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Late-night talk shows are a uniquely American invention that blend humor, the news of the day, and celebrity guests. While Johnny Carson was not the first late-night host, he perfected the genre through trial and error during his 30-year tenure on NBCs The Tonight Show, setting the standard for years to come. As the longest-running host in the shows 70-year history, Carson became a permanent fixture in the cultural zeitgeist and a kingmaker and queenmaker, giving many comedians such as Joan Rivers, Drew Carey, and Ellen DeGeneres their big breaks. Recently, late-night talk shows have been making headlines for unexpectedand possibly politically motivatedreasons, calling into question freedom of speech and media monopolies. The announced ending of CBSs The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and the temporary suspension of ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live! were both controversial moves. (CBS maintains its decision was financial, not political.) All this offstage drama is nothing new. Carson faced his own dilemmasincluding having a mobster put out a hit on him. [Image: Penguin Random House] That’s just one of the many intriguing stories found in the new book Love Johnny Carson (Dutton, 2025) by Mark Malkoff with David Ritz. It was released just two days before what would have been the legendary host’s 100th birthday on October 23. Lets talk about Malkoffs credentials before we get into the Frank Sinatra of it all. Who is Mark Malkoff? Malkoffs father first exposed him to Carsons late-night antics. Though my father was just an average fan of the show, like millions of other Americans, when he told me about seeing that taping, it struck a chord somewhere deep inside me, Malkoff writes. A super fan was created. A young Malkoff continued his Carson education by recording the seriesit presumably aired after his bedtimeand watching it the next morning while eating cereal. He would also make a pilgrimage to Carsons Los Angeles NBC studio and attend college at NYU to be close to Carsons New York history. Malkoff began The Carson Podcast in 2014 and spent eight years interviewing people who knew the funnyman. This book feels like a natural extension of the podcast. Malkoffs purpose was to further educate the public on Carsons cordiality, calmness, cool, warmth, wit, and love. How did Frank Sinatra save Carsons life? Many different versions of this story have circulated for years. Malkoff spoke to comedian Tom Dreesen to get to the bottom of it all. Dreesen heard it both from Ermenegildo “Jilly” Rizzo, the owner of Jillys Saloon, and Frank Sinatra himself. Carson was a talented entertainer who also had his fair share of demons, one of which was alcohol. In the spring of 1971, an already intoxicated Carson went out to Jillys with friends, where he spotted a beautiful woman. According to Dreesen, Carson approached her and put his hand up her miniskirt. This woman was the girlfriend of notorious mobster Joseph Crazy Joe” Gallo, who was known for his bad temper. When Gallo found out, he warned that Carsons days were numbered. The word all over Manhattan was Carsons a dead man. Hes gotta go into hiding, Dreesen told Malkoff. Sinatra and Carson ran in similar social circles and had bonded six years earlier at a St. Louis benefit show, according to Malkoff. The crooner came up with a plan to host Gallo and his family at an unpublicized charity show and make a big fuss over them. Backstage, after the event, Gallo thanked Sinatra and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Sinatra answered: Johnny Carson. While Gallo was not happy about this, he backed off for Ol’ Blue Eyes. I dont believe anybody but Sinatra could have saved Carsons life, Dreesen told Malkoff. So while Kimmel and Colberts recent experiences are unfortunate and life-changing, perhaps they can take solace in the fact that it was not a life-and-death situation. Carson went on to host The Tonight Show until 1992, leaving behind a franchise that lives on today in an increasingly fractured TV environment that has been disrupted by streaming and other forms of digital media. According to a UPI report at the time, his final episode attracted more than 62% of the television audience, some 55 million people.
