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Paramount Global pushed out CEO Bob Bakish on Monday — removing a major opponent to the media giant’s possible merger with Skydance Media.

Bakish, who had run Paramount since 2019, will be replaced by a three-headed “Office of the CEO” –consisting of George Cheeks, President and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, President and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, the company said.

I have tremendous confidence in George, Chris and Brian, Paramount board chair Shari Redstone said in a written statement after cutting ties with Bakish, long viewed as her right hand.

They have both the ability to develop and execute on a new strategic plan and to work together as true partners.”

The announcement came shorty before the debt-saddled company announced its quarterly earnings after the bell.

As expected, Bakish did not lead the earnings call, which kicked off at 4:30p ET and abruptly ended 10 minutes later.

The media conglomerate — home to CBS, MTV, BET, Hollywood studio Paramount Pictures and the Paramount+ streaming service — informed investors that it would not be taking questions from analysts, a staple of any earnings call, as it reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

Cheeks kicked off the call by thanking Bakish, and emphasizing that “Paramount Global has the greatest content in the world.”

“Everything will be built from that,” he added.

Shares of the company rose nearly 1% in after-hours trading to $12.36.

Bakish’s golden parachute will be roughly $50 million, two sources told The Post.

He was paid $31.3 million in 2023 compensationand has a contract that runsthrough December 4, 2025, according to public filings.

Redstone thanked Bakish for his many contributions over his long career, including in the formation of the combined company as well as his successful efforts to rebuild the great culture Paramount has long been known for.

Nonetheless, his ouster comes after he reportedly clashed with Redstone, who controls Paramount through her family holding business, National Amusements. The daughter of the late media mogul Sumner Redstone has questionedwhether Bakish pursued strategic opportunitiesfor the company aggressively enough, including a potential sale of the Showtime channel, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Bakish, 60, also has privately argued against Redstone’s sweetheart deal with Skydance — the independent movie studio run by tech heir David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison — because it dilutes common shareholders, according to reports.

The two companies have engaged in exclusive 30-day talks that expire Friday. Skydance planned to buy Redstone’s 77% stake in National Amusement for as much as $2 billion.

The purported payout has led to an outcry from large common shareholders including Mario Gabellis Gamco Investors, Ariel Investments, Matrix and Aspen Sky Trust.

Gabelli whose firm through super voting shares and common Paramount stock is the second leading voting shareholder next to Redstone  recently told The Post that he preferred that Bakish continue his turnaround strategy over a sale.

That includes a deal with Skydance or a sale to private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which has offered $26 billion and is now mulling a partnership with Sony as part of its Paramount acquisition.

In order to quell shareholders, Bloomberg reported Sunday that Redstone and David Ellison have both offered concessions to make the deal more palatable to Paramount’s other investors.

Ellison has put his best and final offer on the table with the offer to buy a block of Paramount shares.

On Monday, The New York Times reported that Skydance had offered to provide the combined company with a $3 billion cash infusion in recent days that it could use to pay down an estimated $14 billion in debt and buy back stock. 

Redstone, who owns a majority of the companys voting shares, has also agreed to let nonvoting shareholders have a say on whether any transaction should be approved.

Should a deal go through, privately-owned Skydance would be valued at $5 billion and merged with Paramount.

Ellison, along with private equity firms KKR and Redbird, plan to raise about $4.5 billion to $5 billion in new equity, according to reports.5

If a deal gets inked, Ellison is expected be named CEO of Paramount Global and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell as president, CNBC said.

Bakish joined Viacom in 1997 and took on roles of increasing seniority across the company’s operations, grabbing the reins of Viacom in 2016 and becoming the CEO of Paramount Global after Viacom merged with CBS. 

As Redstone and the Paramount board inch closer to a deal with Skydance, which has produced blockbusters for Paramount like Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, and Top Gun: Maverick, Bakish has sought out alternatives.

One such deal included a potential streaming partnership with NBCUniversal-parent Comcast, without keeping Redstone or the board in the loop, The Journal said.

