By DAVID BAUDER

With this week’s FCC approval, the merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media is expected to be completed in the coming weeks at a value of $8 billion. The question for the new company is whether the psychic cost is much higher.

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It has been a particularly rough few months at Paramount-owned CBS, where the settlement of a lawsuit regarding “60 Minutes” and announced end of Stephen Colbert’s late-night show has led critics to suggest corporate leaders were bowing to President Donald Trump.

Following the Federal Communications Commission approval Thursday, one of the triumvirate of current Paramount leaders, Chris McCarthy, said that he would be leaving the company. McCarthy has been in charge of fading cable properties like MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, expected to bear the brunt of an estimated $2 billion in cost cuts identified by Skydance leaders.

Skydance head David Ellison is expected to head the new company, and he has identified former NBC Universal executive Jeff Shell as the incoming president.

CBS News’ trajectory will be scrutinized

After the merger’s Aug. 7 closing date, the new leaders will be watched most closely for how they deal with CBS News, particularly given the $16 million paid in a settlement of Trump’s complaint that last fall’s “60 Minutes” interview was edited to make opponent Kamala Harris look good. Two news executives — News CEO Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens — resigned due to their opposition to the deal.

The appointment of respected insider Tanya Simon to replace Owens this week was seen as a positive sign by people at “60 Minutes.”

Days before the FCC’s vote, Paramount agreed to hire an ombudsman at CBS News with the mission of investigating complaints of political bias. “In all respects, Skydance will ensure that CBS’s reporting is fair, unbiased, and fact-based,” Skydance said in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

The role of an ombudsman, or public editor, who examines a news outlet’s work is often positive — if they are given independence, said Kelly McBride, an ethics expert who has had that role at NPR for five years. “You really want the person to have loyalty only to their own judgment and the journalistic mission of the organization,” she said.

Having the sole mission of examining bias could be problematic, however. To be fair, a journalist’s work should be closely studied before making that determination, not judged on the basis of one report or passage, she said.

Carr, in an interview with CNBC on Friday, said the role “should go a long way toward restoring America’s trust in media.” Anna Gomez, an FCC commissioner who voted to reject the deal on Thursday, interpreted the arrangement as a way for the government to control journalists.

“They want the news media to report on them in a positive light or in the light that they want,” Gomez told MSNBC. “So they don’t want the media to do their job, which is to hold government to account without fear or favor.”

How the merger could ripple out across Paramount properties

According to published reports, Ellison has explored purchasing The Free Press, a flourishing news site founded by Bari Weiss perhaps best known for a former NPR editor’s study of liberal bias in public broadcasting. An Ellison spokeswoman did not return a message seeking comment on Friday.

Colbert’s slow-motion firing — he’ll work until the end of his contract next May — was described by CBS as a financial decision given late-night television’s collapsing economics. Colbert’s relentless lampooning of Trump, and his criticism of the “60 Minutes” settlement, led to suspicion of those motives.

“Was this really financial?” comic Jon Stewart wondered. “Or maybe the path of least resistance for your $8 billion merger was killing a show that you know rankled a fragile and vengeful president?”

Stewart’s profane criticism on his own Paramount-owned show may provide its own test for Skydance. “The Daily Show” is one of the few original programs left on Comedy Central, and his contract ends later this year.

In an odd way, Comedy Central’s “South Park” buttresses CBS’ claim that the Colbert decision was financial, not political. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone delivered an episode this week that depicted a naked Trump in bed with the devil. Paramount just signed Parker and Stone to a new $1.5 billion deal that Skydance executives surely cleared; it makes the entire “South Park” library available for streaming on Paramount+. a platform where Colbert’s show doesn’t do nearly as well.

Figuring out what to do with others at Paramount’s cable networks, or even the networks as a whole, will be an early decision for Ellison, son of multibillionaire and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

“There is a clear opportunity to improve Paramount’s growth profile by letting those assets go,” analyst Doug Creutz of TD Securities told investors Friday. “On the other hand, we suspect the Ellisons did not purchase Paramount in order to break it up for parts.”

The merger also brings together the Paramount movie studio with one of its most regular partners. David Ellison has been one of the industry’s top investors and producers since founding Skydance in 2006.

Ellison has a challenge here, too: Years of uncertainty over its future and modest investment in its movie pipeline has shrunk Paramount’s market share to last among the major studios. The Paramount+ streaming service has been a money-loser.

To revive Paramount, Ellison will look to revamp its streaming operations, leverage its franchises and try to bolster family content.

AP Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed to this report.

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Southwest Airlines flight attendants are being treated for injuries after a passenger jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff Friday, the airline and passengers said.

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The crew of Southwest flight 1496 responded to two air alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend, the airline said in a statement. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon.

Passengers posted on social media that the plane took a dramatic drop soon after takeoff.

“Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,” comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X.

The plane was not in the immediate vicinity of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, north of Los Angeles, at the time, said Mike Christensen, an airport spokesman. Christensen said that neither the control tower or the operations department, which tracks planes departing and arriving, have any record of the Southwest flight plunging in their airspace.

