Credit card interest rates are expected to be ordered to pause at 10% for one year starting January 20, President Donald Trump announced on Friday night.
“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration. AFFORDABILITY!” he posted to Truth Social.
“Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%. Coincidentally, the January 20th date will coincide with the one year anniversary of the historic and very successful Trump Administration. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president continued.
Credit cards typically carry an interest rate of 23.79%, according to LendingTree. As of Q3 of 2025, Americans have $1.23 trillion in credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s <a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Center for Microeconomic Data</a>. Over 80% of Americans have a credit card, according to <a href="https://www.fool.com/money/research/credit-card-ownership-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Motley Fool</a>.
It’s unclear if there will be subsequent legal action against the order. The move is one of several major financial actions the president has taken in recent days. On Wednesday, he announced he would be taking action to prevent “institutional” buyers from purchasing single-family homes, writing on Truth Social that “people live in homes, not corporations.”
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans,” he stated.
Then on Thursday, he directed a purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds in another move intended to tackle the cost of home ownership.
“This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly referenced “affordability” in his messaging on economic policy in recent weeks, as the phrase has quickly turned into a marquee campaign trail tenet for the November midterms used by both parties.

San Francisco Reopens Indoor Dining, Gyms As Coronavirus Cases Drop

Credit Card Interest Rates Could Be Capped At 10% For The Year, Trump Says

affordability

Business

credit cards

Economy

Money

Politics

Trump Administration

A rep from Spotify confirmed that they are no longer airing recruitment ads for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the last campaign ended in late 2025.
The update comes after left-wing organizations openly complained about the ads, which were run between songs for ad-supported free subscribers.
“There are currently no ICE ads running on Spotify,” a statement from the music streaming giant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/09/spotify-no-longer-running-ice-recruitment-ads-after-us-government-campaign-ends">said</a>, per The Guardian. “The advertisements mentioned were part of a US government recruitment campaign that ran across all major media and platforms.”
Spotify previously addressed criticism of the ads, saying they did not “violate our advertising policies.”
“This advertisement is part of a broad campaign the US government is running across television, streaming, and online channels,” the company shared in a statement last October. “However, users can mark any ad with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to help manage their ads preferences.”
Similar ICE recruitment ads have been running on other popular platforms including Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube, and Pandora since last spring.
The non-profit organization Indivisible Project, best known for organizing the nationwide “No Kings” protests, called for a boycott of Spotify in an <a href="https://indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-announces-campaign-cancel-spotify-streaming-services-over-ice-recruitment">open letter</a> shared in October.
“Spotify is exploiting the work of artists to line their pockets while recruiting for ICE – a secret police force that is terrorizing American communities. Spotify is actively amplifying the Trump regime’s drive to authoritarianism,” the letter said in part.
The organization took credit for Spotify no longer running the ads, writing in an update on Friday that “months of public pressure” resulted in the music streaming service no longer running ICE advertisements.
Some minor musical artists also removed their music from the platform in protest. This includes the Australian psych-rock band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, the Canadian group Godspeed You! Black Emperor, indie band Deerhoof, and U.S. singer-songwriter Kadhja Bonet, per The Guardian.

Spotify

Spotify Confirms They’re Not Running ICE Recruitment Ads Anymore

Spotify Confirms They're Not Running ICE Recruitment Ads Anymore

advertising

government

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Music

U.S.

