The network averaged just under 6 million viewers on a typical moment in prime time for the season that just concluded, the Nielsen company said on Friday. NBC was the second most popular, followed by Fox and ABC the same pecking order as last year.

All of the networks lost viewers from the year before, with NBCs 13% decline the steepest and Foxs 1% drop the smallest, Nielsen said.

CBS winning streak began in a different era, back when the mention of streaming or cord-cutting would earn a quizzical look. Its viewership average during that 2008-09 season was 11.75 million, nearly double what it was this year.

In comparison, ABC and Fox both lost more than half of their live viewers from the 2008-09 season, while NBC was down 33% from that time, when it was at an ebb, Nielsen said.

Quite simply, viewers have far more choices today and are accustomed to creating their own entertainment schedules. The broadcast networks also benefit from that; CBS said that within 35 days, a typical episode of CSI: Vegas more than doubles its viewership from the night it first airs.

But, increasingly, live events like sports are what brings viewers to network television. NBCs Sunday Night Football was the most popular program this past season, averaging 18.5 million live viewers, Nielsen said.

Sunday Night Football first aired on NBC in 2006. Longevity was a key component in other popular shows. The most-watched drama on the night it first airs, CBS NCIS, has been on the networks schedule since 2003. The most popular comedy, CBS Young Sheldon, first aired in 2017, but it was a spinoff from The Big Bang Theory, which began a decade earlier.

The most-watched news program in prime time, CBS 60 Minutes, has been on the air since 1968. The most-watched reality show, NBCs The Voice, began in 2011.

All but two of the 10 most-watched scripted shows were dramas. Young Sheldon and CBS Ghosts were the two exceptions.

CBS had seven of the 10 most popular scripted shows. The others were producer Dick Wolfs Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. trilogy on NBC.

Yet President Joe Biden was upbeat as he left for the Memorial Day weekend at Camp David, declaring, Its very close, and Im optimistic.

With Republican at the Capitol talking with Bidens team at the White House, the president said, Theres a negotiation going on. Im hopeful well know by tonight whether were going to be able to have a deal.

The new date, set out in a letter from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, came with Americans and the world concerned about U.S. brinkmanship.

In a blunt warning, Yellen said failure to act by the new date would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests. Anxious retirees were already making contingency plans for missed checks, with the next Social Security payments due next week.

The new deadline, a week from Monday, is four days later than earlier expected. Yellen said all extraordinary measures Treasury has resorted to would be exhausted.

Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have seemed to be narrowing on a two-year budget-slashing deal that would also extend the debt limit past the next presidential election. After frustrating rounds of closed-door talks, a compromise had appeared to be nearing on Friday.

Republicans have made some headway in their drive for steep spending cuts that Democrats oppose. However, the sides are particularly dug in over McCarthys demands for tougher work requirements on government food stamp recipients that Democrats say is a nonstarter.

Earlier Friday, McCarthy said his Republican debt negotiators and the White House had hit crunch time, straining to wrap up an agreement with Biden as lawmakers broke for the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Any deal would need to be a political compromise, with support from both Democrats and Republicans to pass the divided Congress. Failure to lift the borrowing limit, now $31 trillion, to pay the nations incurred bills, would send shockwaves through the U.S. and global economy.

But many of the hard-right Trump-aligned Republicans in Congress have long been skeptical of Treasurys projections, and they are pressing McCarthy to hold out.

The deals within reach, it just has to be agreed to, said Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., one of the negotiators.

In remarks optimistic comments earlier at the White House before Yellens letter was released, Biden gave a shoutout to one of this top negotiators saying shes putting together a deal, hopefully.

He was referring to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young who attended a salute to the Louisiana State womens national basketball champions.

While the contours of the deal have been taking shape to cut spending for 2024 and impose a 1% cap on spending growth for 2025, the two sides remain stuck on various provisions. The debt ceiling, now at $31 trillion, would be lifted for two years to pay the nations incurred bills.

A person familiar with the talks said the two sides were dug in on whether or not to agree to Republican demands to impose stiffer work requirements on people who receive government food stamps, cash assistance and health care aid.

House Democrats have called such requirements for health care and food aid a nonstarter.

Asked if Republicans would relent on work requirements Graves, fumed: Hell no, not a chance.

House Republicans had pushed the issue to the brink, displaying risky political bravado in leaving town for the Memorial Day holiday. Lawmakers are tentatively not expected back at work until Tuesday, but now their return is uncertain.

The world is watching, said International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva after meeting Friday with Yellen. Lets remember we are now in the 12th hour.

Weeks of negotiations between Republicans and the White House have failed to produce a deal in part because the Biden administration resisted negotiating with McCarthy over the debt limit, arguing that the countrys full faith and credit should not be used as leverage to extract other partisan priorities.

We have to spend less than we spent last year. That is the starting point, said McCarthy.

One idea is to set the topline budget numbers but then add a snap-back provision to enforce cuts if Congress is unable during its annual appropriations process to meet the new goals.

