Department of Homeland Security Considering Pitch for U.S. Citizenship Competition Reality Show
The show, called The American, would put immigrants through a series of challenges as they compete for U.S. citizenship. It's being pitched by reality TV veteran Rob Worsoff (Duck Dynasty, The Millionaire Matchmaker), as he confirmed on his Facebook page on Friday. 'It's not mean spirited. Instead, 'The American' is a celebration of what it means to be… well… American – At a time when our morale is at an all-time low,' Worsoff said.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
When and Where to Watch 'The Kardashians' Season 6
How to Stream 'The Baldwins' Reality Series Online
'The Baldwins' Reality Series: First-Look Trailer Touches on 'Rust' Tragedy, Gives Glimpse Inside Family's Private Lives
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that the show was being reviewed.
'The Department of Homeland Security receives hundreds of television show pitches a year, ranging from documentaries surrounding ICE and CBP border operation to white collar investigations by HSI,' McLaughlin said. 'Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval.'
McLaughlin said The American was in the 'beginning stages of that vetting process and has not received approval or denial by staff.'
The Daily Mail was the first to report the news. The Daily Mail reported that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was pushing the project, which McLaughlin in her statement denied.
In his statement, Worsoff said he hadn't spoken to Noem yet but says he has been working with some of her colleagues at the DHS. He also suggested that he had pitched the show during former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden's administrations. 'It was never a flat-out NO from any admin. It was always just about timing,' he said.
Worsoff also confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the program would be a competition show where citizens compete in stereotypically American activities like collecting gold from a mine in San Francisco or assembling a Model T in Detroit.
More to come.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
'Yellowstone' and the Sprawling Dutton Family Tree, Explained
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Guardians president responded to Trump's random tirade about name change
At this present moment in time, you might think Donald Trump would realize he has bigger fish to fry than ranting and raving about professional sports teams changing their nicknames to decidedly non-racist labels. And, well, you'd probably be right. But that didn't stop the 47th U.S. President from going on an arbitrary (and pretty nonsensical, with all things considered) diatribe about how American sports teams like the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians should revert back to their old, decidedly racist nicknames. Somewhere along the way, Trump invented the concept of an "original six" in baseball out of thin air (which doesn't exist and is actually an NHL concept) to invoke the Guardians, for which an "original six" label wouldn't even apply. Again, it really seems like Trump may be brazenly trying to drum up some sort of cannon fodder grievance to distract from other, more pressing issues. I mean, I'm just saying that I wouldn't rule it out, is all. Shortly after Trump's Sunday morning shot in the dark, er, I mean, testimonial, Guardians president Chris Antonetti responded to his reference about the franchise's name. In short, Antonetti politely declined, citing an "opportunity to build the [Guardians'] brand" while being "excited" for the future. You know what the amusing kicker is here? It would take years for the Guardians, or anyone in a similar position, to go back and earnestly rebrand. It's not as if it's some overnight, effortless operation that can be done on someone's whim. How long have the Cleveland Guardians had their current nickname? After years of backlash, in late 2020, the Guardians revealed they would drop their old "Indians" nickname after the conclusion of the 2021 season. They have been the Guardians ever since. It was the eighth official name change in franchise history for an organization that officially started as the Columbus Buckeyes/Senators in 1896. It was the fifth name change since they started calling Cleveland home in 1900.
