Paramount Stages Hostile Bid for Warner Bros., Trump Announces $12B Farm Aid, Immigration Crackdown Widens, Supreme Court Weighs FTC Powers, Zelensky Meets EU Leaders, Death of Farming Tycoon’s Wife Probed, Vincent Thomas Bridge Plan Rejected, and More

Headlines From The Times

L.A. Times Studios

News, Daily News, Society & Culture, The Times, California

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🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Paramount is staging a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Meanwhile, the Trump administration halted immigration applications for people from over 30 countries last week, following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C. Also, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could expand President Trump's control over independent federal agencies. Across the pond, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in London with European allies. And the investigation into Kerri Ann Abatti's death continues. She was part of one of the most influential farming families in Southern California's Imperial Valley. In business, a Google-backed film by Michael Keaton is aiming to change the narrative on AI, and the California State Transportation Agency rejected plans to raise the height of the Port of Los Angeles Vincent Thomas Bridge as re-decking on the overpass begins.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an LA Times Studios podcast.
0:08.7	Hi, I'm Faith Pino, and you're listening to Headlines from LA Times Studios.
0:14.0	Here are some of today's top stories from the Los Angeles Times.
0:17.6	We begin with an update on our ongoing coverage of what's currently the biggest story in
0:23.3	media. Paramount is staging a hostile bid for Warner Brothers Discovery, which would include their
0:29.6	studios and assets like HBO Max. This comes after Netflix announced an $83 billion deal
0:37.4	to buy Warner Brothers on Friday.
0:39.3	Netflix's plan, though, didn't include the purchase of Warner Bros. TV networks.
0:44.3	The board at Warner Brothers accepted Netflix's offer, but Paramount's bid goes directly to the shareholders.
0:52.3	Paramount's offering $30 per share in cash, valuing Warner at about
0:57.5	$108 billion. Paramount CEO David Ellison is a movie producer and the founder of Skydance
1:05.0	Media. His father, Larry Ellison, is the billionaire founder of Oracle, as well as a donor and friend of President
1:12.3	Trump.
1:13.3	The Ellison's took over Paramount this summer and began their pursuit of Warner in September.
1:19.1	Now unwilling to accept defeat, David Ellison is making one final push to buy the studios,
1:25.6	saying his bid will create a stronger Hollywood and that his family's
1:29.4	close relationship with Trump could help smooth the regulatory process.
1:34.6	And it should be noted, one of the investors in the Ellison-backed deal is Affinity Partners,
1:39.9	the private equity firm founded by Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law.
1:45.2	And President Trump unveiled a $12 billion farm aid package Monday.
1:50.3	This relief will provide much needed certainty to farmers as they get this year's harvest
1:57.8	to market and look ahead to next year's crops and it'll help them continue
	...

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