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Paramount/WBD merger delayed for months as states' lawsuit moves toward trial

24 July 2026 at 22:56

Paramount Skydance agreed to a longer-term delay of its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, preventing the companies from combining until after a judge rules on the merits of a case in which a dozen states challenged the legality of the merger.

Under a stipulation filed in court today, the states and companies agreed that the merger will not be completed and the firms will not integrate their operations until "five days after the merits determination in these matters," or on June 1, 2027, whichever is earlier. The delay was also agreed to by the Writers Guild of America, which filed its own lawsuit to block the merger. If there is no merits determination by June 1, the plaintiffs could seek a preliminary injunction to keep blocking the deal.

The agreement amounts to "a months-long halt" to the merger, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said. “Halting this merger while our case proceeds is a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries," James said.

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© Getty Images | NurPhoto

Judge rebuffs Trump admin demand for phone records from NYT reporters

24 July 2026 at 19:02

After criticism from a federal judge, the Department of Justice yesterday withdrew demands for phone records and grand jury testimony from New York Times reporters who wrote about security concerns related to the Air Force One jet donated to Trump by Qatar.

It was a setback in the Trump administration's attempts to unmask journalists' confidential sources. US District Judge Arun Subramanian "grilled Justice Department lawyers for nearly an hour over their handling of the subpoenas" during a hearing on Thursday, The New York Times wrote.

“Either we can quash the subpoenas, or you could withdraw the subpoenas,” Subramanian reportedly told Sean Buckley, chief counsel for the US attorney in New York's southern district.

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© Getty Images | Angela Weiss

AI Kill Switch Act would let Trump admin order shutdown of rogue AI systems

23 July 2026 at 20:08

A proposed law called the AI Kill Switch Act would let US government officials order the shutdown of AI systems "that can cause catastrophic harm," the bill's sponsors said today.

If approved by Congress, the bill would let the Trump administration and future administrations decide when an AI company must block user access, disable or restrict a particular capability, or shut an entire AI system down completely. The bill would require AI makers to deploy technical capabilities allowing them to throttle or shut down the systems when ordered to do so by the government.

The bill would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 with authority for the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to order the suspension or shutdown of AI systems. AI developers that refuse to shut systems down could face fines of up $20 million for each day on which a violation occurs.

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Planetary-mass exosatellite detected around the substellar companion of a star

Nature, Published online: 22 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10751-w

Radial velocity measurements provide evidence for a Jupiter-mass exosatellite orbiting the brown dwarf companion CD-35 2722 B, a promising detection of an exomoon-like object.

What to do with a Google Gemini for Home Speaker if you dont want it?

21 July 2026 at 16:51
My son, bless his heart gave me a Google Gemini for Home speaker for my birthday;

Screenshot 2026-07-21 at 08.43.57.png

Honestly, I dont know what to do with it. I didn't have the heart to explain (again) my anti Google policy and I did set it up with him. Yes, its AI is better than Siri, yes, you can have a conversation with it and yes, it has fantastic sound quality. I tried pairing it with my iPhone and played a playlist on Spotify, it's far superior to my Sony Bluetooth Tube but it requires AC power so it's...

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Arqueólogos descobrem ruínas maias na península mexicana de Yucatán

Arqueólogos viram os primeiros indícios das ruínas em varreduras aéreas da península de Yucatán, no México. Mas só havia uma maneira de ter certeza: ir lá pessoalmente. Então pegaram uma velha estrada florestal e abriram caminho para quadriciclos. Depois, a mata ficou densa demais para os veículos. Restou seguir a pé por mais 5 quilômetros até o local. Leia mais (07/20/2026 - 12h00)

Estudo com camundongos leva a pistas sobre como memórias negativas atrapalham o sono

Que o sono é importante para a memória, há pouca dúvida. Sabe-se bem menos, no entanto, sobre o que acontece no caminho inverso, ou sobre como as memórias afetam o sono. Um estudo publicado no mês passado na revista Science busca cobrir parte dessa lacuna e mostra como memórias ruins acumuladas durante o dia podem nos manter acesos à noite. Leia mais (07/18/2026 - 06h00)

‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philosopher inside Google DeepMind AI – podcast

Since 2017, Iason Gabriel has worked at the tech giant, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference?

By Robert P Baird. Read by Simon Darwen

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Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/longreadpod

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© Illustration: The Guardian

© Illustration: The Guardian

© Illustration: The Guardian

T-Mobile bungled forced plan migration, canceling some users' free lines

16 July 2026 at 21:52

T-Mobile canceled some longtime subscribers' free-line promotions as part of a forced migration to new rate plans, spurring complaints from customers yesterday. T-Mobile admitted the problem and blamed it on technical errors that it is trying to fix.

The forced plan changes were controversial to begin with, particularly as many longtime users are being hit with price hikes of $6 per line. The unexpected loss of free lines for some of those users could raise prices by a much higher amount if the change isn't reversed.

There is good news, though. T-Mobile told Ars today that it was a mistake and that the company is working to fix the problem. Of course, it's not always easy for telecom customers to get the proper resolution even after a company admits to an error publicly. But given T-Mobile's statement today, we hope the firm will fix the problem for all impacted customers with as little hassle as possible.

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© Getty Images | Erik McGregor

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