Warner Bros. Discovery employees faced another round of layoffs this week, particularly those in the cable-TV network side of the business.
The layoffs affected the company’s vast portfolio of cable-TV networks including the Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery and the Food Network. The Turner Classic Movie channel also was affected and saw a major leadership shakeup as a result, which prompted concern among cinema fans and people dedicated to film preservation.
Known as TCM, the network is recognized as a place for preservation of classic films and a carefully curated lineup of guest introductions, documentaries and non-English-language movies. Its offerings are among the movies and shows included on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming app Max.
The shakeup at the network inspired Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to reach out to top filmmakers — including “Goodfellas” director and film preservation leader Martin Scorsese; Steven Spielberg, the filmmaker behind a trove of Hollywood masterpieces including “Schindler’s List;” and Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed acclaimed hits like “There Will Be Blood” — to reassure them the essence of TCM would not change under new leadership.
“Turner Classic Movies has always been more than just a channel. It is truly a precious resource of cinema, open 24 hours a day seven days a week,” the trio of filmmakers said in a joint statement. “And while it has never been a financial juggernaut, it has always been a profitable endeavor since its inception.”
Scorsese, Spielberg and Anderson added that Zaslav contacted them regarding the restructuring of TCM, adding they each spent time talking with the CEO, individually and as a group, “and it’s clear that TCM and classic cinema are very important to him. Our primary aim is to ensure that TCM’s programming is untouched and protected.”
Director Steven Spielberg.
Gilbert Flores | Variety | Getty Images
In April, Spielberg and Anderson had a discussion about film preservation efforts at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Zaslav joined them on stage, according to media reports.
A representative for Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment beyond pointing to the filmmakers’ statement.
The merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery in 2022 created the biggest portfolio of cable-TV networks under one roof during a time of substantial cord cutting as many consumers opt for streaming services. The merger also came when major streaming platforms like Netflix began to see their subscribers plateau and turned their focus from growth to profitability.
Warner Bros. Discovery has been grappling with a hefty debt load stemming from the merger, and has been looking for ways to lower its costs. It has undergone a number of layoffs – which will amount to thousands of employees losing their jobs – as well as other measures, such as reducing content spending.
In addition, the company recently rebranded its flagship streaming service as Max, a combination of its Discovery+ and HBO Max content. Content from its cable-TV networks, including TCM, is featured on the service.
“We are heartened and encouraged by the conversations we’ve had thus far, and we are committed to working together to ensure the continuation of this cultural touchstone that we all treasure,” Scorsese, Spielberg and Anderson said in the statement.
Alibaba‘s Hong Kong-listed shares surged on Wednesday to reach their highest point since 2021 after the company said it will invest more in artificial intelligence and rolled out new AI products and updates.
Shares of the company jumped over 6%, while its total gains year to date rose above 107%.
The tech giant plans to increase spending on AI models and infrastructure development, on top of the 380 billion yuan ($53 billion) over three years it announced in February, Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu said Wednesday at Alibaba Cloud’s annual flagship technology conference.
“We are vigorously advancing a three-year, 380 billion [yuan] AI infrastructure initiative with plans to sustain and further increase our investment according to our strategic vision in anticipation of the [artificial superintelligence] era,” Wu said.
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Alibaba shares surge after CEO unveils plans to boost AI spending
So-called ‘artificial superintelligence’ refers to AI that would hypothetically surpass the power and intelligence of the human brain, with the hypothetical benchmark becoming a growing focus of major AI companies.
Alibaba also officially unveiled the latest version of its Qwen large language models — the Qwen3-Max — on Wednesday, along with a series of other updates to its suite of AI product offerings.
Wu highlighted that Alibaba Cloud is strategically positioned as a “full-stack AI service provider,” delivering the computing power required for training and deploying large AI models on the cloud through its own data centers.
“The cumulative investment in global AI in the next five years will exceed $4 trillion, and this is the largest investment in computing power and research and development in history,” he added.
Venezuelan Bolivar and U.S. Dollar banknotes and representations of cryptocurrency Tether are seen in this illustration taken Sept. 8, 2025.
Dado Ruvic | Array
Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin, is planning to raise as much as $20 billion in a deal that could put the crypto company’s value on par with OpenAI, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
The crypto company is looking to raise between $15 billion and $20 billion in exchange for a roughly 3% stake through a private placement, the report said, citing two individuals familiar with the matter. The transaction would involve new equity rather than existing investors selling their stakes, the people told the news service.
The report said that one person close to the matter warned that the talks are in an early stage, which means that the eventual details, including the size of the offering, could change.
However, the deal could ultimately value Tether at around $500 billion, according to the report. That would mean the crypto giant’s valuation would rival some of the world’s biggest private companies, including SpaceX and OpenAI. OpenAI’s fundraising round earlier this year valued the tech company at $300 billion.
Tether, which was once accused of being a criminal’s “go-to cryptocurrency,” has been furthering its plans to return to the U.S. in recent months, given President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance. The company earlier this month named a CEO for its U.S. business and launched a new token for businesses and institutions in the U.S. called USAT, which will be regulated in the U.S. under the GENIUS Act.
Stablecoin USD Tether (USDT) is pegged to the U.S. dollar with a market cap that recently surpassed $172 billion. In second place is Tether rival Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which is worth about $74 billion.
A person walks by a sign for Micron Technology headquarters in San Jose, California, on June 25, 2025.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Micron reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue on Tuesday as well as a robust forecast for the current quarter.
The stock rose in extended trading.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with the LSEG consensus:
Earnings per share: $3.03, adjusted, vs. $2.86 expected
Revenue: $11.32 billion vs. $11.22 billion expected
Micron said revenue in the current period, its fiscal first quarter, will be about $12.5 billion, versus the $11.94 billion average analyst estimate per LSEG.
The company said it had $3.2 billion, or $2.83 per share in net income, versus $887 million, or 79 cents in the year-ago period.
Micron shares have nearly doubled so far in 2025. The company makes memory and storage, which are important components for computers. Micron has been one of the winners of the artificial intelligence boom. That’s because high-end AI chips like those made by Nvidia require increasing amounts of high-tech memory called high-bandwidth memory, which Micron makes.
“As the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer, Micron is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the AI opportunity ahead,” Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said in a statement.
Overall company revenue rose 46% on a year-over-year basis during the quarter.
Micron’s largest unit, which sells memory for cloud providers, reported $4.54 billion in sales during the quarter, more than tripling on a year-over-year basis.
However, the company’s core data center business unit saw sales decline 22% on an annual basis to $1.57 billion in revenue.