Paramount Skydance has accused Netflix of spearheading a “scorched-earth campaign to try and poison regulators and other stakeholders” against its $110 billion purchase of rival Hollywood studio Warner Bros. Discovery. In a fiery letter to the Justice Department obtained by NBC News, Paramount Skydance Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim excoriated Netflix for what he called a “panic-level response” to the merger that illustrates “just how seriously Netflix takes Paramount as a scaled competitor.” Paramount’s letter was sent to the Justice Department on Friday and first reported by Politico. In response to a request for comment, a Netflix spokesperson said that “these claims from Paramount Skydance are absurd.” “We walked away from this deal months ago and remain focused on our own business, not theirs,” the spokesperson added. “Ultimately, it’s up to the regulators to approve this deal and determine if it is in the best interest of the industry and…

When the U.S. men’s national soccer team plays at home, its most loyal fans traditionally sit right behind a goal to cheer on the team or intimidate the opposition. But when the Americans kick off a once-in-a-generation World Cup in Southern California next week, many of those die-hard supporters may be harder to hear because FIFA seated them in the “nose bleeds,” according to a major U.S. fan group. “These are the worst tickets that I’ve ever seen out of the five World Cups I’ve been to,” American Outlaws President Brian Hexsel said in a phone interview. FIFA’s World Cup ticketing rollout has faced withering criticism for months, particularly for its sky-high prices. There have also been allegations that some ticket buyers got worse seats than expected, sparking investigations in New York and New Jersey. In the blowback, soccer’s global governing body announced a small allotment of $60 tickets for…

Growing up in South Florida, Jozy Altidore heard a lot of Spanish playing soccer with local kids and at home from his Dominican grandmother. As a teenager, he went to play for Villarreal, in the Castellón part of Spain, an area that isn’t that touristy. His coach and teammates mostly spoke Spanish. Along the way, Altidore picked up the language. “A lot of people look at me like, ‘What? You speak Spanish?’” Altidore told NBC News. It will come in handy this summer, when Altidore serves as a World Cup commentator for Telemundo, the games’ official Spanish-language network. Altidore has no experience in broadcasting, and he admits that his Spanish is just OK. But he saw the World Cup was coming to North America, and he didn’t want to be left on the sidelines. “It’s the biggest, most historical World Cup we’ve had,” Altidore said. “For me, it was a…

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been invited to testify before Congress as the league faces increasing federal scrutiny about its broadcast deals and its recent practice of airing games on paywalled streaming services. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the commissioner Monday requesting his appearance at a hearing June 10 examining the league’s TV deals and their compliance with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The 65-year-old law grants professional sports leagues limited antitrust immunity, allowing them to pool their media rights and negotiate as a single entity while protecting them from antitrust lawsuits. The law applies only to broadcast networks. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming. There has been bipartisan sentiment in favor of updating the law, and President Donald Trump has been among the critics of…

Major League Baseball owners made their long-expected salary cap proposal to the players’ association on Thursday, a system the union has vowed never to accept, setting the sides on course for a confrontation that threatens the 2027 season and perhaps beyond. Baseball owners hadn’t proposed a firm cap since 1994. Their effort prompted a 7 1/2-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. MLB’s proposal would cap spending in 2027 at $245.3 million, using figures for luxury tax payrolls that include benefits and the pre-arbitration bonus pool, and establish a payroll floor of $171.2 million. The Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s biggest spenders, had a $415.2 million payroll on opening day this year — around $170 million over the proposed cap. Owners said they would discuss a phase-in schedule that would give teams like the Dodgers time to comply with the cap…

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss on Thursday replaced Tanya Simon, the executive producer of the network’s flagship newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” with a technology journalist who has never worked in television news. Nick Bilton, a documentarian and former New York Times technology columnist, will take over for Simon when the show returns for a 59th season in the fall, CBS News leaders announced. The moves are part of Weiss’ sweeping shake-up of the storied program, created by the legendary producer Don Hewitt. CBS News has also cut ties with “60 Minutes” correspondent Cecilia Vega, who joined the show in 2023, according to a source familiar with the matter. Sharyn Alfonsi, another “60 Minutes” correspondent, told the Times this week that CBS News had not renewed her contract. CBS News and Alfonsi did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the status of her deal. Alfonsi clashed with Weiss late last…

Thermos is recalling 8.2 million containers after consumers suffered laceration injuries — and in some cases reported permanent vision loss — when stoppers forcefully ejected from the products and struck them in the face. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The recall covers approximately 5.8 million Stainless King Food Jars and 2.3 million Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles. According to a recall notice posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on April 30, consumers should stop using the affected products immediately. The affected models include Thermos Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles: all units, model SK3010; Food Jars and Food & Beverage Bottles: all units, models SK3000 (16-ounce), SK3020 (24-ounce), and SK3010 (40-ounce); and Thermos Stainless King Food Jars manufactured before July 2023: models SK3000 and SK3020. The model number can be found at the bottom of the item. The hazard…

Roughly 36,000 Heartwarming Hugs Bears, a stuffed animal manufactured by Build-A-Bear, are being recalled due to a zipper detaching from the bear’s pouch. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that the stuffed animals pose a serious risk of injury or death, as the detached zipper can present a choking hazard. The recall number is 034464. The recall number can be found on the product label located on the back of one of the bear’s legs. The bear includes a stuffed heart that fits inside a pocket. The heart-shaped insert is filled with 2.5 pounds of ceramic beads and can be used as a heating pad or chilled for cooling comfort. “The product is graded 3 years+ and carries a cautionary statement advising adult supervision due to the heated/cooled element,” the release stated.…

Market watchers looking for clarity about the direction of Big Tech and the AI investment boom didn’t get much Wednesday afternoon amid a barrage of key earning reports. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Instead, four leading tech companies reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s official forecasts but nevertheless fell short of the sky-high expectations investors have set for companies leading the AI revolution. Investors were most enthusiastic about the results of Google parent Alphabet, whose shares climbed as much as 6% in after-hours trading. The company reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations and raised its estimate of how much it would spend on AI infrastructure. Earnings for Facebook parent Meta were greeted with less fervor. Its shares fell more than 5% after it said it expected revenue growth to stay flat in the second quarter. Amazon’s and…

AUSTIN, Texas — The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms that Alex Jones built into a bullhorn of conspiracy theories and turn them into parody sites was in limbo again Thursday, after a Texas court paused a proposed deal involving the satirical news outlet. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Austin-based Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the Connecticut massacre a hoax. The proposed licensing deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation. A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal with the receiver. But the proceeding fizzled into a…