New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani congratulated Abdul El-Sayed on winning Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, praising his focus on healthcare and cost of living. He dismissed Republican claims branding El-Sayed a ‘mini Mamdani’, joking, ‘he can lift a lot more than I can’.
Published On 6 Aug 2026
A federal judge tossed out an antitrust challenge to the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger that was brought by a group of consumers.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín wrote that the plaintiffs in the case had failed to establish standing, but she will allow them to file a revised complaint.
“Plaintiffs’ standing theory amounts to little more than the assertion that they are consumers who watch television and go to the movies, and therefore a merger between entertainment companies would injure them,” the judge wrote.
She also wrote that the plaintiffs alleged “only one concrete and particularized injury – a single, historical price
increase on Paramount+.” But the injury was “not suffered in the same way by all five of the plaintiffs,” the judge wrote.
Martínez-Olguín also is presiding over the separate antitrust cases challenging the merger brought by state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America. On Tuesday, she set a trial date for March.
The consumer lawsuit was filed in April, before the state AG lawsuit. The plaintiffs included five pay-TV and streaming services subscribers who claimed, among other things, that the acquisition would increase prices and diminish the diversity of viewpoints. The lawsuit also seeks the divestiture of Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount Global last year.
Paramount’s legal team argued that the plaintiffs — Pamela Faust, Len Marazzo, Lisa McCarthy, Deborah Rubinsohn and Gary Talewsky — did not have standing, and that they failed to state a plausible claim of competitive harm from the merger.
The judge held a hearing in the case earlier this month, but denied the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction.
A deal between the US and Iran could be signed within 48 hours, according to US officials. The agreement would reportedly focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and could mark a first step towards broader negotiations.
Al Jazeera’s Marah Ryan has the latest.
Published On 5 Aug 2026
The FCC‘s general counsel Adam Candeub faced pointed questions as the agency has delved into network content, with one Republican senator, John Kennedy, warning him that the agency was “getting into the foothills of violating the First Amendment.”
Candeub was recently nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, a role at requires confirmation by the Senate. He appeared at a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who was appointed by Trump, has undertaken multiple investigations of the networks, over issues ranging from diversity, equity and inclusion practices to the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris.
The agency also is investigating The View and whether it is bound by the Equal Time Rule, and ordered ABC to submit its eight broadcast licenses for early renewal. The network claims that the actions are regulatory retaliation for Trump’s dislike of network programming, including ABC News content and Jimmy Kimmel. The FCC has not yet issued a decision.
Kennedy, senator from Louisiana, asked Candeub, “All right, explain to me like you’re talking to a 10th grader. What business it is of the FCC if a television network criticizes a political figure?”
Candeub responded, “Senator, as general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to venture into that issue.”
Kennedy replied, “I do. Explain the law to me. … I mean, this stuff scares me. I don’t like some of the stuff that is said on television, but what business is it of the FCC? Educate me.”
Candeub started to go into the history of FCC oversight, referring to the 1927 and the 1934 Communications Act, before Kennedy interrupted.
“Well, we have’t given the FCC the right to regulate freedom of speech, have we?”
Candeub answered, “You have required the FCC to regulate broadcasters pursuant to the public interest.”
Kennedy replied, “And who decides what the public interest is?”
Candeub answered, “It is the judgment of the FCC following precedent and following the law.”
Kennedy continued, concluded by telling Candeub, “All I’m saying is ya’ll be careful. You are getting into the foothills of violating the First Amendment.”
“Understood, sir,” Candeub replied.
Carr has claimed that he has the authority to delve into content because stations are required to serve in the public interest. But the sole Democrat on the commission, Anna Gomez, has said that he’s using a vague standard to punish broadcasters for disfavored speech, even though the First Amendment still protects programming.
Some Democrats on the Judiciary Committee also focused on the FCC’s investigations. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) pressed Candeub on the FCC probe of 60 Minutes,.
“What would be the basis of opening that investigation?” Welch asked.
“As general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, my job is not to make policy. My job is simply to advise the chairman and the commission,” he said, declining to go further in his comment and citing attorney-client privilege.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, said that he would not support Candeub’s nomination.
Booker pointed to what he said was the politicization of the Antitrust Division. He cited its approval of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger without any conditions as an example of how the division has lost its independence from Trump’s desires. He cited a report that the division cleared the merger even though career staffers had issued a recommendation, and “they were going to recommend blocking the merger.”
Booker then asked Candeub to show his independence by answering the question, “Did Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election, yes or no?”
