We have to admit up front that we have always had a soft spot in our hearts for the song “Manic Monday,” released by The Bangles in December of 1985. Not just because it is a classic 1980s pop tune, which it most certainly is, but also because it was written by a songwriter who was identified under the pseudonym of “Christopher.”

In reality, “Christopher" was Prince Rogers Nelson, who you may know better by just his first name, Prince.

“Manic Monday", which features the sultry lead vocals of Susanna Hoffs, was on the Billboard charts for much of the first half of 1986, peaking at number two in April. The week it peaked as the second most popular record in the land, it was second only to Prince and The Revolution’s rendition of “Kiss.”

The song’s opening verse has the words that we find relatable on this first Monday of 2026: “These are the days when you wish your bed was already made."

In the first five days of the New Year, during a time when the news is usually mostly about football, both on the College and Professional levels, there has been just a bit of other big news.

The surprise mission by U.S. forces to capture and remove the President of Venezuela and his wife, and deliver them to a federal courtroom in New York City for a first appearance this Monday, is either a law enforcement action or an act of war, depending on one's political point of view. But certainly, the move over the weekend to arrest and extract the leader of another country was a major news story with global implications. Then there was the stated position of the American President that “We’re in charge,” meaning the United States is now in charge of another nation's affairs.

It is this kind of story that exposes the strengths and weaknesses of our largest news organizations in real time. And that has been on prominent display in the first days of this new year.

The weekend’s events accelerated the installation of Tony Dokoupil as Bari Weiss’s new anchor for the CBS Evening News. He scored a one-on-one interview with Secretary of Defense (or War, if you embrace the new branding) Pete Hegseth. Various outlets are reporting that the interview was arranged by Weiss herself, meaning her job description as Editor-In-Chief of CBS News now also includes serving as the chief guest booker.

Before the big story broke, Dokoupil was ingratiating himself with both colleagues and the general public by announcing the journalistic principles he would be following. He chose to do so via a video on social media. Just like Murrow or Cronkite would undoubtedly have done back in their day.

But as Tony said at the beginning of his video from the CBS newsroom, “A lot has changed since the first person sat in this chair."

We can’t say just how much, but we do know that Douglas Edwards (the first anchor of the CBS Evening News) never resorted to asking people in Grand Central Terminal how to say his name. Ironically enough, Edwards' first news broadcast originated in the CBS studios that were then in the very same Grand Central.

Meanwhile, no newsroom thrives on covering a breaking global news story more than CNN. When the first Gulf War broke out in 1991, it was literally the network’s defining moment. And CNN was flexing its coverage muscles throughout this past weekend, flanked by the political polarizations of its cable news rivals at FOX and MSNBC. The hours of coverage across all of cable quickly became the “full employment act” for any talking head who could weigh in on events in Venezuela and their repercussions on the world political scene.

Struggling as CNN may be for the newswatching audience, these are the kinds of stories when the network can demonstrate its strength as an international news organization, rivaling world giants like the BBC, NHK, and Deutsche Welle. And it's precisely this kind of journalistic infrastructure that Paramount CEO David Ellison wants to get his hands on in bidding to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery, rather than just the movie studio and streaming business that Netflix is pursuing.

While the Venezuelan situation dominated the first weekend news cycle of 2026, the domestic news agenda was set by the continuing fallout from the growing fraud investigations centered on the state of Minnesota, specifically focused on that state’s Somali population, the largest in the nation. On the heels of an investigation and prosecution of massive fraud during the pandemic focused on government funds that were paid out to feed children, comes new allegations of questionable spending on child care facilities in Minnesota.

Even though local news outlets in the state have been reporting on the story since last January, a recent YouTube video from right-wing creator Nick Shirley claimed he had found “widespread fraud” at Somali-run daycare facilities he visited in Minnesota while his camera was rolling. Despite the claims being quickly challenged, the video gained traction after being promoted by various public figures, including Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Elon Musk.

The Trump Administration then moved to block $185 million in federal funds for many child care facilities across Minnesota last Tuesday. Then the Small Business Administration announced it was suspending funding in Minnesota while it “investigates $430 million in suspected PPP fraud across the state.” The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been a troubled pandemic-era program intended to help keep small businesses afloat. The implementation of the PPP and the forgiveness of loans to some companies, including those owned by members of Congress, has been the subject of growing questions for months.

But the collective weight of the growing issues around millions of taxpayer dollars fraudulently paid out in Minnesota had become too heavy to ignore, especially as the state enters an election year for the Governor’s office. By Monday morning, Governor Tim Walz reversed course on seeking a third term, which he had announced just last September, by declaring, "I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work."

It is a stunning reversal of fortune for the man who was chosen to run for Vice President alongside then-VP Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket back in 2024.

And it was in large part the result of news coverage following a “viral video” posted on December 26th. “Independent Journalist” Nick Shirley, as he now identifies himself, took to X/Twitter to post on Monday: “I ENDED TIM WALZ."

It should be noted that we can’t find any “victory lap” type of statements from journalists like Woodward, Bernstein, or even Cronkite, after the Watergate cover-up finally ended the Presidency of Richard Nixon.

But then again, it is clear that we are a long, long time from that Friday back in August of 1974.

Today, it’s just another “Manic Monday."

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