Weekend Report: Did the Ellisons promise Trump he’d fire CNN anchors?

And: Tennessee outrage after Voting Rights Act gutted and GOP kills only Dem House seat. Devastating Virginia map decision goes to U.S. Supreme Court.

The purchase of Warner Brothers, parent company of CNN, by Skydance—which bought Paramount and CBS—is all being shepherded through by the Trump administration, which made it clear from the beginning that Warner’s rival Netflix wouldn’t get approval for a merger, while Skydance, owned by the MAGA Ellison family, would. But Skydance faces lawsuits, including by Paramount+ subscribers. And two press freedom groups now allege that Ellison has promised Trump he would fire CNN anchors Trump despises and remake the coverage at CNN.

Tennessee Republicans passed a new map eliminating the only Democratic House seat in the state, carving up the Black-majority district in Shelby County, home to Memphis. This followed the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, and to see it acted out in Memphis, a city at the forefront of the civil rights movement, was wrenching. Republicans—full-on white supremacists—actually denied knowing Memphis is a city with a majority of Black residents, refusing to admit they were carving the maps on the basis of race. Activists are organizing and fighting.

The Virginia secretary of state, meanwhile, is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Virginia Supreme Court threw out a vote of the people—the ballot measure that passed in which would redistrict maps. The 4-3 decision was based on a technical reading of what constitutes Election Day—the day itself or the beginning of early voting, which is what the majority decided, thus saying the measure didn’t meet the requirements of the statute. The U.S. Supreme Court will likely show its hypocrisy, as it recently heard arguments on mail-in ballots coming after Election Day, and the conservatives telegraphed that the “election” on Election Day—not after, and, conceivably, not before.

A Weekend Report after an enraging week, for you to read up on the news and join the discussion if you like…