Chicago Tribune
25 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts likely to disappoint, ex-prosecutors say
NEW YORK — A Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of chronic sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public's appetite for new revelations about the financier's crimes, former federal prosecutors say. Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan from from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell 'a distraction.' 'The president is trying to present himself as if he's doing something here and it really is nothing,' Krissoff told The Associated Press in a weekend interview. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made the request Friday, asking judges to unseal transcripts from grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Epstein and Maxwell, saying 'transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration.' The request came as the administration sought to contain the firestorm that followed its announcement that it would not be releasing additional files from the Epstein probe despite previously promising that it would. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in his federal jail cell in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, while Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed after her December 2021 sex trafficking conviction for luring girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Krissoff and Joshua Naftalis, a Manhattan federal prosecutor for 11 years before entering private practice in 2023, said grand jury presentations are purposely brief. Naftalis said Southern District prosecutors present just enough to a grand jury to get an indictment but 'it's not going to be everything the FBI and investigators have figured out about Maxwell and Epstein.' 'People want the entire file from however long. That's just not what this is,' he said, estimating that the transcripts, at most, probably amount to a few hundred pages. 'It's not going to be much,' Krissoff said, estimating the length at as little as 60 pages 'because the Southern District of New York's practice is to put as little information as possible into the grand jury.' 'They basically spoon feed the indictment to the grand jury. That's what we're going to see,' she said. 'I just think it's not going to be that interesting. … I don't think it's going to be anything new.' Both ex-prosecutors said that grand jury witnesses in Manhattan are usually federal agents summarizing their witness interviews. That practice might conflict with the public perception of some state and federal grand jury proceedings, where witnesses likely to testify at a trial are brought before grand juries during lengthy proceedings prior to indictments or when grand juries are used as an investigatory tool. In Manhattan, federal prosecutors 'are trying to get a particular result so they present the case very narrowly and inform the grand jury what they want them to do,' Krissoff said. Krissoff predicted that judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell cases will reject the government's request. With Maxwell, a petition is before the U.S. Supreme Court so appeals have not been exhausted. With Epstein, the charges are related to the Maxwell case and the anonymity of scores of victims who have not gone public is at stake, although Blanche requested that victim identities be protected. 'This is not a 50-, 60-, 80-year-old case,' Krissoff noted. 'There's still someone in custody.' She said citing 'public intrigue, interest and excitement' about a case was likely not enough to convince a judge to release the transcripts despite a 1997 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said judges have wide discretion and that public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information. Krissoff called it 'mind-blowingly strange' that Washington Justice Department officials are increasingly directly filing requests and arguments in the Southern District of New York, where the prosecutor's office has long been labeled the 'Sovereign District of New York' for its independence from outside influence. 'To have the attorney general and deputy attorney general meddling in an SDNY case is unheard of,' she said. Cheryl Bader, a former federal prosecutor and Fordham Law School criminal law professor, said judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell cases may take weeks or months to rule. 'Especially here where the case involved witnesses or victims of sexual abuse, many of which are underage, the judge is going to be very cautious about what the judge releases,' she said. Bader said she didn't see the government's quest aimed at satisfying the public's desire to explore conspiracy theories 'trumping — pardon the pun — the well-established notions of protecting the secrecy of the grand jury process.' 'I'm sure that all the line prosecutors who really sort of appreciate the secrecy and special relationship they have with the grand jury are not happy that DOJ is asking the court to release these transcripts,' she added. Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, called Trump's comments and influence in the Epstein matter 'unprecedented' and 'extraordinarily unusual' because he is a sitting president. He said it was not surprising that some former prosecutors are alarmed that the request to unseal the grand jury materials came two days after the firing of Manhattan Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who worked on the Epstein and Maxwell cases. 'If federal prosecutors have to worry about the professional consequences of refusing to go along with the political or personal agenda of powerful people, then we are in a very different place than I've understood the federal Department of Justice to be in over the last 30 years of my career,' he said. Krissoff said the uncertain environment that has current prosecutors feeling unsettled is shared by government employees she speaks with at other agencies as part of her work in private practice. 'The thing I hear most often is this is a strange time. Things aren't working the way we're used to them working,' she said.
Chicago Tribune
25 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Russia insists on achieving Ukraine goals despite President Donald Trump's ultimatum
Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals remains a priority, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday, days after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. Russian President Vladimir Putin 'has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,' Peskov told state television in an interview. 'The main thing for us is to achieve our goals,' he said. 'Our goals are clear.' The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022, but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces — demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. In his nightly address on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said that Istanbul would likely remain the host city. Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else. The U.S. president said that he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. In addition, Trump said that European allies would buy 'billions and billions' of dollars of U.S. military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles. Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that U.S. stockpiles were running low. Elsewhere, Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 18 of 57 Shahed-type and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight into Sunday, with seven more disappearing from radar. Two women were wounded in Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian region partly occupied by Russia, when a drone struck their house, according to the regional military administration. Two more civilians were wounded in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv province, after a drone slammed into a residential building, local Ukrainian officials said. Later Sunday, drones struck a leafy square in the center of Sumy, wounding a woman and her 7-year-old son, officials said. The strike also damaged a power line, leaving around 100 households without electricity, according to Serhii Krivosheienko, of the municipal military administration. Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said that its forces shot down 93 Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory overnight, including at least 15 that appeared to head for Moscow. At least 13 more drones were downed on the approach to the capital on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. One drone struck a residential building in Zelenograd, on the outskirts of Moscow, damaging an apartment, but caused no casualties, he said.
