60 MINUTES

Creating fake permits and lock-picking: What Herzog teaches his film students Last September, 60 Minutes joined Herzog as he taught aspiring filmmakers on the Spanish island of La Palma off the west coast of Africa; it's covered in volcanic rock and ash from an eruption three years ago. It's an 11-day workshop, which he refers to as a "film school for rogues," that's less about the fundamentals of filming, and more about poetic vision and grit. "For the rogues, I also say, 'You are able-bodied. Earn money to finance your first films. But don't earn it with clerical works in an office,'" Herzog said. "Go out and work as a bouncer in a sex club. Work as a warden in a lunatic asylum. Go out to a cattle ranch and, and learn how to milk a cow. Earn your money that way, in real life." "You do not become a poet by being in a college," he said. He teaches his "rogues" how to forge a shooting permit — something Herzog said he's done himself. "And I teach lock picking. You…have to be good at that," he said. Herzog also advises his "rogues" to carry bolt cutters everywhere. "It's not for the faint-hearted," he said. https://lnkd.in/ePu4in4T #60Minutes #Filmmaker #Documentary #FilmSchool

This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Bill Whitaker reports on?drone incursions?that have pierced the skies above significant military and infrastructure sites around the United States over the last six years. No one seems to know where the aircraft are coming from or who is operating them, including three four-star generals, a senior member of Congress, and a Biden White House senior administration official that 60 Minutes spoke with. "We should be concerned that we don't know what these are," said Gen. Glen VanHerck, the former chief of NORAD and NORTHCOM, the agencies that protect U.S. airspace. "And the question that needs to be asked is 'Why don't we know what these are?' And I think you'll see that there are gaps in capability, there are gaps in policy, and there are gaps in law that need to be addressed." One of the most significant recent drone incursions happened in December 2023, when dozens of what the military calls unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, invaded the skies above Langley Air Force Base in Virginia over 17 nights. The incursions were so persistent, the Air Force moved some of the F-22s stationed at Langley to a nearby air base to protect them from being damaged. The nightly incursions at Langley were just one of many recent brazen drone swarms over military sites. https://lnkd.in/eA8Dum8j #60Minutes #Drones

Last year, a group of musicians auditioned and were chosen for the opportunity of their young lives: playing a concert with "The President's Own," the United States Marine Corps Band. The teens were all part of Equity Arc, a nonprofit organization that provides mentoring and support for young musicians of color, and the concert was set for this coming May. But last month, that opportunity was taken away. An?executive order?signed by President Trump banned programs for diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the federal government and military. When the president's orders rendered the "President's Own" unable to perform with the students, a group of veteran military musicians answered Equity Arc's call to step in. Retirees from the bands of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Westpoint, and the Naval Academy got together last weekend to mentor the students of Equity Arc. 60 Minutes brought the teens to Washington to ask about the canceled concert — and?they answered in song. The set list was similar to the one they would have performed with "The President's Own" in May. Here is that performance in full: https://lnkd.in/esccNePn #MarineBand #60Minutes #Musicians

On a high note last year, after the University of Connecticut won its second straight NCAA tournament, Dan Hurley was approached with a career-changing opportunity: to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA, with a contract reportedly worth $70 million. The Hurleys told 60 Minutes they agonized over the decision. But ultimately, they decided to stay at UConn. https://lnkd.in/eRFNwEzB #60Minutes #NCAA #Basketball

"Dismantling" independent oversight in D.C. This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Scott Pelley?examines the efforts to dismantle independent oversight?in Washington. The Trump administration says it's rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government. But they've gotten rid of the people whose jobs were to do exactly that — including the inspectors general. IGs, as they're known, are independent overseers who look for fraud, misconduct, and inefficiencies within agencies. They save taxpayers billions of dollars each year, and within the first few days of the Trump administration, at least 17 of them were summarily fired. Also let go have been the heads of watchdog agencies, whose work includes protecting federal employees from illegal retaliation and termination. With all the firings in Washington, who's left to stand guard when the watchdogs are gone? https://lnkd.in/ezz8Me9Y

This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Bill Whitaker profiles comedian?John Oliver. Known for his Sunday night show "Last Week Tonight,"?Oliver has won awards and accolades for his searing commentary on America. Although Oliver's HBO show is now in its 12th season, he has not lost touch with the stand-up comedy that launched his career. While preparing for a stand-up show backstage at the Beacon Theater in New York City, Oliver told Whitaker that performing stand-up is his "favorite place to be." John Oliver's stand-up performance was filmed at the Beacon Theatre, NYC. https://lnkd.in/eRrbVh8u

As President Trump?tests the traditional limits of presidential power,?Scott Pelley spoke with Georgetown University legal scholar and constitutional expert Stephen Vladeck about what's legal, what's unprecedented, and what could come next. Scott Pelley: How would you describe this moment in American history? Stephen Vladeck: I think we're at a crossroads. We're at a political crossroads because there's just such a wide gap between the two parties. And I think we're at a constitutional crossroads because we just have not seen this kind of sustained effort by a president to arrogate to himself not just executive power, but legislative power, and increasingly to suggest that even the courts don't have much of a role in checking him. So, you know, I don't think we've seen anything quite like this, certainly in our lifetimes, probably not since Reconstruction in the Civil War. Scott Pelley: Can a president dismantle or defund an agency that was created by Congress? Stephen Vladeck: The short answer is no. The longer answer is there are about 16 different statutory questions baked into that process. But no. Congress is also part of the story. Congress creates agencies like USAID. Congress creates cabinet departments of the Department of Education. The president may get to choose who runs those departments. The president may get to set policy priorities for those departments. But structuring them, funding them, that has always been Congress's prerogative. And if Congress says, "Hey Mr. President, you must spend X on foreign aid, on USAID, on education," it's never been the view, it's never even been a plausible argument, that the president can say no. https://lnkd.in/eHurJwC4 #60Minutes #politics

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When the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history stepped down at the end of the last Congressional term, the most significant legacy he left was not in the halls of the Capitol. Instead,?Sen. Mitch McConnell's impact?as leader of the Senate Republicans ripples throughout the judiciary. Under his leadership, the United States Senate confirmed three Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices and more than 200 lower-court judges, tilting the courts in favor of conservatives for a generation. In a recent interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, McConnell said putting his focus on the judiciary was his way of attaining enduring influence. "It's a lifetime appointment," McConnell said. "The normal legislative activities we involve in, they take over, taxes go up. We take over, taxes go down. In other words, it's very hard to get any kind of lasting impact. I felt that the way to get lasting impact is to put the right kind of men and women on the courts who hopefully will be there for a while." What will likely also last a while is the controversy over how he did it. https://lnkd.in/e6RtjyjK #60Minutes

The nonprofit Heroic Hearts Project has helped more than 1,000 U.S. veterans with combat-related PTSD access psychedelics by traveling overseas. 60 Minutes?documented a psychedelic retreat?last March, interviewing and filming a group of veterans before, during and afterward.? To qualify, the veterans needed to have "combat-related trauma." But 60 Minutes found that many of them, including Giardina, had struggled before their military service. "We realized that a lot of the trauma that they had experienced occurred long before they ever got to the military. In some cases, that trauma, the experience, may have led them to join the military," Cooper told 60 Minutes Overtime. https://lnkd.in/eExnFi4f #Mentalhealth #60Minutes #veterans