Southwest said the flight continued to Las Vegas, “where it landed uneventfully.” The airline said that it is working with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the event.

“We are aware of an incident involving Southwest Airlines Flight 1496. The FAA is in contact with Southwest Airlines and we are investigating. Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority,” the FAA said in a statement.

By SAFIYAH RIDDLE

One of Kazeem Famuyide’s earliest memories is sitting on his father’s lap watching Hulk Hogan wrestle in the 1988 Survivor Series.

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His love of Hogan in the ring became inextricable from what would become a lifelong obsession with the sport — including a yearlong role touring the country and writing scripts for WWE’s top talent.

“He was a superhero to a lot of people, including myself,” said Famuyide, who is Black and now co-hosts the WWE-themed podcast “The Ringer Wrestling Show.” He remembers Hogan telling audiences to “train, say your prayers and eat your vitamins,” often in front of giant American flags.

But for the 38-year-old Famuyide and other Black wrestling fans and sports commentators, Hogan’s death this week at 71 has resurfaced an irreconcilable contradiction in the iconic wrestler’s legacy: Hogan’s undeniable role in broadening wrestling’s appeal to fans of all backgrounds versus his well-documented racism.

This unndated photo shows Kazeem Famuyide, cohost of the podcast “7 p.m. in Brooklyn” and “The Wringer Wrestling Show.” (Jazmyn Le/Kazeem Famuyide via The AP)

“You never really got the feeling that Hulk Hogan truly felt remorse,” Famuyide said.

Reactions to Hogan’s death reflect American divide on race

“The Right Time” podcast host Bomani Jones noted there were two sharply different reactions to Hogan’s death. Remembrances have split between those who see no need to harp on past controversies and those who struggle with his behavior that once got him banned from the WWE.

“This was never going to be one where people were going to mourn quietly,” Jones said.

Hogan’s death drew remembrances from politicians, celebrities and fans alike, celebrating his accolades. Many applauded how he was able to parlay his wrestling persona into movie appearances, brand deals, a reality television show and notable political influence.

On Friday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, whose fame arguably rivals Hogan’s acclaim, paid tribute. Johnson, the son of pioneering wrestler Rocky Johnson, one of the WWE’s first Black champions, said Hogan was a hero “to millions of little kids.”

“You may have ‘passed the torch’ to me,” Johnson wrote under a 2002 video showing him and Hogan facing off at Wrestlemania.

“But you, my friend…you ‘drew the house’ meaning you sold out every arena and stadium across the country in your prime as Hulk Hogan, on your way of becoming the greatest of all time.”

Other notable Black professional wrestlers, from Booker T and Mark Henry, to Jacqueline Moore and Carlene “Jazz” Moore-Begnaud, have found success and fame in the WWE.

But just as many people took Hogan’s death as an opportunity to recount Hogan’s more controversial behavior.

In 2016, a Florida jury awarded Hogan over $115 million against Gawker Media, after Hogan sued them for posting a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. The litigation led to the discovery that Hogan had used racial slurs in 2007 to describe his daughter’s Black ex-boyfriend.

“I am a racist, to a point,” Hogan said, before adding the slur against Black people, according to a transcript.

Hogan apologized at the time and called the language “unacceptable.”

Around the same time, some outlets reported that Hogan used the same slur on a recorded phone call with his son.

Hogan’s enthusiastic endorsement of conservative political figures like longtime friend President Donald Trump made many people doubt the sincerity of that apology, Jones said.

“It’s one thing to get caught on tape saying these things in private. It’s another thing for you to decide publicly to align yourself with a cause that many Black people find antagonistic toward us,” Jones said.

Professional wrestling has a history of reckoning on racist tropes

For many Black wrestling enthusiasts, Hogan’s death brings up familiar contradictions in how the sport deals with race.

Lyric Swinton, 27, a freelance wrestling writer, first fell in love with the sport when she was 8. She describes wrestling as “the most nuanced and colorful” form of storytelling.

Freelance wrestling writer Lyric Swinton is photographed at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Jan. 2, 2024. (Lyric Swinton via the AP)

Although she feels representation has improved, Swinton remembers WWE use racist tropes in Black wrestlers’ plot lines. Swinton recalls Shelton Benjamin having a “mammy,” played by Thea Vidale, invoking a racist caricature.

Swinton considers Benjamin one of the most talented wrestlers at the time, but feels he never got the recognition that his contemporaries did, in part because he was scripted to those roles.

“I kind of felt like I had to check my Blackness at the door,” she said.

Hogan hasn’t tarnished sport for all Black fans

For WWE enthusiast and sports journalist Master Tesfatsion, the mixed reactions to Hogan’s death mirror fault lines that exist throughout the country, and highlight how central wrestling has become in pop culture.

Growing up, Tesfatsion, who is Black, remembers watching Vince McMahon, the company’s co-founder and former chairman, use a racial slur in a match with John Cena in 2005; or the storyline in 2004 when wrestler John Layfield chased Mexicans across the border.