On work requirements for aid recipients, the White House is particularly resisting measures that could drive more people into poverty or take their health care, said the person familiar with the talks, who was granted anonymity to describe behind-closed-door discussions.

Over the Republican demand to rescind money for the Internal Revenue Service, its still an open issue whether the sides will compromise by allowing the funding to be pushed into other domestic programs, the person said.

In one potential development, Republicans may be easing their demand to boost defense spending beyond what Biden had proposed in his budget, instead offering to keep it at his proposed levels, according to another person familiar with the talks.

The teams are also eyeing a proposal to boost energy transmission line development from Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., to facilitate the buildout of an interregional power grid.

Meanwhile, McCarthy is feeling pressure from the Houses right flank not to give in to any deal, even if it means blowing past the Treasury deadline.

McCarthy said Donald Trump, the former president who is again running for office, told him, Make sure you get a good agreement.

Watchful Democrats, though, are also pressing Biden. The top three House Democratic leaders led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries spoke late Thursday with the White House.

McCarthy has promised lawmakers he will abide by the rule to post any bill for 72 hours before voting. The Democratic-held Senate has vowed to move quickly to send the package to Bidens desk, right before next Thursdays possible deadline.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings agency placed the United States AAA credit on ratings watch negative, warning of a possible downgrade.

The White House has continued to argue that deficits can be reduced by ending tax breaks for wealthier households and some corporations, but McCarthy said he told the president as early as their February meeting that raising revenue from tax hikes was off the table.

While Biden has ruled out, for now, invoking the 14th Amendment to raise the debt limit on his own, Democrats in the House announced they have all signed on to a legislative discharge process that would force a debt ceiling vote. But they need five Republicans to break with their party and tip the majority to set the plan forward.

They are all but certain to claw back some $30 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds now that the pandemic emergency has officially been lifted.

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report.

Justice Timothy Fancourt said a trial will have to determine whether Rupert Murdochs News Group Newspapers carried out unlawful information gathering that included tapping Grants home phone, bugging his car and breaking into his home.

If true which will be a matter for the trial due to take place in January 2024 these allegations would establish very serious, deliberate wrongdoing at NGN, conducted on an institutional basis on a huge scale, Fancourt wrote. Of particular relevance , they would also establish a concerted effort to conceal the wrongdoing by hiding and destroying relevant documentary evidence, repeated public denials, lies to regulators and authorities, and unwarranted threats to those who dared to make allegations or notify intended claims against The Sun.

During a hearing last month, News Group argued that claims of unlawful information gathering by Grant and Prince Harry should be thrown out because they werent brought within a six-year time limit.

The ruling didnt address the Duke of Sussexs case because the judge wants to hear more at a hearing in July about Harrys allegations that he was prevented from bringing his phone hacking claims much sooner because of a secret agreement between Buckingham Palace and News Group executives.

The judge dismissed Grants phone hacking claims on time limitation grounds, saying the actor, who has played a key role in the Hacked Off press reform group, was well aware of the voicemail interception scandal and could have brought such a claim much sooner.

Grant previously settled a phone hacking case with News Groups former publication News of the World. That paper was closed in 2011 at the height of the hacking scandal after it was revealed that the tabloid had intercepted voicemails of a murdered girl, in addition to those of celebrities, athletes, politicians and members of the royal family.

News Group has asserted no unlawful information gathering occurred at The Sun.

But the judge said the case could proceed on other allegations the actor said he only became aware of in 2021 after private investigator Gavin Burrows began disclosing alleged acts of phone tapping, bugging and burglary on behalf of the paper.

In addition to hacking my phone and tapping my landline, (Burrows) was aware that my premises had been burgled by people working for The Sun and that a tracking device had been placed in my car, Grant said in a witness statement. I found this astonishing.

Grant said he could never piece together who had broken into his fourth-floor apartment in 2011. The door had been pried off its hinges and the interior looked like there had been a fight but nothing was missing. Two days later, The Sun had a story detailing the interior and signs of a domestic row.

Prince Harry alleged last month that the royal family had agreed to settle their cases with News Group out of court after phone hacking litigation against News of the World had wrapped up. He said the deal allegedly agreed to by his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II was intended to keep the royals from testifying in court. He said the deal called for an apology.

In court papers, Harry said he brought his lawsuit in 2019 against the wishes of his father, now King Charles III when he became frustrated the settlement wasnt happening. He said his brother, Prince William, heir to the throne, subsequently received a huge settlement over phone hacking allegations against News Group.

NGN has denied there was a secret agreement. The palace hasnt responded to messages seeking comment on that or Williams alleged settlement.

A spokesperson for News Group issued a statement Friday saying it was pleased that the court threw out Grants phone hacking allegations.

NGN strongly denies the various historical allegations of unlawful information-gathering contained in what remains of Mr. Grants claim, the statement said.

Harrys case against News Group is one of three phone hacking suits he has brought against British tabloid publishers.

