Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery have agreed to pause their $110bn (£82.8bn) merger until June 2027 while a judge weighs upon a legal challenge against the tie-up.
The pause follows lawsuits from 12 US states and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), who argue the deal would harm competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.
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The decision comes just days after European regulators approved the deal, on the condition Paramount would end a major film distribution partnership with Universal Pictures in the region.
With the deal on hold in the US, emergency court hearings have now been cancelled.
Despite the court freeze, Paramount and Warner Bros insist that combining their operations is essential to compete with digital streaming giants and tech conglomerates.
Paramount hailed the agreement as a "significant win", stating it provides a "direct path to a trial based on the evidence".
The company added that a trial is the "fastest" way to prove the merger is "good" for competition, consumers, and creators. The US Department of Justice approved the deal in June.
But state officials and Hollywood unions argue that merging two major studios gives one company too much control.
They argue the move would reduce bargaining power for writers and crews, shrink project options, and ultimately limit choices for viewers.
WGA head Tom Fontana previously warned it would suppress wages and eliminate opportunities for up-and-coming writers.
"It remains our view that this merger is unlawful, and we will continue the fight to block it," the Block the Merger Coalition said in a statement on 24 July.
Paramount insists viewers will benefit, vowing to release 30 films in cinemas every year – doubling its current turnout.
With preliminary court battles now bypassed, legal teams for both sides must submit a proposed trial schedule by 31 July.
Until a judge reaches a final verdict – or until 1 June 2027 – Paramount and Warner Bros will remain completely separate, competing operations. %!s()
Firefighters struggle to contain Madrid wildfires, as more than 140,000 evacuated in France and Spain
Figure caption,
Watch: Wildfires rage across France and Spain
ByJessica Rawnsley
A wildfire near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials have warned, after three fires west of the capital merged into a single blaze.
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Spain's government has declared a national emergency after blazes spun out of control in several areas close to Madrid, prompting the evacuation of at least 30,000 people.
Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described it as the "worst fire in the history of the region", with the area facing a "perfect storm" of high temperatures, relentless wind and merging fire fronts.
Meanwhile, more than 110,000 people have been evacuated in south-west France after wildfires tore through the Gironde and Landes regions.
The fire changed direction later on Friday and was heading towards Bordeaux, with further evacuations expected. French President Emmanuel Macron has mobilised the military to assist the response.
In Spain, local emergency services said wildfires were moving towards the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Olivia, around 50km (31 miles) from the capital.
"The wildfire is at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain," Carlos Novillo, the Madrid regional government's emergency management chief, told reporters.
"It's not possible to attack the fire in that area, so defensive measures are being taken," he added.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
A woman runs as a wildfire spreads through Avila province in Spain
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) has been deployed to try to halt the advance of the flames, with its main focus protecting areas near the town of El Escorial.
Authorities are also monitoring a separate wildfire in nearby Ávila province, where officials fear the huge Burgohondo blaze could merge with the Madrid fire.
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said authorities were doing "everything we can" to prevent the two merging.
More than 60,000 people have been affected in the Madrid region, with 30,000 forced to evacuate and 20,000 placed under lockdown, authorities said.
Francisco Martín, the government delegate in Madrid, warned those numbers could rise as "embers are flying for miles and the fire is jumping great distances".
The mayor of El Tiemblo, one of the affected areas in Ávila, said flames spread from Navaluenga to the Iruelas Valley - a distance of about 20km (12 miles) - in less than half an hour. "It was horrific," Arturo Varas González told laSexta.
At least 6,000 hectares of land have burned in the Madrid region, while the Ávila blaze has consumed almost 9,000 hectares, according to officials.
Eight municipalities have been evacuated, including Chapinería, Navas del Rey, Colmenar del Arroyo, Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Robledo de Chavela, Aldea del Fresno, Navalagamella and Zarzalejo.
Several other towns, including San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa and Villa del Prado, remain under lockdown.
'If you try to face it, it devours you'
Image source, EPA
Ecologio Cabrera, 86, was forced to flee his village west of Madrid. "If you don't run from it and you try to face it, it devours you," he told AFP news agency from a sports hall in the village of Vilamanta where hundreds of evacuees have sought refuge.
