Trump orders blockade of 'sanctioned oil tankers' into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro

Warner Bros. is telling shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying that a rival bid from Netflix will be better for customers. It said Wednesday that it “strongly believes” a merger with Netflix will allow it to reach a broader audience. Paramount went hostile with its bid last week, asking shareholders to reject the deal with Netflix favored by the board of Warner Bros. Paramount’s bid isn’t off the table altogether. While Wednesday’s letter to shareholders means Paramount is not the offer favored by the board at Warner Bros., shareholders can still decide to tender their shares in favor of Paramount’s offer for the entire company — including cable stalwarts CNN and Discovery.

The US gained 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October; unemployment rate at 4.6%

Rob Reiner’s son Nick set to appear in court on 2 counts of murder in killing of his parents

FIFA slashes price of some World Cup tickets to $60 after global fan backlash

Warner Bros asks shareholders to reject takeover bid from Paramount, saying merger with Netflix is better for customers.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that most U.S. adults are on board with giving cash or gift cards as holiday presents. Only 30% find secondhand gifts acceptable. The poll also shows that nearly half of Americans plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year's Eve. About 44% of adults won't stay up to greet 2026, and that's especially true of those over age 45. Additionally, 35% of adults plan to leave holiday decorations up after New Year's Day. About one-quarter of U.S. adults say they’re planning to watch sports on Christmas Day. Only 5% say they’ll go see a movie in a theater.

China exploits US-funded research on nuclear technology, a congressional report says

A congressional report says China is exploiting partnerships with U.S. researchers to provide the Chinese military with access to sensitive nuclear technology and other innovations with economic and national security applications. Wednesday's report by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party looked at research collaborations that received Energy Department funding. Investigators found 4,300 academic papers published in the past two years that involved partnerships between Energy Department-funded scientists and Chinese researchers. The report's authors say the U.S. must do more to ensure the results of taxpayer-funded work don’t benefit Beijing. The Energy Department hasn't commented. A message seeking comment has been left with the Chinese Embassy in Washington.