The Glimmers

The Bug

Paramount CEO David Ellison is threatening to begin moving the studio out of California on October 1 if state Attorney General Rob Bonta refuses to enter settlement talks over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The company would reportedly move its Los Angeles headquarters first and shift most studio jobs out of the state over five years, with Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee under consideration. Variety reports: Ellison's threat to relocate Paramount in retaliation for California's Bonta leading the charge to kill the WBD deal -- a move that would include much of its studio operations, over time -- was first reported by industry newsletter Puck. In response, Bonta called Ellison's planned exit from the state an "attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through."

"Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court," the attorney general wrote in a post on X. "It didn't work the first time -- on the eve of our July lawsuit -- and it won't work this time." Bonta has not publicly said what concessions from Paramount-WBD he would consider acceptable enough to take the lawsuit off the table. But the Democratic attorney general has said any remedies would need to be "structural" (i.e., divestments) rather than "behavioral" (e.g., imposing certain production quotas).

Oct. 1 is when Paramount will begin accruing a "ticking fee" payable to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders of $7 million per day. The trial in the state AGs' lawsuit is scheduled to start March 2, 2027, roughly five months after that, so Paramount would be on the hook to pay around $1.2 billion to WBD shareholders by the time the trial is scheduled to conclude. (Paramount's ticking-fee payments to WBD are not due until the deal closes.) At the Aug. 5 meeting on Paramount's lot, Ellison told his 12-member senior executive team he expects Paramount to prevail in the antitrust case against the states. However, he also said that if Bonta balks at talks, Paramount will start packing up and moving out of the Golden State in less than two months.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to eliminate hepatitis C, a dangerous virus that attacks the liver, figures show. The target of treating 80% of all known cases has already been met, and deaths from the virus have fallen by 36% in the last decade, just short of what is needed by 2030. Taking antiviral tablets for 8 to 12 weeks can cure more than 95% of cases. Initiatives including A&E blood tests, GP registration testing and free at-home tests have helped to find people who were previously undiagnosed, says NHS England.

NHS England says that since 2015, more than 100,000 people have been diagnosed and treated for hepatitis C, meaning the country is already meeting that target. Another goal -- a 65% reduction in hepatitis C-related mortality compared with 2015 levels -- has yet to be met, but might be before the 2030 target date. Around 50,200 adults are living with hepatitis C, figures for England in 2024 suggest. Estimates indicate 84.6% of those living with hepatitis C have been diagnosed -- just short of the 90% target. The Hepatitis C Trust says England is "on the cusp" of one of the most significant public health achievements in our country's history.

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Starting today, unsolicited telemarking calls are banned in France unless consumers explicitly consent to them. Companies that violate the law can face fines of up to 375,000 euros per call, though existing customers can still be contacted with related offers. Le Monde reports: The government says the law is a response to years of consumer complaints. Authorities estimate that about three-quarters of people in France receive at least one unsolicited sales call every week, and many receive more. In 2024, 11 consumer organizations issued a joint call for a ban, denouncing "relentless harassment of consumers through countless unwanted telemarketing calls to both landlines and mobile phones -- an intrusion that has become a regular part of their daily lives."

Now, "businesses are prohibited from contacting consumers without their prior consent," said Alice Vilcot, chief of staff at the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Prevention of Fraud. "That consent can be withdrawn at any time." [...] Previously in France, people who wanted to avoid marketing calls had to register their number with a government-run service, but consumer groups said some call centers ignored the list. Vilcot noted that an Ireland-based company was fined 6 million euros ($6.9 million) last year for violating France's previous telemarketing rules by calling people on the no-call list.

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F1.com Senior Editor Greg Stuart looks back at Damon Hill’s title-winning season, 30 years on.

@BOK
Ja, je jan me op dit moment er voor wakker maken.
Op de jij buis staat ook een live registratie met philharmonisch orkest. https://youtu.be/eqNYOHrbSoM?is=dnpyV1NuzNgEOV1q

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Veel mensen zijn dinsdag nog op zoek naar eclipsbrillen om de gedeeltelijke zonsverduistering woensdagavond te kunnen aanschouwen. Bij winkels op tal van plekken zijn de speciale brillen uitverkocht, bij sommige winkels waar ze nog wel te koop zijn, stonden mensen in de rij.

Onder meer bij kledingwinkel Getdrezzed in het centrum van Almelo stonden belangstellenden in een rij om een eclipsbril te bemachtigen, zo is op beelden van het ANP te zien. Het Haagse museum Museon-Omniversum meldde dinsdagmiddag dat de vraag naar eclipsbrillen "vele malen" groter is dan het aanbod van de museumwinkel. Het raadde daarom mensen af om nog te komen.

Ook bij de ANWB-winkels wilden mensen dinsdag een eclipsbril scoren. Dat was tevergeefs, laat een woordvoerster weten. De ANWB verkocht de speciale brillen online en die waren zondag al uitverkocht. Volgens de woordvoerster was er veel vraag naar en zijn er vele duizenden verkocht. Maar mensen zijn volgens haar nog altijd "naarstig op zoek".

Sterrenwacht Limburg in Heerlen laat weten dat vanwege de enorme vraag ze dinsdagavond ruim een uur open zijn om eclipsbrillen te verkopen. Het observatorium heeft er zeshonderd op voorraad. Tijdens de zonsverduistering zelf is de sterrenwacht niet open, omdat het fenomeen vanaf de locatie in Heerlen niet zichtbaar is.

SAINT-DENIS (ANP) - Marrit Steenbergen zwom "geen perfecte race" bij het behalen van haar tweede Europese titel op de 100 meter vrije slag. "De eerste 50 meter gingen niet zoals ik wilde. Er lag veel druk op de finale, iedereen verwachtte dat ik zou winnen en dan moet je het ook nog doen. Ik ben heel blij dat het gelukt is en hier heb mogen winnen", liet de 26-jarige Friezin weten via de zwembond.

Steenbergen verbeterde in juni het wereldrecord op het koningsnummer naar 51,68, een tijd waar ze nu ruim boven bleef (51,90). "Mijn tijd is oké. Het gaat in de finale om winnen. Ik voelde me goed. Ik denk dat het geen perfecte race was en dat heb je wel nodig om een wereldrecord te zwemmen. Ik heb alsnog een 51'er gezwommen", zei Steenbergen.

De tweevoudig wereldkampioene kreeg landgenote Milou van Wijk, die verrassend tweede werd, mee op het podium. Van Wijk (21): "Ik ben ontzettend blij. Dit is waar ik op hoopte en het is het uiterste dat ik momenteel kan halen. Deze tweede plek achter Marrit is hartstikke mooi."