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Electric-truck maker Rivian is laying off another 600 people, or about 4% of its workforce as the global demand for electric vehicles decreases, the Wall Street Journal reported. This follows a previous round of layoffs in 2024. Rivian is one of a number of technology and media companies that have seen layoffs in October, including: Meta, Paycom, Charter, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, October 2025 is no outlier. From technology companies to media conglomerates, the layoffs are part of a trend in both the U.S. and Europe as companies start to slash staff and downsize. Some are blaming artificial intelligence (AI), though critics say it’s just an excuse for companies to trim staff. The layoffs could also be way to hedge against the current economic uncertainty triggered by inflation, tariffs, the skyrocketing cost of living, and now an ongoing federal government shutdown. Below are some of the tech and media companies that have been laying off workers since the beginning of the month. Fast Company has reached out to all of the companies listed below for comment. Rivian On Thursday, there was news that Rivian was laying off about 4% of its workforce, after a previous smaller layoff affecting some 1.5% of the company last month. Rivian, like many EV manufacturers, is expected to see EV sales decline in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to end a hefty federal tax credit for EV purchases. Rivian is also planning to launch a new vehicle in 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meta On Wednesday, Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp, said it is laying off about 600 employees from Alexandr Wangs new superintelligence research lab, after hiring the 25-year-old wunderkind and investing $14.3 billion in his company, Scale AI, in June. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social technology company plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI capital expenditures in 2025 alone. Paycom Earlier this month, Oklahoma City-based payroll and human resources software company Paycom laid off more than 500 employees, citing workforce restructuring due to efficiencies in advanced automation and AI-driven technologies that will impact a limited number of back-office roles. Charter Cable and broadband giant Charter Communications said on Wednesday that to streamline operations, it was laying off some 1,200 employees, or just over 1% of its 95,000-person workforce, mostly in corporate management and back-office roles. The roles would not be in sales or service positions. The company lost 117,000 internet customers in Q2, and 60,000 in Q1, amid growing competition from mobile providers, per Reuters. NBC News Meanwhile, NBC News is laying off about 7% of its staff, or 150 people, in cuts that started rolling out last week on October 15. The cuts come ahead of a split and rebrand from cable news network MSNBC, which will now be called MS NOW (which stands for “My Source for News, Opinion, and the World”). The move is part of a larger spin-off from parent company Comcast, which also includes CNBC and USA Network. The Wall Street Journal Also this month, the Wall Street Journal laid off a dozen reporters and editors from its education, health, and science news teams, citing structural changes. I recognize that change can be unsettling, editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in a staff memo. I want to thank them for them for their many contributions to the Journal, particularly Stefanie Ilgenfritz [who] has spent more than 35 years at the Journal and has helped shape distinctive and consequential journalism, including a series on Medicare fraud that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2015.
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Tesla is recalling more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. because the front lights are too bright, which may cause a distraction to other drivers and increase the risk of a collision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the recall includes certain Cybertrucks with a model year between 2024 and 2026. The vehicles were made between Nov. 13, 2023, and Oct. 11, 2025, with operating software versions prior to 2025.38.3. The agency said that Tesla is not aware of any collisions, injuries, or fatalities related to the condition. Tesla, which is run by billionaire Elon Musk, is issuing a free software update to correct the issue. Earlier this month, federal regulators opened yet another investigation into Teslas self-driving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing that it was looking into 58 incidents in which Teslas reportedly violated traffic safety laws while using the companys so-called Full Self-Driving mode, leading to more than a dozen crashes and fires and nearly two dozen injuries. The new probe adds to several other open investigations into Tesla technology that could upend Musks plans to turn millions of his cars already on the road into completely driverless vehicles with an over-the-air update to their software. In March, U.S. safety regulators recalled virtually all Cybertrucks on the road. The NHTSA’s recall, which covered more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right side of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash. On Wednesday, Tesla reported a fourth straight decline in quarterly profit, even as sales rose. The automaker reported third-quarter earnings plunged 37% to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. That marked the fourth quarter in a row that profit dropped. And even the revenue rise, a welcome relief from a sales plunge earlier in the year due to anti-Musk boycotts, came with a significant caveat: Customers rushed to take advantage of a $7,500 federal EV tax credit before it expired on Oct. 1, possibly stealing sales from the current quarter. Michelle Chapman, AP business writer
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