CBS: Work needed before Daniels interview can air

NEW YORK — The head of CBS News said Tuesday that a “60 Minutes” interview with adult film star Stormy Daniels is on its way but that more journalistic work needs to be done on the story.

News President David Rhodes’ statement at a conference in Israel Tuesday was the first time CBS publicly confirmed it had interviewed Daniels, who has alleged an extramarital affair with Donald Trump before he became president. Trump has denied this. Michael Avenatti, lawyer for the actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, last week tweeted a picture of himself, Clifford and Anderson Cooper.

No air date has been set for the interview.

Rhodes, in remarks reported by Variety, said he could not imagine what the basis would be for any legal action by Trump’s team to prevent the interview from airing. BuzzFeed had reported that Trump’s lawyers were considering seeking an injunction to stop it.

“I haven’t seen such an injunction, and I can’t imagine what the basis for that would be,” Rhodes said. “The encounter between Anderson Cooper and (Clifford) was accompanied also by conversations with attorneys, documents were provided, and so we have to run all that down before it runs.”

Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, has not immediately returned messages for comment.

The actress has sought to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement under which she was paid $130,000 not to give details of her encounters with Trump. Clifford said Monday that she has offered to repay the money as long as she can speak openly about the situation.

Clifford filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles last week that sought to invalidate the agreement so she could “set the record straight.”

The lawsuit claimed the “hush agreement” that was signed days before the 2016 presidential election is legally invalid because it was only signed by Clifford and Cohen and not by Trump.

Turkish forces surround Kurdish town in northern Syria

BEIRUT — Turkey said Tuesday its troops and allied Syrian fighters have encircled the Kurdish-held town of Afrin in northern Syria, putting hundreds of thousands of civilians under siege and marking a significant military advance in the seven-week operation.

Turkey launched its assault on the border enclave on Jan. 20 to drive out Syrian Kurdish forces that it views as “terrorists” linked to Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey. The Turkish military said the siege of Afrin, the main town in the enclave of the same name, began Monday after the military took control of “critical areas.”

A passage out of Afrin remained partially open, and thousands of people have reportedly fled the town, heading toward nearby areas controlled by the Syrian government. Syria’s Al-Ikhbariya TV showed cars, trucks and