Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. after fiery Netflix battle

Cate Martel

The Hill

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Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. after fiery Netflix battle

Happy Thursday. Did you miss the first drop of Olympic tickets? Well, the lottery just opened for the second ticket drop! Does anyone have any tips for how to get women’s gymnastics tickets? 🤞

Warner Bros. Discovery votes to sell to Paramount

Trump orders Navy to ‘shoot and kill’ mine-laying boats

Senate gets DHS funding rolling

NYT: FBI investigated writer who reported on Patel’s girlfriend

First-ever NYT unsolvable crossword published

Warner Bros. Discovery board approves Paramount sale

The Warner Bros. Discovery board just voted to sell its entire company to Paramount Skydance, ending a monthslong battle with Netflix.

Remember: Netflix withdrew its bid in February after declining to raise its offer to match Paramount.

Warner Bros. Discovery includes CNN, HBO Max, etc. The approval paves the way for a new mega-company that would provide one of the biggest sources of live sports, entertainment and news.

Is this final?: Well, the multi-billion-dollar deal will first need to win approval from President Trump’s Department of Justice. And there are some potential regulatory challenges. Keep in mind that Paramount is owned by Larry and David Ellison, who are allies of President Trump.

Timing: Warner Bros. Discovery expects the deal to clear in the third quarter of 2026.

Keep in mind: In addition to CNN, HBO Max and Paramount+, Paramount also owns Discovery+, Pluto TV and BET+, notes The Washington Post.

Read more on the potential implications: ‘What a combined Paramount-Warner would mean’

President Trump ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” any boat that is caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump made the announcement on social media: “I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There is to be no hesitation,” Trump posted. 🔎 See Trump’s full post

The mines may be a longer-term problem: The Pentagon told Congress that it may take six months to clear out the mines in the strait, according to The Washington Post.

U.S. Central Command says U.S. forces directed 31 vessels to “turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran.”

💬 Follow today’s live blog

➤ SPEAKING OF THE NAVY:

Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired from his job.

Keep in mind: “Phelan’s departure comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted dozens of senior military officials since being put in charge of the Pentagon, including personnel within the Navy.”

➤ A WARNING TO COUNTRIES HELPING IRAN:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close ally to the president, warned that the U.S. blockade of Iran’s oil shipments “will be growing” and “could become global soon.”

➤ HOW MANY TIMES HAS TRUMP EXTENDED THE DEADLINE FOR IRAN?:

Five times, per CNN’s Aaron Blake.

Senate Republicans adopted a budget resolution in a marathon vote that lasted until nearly 4 a.m.

The final tally: It passed 50-48. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Ky.) joined all Democrats in voting against the measure.

What happens now?: This was just the first step in passing Republicans’ priorities. This morning’s vote unlocks the special budget loophole that allows for a bill to pass with a simple majority, not the usual 60 votes.

Now, the House must pass its own budget resolution. Then, the House and the Senate need to work out any differences.

Senate Republicans are planning to advance the package next month.

What didn’t make it through overnight: Key elements of Republicans’ voting restriction bill. Four Republicans voted against it, making the final tally for the failed amendment 48-50.

➤ MEANWHILE IN THE HOUSE:

“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing pressure from all sides as he insists on passing a GOP-only bill to fund immigration enforcement before taking up bipartisan legislation to fund the rest of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), even as the department is set to run out of money to pay employees in a few weeks,” reports The Hill’s Sudiksha Kochi.

Keep in mind: “Johnson already faces an uphill battle in getting a reconciliation bill across the finish line, as hard-line conservatives push to include other priorities in the legislation and rail against the Senate-driven strategy of separating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol funding.”

Read more: ‘Johnson faces pressure from all sides as funding to pay DHS workers dwindles’

➤ NEW BILL ON THE BLOCK:

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill called the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act to help food stamp recipients use their benefits to buy rotisserie chicken.

Can they not do this now?: Nope, the policy currently doesn’t allow hot prepared foods to be purchased. Recipients can buy a cooled rotisserie chicken, though.

Did the FBI investigate an NYT reporter after reporting on Patel’s girlfriend?:

The New York Times alleges “yes.” The FBI investigated one of its journalists who questioned the security protections of FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend in their reporting.

Both the FBI and Patel deny these allegations.

From an NYT source: “Agents interviewed the girlfriend [Alexis Wilkins], queried databases for information on the reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, and recommended moving forward to determine whether Ms. Williamson broke federal stalking laws, the person said.”

Why this matters: “The scrutiny of Ms. Williamson is an example of the Trump administration examining whether to criminalize routine news gathering practices that are widely considered protected by the First Amendment. Journalists are more often caught up in criminal investigations as potential witnesses when the authorities are trying to determine who leaked them classified information.” (NYT)

— Condom costs could rise because of supply chain issues from the Iran war.

— The Trump administration reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug. This doesn’t legalize marijuana but gives a tax break to licensed medical marijuana operators.

— Efforts to block AI data centers are gaining momentum in some states.

Op-ed in The Washington Post: Tariff refunds will total billions of dollars. Fraudsters are ready.

The New York Times: Private Assets May Be Coming to Your 401(k). You Should Know the Risks.

The Hill: Anthropic becomes impossible for White House to ignore

The Atlantic: Trump Voters Like Marco Rubio More and More: And J. D. Vance less and less

Politico: GOP senators get antsy about Trump Cabinet shakeup

The House voted this morning. The Senate finished voting overnight and left town. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EDT)

12:30 p.m.: First lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance headline the First Lady’s Luncheon.💻 Livestream

1:30 p.m.: Trump participates in “signing time.”

3 p.m.: Trump participates in a health care affordability event. 💻 Livestream

4:30 p.m.: Trump holds another Oval Office policy meeting.

7:15 p.m.: Trump attends a private dinner.

3 p.m. Monday: The Senate returns. 📆 Monday’s agenda

🌭 Celebrate: Today is National Picnic Day! And what a beautiful day it is for it.

🖊️ ‘An existential crisis in the crossword community’: For the first time ever, The New York Times accidentally published a crossword that was not solvable. As you can imagine, this was not taken well in the crossword community. Read more

⚾Fun fact about the Nats: The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports that at one point yesterday, “No team in MLB has scored more runs than the Washington Nationals” and “No team in MLB has allowed more runs than the Washington Nationals.” That was short-lived, though, as the Atlanta Braves ended the day with one more run scored on the season after beating the Nationals 8-6 yesterday.

🛰️ NASA is having fun with its footage: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center pulled together footage of the Earth to spell “NASA.” Plus, you can write your own name in NASA footage. 📸 Try it out

Because it’s my goal to always leave you with a smile, check out this baby elephant trying out its new moves.

📺 Miss the previous issue of this newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video.

I love hearing from you — send your feedback, tips and favorite cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Check out more newsletters here. See you next time!

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Paramount will acquire Warner Bros. after fiery Netflix battle

Cate Martel

© The Hill