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Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Cinemas and unions sound alarms over Netflix-Warner Bros. deal

Business / Business News /

Hollywood unions and trade groups are pushing back against the proposed $82.7-billion deal for streaming giant Netflix to acquire Warner Bros.' film and television studios, HBO and HBO Max, citing concerns about greater industry consolidation, job losses and the potential hit to theatrical box office revenue.

Groups began voicing opposition ...Read more

Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS

What you need to know about the Netflix bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery

Business / Business News /

Netflix announced early Friday it has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to acquire its film and television studios, along with HBO Max and HBO.

The blockbuster deal, totaling about $72 billion, will create a combined portfolio of many of Hollywood’s best known properties, adding “Harry Potter,” “Mission: Impossible,” DC Comics...Read more

Handout/Getty Images North America/TNS

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros. in an $82.7 billion deal that will transform Hollywood

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — First, Netflix upended Hollywood. Now, the streaming giant is buying a historic piece of it.

Netflix prevailed in a contentious bidding war to buy Warner Bros., agreeing to pay $72 billion for the storied Burbank film and television studios, its spacious lot, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.

The two companies announced ...Read more

Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty Images North America/TNS

A softer image of AI? This Google-backed film aims to change the narrative

Business / Business News /

A man mourns the loss of his dead celebrity mom, who unexpectedly appears before him as a hologram in his childhood home, singing and strumming a guitar.

The touching scene is from a new short film called “Sweetwater” that has an unlikely backer: Google.

Amid all the hand-wringing over artificial intelligence and the potential threat it ...Read more

Handout/Getty Images North America/TNS

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros. in a $72 billion deal that will transform Hollywood

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — First, Netflix upended Hollywood. Now, the streaming giant is buying a historic piece of it.

Netflix prevailed in a contentious bidding war to buy Warner Bros., agreeing to pay $72 billion for the storied Burbank film and television studios, its spacious lot, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.

The two companies announced ...Read more

Fabrice Coffrini/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

A safety report card ranks AI company efforts to protect humanity

Business / Business News /

Are artificial intelligence companies keeping humanity safe from AI's potential harms? Don't bet on it, a new report card says.

As AI plays an increasingly larger role in the way humans interact with technology, the potential harms are becoming more clear — people using AI-powered chatbots for counseling and then dying by suicide, or using AI...Read more

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Econometer: Some San Diego lawmakers want to ban self-driving taxis. Should they?

Business / Business News /

Opposition to self-driving taxi company Waymo in San Diego could halt its implementation before starting.

The Alphabet (Google)-owned Waymo is a major feature in San Francisco, where the white Jaguars are seemingly everywhere. It also operates in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin.

San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who chairs...Read more

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Auto review: 2026 Nissan Leaf EV appeals to Americans' love of beige

Business / Business News /

Once upon a time, Detroit built cars that carried astronauts in ticker-tape parades and made teenage boys spray Aqua Net on their mullets. Sporting raucous and raw big-block V-8s, they were chrome-trimmed testaments to optimism. Meanwhile, Italy gave us Ferraris, red midlife crises that sounded like 12-cylinder angels. Germany engineered the ...Read more

Marc Grasso/Boston Herald/TNS

Auto review: 2025 Jeep Wagoneer packs a comfy price tag

Business / Business News /

Expanding its focus to larger vehicles such as the Grand Cherokee L and now flagship Wagoneer, Jeep offers more options but has lost some focus on the off-road aura so cherished by its consumer base.

Our tester this week is a 2025 Jeep Wagoneer Series II Overland 4×4 wrapped in Velvet Red Pearlcoat. Despite the allure of this extraordinary red...Read more

Henry Payne/The Detroit News/TNS

Auto review: Hot EV match-up, Cadillac Lyriq-V vs. Tesla Model 3 Performance

Business / Business News /

GAYLORD, Michigan — The midsize Cadillac Lyriq SUV and compact Tesla Model 3 sedan are brand icons. The Lyriq redefined Caddy as an EV maker, the Model 3 made Tesla a best-seller.