Fancourt is currently hearing evidence by a lawyer for Harry and three others against the publisher of the Daily Mirror for alleged acts of unlawful information gathering dating to the 1990s. Harry is due to testify in the case next month.

A different judge is currently reviewing whether cases brought by the duke, Elton John, actor and model Elizabeth Hurley, and others against the publisher of the Daily Mail should go to trial.

Officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve have questioned prime brokers about leveraged trading in government bonds by their fast-money clients, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named citing the confidential nature of discussions. The dangers have been heightened as political brinkmanship around the debt ceiling has threatened to sink the US into default and unleash chaos in financial markets.

Several of the hedge funds that have recently pursued the so-called basis trade were also active in 2020, when the outbreak of the pandemic upended the Treasury market and caught them wrong-footed until Fed officials intervened to restore normalcy. The list includes Citadel, Millennium Management, ExodusPoint Capital Management and Capula Investment Management, according to people familiar with the matter.

Opaque and risky, the strategy has long spooked watchdogs. It involves borrowing heavily in the repurchase market and using that leverage to exploit the price gap between Treasury futures and the underlying cash market. The trades, in some cases, have been levered 50-to-1, according to two of the people. The strategys enduring popularity is particularly alarming to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who is on a broader mission to subject large speculators to more onerous regulations.

Theres a risk in our capital markets today about the availability of relatively low margin or even zero margin funding to large, macro hedge funds, said Gensler, in response to a Bloomberg News inquiry about the rise of the investing style.

The New York Fed said in a statement that it regularly reaches out to a wide range of market participants to gather information on financial market developments, and this outreach is consistent with typical market intelligence gathering. 

Officials have been asking about current margin requirements and how a default, or a downgrade to the USs credit rating, would impact the market plumbing including the value of collateral, the people said. 

The regulatory interest in the issue isnt entirely new some officials have been monitoring it ever since the last blow-up but the possibility of a US default has added a new, and troubling, element. Financial watchdogs are under pressure after having been blindsided repeatedly by instability in the bond market since the pandemic erupted.

Fed officials at the policy meeting earlier this month expressed concerns about the risks lurking outside the banking system in light of recent financial stresses. Minutes released Wednesday singled out hedge funds, which tend to use substantial leverage and may hold concentrated positions in some assets with low or zero margin.

Memories of the 2020 rout are fresh. Back then, massive volatility in Treasury futures sparked margin calls and contributed to the Feds decision to pledge trillions in stimulus. ExodusPoint and Capula were caught out while Millennium closed several so-called trading pods in the crisis. For Citadel, the impact was smaller. The firms current positioning in the trade isnt the largest its been historically, one of the people said. 

Representatives for Citadel, Millennium, ExodusPoint and Capula declined to comment on their current exposures.

This time round, the build-up in short-futures positions by funds that use leverage has been hitting records. Thats a sign speculators are seeking to profit from a mismatch in pricing between Treasury futures and the cash market. Since the strategy typically yields minuscule returns, hedge funds borrow in the repo market to amplify gains. 

A big bulk of such trades are conducted on a bilateral basis meaning transactions take place between two firms without a central clearinghouse serving as a backstop. The Treasurys Office of Financial Research has said it considers bilateral repo, the most common of all repurchase activities, as a regulatory blindspot. Post-2008 bank rules have also made repo activity more costly and less attractive to dealers giving life to new market players who largely operate outside the reach of financial supervisors.

The SEC has been seeking to push more hedge-fund Treasury trades into central clearinghouses. The agency also finalized a rule that would require private funds to report major losses, sudden margin increases, or other significant events within no more than 72 hours or potentially sooner. But that regulation wont go into effect for six months.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for debt negotiators in Washington. Traders assume that if push comes to shove, the Treasury would prioritize interest and principal payments on publicly held obligations. Yet even if theres an 11th-hour agreement, prolonged fiscal brinkmanship could cause a surge in repo rates and undermine one-way trades across a bond market thats delivered blows to a host of money managers over the past year, while fueling the regional banking crisis. 

To be clear, not everyone finds positioning in the bond market alarming. To Meghan Swiber, a US rates strategist at Bank of America Corp., hedge funds typically take the other side of the trade when asset managers amass massive long positions in futures. And to hedge themselves, the fast money goes on to buy obligations in the cash market, which helps at a time when the Fed is shrinking its bond portfolio, per Swiber. 

The asset manager community has seen such large demand for Treasuries that someones got to supply those asset managers liquidity, she said.

With time growing short to avert a default, Republican and White House negotiators are said to be moving closer to an agreement to raise the debt limit and cap federal spending for two years, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy resuming talks Friday. However, details are tentative and no final deal has yet been reached. 

In the event the US actually defaults on some obligations next month, Gensler has warned that, among the many concerns, market funding and liquidity would be particularly problematic.

It would be one heck of a mess, he said at a recent press briefing.

With assistance from Hannah Levitt, Christopher Condon, Katanga Johnson, Kate Davidson, Ye Xie, Edward Bolingbroke and Jenny Surane.