Warner Bros. Discovery has formally rejected the hostile takeover bid from Paramount amid their merger deal with Netflix, dubbing the proposed terms “inferior” to the Netflix partnership.
“Your Board negotiated a merger with Netflix that maximizes value while mitigating downside risks, and we unanimously believe the Netflix merger is in your best interest. We are focused on advancing the Netflix merger to deliver its compelling value to you,” the board wrote in a letter to shareholders Wednesday morning, per <a href="https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/warner-bros-discovery-rejects-paramount-skydance-ellison-latest-takeover-offer-1236624282/">Variety</a>.
The letter further stated that the Paramount offer “is not more favorable to WBD stockholders than the Netflix Merger and continues to be inadequate,” because of “insufficient value, taking into account price and numerous risks, costs and uncertainties.” 
The decision to reject the bid was said to be unanimous. This was the sixth offer made and rejected by Paramount.
“The Offer is entirely at [Paramount]’s discretion – [Paramount] can reduce the price, impose new conditions, or walk away entirely at any time prior to its acceptance of tendered shares,” Warner Bros. said of the proposal.
Paramount announced their latest bid days after the Netflix deal was announced in December.
“We believe our offer will create a stronger Hollywood. It is in the best interests of the creative community, consumers and the movie theater industry,” Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison said in a statement at the time, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/paramount-launches-hostile-takeover-bid-for-warner-bros-days-after-netflix-deal-announced?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Paramount+Launches+Hostile+Takeover+Bid+For+Warner+Bros.+Days+After+Netflix+Deal+Announced">reported</a>. 
“We believe they will benefit from the enhanced competition, higher content spend and theatrical release output, and a greater number of movies in theaters as a result of our proposed transaction.”
President Trump remarked on the Netflix deal in December, saying it “could be a problem” from an antitrust standpoint. The president also mentioned being “involved” in reviewing the deal. The proposed merger has had bipartisan pushback from skeptics who warn it could turn into a “nightmare” for consumers and creatives. 
Many critics also worry that it could destroy the theater industry, as rumors persist that Netflix will push for a shorter theatrical release window for major films. Per <a href="https://www.avclub.com/netflix-warner-bros-17-day-theatrical-amc">reports</a>, the timing could be shortened to as little as 17 days, drastically reducing the industry standard of a 30 to 45-day delay before movies arrive on streaming services.

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Rejects ‘Inferior’ Paramount Hostile Takeover Bid, Chooses Netflix

Warner Bros. Rejects 'Inferior' Paramount Hostile Takeover Bid, Chooses Netflix

Entertainment

Hollywood

Netflix

Paramount

Warner Bros

The founder of Origin USA, an apparel brand proudly manufactured in the United States, has an idea about why Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro was seen wearing a blue hoodie made by his company.
The CEO of the Maine-based company posted a video on Sunday describing what happened after footage of Maduro’s perp walk went viral.
“Last night, my phone blew up and I figured I was really the only one that could talk about this because my company, Origin, happens to make this hoodie,” Roberts <a href="https://x.com/originbjj/status/2007980338430284250?s=46">said</a> in a video gaining traction on X. “When my phone blew up last night, I had to figure out if this was AI or not, and I decided very quickly it was not.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here&#8217;s why Maduro is wearing our hoodie.<a href="https://twitter.com/originpete?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@originpete</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jockowillink?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jockowillink</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ffu9OD7Lt0">pic.twitter.com/Ffu9OD7Lt0</a>
— ORIGIN (@ORIGINBJJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ORIGINBJJ/status/2007980338430284250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Why is this dude wearing an <a href="https://originusa.com/products/brrr-rtx-hoodie?variant=50903288316182">Origin Patriot Blue hoodie</a>?” Roberts wondered, noting the irony, considering that “this logo here on the shirt Maduro is wearing, this is the wave of freedom.”
Roberts shared the story behind that symbol, recalling how he started Origin in 2012 after watching his local community collapse as jobs were lost to overseas factories.
“I had seen my community gutted over the years and hollowed out, and all the manufacturing jobs sent away, sent overseas, and what that left behind was hopelessness,” the company founder said. Origin’s mission, he added, was “the reclamation of our machines and the reshoring and the restoring of our communities.”
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Origin operates multiple U.S. locations, including a footwear factory in Maine and a denim factory in North Carolina. It produces the hoodie Maduro was wearing, which Roberts said may have been given to the dictator to compensate for the chilly New York weather.
“I think what I believe happened is he landed in New York and it was very cold outside, and what they did is they put on a hoodie on him,” he continued.
The final irony wasn’t lost on Roberts. “Probably a DEA agent slipped this hoodie on him and said, ‘you’re going to feel the fabric of freedom on American soil,’” he speculated. Whether intentional or not, the image of Maduro wearing a symbol of American manufacturing and freedom in patriot blue will not be forgotten.

