FCC orders review of ABC licenses after Jimmy Kimmel’s Melania Trump joke

Eight local broadcasting licenses under review after White House launched attack on late-night host over comment Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The US’s top media watchdog announced on Tuesday that it is accelerating the review of eight local broadcasting licenses used by ABC, in a move critics see as a clear example of political and regulatory retribution against a disfavored broadcaster. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) announcement comes after the White House launched a full-on attack against the ABC’s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, over a joke he made last week about Melania Trump. On Monday, Donald Trump called for Kimmel to be fired over the segment, in which Kimmel said that the first lady has “a glow like an expectant widow”. The joke was made two days before an attempted shooting – allegedly targeting Trump’s administration – interrupted the annual White House correspondents’ dinner. The FCC – led by Trump-appointed chair Brendan Carr – does not grant licenses to national television networks; rather, it licenses each individual station that broadcasts using the public airwaves. ABC owns and o