Health Diagnosis: On Sunday, the various news networks quickly shifted from their typical afternoon news programming to provide continuous coverage of former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis.
Biden’s office released a statement revealing that his prostate cancer was of the “aggressive” kind and had spread to his bones. The statement added that the Biden family are exploring treatment options, and the cancer should be responsive to whatever treatment the former president undergoes.
CNN was the first network to report Biden’s cancer diagnosis, with CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield reporting the news at 4:08 p.m. ET. (All times Eastern.) Fox News and NewsNation followed at 4:10 p.m. and 4:11 p.m., respectively.
MSNBC—which was airing a re-air of Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace—did not report the news until 4:45 p.m., when Ayman Moheldin broke into programming to announce the news.
CNN: Former President Joe Biden has just announced that he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) May 18, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Cut segment: On Sunday morning, CBS News pulled a segment scheduled to air during that evening’s season finale episode of 60 Minutes. The network had given the newsmagazine a two-hour block, with the first hour featuring a new report from CNN anchor and 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper’s about the recent firings at the Internal Revenue Service as part of President Donald Trump‘s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The second hour featured previously aired segments that had been updated for this particular airing.
CBS News pulled Cooper’s segment, explaining that it learned on Friday afternoon that IRS leadership had informed senior staff it would be calling probationary employees back to work by the end of this coming week. “Our team will continue to report on these new details and will broadcast the story in the future,” 60 Minutes said in a statement.