Maduro in hoodie

Maduro Pictured In ‘Wave Of Freedom’ Hoodie Made By Company Fighting To Revive The American Dream

America

Freedom

Global Politics

Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela

World

Legendary investor Warren Buffett on Wednesday worked his final day as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, ending a six-decade run at the helm. Buffett stunned Wall Street in May when he announced plans to step down at the end of the year. While he’s relinquishing the CEO title, the 95-year-old is not entering full retirement. 
Berkshire Hathaway’s board unanimously named Vice Chairman Greg Abel, 63, as Buffett’s successor. Abel, who has been with the company since 2000 and oversees its non-insurance operations, will assume the role of CEO on January 1.
In his <a href="https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/nov1025.pdf">final letter</a> to shareholders in November, Buffett voiced strong support for Abel. Buffett also said he plans to retain a significant stake in Berkshire Hathaway until shareholders grow comfortable with Abel’s leadership, adding that the company’s board and his family fully support the transition. He also emphasized that Berkshire would continue to be managed in a way that benefits both shareholders and the country.
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Buffett also expressed confidence in Berkshire Hathaway’s long-term stability, telling shareholders that the company faces “less chance of a devastating disaster than any business I know” and has “a more shareholder-conscious management and board than almost any company with which I am familiar.”
He also offered a characteristically steady warning to investors that market volatility is inevitable, regardless of who is in charge. 
“Our stock price will move capriciously, occasionally falling 50% or so as has happened three times in 60 years under present management,&#8221; said Buffett. &#8220;Don’t despair; America will come back and so will Berkshire shares.”
Abel is stepping into enormous shoes. Over Buffett’s tenure, Berkshire Hathaway’s stock climbed from roughly $19 per share to about $750,000, a gain of nearly 4 million percent. Buffett transformed the company from a struggling textile mill into a $1 trillion conglomerate, marking one of the most successful business turnarounds in American history. 
Buffett’s fascination with business <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-95-birthday-berkshire-hathaway-stock-investing-025-8#partnerships-old-and-new-4">began early</a>. He bought his first stock, Cities Service Preferred, at age 11. By 22, he was teaching night classes on investing and managing money for family and friends. In 1956, he launched his firm, Buffett Partnership, which grew from $100,000 to $20 million before he took control of Berkshire Hathaway. He began acquiring shares in 1962 and assumed full leadership in 1965.

