NEW YORK (AP) – Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to delay closing their $81 billion merger well into next year, a stunning move that arrives as a judge continues to consider a challenge from 12 states seeking to block the deal altogether.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration has acknowledged in court documents that it canceled $7.6 billion in grants for hundreds of clean energy projects “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state” – in this case, 16 states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union’s trade practices, President Donald Trump said on Friday, claiming the bloc has unfairly levied billions of dollars of fines against Google, Apple and other U.S. tech giants.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Russia’s central bank made a smaller than usual interest rate cut on Friday, a compromise move to support stagnating economic growth even as inflation fueled by war spending remains higher than the bank’s target.

BRUSSELS (AP) – The European Commission on Friday said it found TikTok had not adequately protected children’s privacy rights on its platform by allowing adults to view the accounts of minors.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal health officials on Friday said they have linked cases of a diarrhea-causing parasite tied to shredded lettuce to an additional four states, expanding the scope of the largest U.S. outbreak of cyclospora.

Tech redefining modern warfare: from autonomous counter-strike systems to unmanned stealth drones