His family tried to save their home by spraying it with garden hoses until firefighters arrived. "They arrived and told everybody to get out... I have never experienced anything like this."
Madrid's regional president Ayuso said the situation was "completely unusual and catastrophic," with the priority being saving lives.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezwill visit the zone's emergency coordination centre early on Saturday, his administration said.
Earlier on Friday, Sánchez said people were "living through a dramatic situation" and urged citizens to take great care.
The Civil Guard has arrested one person and is investigating another over the Burgohondo fire, which officials said could have been caused by negligence involving heavy machinery used when a period of restrictions were in place, local media reported.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Firefighters and civilians attempt to extinguish a wildfire as it approaches house in Spain's Ávila province
'XXL' wildfire in France forces more than 110,000 to evacuate
In south-west France, authorities have evacuated more than 110,000 people after wildfires ripped through the Gironde and Landes regions.
The Gironde blaze, described by local prefect Sophie Brocas as an "XXL fire", has burned through more than 19,000 hectares (46,000 acres) of forest and destroyed about80 homes.
Officials evacuated the entire Cap Ferret peninsula on the south-west coast, with hundreds escaping by boat after flames swept through the popular tourist destination.
The area has a year-round population of just under 8,000 people, but numbers can increase 10 fold during the summer holiday season.
Fire and rescue chief Marc Vermeulen said conditions were more severe than during the devastating fires that hit the region in 2022, with drought enabling the blaze to continue spreading through the night.
"We have never seen a convective fire of this magnitude," France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told French broadcaster TF1, adding that around 50 firefighters had been injured.
He said the blaze was "self-sustaining" and changing direction, with the fire moving east towards Bordeaux on Friday evening.
"We are going to reorganise our response so we can fight it from the ground and prevent it from advancing toward Bordeaux," he said.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Hundreds have been evacuated from Cap Ferret peninsula by boat while others left by road
Further south, another wildfire near Biscarrosse in the Landes region forced more than 23,000 people to evacuate homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp.
Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said the fire would not be extinguished by the end of Friday, with winds reaching 50km/h (31mph) and temperatures of 36-37C.
Philippe de Gonneville, the mayor of one of the worst-affected areas, Lège-Cap Ferret, said the region had "faced extreme weather conditions for the last month and a half" with no rain and above-average temperatures.
"It's unheard of," he said. "Neither we nor the firefighters have seen anything like it."
President Macron described the wildfire situation in the country as "very tense", particularly in Gironde.
He said France had activated the European Union's civil protection mechanism and will receive reinforcements, including two Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Image gallerySkip image gallery
Slide 1 of 2, Split-panel graphic showing active wildfires in south-west France near Bordeux. The left panel is a map of the Arcachon Bay region, with red clusters marking fires recorded in the last 24 hours. The largest concentration lies between Lège-Cap-Ferret and Le Porge on the Atlantic coast, with a smaller cluster near Biscarrosse to the south. Bordeaux is labelled to the east. The right panel is a closer-in satellite image of the Arcachon Bay area. A dense band of red dots labelled “Active fires” stretches along the coastal forest north of Lège-Cap-Ferret, close to the D106 road. Arcachon and the Port of Arcachon are labelled on the southern side of the bay. Source: NASA FIRMS data as of 24 July,
Extreme conditions across southern Europe
The European Union has deployed aircraft and helicopters to support firefighting efforts in Spain and France, as much of southern Europe grapples with repeated heatwaves and prolonged drought.
Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Hotter, drier conditions are leaving vegetation with less moisture, creating fuel that enables wildfires to ignite and spread more quickly.
A spark is still needed - most often from human activity, whether accidental or deliberate, or from lightning - but extreme heat, dry vegetation and strong winds can make fires burn faster and become much harder to contain.
Wildfires have burned more land in Europe already this year than the annual average for the past two decades, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
The European Environment Agency has said "climate change has increased forest fire risk across Europe", with the greatest danger expected in southern Europe. %!s()
Perhaps Karim Adeyemi's move to Barcelona should not come as a surprise even if usurping Lamine Yamal as the team's star left-footed right-winger is impossible. After all, it was Hansi Flick, Barca’s head coach, who gave Adeyemi his debut for Germany.