Master Tesfatsion attends the premiere of Monday Night Raw on Netflix at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, on 6, 2025. (Master Tesfatsion via The AP)

“In some strange way, the WWE always had a pulse on where America stood,” Tesfatsion said. “You cannot tell the history of America without all these issues, just like you cannot tell the history of the WWE without these issues.”

Tesfatsion was in the audience at Hogan’s last appearance at a professional match in January. He was one of the many who booed Hogan. After decades of fandom, it was his first time seeing Hogan live.

“I never thought that I would see ‘The Hulk’ in person, and that I would resort to bullying him. But that’s what his actions made me do.”

Still, Tesfatsion said he will never stop being a super fan.

“I still love America, I still love the WWE. It’s an emotional contradiction that I choose to deal with because I still find value in it,” he said.

By ALYCE BROWN

Venus Williams’ recent singles win at the D.C. Open showcased her longevity and brought attention to health coverage for aging athletes following a joking comment she made in an on-court interview.

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“I had to come back for the insurance,” the five-time Wimbledon champion said after Tuesday’s match, her first in 16 months. “They informed me this year that I’m on COBRA, so it’s like, I got to get my benefits on.”

The 45-year-old Williams, who has won seven major singles titles, became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis with Tuesday’s victory. After losing on Thursday, she acknowledged that her comment on health insurance was a “fun and funny moment.”

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, more commonly referred to as COBRA, allows Americans to stay on their employer’s insurance plan for a limited amount of time after leaving their job. It comes with high costs.

Williams’ comment led to questions about health insurance in the sports world.

For most active professional athletes, partially or fully subsidized health insurance is provided by their league or governing body and guaranteed in their collective bargaining agreement. A CBA is an agreement reached between a league and its players that guarantees certain levels of player compensation and benefits, and can be renegotiated every few years.

So when athletes are playing, they’re usually covered. But Williams, coming back to the sport after a 16-month hiatus, brought to light how long that insurance lasts — or doesn’t last — for athletes when they’re not playing.

Women’s tennis

In the WTA, the governing body of the women’s tour, players are eligible to enroll in the health insurance plan if they are ranked in the top 500 in singles or top 175 in doubles and have played a minimum of three WTA 250 level or above tournaments that year. If players are in the top 150 in singles or top 50 in doubles, the WTA will pay a portion of the premiums.

If a player is no longer eligible under those requirements, they can enroll in COBRA for up to 18 months, which is likely the situation that Williams was referencing. That is also the WTA’s only option for retiring players.

Venus Williams returns the ball against Magdalena Frech, of Poland, during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

“Nobody wants to be on COBRA, right?” Williams said after her second-round loss on Thursday night. “That remains an issue in my life. … Obviously (the interview was) a fun and funny moment, but it’s an issue that people are dealing with, so it is serious.”

Men’s tennis

The ATP provides health insurance to men’s tennis players who rank in the top 250 in singles or top 50 in doubles. All other players with a ranking point are given the opportunity to purchase health insurance through the ATP’s provider.

For retired players, the only option is COBRA for up to three years.

Golf

As an individual sport without a CBA, golf tours vary. They do have a group insurance plan that is available to active members of the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions (the tour for golfers over 50) and the Korn Ferry Tour (the feeder circuit for the PGA Tour). For players who meet certain “performance criteria,” including how many tournaments they played and how often they won, the PGA Tour will partially subsidize the plan.

In retirement, players are responsible for their own insurance. Some players join the PGA Tour Champions after the PGA Tour and play into their mid-60s, during which they maintain coverage. Top players can receive a subsidy from the PGA Tour in retirement.

The LPGA Tour, the women’s professional golf tour, started offering its players fully funded health insurance for the first time this year. Before this year, players were given a $4,000 stipend.

NBA

NBA players have access to one of the most inclusive insurance plans in retirement. If they played at least three years in the league, retired NBA players are eligible for fully funded health insurance in retirement, and if they played at least 10 years, they will have health care covered for their entire family.

WNBA

WNBA players are fighting for retirement health care as part of their new CBA, which they are currently negotiating with the league. Those negotiations have been heated, and the most recent meeting between the two sides last weekend did not result in an agreement.

One unique facet of the WNBA’s healthcare is that athletes who have spent more than eight years in the league can be reimbursed up to $20,000 a year for costs related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing or additional fertility treatments.

NFL

The NFL has less long-term coverage for retirees than most other leagues — athletes who played in the league for at least three years can remain on the NFL health insurance plan, but only for five years into retirement.

NHL

NHL players who have played more than 160 games with the league, which is about two seasons, are eligible to buy NHL health insurance for their retirement. The retirement insurance plan is eligible for partial subsidization from the league.

MLB

Baseball players who spent at least four years in the majors have the option to pay premiums to stay on the MLB’s health care plan indefinitely.

Minor league baseball has its own separate CBA, which also guarantees health insurance for active players. In the minors, however, players who get cut or leave the league lose coverage at the end of that month.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports