Oklahoma would make it a felony offense, punishable by fines of up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment, for entering an easement, right of way or premises with intent to steal copper wiring or cable if the theft causes $100,000 or more in damages, under a bill prefiled Wednesday with the state Senate. SB-1232 was filed by Sen. Bill Coleman (R). The cable industry has pushed for more enforcement attention and stronger sanctions for copper thefts (see 2509030003).
Laura Loomer, a podcaster widely seen as having the ear of President Donald Trump, endorsed the Nexstar/Tegna deal in a post on X late Tuesday, calling on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to approve the transaction. Loomer denounced Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who has been a vocal opponent of the deal (see 2508050051). Ruddy is a “selfish leftist” who “opposes both the Nexstar-Tegna merger and the proposed FCC ownership rule change,” Loomer wrote. His network is widely seen as one of the most conservative TV news channels. Many FCC watchers suspect that Trump’s connection with Ruddy led to the president’s recent post objecting to proposals to do away with the national TV-ownership cap (see 2511240055). Ruddy’s opposition to the deal “only empowers the left and their mainstream media allies, who can still control programming in America through ownership no matter who is in the White House or running the FCC,” Loomer said.
Netflix announced Friday an agreement to buy Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion after the latter company spins off Discovery Global, but the deal could face regulatory hurdles at the FTC or DOJ, and the combination has been criticized by lawmakers of both parties.
LiveVideo.AI Corp. is "wasting the Court’s time and the Defendants’ money" with its frivolous motion for reconsideration on Skydance Media's purchase of Paramount Global, National Amusements told the U.S. District Court for Southern New York on Wednesday.
The Trump administration is making its support increasingly clear for dedicating the 6 GHz band to Wi-Fi, WifiForward Executive Director Mary Brown said Wednesday. The FCC dedicated the band to unlicensed use during the first Trump administration and has indicated continued support for that position, but that doesn’t mean issues have gone away, she said. Brown and other officials spoke during a Broadband Breakfast webinar on the outlook for the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027.
China is on the verge of eclipsing U.S. leadership and commercial dominance of space, according to the Commercial Space Federation (CSF). The Asian nation is on a campaign "to define norms, capture markets, and build international coalitions across all segments of the space ecosystem,” the group said in a report released Tuesday about China's growing commercial space activity.
The FCC should investigate ABC over late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s donations to and fundraising for politicians who have appeared on his show, said the Center for American Rights in a complaint filed Thursday.
LiveVideo.AI is fighting a magistrate judge's recommended dismissal of its claims against National Amusements and its president, Shari Redstone, related to Skydance Media's purchase of Paramount Global. In an objection last week (docket 1:24-cv-06290), LiveVideo.AI told the U.S. District Court for Southern New York that U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses' report and recommendation -- which, along with dismissal of the suit, called for LiveVideo.AI and its counsel to face monetary sanctions and for an injunction to prevent LiveVideo.AI from further "frivolous" claims (see 2508130001) -- omits antitrust violations and acts of security fraud that have come to light recently. It said the recommendation wrongly turns "harmless docketing issues into case-ending defaults" and recommends sanctions "despite colorable, good-faith arguments."
Automakers were united in raising concerns about an FCC proposal to update its “covered list” of unsecure companies to reflect a January finding by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on connected vehicles (see 2505270059). Many groups have already opposed the proposal (see 2506300052). In filings Thursday and Friday, four automakers weighed in separately in docket 18-89, arguing that the proposal works against the Trump administration's goal of reinvigorating U.S. auto manufacturing.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) disputed proposals in the FCC’s “bad labs” Further NPRM in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 24-136 (see 2508190051).