Squawk Alley

It’s Warren Buffett’s Last Day On The Job After 60 Years As CEO

Celebrities

CEOs

Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. In this piece, originally published in June, former college president Greg Salsbury recounts the cost of California’s failed leadership.
* * *
Perhaps it is fitting that legendary Beach Boy and California native son Brian Wilson would pass away in the same year that a New York Times headline would ask, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/us/california-turmoil-resilience.html">“Is the California Dream a Mirage?”</a>
The social, environmental and economic disaster that is California has been mushrooming for decades now, with any improvements in the near term looking about as likely as a working bullet train from the north to the south in that state. The litany of negative facts emerging for the state is accompanied by descriptors such as “worst,” “first,” “record,” “ballooning,” “unsustainable,” “disaster,” and “mismanagement.” These ills are detailed in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-assemblyman-explains-how-state-has-mismanaged-fire-prevention-policies-as-wildfires-rage">myriad</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/bad-policy-served-as-kindling-for-californias-wildfires-forest-water-management-social-justice-c5b94a4f?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAif-IufnKaxHOP49zFGTHPZhQuqrXUEi-2TLq3CTiNpkYvlSDqNxFWNzK60iAw%3D&amp;gaa_ts=685d8562&amp;gaa_sig=3-LfR_GHU3tLPG-o-YsVjgoRNU1-opiK9zrnQzURPOZIBNcm7OIKeIV5kTdTHBKbOeKnRJ-BbcIcuJq-0ipu3Q%3D%3D">articles</a> <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/11/opinion/catastrophic-wildfires-left-la-in-ashes-due-to-californias-failing-liberal-leadership/">pointing</a> to California’s failed leadership.
Consider the overall economic situation. California went from a state budget surplus of <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/after-100-billion-surplus-california-now-faces-73-billion-budget-deficit">$100b to a deficit of $73b</a> in just three years. This was driven in part from its decision in February of 2020 to escalate spending significantly while it was <a href="https://www.ppic.org/publication/whats-behind-californias-recent-population-decline-and-why-it-matters/">losing jobs</a>, and for the first time since receiving statehood in 1850, population. Between 2010 and 2023, the state saw 9.3 million people leave while only 6.7 million arrived — with a disproportionate number of the “leavers” in the high-income, high-tax-paying category.
California had the distinction of being rated as the very worst state in which to do business by <a href="https://chiefexecutive.net/california-is-the-worst-state-for-business-2014/">Chief Executive</a> magazine — for ten years in a row. Others were more positive with The <a href="https://sbecouncil.org/2019/05/06/new-report-sbe-council-ranks-50-states-according-to-public-policy-and-tax-climates-for-small-business/">Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council</a> seeing them as only the second worst state, and the <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/best-worse-states-entrepreneurs">Cato Institute</a> placing them at 48th out of 50 for entrepreneurs.
<a href="https://californiapolicycenter.org/reports/worsttobest/">The California Policy Center</a> concludes:
<blockquote>“For anyone operating a business in California – small, medium or large – the experiences of the last twenty years have been challenging, and it gets worse every year. California’s regulatory environment, its high taxes and exorbitant fees, and the overall cost of doing business are the toughest in the nation. Many businesses have voted with their feet, moving their operations to more welcoming business environments.” </blockquote>
According to WalletHub.com’s report “<a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/best-places-to-retire/6165">Best &amp; Worst Places to Retire (2025)</a>,” which examined 182 cities across the U.S., four out five of the worst cities in which to retire are in California.
The story is equally daunting in a host of other arenas for the state — education, illegal immigration, water, violent crime, theft, housing, insurance, energy, environment, assorted taxes and fees, cost of living, state employee pensions, healthcare, and more. <a href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/movers/%23editorial">ConsumerAffairs</a>, a consumer news and advocacy organization, compared all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. across five categories: affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. California ranked as the single least desirable state to move to. Their conclusion might have been influenced by seeing that, compared to all other 49 states in the nation, California has the:
<ul>
<li>Highest <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-280.html">poverty rate</a></li>
<li>Highest top marginal <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates/">state income tax rate</a></li>
<li>Highest <a href="https://www.redfin.com/blog/most-expensive-states-to-buy-a-house/">median home price</a></li>
<li>Highest <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-gas-tax-rates-2024/">gasoline tax</a></li>
<li>Highest number of federal <a href="https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/welfare-recipients-by-state">welfare recipients</a></li>
<li>Highest amount of <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-states-blame-most-nearly-400-million-unemployment-fraud">unemployment benefit fraud</a></li>
<li>Highest number of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/">illegal immigrants</a></li>
<li>Highest percentage of <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/map-states-most-high-school-dropouts-1872310">high school dropouts</a></li>
<li>Highest rates of <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/human-trafficking-statistics-by-state">human trafficking</a></li>
<li>Highest <a href="https://247wallst.com/special-report/2024/02/13/this-is-the-state-with-the-most-homeless-people-every-state-ranked/">homeless population</a></li>
<li>Highest level of <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/pension/comparative_view/table/">state pension shortfall</a></li>
<li>Highest level of <a href="https://www.consumeraffairs.com/movers/states-people-are-moving-to-and-from.html">net exodus</a> from the state</li>
<li>Highest <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/630090/states-with-the-average-electricity-price-for-the-residential-sector-in-the-us/">cost for kilowatt hours</a> in the continental U.S.</li>
</ul>
While many folks have wryly referred to California as, “the most expensive weather in the world,” an increasing number of people are rethinking that cost — especially when the weather itself is now regularly accompanied by wildfires, mudslides, and earthquakes.
The <a href="https://hgbr.org/californias-economic-challenges-a-growing-exodus-and-policy-concerns/">Hampton Global Business Review</a> concludes, “The allure of California’s beaches and innovation hubs might not be enough to counteract the growing disenchantment among its residents and business leaders.”
While all of this is more than sobering, contrary to the popular narrative, the untenable situation in which the state now finds itself cannot be blamed solely or even largely on the handful of people who have occupied the top leadership roles or even the few thousand in mid-tier management/political roles for the state. To be sure, many of those people have largely been far worse than feckless; they have been actively counterproductive — perhaps even maleficent. But blaming leadership is like blaming guns for shooting homicides. They could not have performed this disservice without the active support of the California voters.
Time and time again, California voters continue to check the box for more of the same people who continue to inflict damage on them for decades now. But more importantly, they knowingly do so. No objective observer can credibly argue that Californians have been fooled or misled by their leaders or the outrageous decisions they have made, or failed to make.
The great scholar, author, and life-long California resident Dr. Victor Davis Hanson has for years <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/28121811-the-decline-and-fall-of-california">detailed</a> the disastrous results of many of these decisions — from eliminating fire-preventing forest management, to not only failing to build appropriate dams but blowing up existing dams and eliminating reservoirs, to promoting unchecked and mass illegal immigration.
There was likely no more clarifying moment of truth on this point than when Governor Gavin Newsom faced a recall. His record was damning. There was the bungled and hypocritical mismanagement of the COVID virus response — complete with vaccine shortages, maskless French Laundry dinners with friends, and arbitrary business closure guidelines, a budget deficit that was more than double his own projection, and most importantly, the ignoring or exacerbation of most of the long list of the aforementioned maladies destroying the state.
Not only did the recall effort fail miserably, with Newsom receiving a convincing approval mandate of 62% of the vote, but he was then solidly re-elected in 2022 with nearly that same margin. California voters, no doubt painfully aware of all of these issues essentially said, “Yes, yes, yes! Give us more of this!”
But suppose for just a moment that Newsom had been recalled, that perhaps he had skewered one of the sacred cows big enough to motivate his ouster. Perhaps he drove a diesel car, or contended that there is something wrong about allowing a 250lb biological male athlete to compete with women, or suggested that maybe the unpunished shoplifting limit should be reduced from $950 to say $500, or publicly stated that illegal immigrants are not entitled to the same rights as U.S. citizens. Who would voters have suggested take his place? It almost certainly would have been another entity not dissimilar to Newsom in any significant way.
All of this is exacerbated by the fact that so many logically thinking, hard-working, patriotic Americans are leaving California if they can. With each passing year, the state is left with an increasingly left-leaning voter base — and they like it that way.  Thus, it is folly to believe that California’s ills can be solved as simply as replacing a few, key incompetent leaders. California’s failed leadership is not nearly as problematic as its failed follower-ship. And that is a far harder nut to crack.
Brian Wilson made a career writing songs about the abundant fun, fun, fun available in the Golden State. Were he with us today, begrudgingly or not, he would have to admit that clearly, daddy took the T-Bird away.
* * *
Greg Salsbury, Ph.D. is former president of Western Colorado University and Board of Advisor member for <a href="https://starrs.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">STARRS.US</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Newsom best of