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The hope is that his old coach can spark something new in a player whose vast potential has been obvious for years but is yet to truly explode. This is an opportunity for Adeyemi to become the player that Flick and many others have long suspected he could be.
He was still a teenager with Red Bull Salzburg when Flick first picked him. But Adeyemi is only 24 now. If it feels like he has been around far longer it is because he had almost 100 games for Salzburg even before making the move to Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
Image:
Karim Adeyemi during his official presentation as FC Barcelona's new player
He was playing for Salzburg's feeder team Liefering even before that, debuting at the age of 16. Speaking to Adeyemi about this during his time at Dortmund, he saw it as the ideal schooling. "For me, it was the best move that I could do," he told Sky Sports.
He explained: "The most important thing for a young guy is to play. They have a second team who play against adults. I played in the second league as a 16-year-old, a lot of games. I adapted to men's football and this is what is important for a young player."
Image:
Karim Adeyemi had his moments during four years at Borussia Dortmund
There have been plenty of highlights since then. As one of those fortunate enough to be inside the Westfalenstadion when he raced clear to score a Champions League winner against Chelsea in 2023, it is fair to say that Adeyemi's pace leaves an impression.
He was clocked at a Bundesliga-high 36.65 kilometres per hour in that debut season. His reply when speaking to him about whether he was the fastest around was emphatic. "Yes, I am very confident with that." Is anyone close? "Close, maybe. But not faster."
The speed stats have tailed off slightly, although Adeyemi has still ranked among the fastest dozen Bundesliga players in each of the past two seasons. The bigger problem was that he was not quite able to evolve beyond that role of impact player at Dortmund.
Image:
Karim Adeyemi's heat map and shot map in his Bundesliga career with Borussia Dortmund
There were moments. Adeyemi came on as a substitute to score a wonderful goal against Atalanta in the Champions League. He scored home and away against Stuttgart - both off the bench. The latter turned out to be his final goal in a Dortmund shirt.
But there has been criticism too. That was particularly the case in December when Adeyemi was substituted on the hour against Borussia Monchengladbach and reacted badly. Former Germany international Markus Babbel publicly questioned his mentality.
Within Dortmund, there are those who defend him. He is a popular figure with staff past and present. Speaking to Alex Clapham, their former set-piece coach, he saw Adeyemi as a particular favourite. "He is an incredible guy. What a character," he told Sky Sports.
"As a coach, he probably taught me more than anybody because I had to work with him in a different way. It probably took me until Christmas of the first season to understand that." Adeyemi responded better to one-on-ones. "It is the little chats sometimes."
Image:
It was Hansi Flick who gave Karim Adeyemi his Germany debut in 2021
Flick will understand that better than anyone. And this is why the move to Barcelona could unlock more from the player. This is a coach who has believed in his talent from a young age and always championed him. It is great for Adeyemi. But what about Barca?
It might seem incongruous given the scale of the club, but the expectation levels might be a little lower. At Dortmund, there was some frustration that Adeyemi did not grow into the role of the team's star player. That is clearly not the assignment at Camp Nou.
Barcelona do not need someone to lead the attack. This is a team that scored 95 goals in LaLiga last season, 18 more than Real Madrid. What they need is someone who can impact off the bench, cover across a range of different positions, make a contribution.
Image:
Karim Adeyemi's minutes by position for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga
"I can play in almost any position in the offensive line," Adeyemi told Sky Sports back in that 2023 interview. Since then, he has operated on both flanks and occasionally in the centre. Marcus Rashford did a similar job last season. There will certainly be minutes for him.
In fact, his role could be really important for Barcelona. Consider the template set by Paris Saint-Germain. The former Barca player Ousmane Dembele started only 11 games in Ligue 1 last season. He actually started as many games in the Champions League.
Perhaps it is easier to load the emphasis on European commitments in France than Spain but compare that to Lamine Yamal, who played 26 games from the start in La Liga last season. That was more than any midfielder or attacker in the Barcelona squad.
The chance to rest the star man, after a World Cup in which he went all the way with Spain while Adeyemi was omitted from Germany's campaign, is one that Flick will need to take when and where he can. He will want to be able to do so with minimal disruption.