Meanwhile, Redstone had grown tired of Bakish, blaming him for the companys overall predicament and what she views as missed chances to strike sound deals, The Journal said.

People close to Redstone said the mogul was open to selling premium channel Showtime, home to Billions, Dexter and Yellowjackets, but that Bakish turned down bids  even rejecting a $3 billion offer from former Showtime CEO David Nevins last year. Instead, Bakish folded Showtime and its content into Paramount+.

Bakish supporters beg to differ, saying that the exec put the company on the map with streaming via its Paramount+ launch, acquisition of Pluto TV, an ad-supported TV streaming service, as well as maintaining CBSs strong industry position, among other things.

But the companys market value has plunged by half since the Viacom-CBS merger as the legacy TV business shrinks and losses pile up in streaming.  

For the quarter that ended in March, Paramount reported adjusted earnings per share of 62 cents, well ahead of the 36 cents consensus of analysts — boosted mainly from revenue generated by hosting the Super Bowl in February.

Still, revenue came in shy of expectations at $7.69 billion. Wall Street had forecast $7.73 billion, according to LSEG data.

During the abbreviated conference, McCarthy underscored that the newly-formed leadership troika has “worked together for years” and that they have “deep respect” for one and other.

He added that the execs are “building a plan” which will “make the most out of our hit content.”

Robbins also attested to his long-standing business relationships with McCarthy and Cheeks.

“We will come back to you in short order with our plans,” he added.

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Trump says he will cancel all Biden executive orders ‘signed with autopen’

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Trump says he will cancel all Biden executive orders 'signed with autopen'

Donald Trump has said he will cancel all executive orders that he claims were signed with an autopen by his predecessor Joe Biden.

The US president alleged Mr Biden was “not involved” in signing the orders and claimed “the radical left lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the presidency away from him”. He did not provide any evidence for his claims.

An autopen is a device which reproduces a person’s signature, allowing them to repeatedly sign documents without having to do so by hand each time.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.

“The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.”

He added: “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.

“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”

Read more from Sky News:
Trump: Land ops against Venezuela starting ‘very soon’
US to review immigration from 19 countries after shooting

Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed Mr Biden was not mentally capable by the end of his term and his staff made decisions on his behalf, using an autopen to sign them off without his knowledge.

Mr Trump has not provided any evidence for his claims, while Mr Biden and his former aides have denied they made decisions on his behalf.

In June, Mr Biden said: “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency.

“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

Mr Trump has also used an autopen, but claimed he only used it “for very unimportant papers”.

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

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Trump trolls Biden with new ‘presidential portrait’

Earlier this year, Mr Trump replaced a portrait of Mr Biden in the Oval Office with a picture of an autopen signing the former president’s name.

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Sports

Kiffin to make ‘hard decision’ on future Saturday

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Kiffin to make 'hard decision' on future Saturday

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lane Kiffin said he’ll decide Saturday whether he will return as Ole Miss‘ coach in 2026 or take another job, presumably at LSU, which is trying to poach him from its SEC rival with a lucrative contract offer that will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football.

Kiffin, while speaking to reporters after the No. 7 Rebels’ 38-19 victory at Mississippi State in Friday’s Egg Bowl at Davis Wade Stadium, would only say that he’ll have to make a decision one way or the other, after Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter and chancellor Glenn Boyce said they needed an answer by Saturday.

“I feel like I’ve got to,” Kiffin said.

When Kiffin was asked if he had made up his mind about where he’ll be coaching next season, he said, “Yeah, I haven’t. Maybe that surprises you. But, you know, I’ve got to do some praying and figure this thing out.”

Kiffin said he planned to attend his son’s high school playoff game in Tupelo, Mississippi, on Friday night. Knox Kiffin is Oxford High’s starting quarterback.

“Tonight, I’m going to go be a dad and watch a more important game to me,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin wasn’t sure what time he would make a decision Saturday.

“There’s a lot [that goes] into it,” Kiffin said. “It’s a hard decision. You guys have them all the time. You’ve got to make decisions about jobs you take and where you move, and we get paid a lot so I understand we’re under a lot of spotlight and scrutiny.”