Candeub, like other nominees asked the question, answered that the “United States Congress certified Joe Biden.” Booker accused Candeub of “showing cowardice.”
The hearing comes as state attorney generals have played a bigger role in challenging proposed mergers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and others have sued to block not just Paramount-WBD but Nexstar’s proposed merger with Tegna.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), the chair of the antitrust subcommittee, asked Candeub “to what extent state attorney generals should play in antirust enforcement.”
Candeub replied, “If confirmed, I hope to work with state attorney generals to have a coherent and consistent antitrust enforcement.”
Michigan democratic senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed says the government is meant to be ‘for the people’ as he and Haley Stevens remain neck and neck with votes still being counted.
Published On 5 Aug 2026
UPDATED, with Paramount comment: A federal judge has set the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger trial for next March.
The date is much closer to the timeline sought by state attorneys general and the Writers Guild America, who sued to block the transaction, rather than a trial start this fall favored by Paramount.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, based in Oakland, wrote that the trial will take place from March 2 to March 19 of next year.
Paramount had sought a November trial start; the state AGs and the WGA proposed April.
The judge wrote that the trial will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with two 15 minute breaks. The trial will be dark on March 8 and March 15.
A Paramount spokesperson said in a statement, “We respect the court’s decision and continue to believe a trial on the merits is the best and most direct way for us to prove what we’ve said from the start – this transaction is lawful, pro-competitive, and raises no antitrust concerns. The lawsuit against us has no basis in fact, economics or antitrust law. We will continue to vigorously defend the transaction and remain committed to closing as soon as possible so its benefits for the creative community and consumers can be realized.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading 11 other state AGs in challenging the merger, did not comment.
The date of the trial is hugely important for Paramount, which will be on the hook to pay Warner Bros. Discovery $7 million for every day that the transaction doesn’t close after September 30. That was Paramount’s deal sweetener as it competed with Netflix for the legacy studio and other assets.
The merger itself has an expiration date of June 4 of next year, and Paramount agreed to a $7 billion termination fee if the transaction did not close due to regulatory issues. The judge has not given any timeline as to when she would make a decision after the trial.
A month ago, it looked as if Paramount may be on its way to closing the transaction this summer, as it racked up regulatory approvals around the world. But Bonta and the other states filed an antirust lawsuit to block the transaction on July 13 and then won a temporary restraining order to put the merger close on hold for at least four weeks. Paramount then moved to go directly to trial, arguing for the earlier date, albeit even a November trial would cost them tens of millions in ticking fees.
Among other things, in a filing last week, Paramount warned that a trial next spring would require them to refile merger materials with the Justice Department, which has already cleared the transaction, because a waiting period expires on Feb. 19.
“A trial after that date would require the parties to re-do regulatory work that has already been completed,” the company’s legal team said in its filing last week. “This burden is not limited to the United States but will also be applicable in other jurisdictions where pre-closing regulatory review and clearance has been obtained. Redoing work that has already been done to the satisfaction of government agencies around the world serves nobody’s interests.”
RELATED: Could Cable TV, That Vestige Of Bygone Media Glory, Undo The Paramount-WBD Merger?
The state AGs and the WGA, however, wrote that they needed extensive discovery. They pointed to the collection of materials on “the definition of the relevant product and geographic markets, the nature and scope of harm in those markets, whether expansion by other firms will prevent harm in those markets, and whether the merger will produce verifiable, merger-specific efficiencies sufficient to outweigh harm in those markets.”
The company said that that the later date would leave the creative community in a period of uncertainty, as Paramount plans to boost production to 30 films per year.
The judge set an initial case management conference for Aug. 19, with a joint case management statement due on Aug. 13.
RELATED: David Ellison “Confident” WBD Deal Will Close, Thanks Staffers For Continued Patience
Anger is growing after a 41-year-old Salvadoran man named Edwin Lopez-Cornejo died after he suffered a medical emergency while detained at ICE’s Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey.
Published On 5 Aug 2026
The US economy slowed more than expected, but it’s not because Americans stopped spending. So what really happened? The answer lies in how economic growth is measured, and America’s massive investment in artificial intelligence.
Al Jazeera’s Noor Wazwaz explains.
Published On 4 Aug 2026
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, said there has been progress in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The update was provided during a meeting with Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear cooperation.
Published On 4 Aug 2026
US President Donald Trump says Iran has ‘one last chance’ to make a deal, but Tehran is in no hurry to take it and instead are focused on talks with Oman to split shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Al Jazeera’s Marah Rayan has the latest.
Published On 4 Aug 2026