Best Of 2025: California Had Fun, Fun, Fun — Until Voters Took The T-Bird Away

California

Gavin Newsom

Immigration

Jobs

Opinion

Small Businesses

Taxes

Warner Bros Discovery will likely reject Paramount Skydance&#8217;s amended $108.4 billion hostile bid for the storied Hollywood studio despite a personal guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison backing the media giant&#8217;s offer, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The board has yet to make a final decision, but is expected to meet next week, said the person, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Warner Bros and Paramount declined to comment on the board&#8217;s position, reported earlier by CNBC.
The decision could keep Warner Bros on track to pursue a rival cash-and-stock deal with Netflix despite Paramount&#8217;s attempt to sweeten its offer.
Ellison, whose son David is chairman and CEO of Paramount, personally guaranteed the equity underpinning the bid, hoping to ease doubts that had dogged its earlier proposal.
The company did not increase its $30-per-share all-cash offer, but it raised its regulatory reverse termination fee to match Netflix and extended its tender offer deadline.
Netflix&#8217;s $82.7 billion offer, while lower in headline value, offers a clearer financing structure and fewer execution risks, analysts have said.
Under terms of that agreement, Warner Bros would face a $2.8 billion breakup fee if it walks away from the Netflix deal.
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Harris Oakmark, Warner Bros&#8217; fifth largest investor with 96 million shares, said the revised offer wasn&#8217;t &#8220;sufficient,&#8221; and noted that it was not enough to cover the breakup fee.
Paramount has argued its bid would face fewer regulatory obstacles. A combined Paramount-Warner Bros entity would create a studio larger than industry leader Disney and merge two major television operators.
Warner Bros&#8217; board previously urged shareholders to reject Paramount&#8217;s $108.4 billion bid for the entire company, including its cable television assets, citing concerns over financing certainty and the absence of a full guarantee from the Ellison family.
Paramount has argued its offer is more market-proof than Netflix&#8217;s $82.7 billion proposal, whose value has fluctuated with Netflix&#8217;s share price.
Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about further consolidation in the media industry. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to weigh in on the landmark acquisition.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Dawn Kopecki, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Anil D&#8217;Silva and David Gregorio)

