Paramount is attempting to reach a settlement with attorneys general from 12 states who are blocking its proposed merger with Warner Bros., accusing them of causing harm to their constituents.

Meta Platforms Inc. lost its last-minute attempt to halt a significant trial initiated by state attorneys general, who allege the social media giant's platforms addict children and contribute to youth mental health issues.

Following a cyberattack on Hugging Face, a group of U.S. state attorneys general has criticized OpenAI, citing its 'inability or unwillingness to ensure security' as an immediate risk.

Paramount is pushing for a November trial date in its legal dispute with Warner Bros., while state Attorneys General are advocating for an April trial.

A coalition of 13 attorneys general joined with DirecTV on Wednesday in accusing Nexstar of violating an injunction by appointing the members of Tegna’s board.

Nexstar is challenging a federal judge's injunction on its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, accusing DirecTV and state attorneys general of acting out of commercial and political self-interest. The company vowed to fight back against antitrust allegations.

A federal judge rejected Meta Platforms' attempt to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 29 U.S. state attorneys general. The lawsuit accuses Meta of intentionally designing Facebook and Instagram to addict children and concealing the harm.

A Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors report detailing potential job losses and economic impacts from a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger has strengthened the position of state attorneys general considering action against the deal.

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company, is reportedly facing an investigation by a group of state attorneys general concerning its business practices and AI models.

State Attorneys General are challenging a shift in the Trump administration's policy regarding medical marijuana.

Three Democratic state attorneys general reported that their deputies were turned away from a roundtable event hosted by JD Vance on Tuesday, despite Vance's assertion that the 'fraud crackdown' should not be partisan.

GOP attorneys general groups are investing $11 million in TV ads across key battleground states, aiming to win top cop spots and betting that public safety and crime will define the 2026 midterm races.

Bangladesh's Attorney General has issued a directive prohibiting Deputy Attorneys General (DAGs) and Assistant Attorneys General (AAGs) from visiting other courts during ongoing proceedings. This measure aims to ensure their presence and focus on their assigned cases.

Cinema United, representing movie theater owners, has escalated its opposition to the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger by appealing to Attorneys General Associations, citing concerns for 'Main Street America'.

Republican Attorneys General are celebrating a 10-year consent decree in Missouri v. Biden, which bars federal agencies like the CDC and CISA from pressuring social media companies regarding content.

Senator Ashley Moody has launched the STOP FRAUD in Medicaid Act, an effort aimed at closing a legal loophole that currently shields fraud recipients from prosecution by state attorneys general.

Republican governors and attorneys general back citizenship verification through the SAVE America Act for federal elections, arguing gaps in voter registration create unfair influence.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's new policy demanding seven years of student application data, following a lawsuit by Democratic attorneys general.

A coalition of public interest groups are calling on state attorneys general to try to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros.

State attorneys general. Foreign approvals. Consumer lawsuits. Even without the Justice Department stepping in, Paramount still faces several roadblocks to completing its acquisition of Warner Bros.

The letter marks the latest blow to Netflix as Paramount insists that it offers a more certain and shorter path to regulatory approval of the merger.

Republican Attorneys General have raised concerns regarding the proposed merger or deal between Netflix and Warner.

