DirecTV and Dish’s on-and-off merger saga switches back to off

The Verge
Illustration of the Dish wordmark on a black and red background.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

DirecTV has dropped its plans to acquire Dish, the company announced Thursday. The deal would’ve created a TV service megamerger, but it fell through after Dish bondholders rejected the takeover.

In September, DirecTV reached an agreement to acquire Dish, Sling TV, and EchoStar’s TV business for just one dollar, while also taking on

15 movies and shows to stream this weekend, from a new Chad Michael Murray romcom to the latest 'Alien' sequel

Tech Insider
Merry Gentlemen.

Netfilx; BI

  • "Outlander," "Based on a True Story," and "The Sex Lives of College Girls" return this week.
  • Movies including "Blitz," "The Piano Lesson," and "Alien: Romulus" are streaming.
  • New shows like "Interior Chinatown" and "A Man on the Inside" are out, too.

Several popular TV shows had their premieres this week.

The beloved historical drama "Outlander" is back with the second half of its seventh

3 of Trump's top cabinet-level picks recently worked as lobbyists, with clients ranging from Amazon to Qatar

Tech Insider
A composite image of Pam Bondi, Susie Wiles, and Sean Duffy
Three of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet-level picks, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump 2024 co-campaign manager Susie Wiles, and former Congressman Sean Duffy, have previously been lobbyists.

AP Images

  • Several of Donald Trump's top picks have recently been lobbyists.
  • Susan Wiles, Trump's incoming chief of staff, maintained ties to a lobbying firm until this month.
  • Sean Duffy
Politics

Anthropic will use AWS AI chips after $4 billion Amazon investment

Engadget

Amazon is doubling its investment in Anthropic. The e-commerce giant will provide Anthropic with an additional $4 billion in funding on top of the $4 billion it committed last year. Although Amazon remains a minority investor, Anthropic has agreed to make Amazon Web Services (AWS) its “primary cloud and training partner.”

Before today’s announcement, The Information had reported that Amazon wanted