Warner Bros Likely To Reject Paramount’s Latest Hostile Bid, Source Says

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced they will be acquiring majority ownership of the iconic Peanuts IP, including the beloved characters Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the rest of the gang created by Charles M. Schulz. 
The purchase price was around $457 million for the 41% stake held by WildBrain in Peanuts Holdings LLC, bringing Sony’s total stake to 80%. The Schulz family continues to have a 20% stake, per <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sony-acquire-peanuts-457-million-deal-1236612363/">Variety</a>.
“Since 2018, SMEJ has been proud to be part of the partnership behind ‘Peanuts,’ an iconic global entertainment brand with a 75-year legacy of delighting audiences worldwide,” Shunsuke Muramatsu, president and group CEO, Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), said in a statement. “With this additional ownership stake, we are thrilled to be able to further elevate the value of the ‘Peanuts’ brand by drawing on the Sony Group’s extensive global network and collective expertise.”
“We are deeply committed to carrying forward the legacy of Charles Schulz and the Schulz family,” he added. “Together with SPE, and backed by WildBrain’s continued partnership, we will continue to embrace new opportunities to ensure that ‘Peanuts’ remains a relevant and beloved presence across generations—reaching new audiences and sharing the timeless charm of the ‘Peanuts’ gang for years ahead.”
Sony said they planned to keep the characters in the spotlight.
“With our combined strengths, we have the unique capability and extraordinary opportunity to protect and shape the future of these beloved characters for generations to come,” Sony Pictures President and CEO Ravi Ahuja said of the acquisition.
Peanuts began as a syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip featuring the misadventures of Charlie Brown and his friends. The comic strip originally ran from 1950 to 2000 and is considered one of the most popular and influential comic strips in history, with 17,897 strips published in all.
Some of the most popular Peanuts projects include the animated holiday specials “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” In 2015, 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios released “The Peanuts Movie.&#8221;

Snoopy, Lucy, Charlie Brown, & Linus in Peanuts

Sony Pictures To Take Majority Control Of ‘Peanuts’ Franchise

 Sony Pictures To Take Majority Control Of 'Peanuts' Franchise

Cartoon

United States

Kristin Cabot, the woman who went viral over the summer after being caught in an intimate moment with her boss Andrew Byron on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, has some harsh words for Gwyneth Paltrow.
The former HR exec gave multiple interviews this week and went over some details about the event and aftermath. Cabot was shocked at the level of public outrage over her alleged infidelity, and seemed especially offended that Paltrow joined in the fray.
&#8220;I was such a fan of her company [Goop], which seemed to be about uplifting women,” Cabot told The Times U.K. “And then she did this. I thought, ‘How dare she after the beating she got for all the conscious uncoupling stuff.’ What a hypocrite.”
Cabot said she got rid of all her Goop products as a form of protest.
The former Astronomer employee was referring to Paltrow’s relationship with her ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, and how she referenced their separation using unique terminology.
Cabot also made other revelations during the interviews, including insisting that it was her first time ever kissing her former boss and claiming that their relationship was never sexual. The New Hampshire native also revealed that her then-husband, Andrew Cabot, was at the infamous concert. He said in a statement that the couple was estranged at the time of the incident.
Both Cabot and Byron left their positions at the tech company in the wake of the scandal.
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Paltrow <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/astronomer-hires-gwyneth-paltrow-to-be-temporary-spokesperson-after-kiss-cam-drama">put out a commercial</a> for the company just days after the kiss cam drama blew up on social media. “I’ve been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer,” the &#8220;Avengers: Endgame&#8221; actress said in the video.
“We’ve been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,” she went on, poking fun at how the company had gone viral overnight.
Astronomer became a household name after Cabot, the former Chief People Officer for the company, was spotted embracing the CEO. After getting caught on the kiss cam, the two quickly stepped away from each other and out of frame after realizing they were being broadcast to the entire stadium at the July 16 Coldplay show in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
That moment became a pop culture sensation and led to multiple spoofs on social media and at professional sporting events.
Cabot claims she’s been stalked, harassed, doxxed, and has received death threats after the scandal. &#8220;My kids were afraid that I was going to die and they were going to die,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/style/coldplay-concert-couple-kiss-cam-woman.html">told</a> The New York Times.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Viral Coldplay Kiss Cam Woman Speaks Out, Is Furious With Gwyneth Paltrow

viral video

A lengthy exposé highlighting the negative effects DEI has had on white males, in particular millennials, has gone mega viral on social media.
The Compact <a href="https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-lost-generation/">piece</a> “The Lost Generation” by Jacob Savage goes into detail about how white men have been discriminated against over the past decade, especially in the fields of entertainment and academia. The statistical truths laid out plainly have struck a chord with the general public, leading to the article being viewed on X more than 11 million times.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Beginning in 2014, prestige industries decided they urgently needed to diversify. They didn’t purge established Boomers. Instead, they did everything possible to avoid hiring white millennial men.
This is the story of a generation derailed by DEI. <a href="https://t.co/kUfmpHfaMH">https://t.co/kUfmpHfaMH</a>
— Matthew Schmitz (@matthewschmitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewschmitz/status/2000556991375409159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Savage, who tried to make it as a Hollywood writer, reported that in 2011, “white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers; by 2024, they accounted for just 11.9 percent.” He further noted that The Atlantic’s editorial staff “went from 53 percent male and 89 percent white in 2013 to 36 percent male and 66 percent white in 2024.” Also, “white men fell from 39 percent of tenure-track positions in the humanities at Harvard in 2014 to 18 percent in 2023.”
The author points to the death of George Floyd as a major turning point for industries that were already trying to “diversify.”
“In 2021, new hires at Condé Nast were just 25 percent male and 49 percent white; at the California Times, parent company of The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, they were just 39 percent male and 31 percent white. That year ProPublica hired 66 percent women and 58 percent people of color; at NPR, 78 percent of new hires were people of color,” he wrote.
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A hiring manager told Savage, “For a typical job we’d get a couple hundred applications, probably at least 80 from white guys. It was a given that we weren’t gonna hire the best person. … It was jarring how we would talk about excluding white guys.”
White male writers have been kept out of other major outlets, too, including The New York Times and Buzzfeed. The article noted that Vox Media was 82 percent male and 88 percent white in 2013. By 2022, the company was just 37 percent male and 59 percent white, and by 2025 leadership was 73 percent female.
Savage said while the problem looks less stark in academia, he believes that Boomers are occupying all the tenure positions at elite institutions while millennial white men are being ignored for jobs they’re qualified for.
One notable statistic Savage found was that since 2022, Brown University “has hired forty-five tenure track professors in the humanities and social sciences. Just three were white American men (6.7 percent).”
The article points out similar situations in other industries, such as tech, publishing, and management. Savage notes how white men were pushed to crypto, podcasting, and Substack because “institutional barriers to entry didn’t exist” there.
His exposé was met with support and commiseration on social media.
“The phenomenon of white male dispossession strikes at the core of what’s been going on over the last decade,” one commenter <a href="https://x.com/l0m3z/status/2000976625585021212?s=43">wrote</a>. “Any politician, anyone with any ambition to influence, must take on this fight. The time is now.”
“Truly extraordinary,” <a href="https://x.com/l0m3z/status/2000976625585021212?s=43">said</a> another. “Impossible to fathom all that&#8217;s been lost.”
Some argued that Savage’s piece didn’t go far enough and that it placed too much blame on the established Boomers who were also subject to discrimination.
“People complaining about the rise of radicalism need to realize the number one thing they could do to contain it is to speak up,” political commentator Jeremy Carl <a href="https://x.com/realJeremyCarl/status/2000933766118957247">wrote</a>.

Man is standing

Exposé On Discrimination Against White Millennial Men Goes Viral, Inspires Outrage

Discrimination

Journalism

Social Issues

Twitter

White Men

iRobot, the American company that created the robotic vacuum Roomba, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, sending the company into the arms of its Chinese manufacturer just three years after regulators blocked a proposed sale to Amazon.
Under the <a href="https://media.irobot.com/2025-12-14-iRobot-Announces-Strategic-Transaction-to-Drive-Long-Term-Growth-Plan?utm_source=chatgpt.com">bankruptcy plan</a>, iRobot’s manufacturer, Picea, will take 100% of the company’s equity, shifting ownership from American to Chinese hands. The filing comes after iRobot cited declining sales, increased competition from lower-priced alternatives, and rising supply chain and manufacturing costs. Initially, the company hoped to merge with Amazon to improve its scale and get more competitive pricing for parts and inventory.
While the Federal Trade Commission has not commented on iRobot’s bankruptcy, the commission welcomed the collapse of the Amazon deal in January 2024. “We are pleased that Amazon and iRobot have abandoned their proposed transaction,” the United States Federal Trade Commission <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/01/statement-regarding-termination-amazons-proposed-acquisition-irobot">said</a>. “The Federal Trade Commission will not hesitate to take action in enforcing the antitrust laws to ensure that competition remains robust.”
Three years later, iRobot’s bankruptcy leaves the United States without a major American-owned competitor in the home robotics industry.
With iRobot’s bankruptcy, shareholders are expected to see their equity wiped out &#8212; an outcome that contrasts sharply with the $61 per share cash payout investors would have received had the Amazon acquisition gone through. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who urged regulators to oppose the deal, said at the time that Amazon should not be allowed to use acquisitions to avoid competition.
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“I have serious concerns about Amazon’s deal to buy iRobot,” <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1575616208417980417">said</a> Warren. “We’re asking the FTC to oppose this proposed deal to protect competition and consumers. Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to just buy their way out of competing.”
After the deal collapsed, iRobot laid off roughly one-third of its workforce and its stock price plummeted. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy later described the company’s struggle as “a sad story.”
“This American company invented this product, invented the category and built a business that was almost $1 billion in revenue,” Jassy said. He argued that successful businesses naturally attract competition, including from Chinese manufacturers, and that iRobot needed scale to survive.
“They needed to scale because scale lets you buy components at the right price and invest in R&amp;D,” Jassy said.
Jassy also addressed privacy concerns, noting that robotic vacuums must map the inside of customers’ homes to avoid running into furniture.
“What Western regulators were saying is that they trust these two large Chinese companies with maps of the inside of U.S. consumers&#8217; homes more than they do Amazon,” he said. “That can’t be what we were going for. I think we&#8217;ve got to try and find a way to be reasonable with what we are doing.”
At the time the deal was blocked, the Federal Trade Commission was chaired by President Joe Biden appointee Lina Khan, who quickly became known for her aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement, particularly toward large technology companies. Khan now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-transition-team-a-reflection-of-his-leftism">serves</a> as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team chair.