How Bhattacharya's NIH Is Rethinking China, DEI, And High‑Risk Labs Authored by Jeff Louderback, Jan Jekielek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), For decades, scientists have looked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an agency that publishes papers, according to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, in Washington, on Feb. 8, 2026. Irene Luo/The Epoch Times Under President Donald Trump’s second term, the emphasis for NIH funding has shifted to “provable, testable hypotheses, not ideological narratives,” he said, which is resulting in widespread reforms to the agency. Bhattacharya, who obtained both a doctorate in economics and a medical degree from Stanford University within three years of each other, outlined changes that the NIH has implemented in his first year as the agency’s director and talked about his vision for the next three years in an interview with Epoch Times Senior Editor Jan Jekielek. The NIH has been instrumental in medical advances for decades, Bhattacharya said, but in the 21st century, it became “much more of a staid institution, not willing to take intellectual risks.” During the same time, the agency “was willing to take risks on dangerous gain-of-function and other social agendas, like DEI, that it had no business really engaging in.” “I think the NIH now, under my leadership, under President Trump’s leadership, and under what Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy is looking over … is focused on actually addressing the chronic health problems of this country, reversing the flatlining of life expectancy, and making good on its mission ... research that improves the health and longevity of the American people, and the whole world,” he said. One of the 13 agencies managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is the largest supporter of biomedical research globally, providing 85 percent of all biomedical research funding worldwide, according to Bhattacharya. It funds about $50 billion in scientific research via grants to hundreds of thousands of researchers at academic institutions and hospitals, he said. The NIH is not an agency that makes decisions or policies about public health directly, Bhattacharya said, noting that he intends to “remove the politicization of science that has existed for decades.” The National Institutes of Health Gateway Center in Bethesda, Md., on June 8, 2025. During President Donald Trump’s second term, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said the agency “is focused on actually addressing the chronic health problems of this country.” Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters/File Photo Political Agendas Over the past 15 to 20 years, the NIH has incorporated political rather than scientific agendas, Bhattacharya told The Epoch Times. “Probably the most prominent example of this is DEI—diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said. “If you were a researcher outside the NIH, the ticket to getting sort of extra, relatively easy funds was to promise to do DEI research. Looking into it, much of that research had no real scientific basis at all. I don’t even characterize this as science.” As an example, Bhattacharya used a project that studied the question: “Is structural racism the root reason why African Americans have worse hypertension results than other races?” “The problem with that hypothesis is that there’s no way to test it,” he said. “If structural racism is the cause, then what control group can you have to test the idea that that is true? ... None of that actually translated over to better health for anybody, much less for African Americans. “Scientists of the country understand that if they want NIH support, they need to propose projects that have the chance of improving the health of people rather than achieving some ideology that should not belong at the NIH.” The NIH has redirected its funding since Trump took office for his second term. That includes allocating funds for “early career scientists,” Bhattacharya said. President Donald Trump (C) speaks as National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (2nd L) looks on during a press conference at the White House on May 12, 2025. The NIH redirected its funding priorities after Trump began his second term. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Funding Changes There should be “fundamental changes” with the way the NIH funds educational institutions, Bhattacharya said, and he intends to work with Congress “to make [this] happen.” On Jan. 5, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration cannot reduce the amount of money the NIH pays grant recipients for indirect costs, including administration and facility maintenance. The ruling applies to three lawsuits filed by the attorneys general of Massachusetts and 21 other states, as well as hospitals, schools, and the associations that represent them. The NIH published a guidance document in February 2025 to limit how much grant funding could flow to research institutions to cover their indirect costs. These are costs that cannot be directly attributed to an individual research project and include expenses related to funding equipment, facilities, and research staff. The guidance document states that these indirect costs could not exceed 15 percent of funding for direct research costs, regardless of the costs incurred at universities. The NIH stated that Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Harvard charged in excess of 60 percent for indirect costs, even though they had billions of dollars in endowments. Attorneys for those who filed suit said small universities don’t have such large endowments and that if the guidance took effect, there would be many layoffs, stalled clinical trials, and laboratory closures. “If you don’t have amazing scientists who can win the grants, you’re not going to get the facility support. But in order to attract excellent scientists to your institution, you have to have excellent facilities. It’s the kind of Catch-22 that guarantees that our funding from the NIH is going to be concentrated in relatively few institutions,” Bhattacharya said. Scientists at schools such as the University of Alabama, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Kansas deserve access to funding like Stanford and Harvard, he said. A researcher studies skin wound healing in a lab at the University of Illinois Chicago in Chicago on March 5, 2025. On Jan. 5, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration could not limit the percentage amount the National Institutes of Health pays grant recipients for indirect costs, including administrative expenses and facility maintenance. Scott Olson/Getty Images Dealing With China The NIH must be “very careful about how we fund research relationships with China, especially post-pandemic,” Bhattacharya said. “The U.S. invested in the Chinese biomedical research enterprise. Almost every single top Chinese biomedical research scientist of note was funded in some part by the NIH. Many were trained in the United States, so we invested heavily in that,” he said. “Post-pandemic, and especially given the geopolitical circumstances we are in now, it looks, in retrospect, like it wasn’t all that wise an investment.” The NIH must implement more secure measures with foreign research, he said, referencing the collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. “In the case of Wuhan, what happened was that the NIH funded … Eco Health Alliance, which had a sub-award relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Bhattacharya said. “When the pandemic happened, and the NIH had an interest in getting the lab notebooks of what exactly was studied in Wuhan, the Eco Health Alliance essentially delayed reporting at all about what it knew had happened,” Bhattacharya said. “They ultimately said, ‘Oh, well, we don’t control Wuhan Institute of Virology. We can’t get the lab notebooks.’” He noted that the NIH “funded research in collaboration with China that was actually quite dangerous and may indeed have led to the pandemic.” Under Bhattacharya, the NIH now has more stringent auditing processes with domestic and foreign institutions. “If it is NIH-funded, then [the domestic and the foreign institutions] have to have direct auditing relationships united with the NIH,“ he said. ”Then the NIH can shut off money to the foreign institution, if it’s not cooperating. ... It’s called a sub-project system. It’s one of the first things that I did.” Read the rest here... Tyler Durden Thu, 02/19/2026 - 21:45

