Netflix vs. Paramount (& Jared Kushner & Foreign Money)
Trump allies launch hostile takeover. Plus: Supreme Court poised to let Trump fire at will. Jasmine Crockett enters Senate race. Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson fight for the moral low ground. And more.
For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram.
This newsletter is sponsored by:
What are you getting your loved ones this holiday season? May I suggest: the gift of not losing their minds every time they open the news? Some of you tell me you share NNN with family and friends and end up in text threads about the news. I love that. Sharing NNN is a way to ensure the people you care about are getting sourced, evidence-based information instead of noise-induced-anxiety. We’re offering 20% off through Christmas Day.
Speaking of community — so many of you signed up for our Red Wine and Blue partnership! For those who missed it, NNN is teaming up with the nonprofit Red Wine and Blue to make it easier to gather in person. If you want to meet people in your community who are concerned about the state of the world but don’t have the network to start or just need a nudge — this is your nudge.
It’s like book club. RWB doesn’t specify focus, activities, number of meetings, or membership. Want to hear from an expert on a topic (RWB will organize for you), learn about an important issue in local government, or meet for drinks and venting? You have a lot of flexibility to make the group what you want it to be. Just a few guardrails around political organizing (it’s a nonpartisan nonprofit) — otherwise, make the rules that work for you.
The experts say in-person connection plus joy and laughter are vital!
We’re starting our first groups with paid subscribers. If you’re a subscriber and want to join or learn more, scroll down to sign up. Not a paid subscriber and lack the means? We can accommodate you. Email us at community@newsnotnoise.com.
On that note, tomorrow – Tuesday December 9 – I’ll be live talking with RWB’s Katie Paris and sharing “5 News Stories You Haven’t Heard.” You can sign up to join the live chat for free at the link here.
In today’s newsletter: When national security reads like a Kremlin press release. Paramount won’t take “no” for an answer. Independent agencies, meet the delete button. Crockett vs Paxton vs Cornyn (choose your fighter). Ted Cruz vs Tucker Carlson (we all lose). Global indies beat Hollywood at its own game. And MTG delivers GOP marriage counseling no one asked for.
Here Are Your Headlines
Breaking: Trump on Monday announced he will allow Nvidia to sell powerful AI computer chips to “approved customers” in China — as long as the US gets a 25% cut.
Race Heating Up: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on Monday filed to run for Senate, joining the race to unseat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is also facing notable primary challengers including state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Crockett’s House district was redrawn under the GOP’s gerrymandered maps; in August she accused Republicans of intentionally drawing her home out of her own district. The district — where she no longer lives — is still considered safely blue.
Dictator On Day One: The Supreme Court on Monday seemed poised to allow Trump to fire officials of independent agencies at will. The case centers on Trump’s attempt to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic Federal Trade Commission member, because she didn’t align with his agenda. For almost a century, officials like Slaughter have been protected from such firings. But Chief Justice John Roberts argued this precedent has “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today.” Justice Elena Kagan warned that Trump is asking “to destroy the structure of government” — officials in 50 boards and commissions could be subject to arbitrary firings — and noted this could allow him to fire members of the Federal Reserve, something even the conservative Justices don’t appear ready to allow.
America First, Allies Last: The Trump administration released its national security strategy — and it reads like a gift to Russia. The administration’s new national security strategy has worried traditional allies and pleased Russia and China. For decades, these strategies (meant to outline an administration’s priorities) have promoted democracy and countered adversaries like Russia and China. This one flips the script. It focuses on economics above all else, treats Europe as more of an adversary than Russia, and adds a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine that’s historically been used to justify disastrous military interventions throughout Latin America.
Playing Dirty: Paramount Skydance, the media giant owned by Trump ally David Ellison, has launched a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Its $108.4 billion offer, which WBD rejected in favor of a deal with Netflix, is partially financed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar — and by Jared Kushner’s investment firm. Paramount argued that its takeover would face easier and faster regulatory approval than Netflix’s; one chief market analyst put it plainly: “Paramount thinks its closeness to the occupant of the Oval Office will help it seal the deal.” David Ellison said on Monday that “we’re really here to finish what we started.” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos claims to have personally pitched his deal with Trump, who on Sunday said he’d done “one of the greatest jobs in the history of movies.” But Trump warned Netflix’s market share “could be a problem” and that he would be “involved” in determining who would end up with Warner Bros. Discovery.
