Justice Department clears Paramount's Warner Bros. takeover.
Today's events
Paramount–Warner Bros.
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division closed an eight-month investigation and cleared Paramount Skydance's all-cash takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, finding no likely harm to competition in streaming, television, or film.1Jul 13 · DOJTrade duties.
Commerce published roughly a dozen antidumping and countervailing-duty review results, setting rates on steel, aluminum, tires, and cabinets imported from South Korea, India, Türkiye, Bahrain, and China.2Jul 13 · CommerceSouth China Sea.
The United States and thirteen other governments marked the tenth anniversary of the 2016 arbitral ruling, reaffirming it as “final, legally binding” and that Beijing's expansive maritime claims have “no legal basis.”3Jul 11 · StateCuba.
Secretary of State Rubio marked five years since the July 11 protests, demanding the release of political prisoners and warning of hostile foreign military and intelligence operations under 100 miles from U.S. shores.4Jul 11 · StateContractor kickbacks.
David Duggin, a former systems engineer at a U.S. intelligence agency, pleaded guilty to taking at least $510,000 in kickbacks to steer government hardware and software contracts, corrupting procurement from 2018 to 2024.5Jul 13 · DOJFraud penalties.
The Energy Department issued a final rule raising the ceiling on administrative false-claims penalties from $150,000 to $1 million, adding “reverse false claims” liability and a longer statute of limitations.6Jul 13 · DOEDamage assessments.
The Interior Department finalized revised procedures for assessing natural-resource damages from hazardous-substance releases, streamlining the simplified “Type A” method used to bill polluters; the rule takes effect August 12.7Jul 13 · InteriorHousing-finance rules.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed dropping “reputational harm” from its suspended-counterparty program and repealing its New Business Activities regulation, narrowing oversight to “material and measurable” risks.8Jul 13 · FHFACritical minerals.
House lawmakers introduced a bill to reauthorize the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, the federal program that maps the nation's domestic critical-mineral resources.9Jul 11 · House
This week
China's Pacific missile test.
The State Department said it tracked China's launch of an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile from a submarine into the southern Pacific, calling Beijing's opaque nuclear buildup a threat and urging it to open arms-control talks and notify launches as other nuclear powers do. The test opened a week of China-facing diplomacy, including the fourteen-government South China Sea statement below and a Taiwan Strait stability commitment with Japan and South Korea. First covered in the July 7 brief.1Jul 6 · StateSyria delisting begins.
President Trump notified Congress of his intent to rescind Syria's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism after a 45-day period, citing counterterrorism assurances from Damascus. The move builds on his June 2025 sanctions-relief order and clears the way to end sanctions and reopen trade and investment with Syria. It led the July 9 brief.2Jul 8 · StateNATO's Ankara summit.
Allies announced $3 billion in arms deals with U.S. firms at the July 8 summit — a European Patriot-missile plant, surveillance drones for ten nations, and joint missile production — with allied defense spending running $120 billion above 2025. On the margins, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea signed a memorandum to speed exports of small modular reactors and jointly backed stability across the Taiwan Strait. It led the July 10 brief.3Jul 8 · WHRecord U.S. crude output.
U.S. crude production averaged a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025, the Energy Information Administration reported, keeping the United States the world's largest producer — about 40 percent above Russia or Saudi Arabia — with the Permian Basin supplying 6.6 million barrels, nearly half the total. The agency forecasts output near 14.2 million barrels per day by 2027. Covered in the July 10 brief.6Jul 9 · EIAVenezuela air bridge.
Two weeks after the June 24 earthquakes, U.S. relief to Venezuela passed $386 million. The State Department opened a weekly Miami-to-Venezuela humanitarian air bridge with Amazon and the aid group Airlink,7 and 110 Air Force airmen deployed to Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas to run air-traffic and cargo operations, with a Navy ship supporting distribution offshore. Covered in the July 7 and July 10 briefs.8Jul 8 · State
Allied Governments
Strait of Hormuz.
Britain, France, and Germany condemned Iran's “reckless attacks” on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Jordan, urging a return to the ceasefire and negotiations.aJul 12 · UK FCDODrone interceptors.
The UK Ministry of Defence awarded £3.16 million to three British firms for low-cost drone interceptors, the first of five European nations — with Poland, France, Italy, and Germany — to fund the joint programme.bJul 12 · UK MoDFormer Qatari emir.
Britain's Foreign Secretary offered condolences on the death of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's former emir, calling him a respected leader who strengthened the Qatar–UK friendship.cJul 12 · UK FCDO
Voices
“We reiterate our call for the immediate release of these, and all, political prisoners in Cuba.”
Sec. of State Marco Rubio · Jul 114
“We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal's decision that there is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on ‘historic rights’.”
Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of the South China Sea Award · Jul 113
“In technology-driven industries, the disruptors of the recent past may quickly become the entrenched monopolists of the present day.”
DOJ Antitrust Division, Paramount–Warner Bros. statement · Jul 131
“Mr. Duggin exploited his position as a government contractor in the intelligence community at the expense of taxpayers.”
Assoc. Att'y Gen. Stanley Woodward, DOJ · Jul 135
“The defendant now faces years in prison for corrupting a competitive procurement process backing our national security.”
Acting Dep. AAG Daniel Glad, DOJ Antitrust · Jul 135
“This amendment would eliminate redundancy and affirm that FHFA's supervision of counterparty risk is based on material and measurable risks.”
Federal Housing Finance Agency · Jul 138
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Statement of the Antitrust Division on the Closing of Its Investigation of the Merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros.,” July 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/paramount-warner-bros
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,” July 13, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/cold-rolled-steel-korea
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award,” July 11, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/south-china-sea-arbitral-award
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Five Years After the July 11 Demonstrations, Cubans Deserve A Better Future,” July 11, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/cubans-deserve-a-better-future
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Former Intelligence Community Contractor Pleads Guilty to Accepting Kickbacks,” July 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/ic-contractor-kickbacks
- Federal Register, “Administrative False Claims and Procedures” (Dept. of Energy final rule), July 13, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/administrative-false-claims
- Federal Register, “Natural Resource Damages for Hazardous Substances” (Dept. of the Interior final rule), July 13, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/natural-resource-damages
- Federal Register, “Suspended Counterparty Program” (Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed rule), July 13, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/suspended-counterparty-program
- U.S. Congress, House, “Earth MRI Reauthorization Act of 2026” (H.R. 9640), introduced July 9, 2026. govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr9640ih
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “E3 Statement on Iranian Attacks,” July 12, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/e3-statement-on-iranian-attacks
- UK Ministry of Defence, “UK leads Europe with contracts for low-cost air defence systems,” July 12, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/uk-low-cost-air-defence
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, “Foreign Secretary Statement on the death of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,” July 12, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/sheikh-hamad-al-thani