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Bari Goes to War

Over the past week, the CBS News chief dispatched Tony Dokoupil to the Middle East, scored exclusives on the back of her pro-Israel bona fides, and is finally making progress on shoring up her staff. All while the Ellisons, and the other news network they’re suddenly lined up to own, have been watching.

Bari Weiss
Several CBS anchors and correspondents attributed the recent wins to the otherwise divisive Bari Weiss, whose connections with senior officials in both Washington and Jerusalem have enabled the network to anticipate this week’s developments and book major interviews. Photo: Griffin Lipson/BFA.com
Dylan Byers
March 4, 2026

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On Sunday afternoon, about 36 hours after the United States and Israel launched their joint attack on Iran, CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil caught one of the last commercial flights from New York to Amman, landing in Jordan just hours before the airspace was shut down on Monday. Since then, he has been anchoring the show from Amman and Tel Aviv—the only U.S. network news anchor broadcasting from the Middle East during this initial and uncertain phase of war.