The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. has received approval from Mexico, leaving a lawsuit by US State Attorneys General as the sole remaining barrier. David Ellison's Friday ParaBros News Dump included complaints about the 'needless costs' of the antitrust suit.

Social media giant Meta is facing potentially significant lawsuits filed by the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey in federal court in California.

Fifteen Attorneys General are now investigating a hacker attack involving an artificial intelligence that reportedly went out of control and attacked an internet platform, prompting action from the American justice system.

Attorneys general in Australia are meeting in Darwin to work on nationalizing the working with children check system, following serious allegations of safety breaches within the childcare sector.

Paramount requested the recusal of the judge initially assigned to the antitrust lawsuit filed by state attorneys general concerning the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. A new judge has since been appointed to oversee the case.

Democrat Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the proposed merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount.

The proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. is facing significant regulatory hurdles, with state attorneys general preparing a lawsuit to block the deal. Paramount is reportedly evaluating its future operations in California amidst these regulatory threats.

Over 10,000 federal attorneys have left government since 2025, with over 100 identified as joining Democratic attorneys general offices to fight against Trump's agenda.

Online commerce platform Shopify will prohibit all vape sales following pressure from several US state attorneys general aiming to curb illegal e-cigarette sales.

Paramount's proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery has become a political issue, with state Attorneys General expressing concerns beyond antitrust, especially in a challenging election year for incumbents.

Paramount's legal team is leveraging a free speech theory in its First Amendment case to justify its acquisition of Warner Bros. This argument comes as attorneys general prepare to challenge the proposed merger.

Nexstar has responded to a lawsuit filed by DirecTV and several state attorneys general, arguing that the federal judge's decision to freeze its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna "degrades the very assets it purports to protect." The company has requested an expedited appeal.

Republican state Attorneys General have launched an investigation into major credit rating agencies Fitch, Moody’s, and S&P concerning their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings practices.

Elon Musk's $100 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, which he claims could cripple its nonprofit mission, has led the ChatGPT parent company to ask California and Delaware Attorneys General to investigate.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen accused New York AG Letitia James of pursuing an activist agenda, as Republican states unite to challenge New York's initiative to expand liability for gun manufacturers.

The attorneys general of Texas and Arizona have filed a lawsuit against Cord Blood Registry, alleging that the company profited from misleading new parents with false advertisements regarding its umbilical cord cell storage services.