Their performance trims — the 2026, $80K Lyriq-V and 2025, $56K Model 3 Performance — represent the state-of-the-art of two U.S. brands that are on the industry...Read more

E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Federal funding cuts threaten Chicago Harbor Lock, one of the nation's busiest

Business / Business News /

The Linnea pulled off her dock on the north side of the Chicago River.

Sailing underneath burgundy bridges, the vessel glided east toward the lake. On that October afternoon, Trump Tower receded in the distance.

Ten minutes later, the Linnea — a commercial tour boat operated by Wendella Tours & Cruises — arrived at the Chicago Harbor Lock...Read more

Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Lance Armstrong narrates documentary on the rise and fall of Schwinn, once America's bike maker

Business / Business News /

Once upon a time in America, Schwinn and bicycles were synonymous, and Chicago was the center of the two-wheeled, pedal-powered universe.

Baby boomers grew up riding or aspiring to ride a Schwinn — sturdy, sleek and sexy bikes such as the incomparable Sting-Ray chopper — built by the family-owned, Chicago-based company for nearly a century ...Read more

Handout/Getty Images North America/TNS

Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros. in a $72 billion deal that will transform Hollywood

Business / Business News /

LOS ANGELES — Netflix has prevailed in its bid to buy Warner Bros., agreeing to pay $72 billion for the Burbank-based Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO Max and HBO.

The two companies announced the blockbuster deal early Friday morning. The takeover would give Netflix such beloved characters as Batman, Harry Potter and Fred ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Profit-rich Ram brand is key to Stellantis turnaround, CEO says

Business / Business News /

Stellantis NV CEO Antonio Filosa indicated Thursday that Ram will play a major role in the struggling automaker's turnaround effort, thanks to the brand's profit margins, brand equity and global footprint — plus high-profile product plans that include its first full-size SUV and a midsize pickup.

"Ram has many superpowers," Filosa said during...Read more

Andy Cross/The Denver Post/TNS

Colorado regulators approve keeping coal plant open past retirement date while Xcel repairs another

Business / Business News /

One of the units at the Comanche coal-fired plant operated by Xcel Energy near Pueblo can stay open a year longer than planned to fill the gap while the site’s largest facility, the chronically troubled Comanche 3, remains out of commission.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission agreed Wednesday to extend the life of Comanche 2, which was ...Read more

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS

California hammered as national job cuts jump to a five-year high

Business / Business News /

Job cuts across the country are the highest they have been in five years, led by layoffs in California and cutbacks in Washington.

California employers announced 173,022 job cuts from January to November, up nearly 14% from the same period last year, according to the latest monthly report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity AI for copyright infringement

Business / Business News /

The Chicago Tribune filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Thursday in New York federal court against Perplexity AI, alleging the California-based startup has been unlawfully profiting off the newspaper’s content in building its AI-driven search engine.

The complaint challenges the unauthorized use of often fully reproduced Tribune reporting ...Read more

Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Paramount blasts Warner Bros. Discovery as auction nears contentious end

Business / Business News /

As the high-stakes auction for Warner Bros. Discovery nears its end, Paramount is crying foul, alleging the process was tipped in favor of a competing bidder: Netflix.

In a scorching letter sent to Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav late Wednesday, Paramount's lawyers accused Zaslav's company of not playing fair.

"WBD appears ...Read more

Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

UPS hit with first wrongful death lawsuits from Louisville plane crash

Business / Business News /

The families of two of the victims killed in the Nov. 4 crash of UPS Flight 2976 near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport have filed the first wrongful death lawsuits against the Atlanta-based company for the incident.

The plane was full of jet fuel and bound for Honolulu as it failed to successfully take off that evening.

The left ...Read more

TOM GRALISH/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

More New Yorkers want apartments in the Philly area

Business / Business News /

More out-of-towners and fewer locals are searching for rental homes in the Philadelphia region, with New Yorkers leading the way. No word on whether they plan to become Eagles fans.

In an analysis of the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, Philadelphia had the second-largest drop in local rental demand since before the pandemic, as ...Read more