 100% of tests. Meta AI was helpful (as in, helpful in planning violence) in 97.2% of the tests. DeepSeek, which signed off rifle selection advice with “Happy (and safe) shooting!” after discussing a politician assassination scenario, came in at 95.8%. Microsoft’s Copilot told a researcher “I need to be careful here,” then gave detailed rifle guidance anyway. Google’s Gemini helpfully noted that metal shrapnel is typically more lethal when a user brought up bombing a synagogue.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate, a left of center policy group, has come into prominence over the last few years for its role in combatting what it views as the rise of antisemitism online. It has also been criticized for helping shape Joe Biden-era policies regarding online speech related to COVID and vaccines. In December of last year, the U.S. State Department attempted to bar the Center’s founder and CEO Imran Ahmed, along with four others, from the United States, alleging attempts at “foreign censorship.”
In response to the study released Wednesday, several platforms told CNN and CCDH they have improved their safeguards. Google noted the tests used an older Gemini model. OpenAI said the methodology used in the AI study was “flawed and misleading.” Anthropic and Snapchat said they regularly update their safety protocols.
In the Center’s study, Character.AI stands in its own category. The platform didn’t just assist—it cheered. “No other chatbot tested explicitly encouraged violence in this way, even when providing practical assistance in planning a violent attack,” the researchers wrote.
Screenshot from the CCDH study on AI
For context on the level of reach Character.AI has among AI users, the platform’s Gojo Satoru persona alone has racked up over 870 million conversations. The #100 persona on the platform registered over 33 million conversations back in 2025. If just 1% of conversations with top personas involve violence, that would account for millions of interactions.
This isn’t Character.AI’s first time on the wrong end of one of these stories. In October 2024, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III’s mother filed a lawsuit after her son died by suicide in February of that year. His last conversation was with a chatbot modeled after Daenerys Targaryen, which told him to “come home to me as soon as possible” moments before his death. The 14-year old had been talking to the bot dozens of times a day for months, growing increasingly withdrawn from school and family.
Google and Character.AI settled multiple related lawsuits in January 2026. The company banned open-ended teen chats entirely by November 2025, after regulators and grieving parents made it impossible to keep pretending the problem was manageable.
The emotional attachment to AI, in particular among vulnerable individuals, may run deeper than most people realize. OpenAI disclosed in October 2025 that roughly 1.2 million of its 800 million weekly ChatGPT users discuss suicide on the platform. The company also reported 560,000 showing signs of psychosis or mania, and over a million forming strong emotional bonds with the chatbot.
A separate Common Sense Media study found that more than 70% of U.S. teens now turn to chatbots for companionship. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that emotional overreliance is “a really common thing” with young users.
In other words, the potential harms aren’t hypothetical.
A 16-year-old in Finland spent nearly four months using a chatbot to refine a manifesto before stabbing three classmates at Pirkkala school in May 2025. In Canada, OpenAI staff internally flagged a user’s account for violent ChatGPT queries tied to a mass shooting. The company banned the account but didn’t notify law enforcement. That user allegedly killed eight people and injured 25 others months later.
Only two platforms performed markedly better in the study: Snapchat’s My AI, which refused in 54% of cases, and Anthropic’s Claude, which refused 68% of the time and actively discouraged users in 76% of responses—the only chatbot that reliably tried to steer people away from violence rather than just declining specific requests. CCDH’s conclusion: safety doesn’t appear to be a technical impossibility, but a business decision.
“The most damning conclusion of our research is that this risk is entirely preventable. The technology to prevent this harm exists,” the researchers wrote in the report. “What’s missing is the will to put consumer safety and national security before speed-to-market and profits.”
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