In this photo illustration, the IRobot logo is seen

Regulators Blocked Amazon-iRobot Deal, Now Bankruptcy Sends Company Back To China

Amazon

Antitrust

Communist China

Robots

Activist group One Fair Wage is pushing a 2026 ballot effort in Maryland to get a $25 minimum wage, which would be much higher than any other state in the nation – sparking concerns from some economists about the potential impact.
“$25 isn’t radical! It’s survival,” the group posted to X on Friday morning. “One Fair Wage is pushing a 2026 ballot measure to make Maryland the first state with a true living wage for all workers.”
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but many states and territories go beyond that, with California at $16.50 an hour and Washington, D.C., at $17.95 an hour. If One Fair Wage’s proposal went into effect, a full-time worker could make a minimum of $52,000 a year.
Maryland-based economist Rachel Greszler, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said that the proposal could create serious issues because of its drastic nature.
The Old Line State’s minimum wage is currently $15 an hour, with Montgomery County having a minimum wage as high as $17.65 for companies over 51 people.
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“I think it’s insane. Maryland’s already trying to compete, especially with Virginia nearby, and you were losing businesses, especially the small businesses, which are disproportionately affected by high minimum wages, and to do this is just gonna exacerbate the problems that we’re having with the budget, of course, and of having good jobs for people,” she said, noting that “good intentions don’t necessarily lead to good outcomes.&#8221; Virginia&#8217;s minimum wage will go $12.77 an hour starting January 1.
“You need these starting wages to be able to step onto the ladder and then be able to climb it. If that first step is $25 an hour or $52,000 a year, a lot of people would just never be able to step onto it,” she said, noting the risk of youth employment decline even further.
Greszler wrote in September for the <a href="https://epicforamerica.org/education-workforce-retirement/americas-youth-employment-lacking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Economic Policy Innovation Center</a> that teen employment has gone down 15.6% since 2000 to only 30%.
Non-partisan business groups have also raised concerns about the suggested increase.
&#8220;We understand that many Marylanders are struggling with the cost of living and want better opportunities to get ahead. But Maryland&#8217;s economy is already struggling to create and keep jobs, and raising the minimum wage to $25 would make it even harder,” the Maryland Chamber of Commerce told <a href="https://www.wmar2news.com/local/a-minimum-wage-of-25-an-hour-in-maryland-could-be-put-to-a-vote-in-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WMAR 2 News Baltimore</a> in November.
If it makes it to the ballot, Greszler is not confident that the measure would pass, despite the hope from activists that it could excite voters, according to WMAR.
“I think it’s such a big jump,” she said. “I could see them going for a smaller one.”
The economist noted that she feels “sympathy” on the issue due to cost-of-living concerns, but added that “there’s no way that that’s gonna be sustainable.”
“Half of people who earn it are under age 24. It’s primarily teenagers. And more than half of the people who are earning the minimum wage are just working part-time,” she noted.

minimum wage

Economist Blasts $25 Minimum Wage Proposal: ‘I Think It’s Insane’

2026 election

Maryland

Minimum Wage

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