The latest twist in the drama for control over Warner Bros. has traders betting one of the suitors will sweeten its bid.

Warner Bros Discovery Inc. has agreed to reopen negotiations with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance Corp. after the suitor proposed raising its bid and sweetened other terms of its offer, setting the stage for a renewed showdown with Netflix Inc.  Netflix, which Warner Bros. still described as its preferred bidder, has granted the board seven days to discuss Paramount’s most recent proposal, according to a statement Tuesday. The decision came after a Paramount banker told a Warner Bros. board member that Paramount would offer at least $31 a share, or $1 a share higher than its previous offer, if the company agreed to reopen talks. Warner Bros. now wants to see that, and other aspects of Paramount’s new bid, in writing. Bloomberg's Stephen Flynn joins to discuss on Bloomberg Intelligence. (Source: Bloomberg)

During their visit, a pair of Democratic senators made the case for Congress to impose harsh penalties on Moscow for its continuing offensive.

© Robert Jimison/The New York Times

Warner Bros Discovery Inc. is considering reopening sale talks with Paramount Skydance Corp. after receiving its amended offer, people with knowledge of the matter said. Bloomberg's Tony Czuczka reports on the latest. (Source: Bloomberg)

Warner Bros Discovery Inc. is considering reopening sale talks with rival Hollywood studio Paramount Skydance Corp. after receiving its hostile suitor’s most recent amended offer, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The latest tranche of files expose how he was viewed as a sexual svengali – and an expert on dodging the #MeToo movement

A new tranche of Epstein files has blasted its way through the worlds of media, politics, tech, academia, finance and Hollywood. High-profile individuals have once again been forced to explain their relationship with the billionaire financier – and why exactly they sent that email, or what they were doing in that photo, in that place, at that time. There have been resignations in Norway, Slovakia, France, the UK and on Wall Street. Each individual scandal matters. But take the files as a whole and a new picture forms: of Jeffrey Epstein as a man who was seen to survive a sexual abuse scandal, and who was then feted as a sexual svengali and a valuable ally in navigating allegations of sexual abuse amid the #MeToo movement.

The 3.5m documents that have thus far been released to the public – out of a reported 6m documents pertaining to Epstein in the US justice department’s possession – paint Epstein as someone for whom elites, and particularly elite men, often felt a sense of camaraderie and affection, maintaining intimate and friendly relationships long after his 2008 conviction on child sexual abuse charges. And their content implies that, in some cases, this was not simply a case of them turning a blind eye to their friend’s sexual crimes: the powerful actively approached Epstein for sexual and romantic advice, and saw him as a thrower of “wild” parties and a listening ear in whom they could confide their anxieties about the excesses of the #MeToo movement.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

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© Photograph: Department of Justice

© Photograph: Department of Justice

© Photograph: Department of Justice

Valeria Chomsky says Epstein had deceived them and they were ‘careless’ not to thoroughly research his background

Noam Chomsky and his wife, Valeria, made a “grave mistake” and were “careless” not to thoroughly research the background of Jeffrey Epstein, Valeria Chomsky said in a lengthy statement on Saturday, adding also that Epstein had deceived them.

The relationship between Noam Chomsky, the 97-year-old linguist and philosopher, and Epstein has been under scrutiny after documents released by the justice department shed light on their friendship. As Epstein came under scrutiny for sex trafficking allegations in 2019, he asked Chomsky for advice on how to respond. “I’ve watched the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public. It’s painful to say, but I think the best way to proceed is to ignore it,” Chomsky wrote in a message signed “Noam” that Epstein shared in email with an associate.

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© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Paramount Skydance Corp. is pressing to wrap up a Justice Department antitrust review of its tender offer for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. shares in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump said he intended to stay out of the clash between Netflix Inc. and Paramount Skydance Corp. over Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., saying he would leave the matter to the US Justice Department.

Vijay Prashad said he was ‘disgusted’ by linguist’s friendship with Epstein as new files shed light on their relationship

• Newly released Jeffrey Epstein files: 10 key takeaways so far

An author who collaborated on two books with Noam Chomsky has written a letter condemning the acclaimed scholar’s friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as newly released files shed light on the social relationship between the two men.

Vijay Prashad – a journalist, author and the director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research – wrote that he was “heartsick” over the new correspondence between Chomsky and Epstein.

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© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Epstein Estate/House Oversight/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Billionaires and intellectuals attended events with the disgraced financier years after he served time for sex offense, files reveal

Newly released emails and travel itineraries appear to show that for years after Jeffrey Epstein served time for procuring underage girls for prostitution, he continued to attend exclusive dinners alongside Silicon Valley’s most famous billionaires.

