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Paramount will become the new home to Ultimate Fighting Championship events across the U.S. next year, through a seven-year agreement announced with TKO Group on Monday. The news comes just days after Skydance and Paramount officially closed their $8 billion merger kicking off the reign of a new entertainment giant after a contentious endeavor to get the transaction over the finish line. Under the deal with UFC, Paramount will exclusively distribute UFCs full lineup of its 13 marquee numbered events and 30 Fight Nights on its streaming platform Paramount+ with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS starting in 2026. It’s a shift away from the UFCs existing pay-per-view model, which Paramount and TKO say will allow the mixed martial arts programming to reach more consumers nationwide. Paramounts advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms,” David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said in a statement. Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy driving engagement, subscriber growth, and long-term loyalty, and the addition of UFCs year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win.” Mark Shapiro, president and COO of TKO, added that the deal will mean deeper engagement for UFCs passionate fan base and that its athletes “will love this new stage. UFC events currently air on ESPN which has offered tiered pricing for fans to view content across the sports network’s TV offerings and streaming platform ESPN+ since 2019. UFC’s partnership with Disney-owned ESPN runs through the end of 2025. The seven-year deal between Paramount and TKO has an average annual value of $1.1 billion, the companies said Monday marking a notable jump from the roughly $550 million that ESPN reportedly pays each year for UFC coverage today. But UFC’s new home on Paramount will simplify offerings for fans with all content set to be available on Paramount+ (which currently costs between $7.99 and $12.99 a month), rather than various pay-per-view fees. Paramount also said it intends to explore UFC rights outside the U.S. as they become available in the future. While now a done deal, the path towards approval for the Paramount and Skydance merger was far from smooth sailing. Months of scrutiny and turmoil surrounded the transaction particularly amid President Donald Trumps legal battle with 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS. With the specter of the Trump administration potentially blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount agreed to pay a $16 million settlement to the president in early July. The deal later received regulatory approval from the Trump administration. Trump has long been friends with UFC CEO Dana White and routinely attends UFC events. Last month Trump said that hes thinking of staging a UFC match on the White House grounds with upwards of 20,000 spectators to celebrate 250 years of American independence. Trump announced his plan in Iowa during the kickoff for a years worth of festivities to celebrate Americas 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. White said in a post on social media platform X that the deal with Paramount will make it more affordable and accessible for U.S. consumers to watch UFC events. This deal puts UFC amongst the biggest sports in the world, he wrote. The exposure provided by the Paramount and CBS networks under this new structure is a huge win for our athletes and anyone who watches and loves this sport. Aside from the UFC, TKO also houses the WWE and has been actively working out deals for the sports entertainment company. Last week Disney announced an agreement with WWE that will see its premium live events, like WrestleMania , streamed by ESPN. Disney subsidiary ESPN struck a rights agreement with TKO Groups WWE to become the exclusive U.S. domestic streamer of the sports entertainment companys premium live events starting next year. Aside from gaining access to WrestleMania, ESPN will also air marquee events such as the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. The wrestling events will be available on ESPNs new streaming service, which is set to launch next month, with select ESPN cable channels also airing them. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal said that its a five-year deal worth more than $1.6 billion. Shares of TKO jumped over 7% in midday trading on Monday. Wyatte Grantham-Philips and Michelle Chapman, AP business writers
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E-Commerce
An explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh left dozens injured or trapped under the rubble Monday, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue them, officials said. There are no confirmed fatalities at the Clairton Coke Works, said Abigail Gardner, director of communications for Allegheny County. The explosion sent black smoke spiralling into the midday sky in the Monongahela Valley, a region synonymous with the state for more than a century. It felt like thunder, Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, told WTAE-TV. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it’s like something bad happened. Allegheny County Emergency Services said a fire at the plant started around 10:51 a.m. and that it has transported five people. The agency did not provide any more details on those people transported. An Allegheny County emergency services spokesperson, Kasey Reigner, said dozens were injured and the county was sending 15 ambulances, on top of the ambulances supplied by local emergency response agencies. Air quality concerns and health warnings The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania that employ several thousand workers. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who formerly served as the mayor of nearby Braddock, called the explosion absolutely tragic and vowed to support steelworkers in the aftermath. I grieve for these families, Fetterman said. I stand with the steelworkers. The Allegheny County Health Department said it is monitoring the explosion and advised residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors, close all windows and doors, set air conditioning systems to recirculate, and avoid drawing in outside air, such as using exhaust fans. It said its monitors have not detected levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards. The plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. According to the company, it produces 4.3 million tons (3.9 million metric tons) of coke annually and has approximately 1,400 workers. The plant has a long history of pollution concerns In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million. Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility. The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a 2018 fire damaged the facilitys sulfur pollution controls. In 2018, a Christmas Eve fire at the Clairton coke works plant caused $40 million in damage. The fire damaged pollution control equipment and led to repeated releases of sulfur dioxide, according to a lawsuit. Sulfur dioxide is a colorless, pungent byproduct of fossil fuel combustion that can make it hard to breathe. In the wake of the fire, Allegheny County warned residents to limit outdoor activities, with residents saying for weeks afterward that the air felt acidic, smelled like rotten eggs and was hard to breathe. In February, a problem with a battery at the plant led to a buildup of combustible material that ignited, causing an audible boom, the Allegheny County Health Department said. Two workers who got material in their eyes received first aid treatment at a local hospital but were not seriously injured. Last year, the company agreed to spend $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and $5 million on local clean air efforts and programs as part of settling a federal lawsuit filed by Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment and the Allegheny County Health Department. The fire at the Clairton plant knocked out pollution controls at its Mon Valley plants, but U.S. Steel continued to run them anyway, environmental groups said. The lawsuits accused the steel producer of more than 12,000 violations of its air pollution permits. Environmental group calls for an investigation David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, another environmental group that has sued U.S. Steel over pollution, said there needed to be a full, independent investigation into the causes of this latest catastrophe and a re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating. In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized a historic partnership, a deal that gives the U.S. government a say in some matters and comes a year and a half after the Japanese company first proposed its nearly $15 billion buyout of the iconic American steelmaker. The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh-based company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, dragging out the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it. Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said his heart goes out to the victims of Monday explosion. The mill is such a big part of Clairton, he said. Its just a sad day for Clairton. Marc Levy, Michael Casey, and Patrick Whittle, Associated Press Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer and Beatrice Dupuy contributed to this report.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump said Monday that hes deploying the National Guard across Washington and taking over the citys police department in the hopes of reducing crime, even as the citys mayor has noted that crime is falling in the nations capital. The Republican president, who said he was formally declaring a public safety emergency, compared crime in the American capital with that in other major cities, saying Washington performs poorly on safety relative to the capitals of Iraq, Brazil and Colombia, among others. Trump also said at his news briefing that his administration has started removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks. We’re getting rid of the slums, too, Trump said, adding that the U.S. would not lose its cities and that Washington was just a start. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi will be taking over responsibility for Washington’s metro police department, he said, while also complaining about potholes and graffiti in the city and calling them embarrassing. For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects a next step in his law enforcement agenda after his aggressive push to stop illegal border crossings. But the move involves at least 500 federal law enforcement officials as well as the National Guard, raising fundamental questions about how an increasingly emboldened federal government will interact with its state and local counterparts. Combating crime The president has used his social media and White House megaphones to message that his administration is tough on crime, yet his ability to shape policy might be limited outside of Washington, which has a unique status as a congressionally established federal district. Nor is it clear how his push would address the root causes of homelessness and crime. Trump said he is invoking Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to deploy members of the National Guard. About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being tasked with deploying throughout the nations capital as part of the Trump administrations effort to combat crime, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday. More than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington, the person briefed on the plans said. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Marshals Service are also contributing officers. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The Justice Department didnt immediately have a comment Monday morning. The National Guard Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been open for years. Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon. I just think thats not the most efficient use of our Guard, she said Sunday on MSNBC’s The Weekend, acknowledging it is “the presidents call about how to deploy the Guard. Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023. Trump’s weekend posts depicted the district as one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World.” For Bowser, Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false. Focusing on homelessness Trump in a Sunday social media post had emphasized the removal of Washingtons homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go. The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY, Trump wrote Sunday. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you dont have to move out. Were going to put you in jail where you belong. Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option to extend as needed. On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington. Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was ridiculous and the city was unsafe, after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency. Crime statistics Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26% compared with this time a year ago. Trump offered no details in Truth Social posts over the weekend about possible new actions to address crime levels he argues are dangerous for citizens, tourists and workers alike. The White House declined to offer additional details about Monday’s announcement. The police department and the mayors office did not respond to questions about what Trump might do next. The president criticized the district as full of tents, squalor, filth, and Crime, and he seems to have been set off by the attack on Edward Coristine, among the most visible figures of the bureaucracy-cutting effort known as DOGE. Police arrested two 15-year-olds in the attempted carjacking and said they were looking for others. This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country, Trump said Wednesday. He called Bowser a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining. It could face steep pushback. Bowser acknowledged that the law allows the president to take more control over the city’s police, but only if certain conditions are met. None of those conditions exist in our city right now,” she sai. We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, were watching our crime numbers go down. David Klepper, Associated Press Associated Press writers Ashraf Khalil, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
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E-Commerce
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