
FTC moves to block $69 billion Microsoft-Activision deal
CBSN
Federal regulators are seeking to block Microsoft's proposed purchase of video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. The $69 billion deal — the largest ever for Microsoft and for the gaming industry as a whole — would undermine competition for the software giant's Xbox gaming console, the agency said.
"Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content from its gaming rivals," Holly Vedova, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said in a statement.
The FTC cited Microsoft's recent purchase of ZeniMax, parent company of software developer Bethesda Softworks, after which Microsoft decided to make several Bethesda titles, including Starfield and Redfall, exclusive to its consoles.

The Republicans' "big beautiful" budget package is aimed at ushering in "a new golden age in America" through a combination of tax and spending cuts, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. But a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that the bill may prove less golden for some Americans.

Mt. McKinley avalanche kills skier just days after climber fell 3,000 feet to his death on same peak
A skier died after being caught in an avalanche on Alaska's Mount McKinley, officials said Wednesday — just days after a climber fell 3,000 feet to his death on North America's tallest peak.