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Flick loves having pace in wide areas. Barcelona still play a possession game under him. Indeed, they averaged 69 per cent possession in La Liga last season, the highest in Europe's five major leagues - even ahead of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
But Flick needs his team to have that speed to go with it. It is this that helps Barcelona break teams down, providing the counter-attacking threat as well as the domination of the ball. Adeyemi suits that style of play. He is someone who can make things happen.
Asking him how he saw his game, he said: "I think [my job is] to get on the nerves of the defenders all the time with one-against-one or runs behind the defenders. Being there where the defender cannot see me. Getting assists, getting goals. This, I think, is my game."
Adeyemi is at a crossroads in his career now. Raphinha was already 25 when he moved to Barcelona from Leeds and changed perspectives about his potential ceiling. Adeyemi is younger. With the right coach, at the right club, the sky is still the limit for him. %!s()
Across the seven games in which Bournemouth took points off Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea last season, it is telling that Alex Scott was nearly ever-present, playing 625 of a possible 630 minutes.
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Scott was one of Andoni Iraola's most valued and trusted players in an historic season for the club. Clearly, he made a mark on their opponents too. Coveted by the elite, he could become the latest Premier League midfielder to make a high-profile move.
His future at Bournemouth is uncertain but it seems increasingly clear that the 22-year-old, nicknamed the 'Guernsey Grealish' as a teenager and described by Pep Guardiola as an "unbelievable player" as far back as 2023, has a bright future ahead of him.
'Scrawny-looking kid' turned duel-winner
Scott stands out for his technical ability. He boasts excellent close control and is comfortable in tight spaces. With his socks slung low around his ankles, and a capacity to glide away from defenders, the Jack Grealish comparisons are easy to understand.
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Scott counts Grealish among his admirers. Like Guardiola, Grealish was left impressed by his performance in an FA Cup meeting between Manchester City and Bristol City when he was 19. "Top, top talent," wrote Grealish on social media after the game.
The technical qualities that stood out to Guardiola and Grealish that day had convinced Bristol City to pluck him from non-league Guernsey in the Channel Islands only a few years earlier in a move overseen by then director of youth recruitment Brian Tinnion.
Nigel Pearson, the manager who subsequently gave Scott his Championship debut, remembers him arriving as a "scrawny-looking youngster" with "incredible" talent. Before long, he was predicting Scott would one day represent England.
Scott is still waiting on his first cap. But he is a European Championship winner with England's U19s and U21s and a first senior call-up in November was followed by an invitation from Thomas Tuchel to join their pre-World Cup training camp in June.
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Alex Scott's best passes, tricks, tackles and goals for Bournemouth last season
Back at Bristol City, Scott handled the jump to the Championship impressively, making 35 starts in the competition in the 2021/22 campaign, then bettering his total with 40 in 2022/23. A £25m move to Bournemouth demanded another step up physically.
Scott was hindered by injuries in his first two seasons. He arrived at the Vitality Stadium in 2023 with a knee problem, then sustained another early in his second campaign at the club.
But his physical improvement has been evident across his time in the Premier League. Last season, he was finally deemed ready to become a regular starter and only missed one game for Bournemouth over the course of the campaign.
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His ground duel success rate of 56 per cent was up from 47 per cent in his first season at Bournemouth and put him above Elliot Anderson, Bruno Guimaraes and Martin Zubimendi.
Scott's aerial success rate followed a similar trajectory, up from 44 per cent in his first campaign in the Premier League to 54 per cent last season. "He has really filled out and matured as a player," noted his former boss Pearson to Sky Sports.
Scott can now be viewed as one of the best ball-winners in the division in his position. Last season, only Anderson and Wolves' Andre won possession more times among midfielders. Scott also ranked in the top 10 for interceptions and duels won.
Ball-carrying and off-the-ball runs
Scott brought the same dynamism to Bournemouth's attack, with Iraola's team set up to allow as many opportunities as possible for him to utilise another of his strengths: his ball-carrying ability.
As well as being comfortable under pressure, Scott excels at attacking space, meaning the emphasis placed on maximising transitions and counters under Iraola suited his game perfectly.
Scott's total of 431 carries was the eighth-highest by a midfielder in the Premier League last season and around half of those carries were categorised by Opta as progressive, underlining his capacity to take his team up the pitch.
