Paramount Skydance has agreed to postpone its $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger until five days after an antitrust trial or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first. The agreement with a 12-state coalition led by California effectively shelves the deal for months while states argue it would reduce competition in cable and theatrical markets. Variety reports: Paramount had been keen to close the deal before Sept. 30, when it will begin to incur a $7-million-a-day "ticking fee" to be paid to Warner Bros. investors. The agreement is a tacit acknowledgement that that will not happen, barring a settlement with the states. Paramount previously sought a three-day hearing on the injunction motion in late August, hoping to win the judge's blessing to close the deal sometime in early September. But the states resisted that idea, saying they would need more time to take discovery and prepare for a full trial on the merits. The states were due to file their injunction motion on Thursday night, but held off as the two sides held discussions on a path forward. In a statement, the company said the agreement is a "significant win."

"Today's agreement is a significant win because the result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence," a Paramount spokesperson said. "This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached. Plaintiffs' market definitions bear no relationship to the realities of today's marketplace and cannot withstand scrutiny. We look forward to proving our case at trial."

A hearing was scheduled for Aug. 3 in federal court in Oakland, at which point the two sides were expected to argue over the injunction motion. The two sides agreed to cancel that hearing. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin approved the joint stipulation on Friday afternoon, about an hour after it was entered. The Writers Guild of America filed its own motion for an injunction earlier this week, which was also set to be heard on Aug. 3. That motion has been withdrawn, as Paramount has effectively conceded that it will not close the deal until a determination of the merits of the antitrust claims. The parties also agreed to submit a joint stipulation by July 31 on their respective positions on trial scheduling. The states previously proposed to hold the trial in April 2027.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The U.S. Justice Department is prosecuting an American for allegedly providing U.S. border authorities with a passcode that wiped the contents of his phone, according to an indictment and media reports. This is thought to be the first known case in the United States where federal prosecutors have charged someone for the alleged destruction of data using a so-called "duress" password built into a phone's software. According to The Guardian, which covered the story earlier this week following the court's first hearing on Monday, Atlanta resident Samuel Tunick is fighting the charges. Tunick's attorneys said that it was unlawful for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize his phone as he arrived back in the U.S. last year, and that any evidence -- including the alleged wiping of his phone -- should be thrown out.

The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that runs in place of the software on most modern Google Pixel devices. Tunick's attorneys confirmed GrapheneOS was running on his phone. The software feature allows the device owner to set a passcode that deliberately wipes the contents of that device if entered instead of the user's unlock passcode. Tunick's case also raises ongoing questions about what constitutional rights can be invoked at the border, which the U.S. government has long asserted is not U.S. soil until a person is authorized to enter. Bill Budington, a senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Runa Sandvik, a digital security expert who works to protect at-risk people as the founder of security consultancy firm Granitt, told TechCrunch that they had not seen similar cases involving the use of duress passwords.

"I have not seen this before, though I've discussed the potential scenario with activists and journalists over the years," said Sandvik. "I think this case serves as a reminder that authorities may argue you knowingly destroyed data, so it's better to not have that data on you when you cross certain borders."

"With a little planning ahead of time, you can always download the data you need once you get to where you're going," said Sandvik.

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In het Amsterdamse Oosterpark wandelt een moeder met een kinderwagen. Als ik haar fietsend wil inhalen, zwalkt ze plotseling scherp naar links en snijdt me af.

Je krijgt een paar cijfers cadeau, maar het grid van 9x9 moet foutloos ingevuld worden.

Een kruiswoordpuzzel, maar dan heel klein (en snel).

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Mensen hebben vrijdagavond rond 22.30 uur meldingen gemaakt van een vuurbol vanuit verschillende regio's in Nederland op sociale media.

Er kwamen op X berichten uit onder andere Gelderland, Overijssel, Noord- en Zuid-Holland en Utrecht.

Volgens meteoroloog Wouter van Bernebeek gaat het waarschijnlijk om een meteoor: "een stuk ruimtepuin dat in de atmosfeer verbrandt op circa 100 kilometer hoogte", legde hij uit op X. "Het is dus géén meteoriet: dan wordt ons aardoppervlak echt geraakt."

Satellietdeskundige Marco Langbroek van de TU Delft zei tegen de NOS dat het een satelliet van Elon Musks SpaceX was, Starlink 1541. Deze keerde terug in de atmosfeer en begon op te breken en op te branden.

MADRID (ANP/AFP) - Ten westen van de Spaanse hoofdstad woedt volgens de regionale bestuurder Isabel Díaz Ayuso de "ergste bosbrand in de geschiedenis van de regio Madrid". Zeker 63.000 mensen werden geëvacueerd of kregen het bevel binnen te blijven. De brand heeft al tientallen huizen verwoest en verschillende wegen zijn afgesloten, aldus Díaz Ayuso.

De brand heeft tot nu toe zo'n 6000 hectare in de regio Madrid verwoest. En het einde is nog niet in zicht, want sterke wind en verzengende temperaturen bemoeilijken het bluswerk. "De bosbrand is op zijn hoogtepunt en de brandweer kan hem momenteel niet meer bedwingen", zei Carlos Novillo, hoofd van de rampenbestrijding van de regio Madrid.

Twee afzonderlijke, door de wind aangewakkerde bosbranden vormden vrijdag samen één enorme brand, die op het punt stond samen te smelten met een andere brand in de aangrenzende regio Castilla y León, aldus Novillo.

Prime minister’s propaganda machine falters as fiercely secular youth protests reclaim nationalism

by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi

As the poster bearing the face of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was thrown to the floor, a cheer went up. Then came the feet, trampling the image into the muddy ground with gleeful abandon. “Thief, thief,” chanted the crowd.

Just a week earlier, such scenes in the heart of India’s capital would have been almost unthinkable. For the 12 years Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) have been in power it was widely acknowledged that you criticised the government at your peril. Dissent was swiftly, routinely and expertly crushed.

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Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who was 13 at the time, later received an abortion, text messages indicate

Singer D4vd had impregnated the teenager he is accused of fatally stabbing, according to evidence presented in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday. Celeste Rivas Hernandez later received an abortion, text messages between the two indicate.

The musician, who was born David Anthony Burke, apologized to Rivas Hernandez in January 2024 for “putting her through this”, in a text message obtained from his phone.

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