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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

(He did later acknowledge it would "probably" be a First Amendment violation to make it so libraries could only give out the Journal to patrons by request, but maintained the paper still shouldn't be able to get an injunction blocking that because it couldn't show harm) 👀

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This morning, the DC Circuit heard arguments in NewsGuard's case against the FTC. (I'll link to the replay once it's up). Super weird to hear the agency lawyer arguing that the government could ban bookstores from selling poetry or tell libraries not to display the Wall Street Journal

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

That second half is DOA in the House, where Republicans have been examining how the NFL's use of the Sports Broadcasting Act exemption has increased the prices for sports fans.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act last night, 77-22. The bill would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption related to college transfer rules. It also would expand the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow the collegiate leagues to collectively sell their media rights

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Reposted by Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

NEW @pewresearch.org survey (n=10,548) shows increasingly negative views about data centers in the US. Just since January, there have been big attitudinal shifts across the demographic and political spectrum. Full analysis: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Bar chart showing that a growing share of Americans think data centers are mostly bad for the environment, home energy costs, local quality of life, local jobs and local tax revenue. The chart is based on two Pew Research Center surveys of U.S. adults, one conducted in January 2026 and the other in August 2026.

Chart showing that views of data centers' impact on the environment have become more negative among Americans in a range of demographic and political subgroups. The chart is based on two Pew Research Center surveys of U.S. adults, one conducted in January 2026 and the other in August 2026.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The Writers Guild said it had separately reached a settlement with Paramount that would see the company contribute money to a healthcare fund and prevent layoffs at CBS.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

On the television side, the company agreed to negotiate Paramount channels and Warner Bros. cable channels separately with distributors. If the company violates that term, it would be required to sell off BET, VH1, Comedy Central, Smithsonian, Destination America, and Science.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If the company fails to meet its film commitments, Paramount would be required to sell off Miramax , known for such classic movies as "No Country for Old Men" and "Pulp Fiction."

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Paramount has promised to release 30 movies a year at the combined studios, a move designed to placate cinema owners and Hollywood talent who believed the merger would reduce film output. Under the terms of the deal, half of those films must be produced by the new company.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If Congress passes a federal film tax incentive, that number will increase. If New York or California pass state level tax incentives, that number would also jump.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

California AG Rob Bonta is announcing the terms of the Paramount deal. The company agrees to spend at least $300m per year in domestic production, or 5% of its global theatrical production, in US

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Terms of the deal will include concessions for workers, said one of the people. Paramount has agreed to pay $17.5 million into a fund for worker healthcare. The company also agreed to protections for journalists at CBS and CNN that include headcount requirements for both outlets, said the person.

bloomberg.com

Writers Guild Settles Paramount Lawsuit Over Warner Bros. Deal

The Writers Guild of America has reached a settlement with Paramount Skydance Corp. to resolve its lawsuit challenging the company’s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., according to peopl...

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Reposted by Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen

Justin Fox @byjustinfox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What the Trump administration has been doing to the federal government, in one chart. Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Nondefense agences with 2,000+ employment decline since Jan. 2025
Department, agency or subagency Employment change Percent change
Internal Revenue Service -29,985 -29.4%
Veterans Health Administration -26,347 -6.2%
Social Security Administration -7,934 -13.8%
Forest Service (since July 2024) -7,268 -17.8%
Transportation Security Administration -6,481 -9.8%
Federal Emergency Management Agency -5,759 -22.1%
Bureau of Land Management (since July 2024) -5,274 -47.6%
Veterans Benefits Administration -5,198 -15.0%
National Institutes of Health -5,052 -23.5%
Agency For International Development -4,739 -95.4%
Food and Drug Administration -4,700 -22.4%
Army Corps of Engineers -4,563 -11.8%
Environmental Protection Agency -4,476 -26.4%
Department of Energy -3,976 -24.8%
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention -3,649 -28.6%
Small Business Administration -3,480 -40.6%
National Park Service (since July 2024) -3,469 -15.4%
Department of State -3,158 -21.8%
Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA) -3,002 -25.3%
Fish and Wildlife Service (since July 2024) -2,803 -30.8%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin. -2,575 -20.8%
Geological Survey -2,572 -30.5%
Citizenship and Immigration Services -2,514 -11.0%
Public Buildings Service (GSA) -2,452 -43.8%
Census Bureau -2,436 -18.3%
Agricultural Research Service -2,325 -32.7%
Bureau of Reclamation -2,207 -38.0%
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System -2,175 -6.0%