Scott's physical intensity shines through in his numbers relating to off-the-ball runs. According to Opta, Scott made the sixth-most supporting runs of all Premier League players last season.
One of the best examples came with his winning goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in April, when Scott, having scanned his surroundings and identified an opportunity, charged through the middle of the pitch to be in a position to collect Evanilson's flick from David Brooks's pass before beating David Raya.
Iraola said Scott was becoming a "very complete" player after that game and there is evidence of that completeness in the tracking data. Scott's commitment to contributing at both ends of the pitch can be seen in the fact that he made more runs tracking back into position than any other Premier League player last term.
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Scott also made the third-most high-speed runs in the division, and covered an incredible 27.6km at high speed, underlining the extent of his intensity as a box-to-box midfielder.
Best yet to come?
Iraola talked up Scott's ability to play in different positions last season. "He is playing as a six, as an eight, as a 10." And although the bulk of his minutes have come as an eight, his versatility is another strength. Scott was even used as a wing-back at Bristol City.
Image:
Alex Scott has been used in a variety of different positions at Bournemouth
Scott's Premier League readiness is another factor which adds to his appeal. He has played 89 games in the competition over the last three seasons. But at only 22, there is also room for growth.
The main area for improvement is in front of goal.
Scott has only contributed four goals and three assists in those 89 Premier League appearances so far. Efforts to improve his output have been ongoing since his time in the second tier with Bristol City, when his numbers were similarly modest.
Image:
Alex Scott celebrates his winning goal against Arsenal last season
"For him to be an eight or a 10, and for people to talk about him as an eight or a 10, he needed better numbers," Jason Euell, Pearson's assistant at Bristol City, told Sky Sports. "He wasn't getting enough assists and he wasn't scoring enough goals.
"He was doing it all in training, but never replicating it in games. When it was approaching one of the summer tournaments, I said, 'Look, it's great you've got so many Championship games under your belt, but if your numbers don't start changing, someone else is going to sneak up behind you and take your place.'"
Scott was able to fend off that competition. He played an important role in the U19 and U21 European Championship successes in 2022 and 2025. And while there remains a need for more goals and assists, Scott has proved he has plenty to offer. %!s()
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There has been interest from other clubs in Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile.
Palace and Chelsea have a good relationship and they have done deals for players such as Chalobah and Ben Chilwell in the past.
The Eagles have been concentrating on Augsburg centre-back Chrislain Matsima. However,Sky Sports News understands they are now prepared to walk away from the deal, having become frustrated with the speed of negotiations.
Palace have been interested in several centre-backs since the January window when Marc Guehi was sold to Manchester City.
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Among those have been Toulouse's Charlie Cresswell, Lyon's Ruben Kluivert and Trabzonspor's Chibuke Nwaiwu, who is also of interest to Fulham.
Why Chelsea want to sign Lacroix
Sky Sports' Adam Bate:
Chelsea have not paid a transfer fee for a player aged 26 or over since the summer of 2022 with the ill-fated acquisitions of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly. But Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix is a player worth relaxing the policy for.
Far from a veteran, Lacroix, 26, is entering his prime after two strong seasons with Palace. Beyond Selhurst Park, perhaps the Frenchman has gone a little under the radar. But, particularly since Marc Guehi's exit, there is growing awareness of his key role.
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Lacroix's top speed for Crystal Palace in the Premier League
Oliver Glasner, who worked with him in both Germany and England, rather summed it up with his own verdict on the player recently. "There is Maxence Lacroix, who came from Wolfsburg, and many asked, 'Why did you sign this player?' I think he stepped up."
Few defenders boast his skillset. Lacroix ranks among the top five fastest centre-backs in the Premier League since his arrival from Wolfsburg in 2024. That recovery speed helps make him one of the most formidable one-on-one defenders in the competition.
The numbers back that up. In one-on-one situations, nobody is better than Lacroix at winning the ball back. He is the only player in the Premier League to have faced 50 or more such situations in the past two seasons and won the ball more often than not.
Image:
Lacroix's one-on-one defending for Crystal Palace in the Premier League
At 6'4" tall, Lacroix is a robust physical presence who has adapted easily to the demands of the Premier League. He has all the stats to support that, ranking third for clearances and seventh for aerial duels won. But he can do more than defend his box.
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