The emails, part of a trove released by the Department of Justice on Friday, show that as late as 2018, Epstein was invited to or attended dinners alongside the likes of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and Google vice-president and later Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

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© Photograph: House Oversight Committee Democrats/Reuters

© Photograph: House Oversight Committee Democrats/Reuters

© Photograph: House Oversight Committee Democrats/Reuters

Paramount Skydance Corp. Chief Executive Officer David Ellison turned down an invitation to testify before the Senate at an antitrust hearing about the proposed tie-up between Netflix Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Latest communications undermine Chomsky’s earlier claims that he primarily had financial dealings with Epstein

The close friendship that Noam Chomsky maintained with Jeffrey Epstein continued being detailed extensively among millions of investigative records pertaining to the late convicted sex offender recently released by the US justice department, including Chomsky “fantasizing about the Caribbean island”.

In Friday’s tranche of documents, which built upon earlier disclosures of their close social ties, there is no specific indication that the famed academic and linguist was referring to his friend’s private Caribbean island where children were sexually abused. But the personal familiarity between the two men in that exchange is palpable, as it is in numerous other emails between Chomsky and Epstein aimed at planning more mundane social gatherings.

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© Photograph: House Oversight Democrats/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: House Oversight Democrats/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: House Oversight Democrats/AFP/Getty Images

But a lawyer who has been scrutinizing archives and UBS are in a dispute over access to about 150 documents.

© Eric Lee/The New York Times

The once-lauded director of Black Swan and The Wrestler has drowned himself in AI slop with an embarrassing new online series

If you happen to find yourself stumbling through Time magazine’s YouTube account, perhaps because you are a time traveller from the 1970s who doesn’t fully understand how the present works yet – then you will be presented with something that many believe represents the vanguard of entertainment as we know it.

On This Day … 1776 is a series of short videos depicting America’s revolutionary war. What makes On This Day notable is that it was made by Darren Aronofsky’s studio Primordial Soup. What also makes it interesting is that it was created with AI. The third thing that makes it interesting is that it is terrible.

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© Photograph: YouTube

© Photograph: YouTube

© Photograph: YouTube

‘No light at the end of the tunnel for consumers’ as 2025 figure is 50% higher than previous year, says Citizens Advice

Royal Mail has been criticised for offering an “unacceptable” performance over the crucial Christmas period after it failed to deliver letters and cards on time to about 16 million people, Citizens Advice found.

The consumer watchdog, which carried out research into Christmas deliveries, said that figure was 50% higher than in 2024, and the highest level over the festive period in five years, excluding when Royal Mail was hit by strike action in the run-up to Christmas four years ago.

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© Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy

© Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy

© Photograph: Simon Dack/Alamy

The number of deaths, injuries and missing is approaching a grim milestone after nearly four years of fighting.

© Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

Hunkering down in January; hiking boots for outdoor adventures; and cold-weather beauty essentials

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Congratulations, you’ve made it through more than 75% of January, Blue Monday and all. Extra kudos if you got through it without booking a holiday amid the onslaught of sun-soaked adverts, although I confess I’m not tempted. Would I rather spend hours on a plane with 200 strangers who had prosecco for breakfast, or hibernate until spring? I’ll take hibernation, thanks. Especially now that I’ve learned to do it properly.

Hunkering down may not sound like something you need tips to master, but January is the best of times and the worst of times for those of us who struggle with insomnia. On the upside, all the darkness encourages your body to produce plenty of the “sleep hormone” melatonin (nature’s way of telling you to sleep through it). On the downside, lack of sunlight is a key trigger for seasonal affective disorder (Sad) – one of the symptoms of which is broken sleep. Never simple, is it?

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© Photograph: Jane Hoskyn

© Photograph: Jane Hoskyn

© Photograph: Jane Hoskyn

• 37-year-old shot dead by federal agents on Saturday

• Angel Reese and Ryan Clark also post about shooting

• Hall of famer Alan Page seen at anti-ICE protests

A number of prominent US sports stars have condemned the killing of a registered nurse, Alex Pretti, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Pretti, 37, is the second person shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in less than three weeks as protests over Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown sweep the city. Senior Trump administration officials have claimed Pretti intended to “massacre” federal officers with a handgun but video of the killing appears to contradict those claims.

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© Photograph: Nate Billings/AP

© Photograph: Nate Billings/AP

© Photograph: Nate Billings/AP

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr sees “legitimate competition concerns” in Netflix Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s studios and streaming businesses, concerns he doesn’t share if Paramount Skydance Corp. were to acquire those assets.