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Good story. Shout-out to the Cap Times (one of the first places I ever worked) for letting an intern both work on an investigation AND have the first byline.

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Reposted by Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 02/09/2026

If you're a tech giant, the clear takeaway seems to be that monopolization is a crime that carries no real punishment. At worst you'll undergo discovery that would be embarrassing if anyone were paying attention and then be forced to stop doing the most egregious 15% of what you made zillions doing

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Which is sort of funny, because even if SCOTUS did take this case, we're not looking at an argument and decision until next year at the earliest.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Is it unusual for states to disagree on deals? Nope. They do it all the time. But normally they would submit an amicus brief to the court considering the case. Here, the Iowa AG explicitly said she didn't want to do that because it would take too long.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Two Republican AGs Complain to Supreme Court About Other States Suing to Block Hollywood Mega Merger

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Iowa and Montana are trying to involve the Supreme Court in the Paramount antitrust suit. It's very dumb.

variety.com

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Reposted by Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen

Matthew Budman, book guy @matthewbudman.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

"Another said the lack of clear goals made the deployment feel never-ending, even as Trump falsely claimed there was 'almost zero crime' in D.C. and touted its success. 'If it's safe now, then why are we here?' one guard member asked."

npr.org

In candid interviews, National Guard members speak out about D.C. deployment

As President Trump's deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C., enters its second year, three guard members who served many months on the mission share their reactions with NPR.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Because the album release day was the highest fatality day they assumed there was a correlation. But they didn’t seem to look at what what dates had the highest traffic fatalities overall.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This study design is very weird. They looked at the date that a bunch of popular albums were released and then compared traffic fatalities on that day to the number of fatalities in the period 10 days before and 10 days after.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Albums / new music always comes out on Friday. Isn’t it possible that there are just more traffic accidents on Fridays than other days of the week? That seems much more likely to me

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

😿 leaving me and antitrust for California (not permanently though)

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

We'll see if this is the last word. Pitts hints in his opinion twice that the states could bring a lawsuit challenging the merger. Senate Dems have a proposal to unwind any merger that the Trump DOJ approved.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

He also acknowledged that the merger itself would harm competition, but he couldn't say definitively that the Justice Department would have won at trial to block the deal overall. In his view, accepting the settlement that could help competition is better than nothing.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

But despite those procedural defects, Pitts said he wouldn't reject the settlement because the states found them out and made them public. No harm, no foul.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Those alternates included an "Invest in America" commitment from HPE to build up a factory in Wisconsin and a pricing commitment.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Pitts found that both HPE and the Justice Department failed to meet the requirements of the Tunney Act. HPE because it failed to disclose that it hired a lobbyist to speak with CIA and the Defense Department and DOJ because it failed to disclose the alternate proposals it considered.

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Leah 'AntiTrustButVerify' Nylen @leahnylen.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

"There is little doubt that permitting HPE’s acquisition of Juniper to go forward may lessen competition. At the same time, however, the Court lacks the independent power to prevent that outcome, and the conditions imposed by the proposed final judgment may help ameliorate the impact"

links.message.bloomberg.com

HPE Wins Approval for DOJ Settlement on $14 Billion Juniper Deal

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. secured court approval for its settlement with the US Justice Department over its takeover of networking company Juniper Networks Inc., defeating a challenge by a group ...

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