A judge is hearing a state challenge to the Justice Department's approval of a $14 billion deal involving Hewlett Packard Enterprise, with Democratic state attorneys general arguing the settlement was ineffective and corrupt.

State Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit to block the proposed merger between Nexstar and Tegna, a deal that has also been backed by former President Trump.

A coalition of 13 state Attorneys General has filed a lawsuit against OneMain Financial, alleging deceptive practices related to its add-on sales policies.

A coalition of 24 Democratic attorneys general and governors has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging newly imposed global tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

If the Justice Department and foreign regulators approves the deal, it'll be up to state attorneys general to challenge the merger.

GOP Attorneys General have expressed concerns to federal regulators that Netflix's potential acquisition of Warner Bros could be detrimental to America, citing antitrust issues.

Democratic state attorneys general have announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration concerning its vaccine policy in the United States.

Meta is facing a significant trial brought by Attorneys General, risking substantial monetary penalties and mandated product changes due to allegations of causing harm to young users.

Paramount's antitrust commitments in the UK, made to secure approval for its $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal, are seen as strengthening the hand of 12 state attorneys general suing to block the merger, according to anti-merger groups.

Fifteen state attorneys general have sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, instructing the company to preserve all materials related to the recent Hugging Face data breach.

Several state attorneys general have voiced concerns that the Department of Justice's settlement with Live Nation does not adequately serve the public interest, suggesting the agreement may not go far enough to address antitrust issues.

Mexico has formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of Mexican immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody or during agency operations.

State attorneys general are reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit this week to halt the proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros., posing a significant obstacle to the deal.

A federal judge rejected Meta Platforms' request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by 29 US state attorneys general, who accuse the company of designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive for children and knowingly concealing the harm.

Shopify is reportedly preparing to ban all vape products from its e-commerce platform, following increasing pressure from state Attorneys General.

OpenAI is currently under investigation by a coalition of state attorneys general, though the specific reasons or scope of the probe were not immediately detailed.

Memos show that a nonprofit organization led by prominent Trump critic Norm Eisen quietly assisted Democratic attorneys general and prosecutors in state prosecutions of Trump supporters.

FIFA has been ordered to answer questions regarding 2026 World Cup ticket sales after attorneys general from New York and New Jersey launched an investigation into the pricing.

Proxy advisory firm ISS is being sued by four Republican Attorneys General concerning its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies.

Five new state attorneys general, including some Republicans, have joined an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the $6.2 billion merger of local TV station owners Nexstar and Tegna, while Ohio has reached a settlement.

Over 20 attorneys general challenge the executive order and say it’s an unconstitutional move to disenfranchise voters More than 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit Friday challenging…

State Attorneys General in the US are demanding legal authority to stop drones delivering drugs and weapons into prisons, citing federal legal uncertainty that leaves corrections officials unable to intercept contraband in real-time.

A bipartisan coalition of 13 attorneys general has filed a lawsuit against OneMain, alleging the company engaged in deceptive practices by including hidden add-ons in its loan products.

US District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai in Eugene, Oregon, said at a hearing that he would grant a summary judgment motion in a lawsuit brought by state attorneys general from 19 states and Washington DC.

Nexstar Media’s proposed $6.2 billion takeover of local TV station rival Tegna is being challenged in court by eight state attorneys general, who argue that the merger represents an illegal…

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration requirement for colleges nationwide to immediately collect and turn over race data, siding with a group of Democrat attorneys general.

Democratic attorneys general are actively challenging the Trump administration's policies and actions, demonstrating a strong opposition to the president's agenda.

State and federal attorneys general in Australia are scheduled to meet to address rising antisemitism and online hate.

As events are leaning toward David Ellison and Paramount prevailing in its $108 billion hostile-takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, almost a dozen Republican state attorneys general are insisting

Twenty attorneys general challenge AMA's support for puberty blockers in children, calling position inconsistent after group opposed gender surgeries.