Democrats Panic as Warner Bros. Sale Threatens CNN’s Liberal Reign

Democrats panic over Warner Bros. sale

Ilya Sutskever's rare AI warning

FBI probes Democrats' troop video

The merger would place CNN — currently under Warner Bros. Discovery — inside Paramount Skydance, run by David Ellison.

Sources say the Ellisons view CNN not just as a business asset but as an opportunity to reset its editorial direction, alarming Democrats who see the network as a key media stronghold.

Bari Weiss, now overseeing CBS News after Paramount’s shake-up, is positioned to extend her influence to CNN if the bid succeeds.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren lashed out at the merger as “a terrible deal.”

The Writers Guild of America claimed the deal would “be a disaster,” vowing to lobby regulators.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Kevin Hassett, Trump's National Economic Council director, is emerging as frontrunner for Federal Reserve chair. (BBG)

U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% in September, missing expectations, as consumers curbed spending amid waning confidence. (WSJ)

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is praised for wielding tariffs as leverage to extract EU concessions on regulatory assaults against U.S. tech giants. (BBD)

Deutsche Bank forecasts U.S. economic stabilization in 2026 with 2.4% growth amid Trump tax cuts. (INV)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Centrus Energy is emerging as a pivotal enabler in U.S. advanced nuclear technology, poised for 20% annual growth via centrifuge tech, according to Seeking Alpha. (SA)

DoorDash shares, down over 30% from October highs to $195.49, present a compelling entry point with analysts' $276 average target implying 41% upside, according to MarketBeat. (MB)

Motley Fool spotlighted five stalwart dividend payers—AbbVie (3% yield), Ares Capital (9.8%), Enbridge (5.6%), Realty Income (5.7%), and Verizon (6.7%)—as decade-long holds. (MF)

Morningstar awarded Bronze to T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth for its deep research, above-average process and people pillars, and robust 2023-2025 performance. (MS)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Richard Branson announced the death of his wife, Joan Templeman, 80, hailing her as his "best friend, my rock." (IND)

HP plans to eliminate up to 6,000 jobs by 2028 to harvest $1 billion in cost savings. (YF)

U.S. homebuilders are slashing prices and rolling out reduced mortgage rates as the affordability gap with existing homes shrinks. (FBN)

Medicare secured a 71% discount on Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy for elderly patients. (BBG)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Scientists want to use one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the U.S.—Oregon’s Newberry—to produce energy. (PM)

China purchased at least 10 U.S. soybean cargoes worth $300 million since Tuesday. (RTS)

Trump administration proposed easing EPA soot regulations and extending coal-ash deadlines to lower energy costs and preserve jobs in coal-dependent regions. (EN)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Texas launched its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with a $5 million purchase of BlackRock's IBIT ETF, marking the first such state-level allocation in the U.S. (BM)

Polymarket won CFTC clearance to relaunch in the U.S. as a regulated prediction exchange. (CD)

A Nevada federal judge ruled Kalshi falls under state gaming regulations, lifting prior injunction and empowering the Gaming Commission to enforce against the prediction-market platform. (SBD)

An armed robber posing as a deliveryman stormed the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's ex-boyfriend Lachy Groom and drained $11 million in crypto holdings in a targeted heist. (NYP)

Sutskever said the era of scaling is ending because current models deliver diminishing returns despite massive compute.

Sutskever argued that large models perform well on benchmarks but remain unreliable in real-world use.

Sutskever described AI development as “jagged,” noting that systems can improve in one domain while regressing in another.

Sutskever said the scaling paradigm monopolized research attention and “sucked all the air out of the room.”

He argued that future progress requires discovering a new underlying principle of machine learning, declaring, “It's back to the age of research again.”

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Nvidia asserted its GPUs hold a generational edge over Google's AI chips in performance and versatility, dismissing Meta's potential TPU adoption. (CNBC)

Researchers unveiled NaviSense, an AI smartphone app that enables visually impaired users to "feel" objects' locations in real time. (TEX)

Google's Gemini is eroding ChatGPT's once-dominant product edge with "Dynamic View," an interactive canvas featuring real-time visuals like calculators and toggles, according to tech observer M.G. Siegler. (SPGL)

Character.AI launched “Stories,” a new format that allows users to create interactive fiction that features their favorite characters. (TC)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Skyborne Technologies unveiled CODiAQ, a quadruped robot armed with AI-driven grenade launchers and shotguns for autonomous targeting in urban combat. (ELE)

Unitree's G1 humanoid robot executed fluid basketball maneuvers like dribbling, passing, and shooting. (IE)

Tesla plans to double the company's Austin robotaxi fleet next month. (STW)

Uber and WeRide rolled out fully driverless robotaxis on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island in the UAE. (VER)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Harmonic, the AI math startup co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, raised $120 million in Series C funding led by Ribbit Capital at a $1.45 billion valuation. (RTS)

Startup Clover Security raised $30 million in funding led by Notable Capital and backed by Wiz founders. (CTECH)

Cerrion, a developer of AI video agents for real-time detection, secured $18 million Series A funding led by Creandum. (TEU)

Cybersecurity startup Vijil, founded by ex-AWS leaders, raises $17 million in Series A funding led by BrightMind Partners. (SW)

The video featured Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio, and Chrissy Houlahan encouraging troops to refuse illegal commands.

Slotkin said the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division opened an inquiry into the video.

Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth publicly attacked Kelly for improperly displaying his Navy medals, warning he could face a uniform inspection if recalled to service.

The Pentagon is investigating Kelly for potential UCMJ violations and says he could be recalled to active duty and court-martialed.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Australian Senator Pauline Hanson was barred from the Senate until February 2026 for donning a burqa and high heels in protest against Muslim coverings, sparking free speech concerns. (BN)

U.S. UN Ambassador Mike Waltz announced over $1 billion in savings through 25% peacekeeping cuts and 15% budget trims, vowing to slash 2,600 bureaucrat jobs. (X)

Pentagon plans to sever ties with Scouting America over its "woke" embrace of girls and LGBTQ+ members. (SSBC)

Microsoft will not publish an updated version of its annual diversity and inclusion report for 2025. (ESGD)