Kiffin said he regretted not being able to speak to his father, Monte Kiffin, while trying to make one of the most important decisions of his career. The longtime NFL defensive coordinator died in July 2024. He was 84.

Kiffin, 50, has sought the advice of former Alabama coach Nick Saban and Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll, his former boss at USC, the past few weeks.

ESPN reported earlier Friday that Florida, which was also courting Kiffin, is now focused on other candidates in its search because the Gators believe he’s more interested in other opportunities.

Carter and Boyce met with Kiffin a week ago in Oxford, Mississippi, and the sides came to an understanding that Kiffin would make up his mind the day after the Egg Bowl.

If the Egg Bowl was Kiffin’s last game as Ole Miss’ coach, it was a fitting end to one of the most successful tenures in school history.

As speculation about Kiffin’s future continued to swirl over the past two weeks, the Rebels rolled past their rivals for their fifth win in the past six meetings in the heated series. The Rebels had 545 yards of offense, as quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passed for 359 yards with four touchdowns.

The Rebels (11-1, 7-1 SEC) all but secured a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. They’ll have to wait another day to find out whether they’ll play in next week’s SEC championship game in Atlanta.

No. 3 Texas A&M would have to fall at No. 16 Texas on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and No. 10 Alabama would have to lose at Auburn in Saturday’s Iron Bowl (7:30 p.m. ET/ABC) for the Rebels to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game.

And, of course, Ole Miss fans will be waiting Saturday to find out which coaches will be on the sideline for the CFP, which might begin with a first-round game at home on Dec. 19 or 20.

If Kiffin decides to leave for LSU, former New York Giants coach Joe Judge would likely serve as the Rebels’ interim coach in the CFP, sources told ESPN.

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Why Airbus plane’s sudden drop in altitude led to thousands needing software updates

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Why Airbus plane's sudden drop in altitude led to thousands needing software updates

Thousands of planes from Airbus’s widely-used A320 family have been ordered for repairs following a software issue.

The aircraft manufacturer is carrying out software updates for 6,000 of its jets – around half the global fleet – threatening travel disruption for airline passengers.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority said it expects some disruptions to airlines and flights, with easyJet and Wizz Air saying they will take some planes briefly out of service to do the repairs.

But why have airlines been told to carry out a software update for the planes, and how is solar radiation involved?

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Airbus software works to take ‘days’

What triggered the repair order?

It is understood the incident that triggered the unexpected repair order involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on 30 October.

The flight suffered a control problem and a sudden uncommanded drop in altitude, basically a sharp loss of height, which left 15 passengers with injuries and forced the flight to make an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.

After investigating the incident, Airbus said “intense solar radiation” may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

The issue is known as bit flip, where solar radiation can strike a computer’s memory, changing its data from a 0 to a 1 and vice versa – a risk which also affects spacecraft.

Read more: Which airlines are affected by Airbus disruption?

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Ex-pilot tells Sky News how long it could take to solve Airbus software issue

‘Very concerning’ – but ‘very low likelihood’ of such an event

The situation was “very concerning”, travel expert Simon Calder told Sky News presenter Gillian Joseph.

However, he said there was a “very low likelihood” of such an event happening, adding: “In aviation, nothing is taken for granted.”

He said: “Aviation remains extraordinarily safe. And that is partly because as soon as a possible threat is identified, then action is taken immediately.”

What is the fix?

The fix involves reverting to earlier software, but must be carried out before the planes can fly again, according to a bulletin to airlines.

Airbus said for most of the affected aircraft, the required update would only take between two to three hours.

However, some jets may need to have their hardware replaced to adopt the required software – a process which would take a longer time.

The Airbus bulletin traced the problem to a flight system called ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer), which sends commands from the pilot’s side-stick to elevators at the rear of the plane, Reuters reported.

Those elevators control the aircraft’s pitch or nose angle, determining which way it is flying.

The A320 was first launched in 1984 and is the main competitor to the Boeing 737 MAX, which was grounded worldwide between March 2019 and December 2020, as well as during January 2024, after fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 caused by faulty flight-control software.

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