What Changed: It seems Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi used to agree with the Democrats they’re now calling traitors. In 2016, then–presidential candidate Donald Trump said that US troops should follow any of his orders. CNN has unearthed footage of then-Fox News host Pete Hegseth disputing that: “The military’s not gonna follow illegal orders,” he said. He warned Trump’s statement “creates more complications” for the military and also repeatedly told viewers that troops “won’t follow unlawful orders.” Meanwhile, in 2024, Pam Bondi filed a brief with the Supreme Court noting that “military officers are required not to carry out unlawful orders.” But when six Democratic lawmakers said exactly this last week, Hegseth called them “seditious” and Trump implied they should be put to death. “What has changed,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), one of the six, “is we have an unqualified Secretary of Defense who only cares about sucking up to this president.”
Texas just passed a new “Bathroom Bill,” restricting transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Advocates say it targets an already vulnerable community and will likely face constitutional challenges.
Right-leaning outlets are championing it — LifeSite News uses terms like “gender-confused men” and Patriot Journal calls it “common sense.” On the left? Barely a blip. Only 7% of outlets covering it lean left, while half lean right — a major blind spot that shapes how people understand not just the policy, but the people affected by it.
I found all of this on Ground News. It’s an app and website that I rely on because it shows me not just what is being covered but how every story is being framed across media bubbles. Especially on issues that impact real people, Ground News helps to see the full information landscape.
Ground News is offering the News Not Noise community 40% off their all-access Vantage subscription plan. To subscribe, go to GroundNews.com/NNN.
Government Assistance: Trump on Monday announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers hurt by his tariffs. He and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed farmers’ pain on Biden, which the president of the National Black Farmers Association called “totally false.” American farmers are struggling because China cancelled massive orders in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs, which the Agriculture Transportation Coalition in April warned was “a full-blown crisis.”
Food as a Weapon: The USDA has threatened to withhold food stamp funding from almost two dozen Democratic-led states that refused to hand over sensitive personal information about benefits recipients. The states sued. New York Attorney General Letitia James warned that data could be “illegally used to hunt down immigrants and their families.”
President of Peace: Thailand launched air strikes on Cambodia on Monday, in what it called a response to a Cambodian attack in a border province. The fighting has killed at least five people, displaced thousands, and reignited a decades-old dispute that Trump claimed to have solved with a truce in July.
Stepping Down: Alina Habba on Monday announced she will resign as US Attorney for New Jersey. An appeals court confirmed Habba was ineligible for the position last week. Trump — who appointed Habba despite her having no prosecutorial experience and without being confirmed by the Senate — said “Republicans should be ashamed of themselves” for allowing Habba’s disqualification. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Habba will become a senior advisor at the DOJ. Fail up.
Culture Not Noise
Pure Gold: The Golden Globes announced their nominees and art-house loving independent studio Neon received the most nominations. (Do we detect a rebuke of Hollywood’s corporate consolidation?) Its four best picture nods were all international features: Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (also won the Cannes Grand Prix); Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just An Accident (Palme D’or); Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, whose lead became the first Brazilian man nominated for lead actor; and Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. Neon’s past hits include Parasite and Anatomy of a Fall.
Midas Touch: With 16 nominations, Warner Bros. Discovery demonstrated why Paramount is willing to go so far to acquire it. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another received nine nominations, the most of any film. (It’s fantastic and shockingly prescient). WBD’s other nominees include Sinners and The White Lotus.
News Or Noise
Keep reading for information on… Palantir’s new, definitely-not-DEI fellowship. Ted Cruz and Tucker Carlson fight for the moral low ground. Trump accuses pardon recipient of being disloyal. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks out. And a preview of Charlie Kirk’s upcoming posthumous book. (You’ll never guess what it’s about.) All this and more is available to paid subscribers. Thank you! Your support makes our work possible.
