Enrique Abeyta:

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son Wants To Build 'Trump Industrial Parks' Across the Nation

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has been in talks with the Trump administration to build Project Crystal Land, Son's grand vision for a U.S. competitor to Shenzhen – China's electronics manufacturing hub, nicknamed China's Silicon Valley or the Silicon Valley of Hardware. 

The plan was originally for a single $1 trillion high-tech industrial city that encompasses the size of Los Angeles and will be built to the north of Phoenix, Arizona. This was supposed to house chip fabs, packaging plants, and processing facilities – basically, an entire semiconductor supply chain – while also providing housing to all the people working within it.

However, the administration's plan has reportedly since changed from one mega site into several "Trump Industrial Parks" that will be built on federal land across the nation. Son then revised his proposal and said that the funding for the first phase of the plan would be part of Japan's investment commitment to the U.S. as part of the trade deal the country struck with President Donald Trump in July. 

This updated plan tracks closely with Washington's list of potential investments that Japan can fund, including nuclear power plants, energy infrastructure, and AI projects.

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Greg Guenthner:

Netflix Strikes a Deal To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery for More Than $80 Billion

Netflix has struck a deal to buy the film studio and streaming business of Warner Bros. Discovery, putting an end to one of the most competitive bidding wars in media.

The streaming giant said Friday that it will pay $27.75 per share for the divisions, making it an $82.7 billion deal. Netflix's bid was mostly cash, according to earlier reports. 

Warner Bros. Discovery will still spin off its TV networks, including CNN and TNT, into a separate company. The deal is expected to close no sooner than the third quarter of next year, and could still face intense government scrutiny.

Lawmakers have already warned they have concerns that by combining Netflix and HBO Max, the new streaming service could have a lopsided amount of power in the streaming space. The deal could also impact the theatrical film market, as it's unclear if Netflix will continue to release films to theaters after commitments previously made by Warner Bros. Discovery are met.

Netflix stock was down 2% in pre-market trading on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery stock was up 2%.

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Ray Blanco:

Congress Warned That NASA's Current Plan for Artemis "Cannot Work"

It is dawning on U.S. lawmakers that, absent significant intervention, China will land humans on the Moon before the United States can return there with the Artemis Program.

So far, legislators have yet to take meaningful action on this – a $10 billion infusion into NASA's budget this summer essentially provided zero funding for efforts needed to land humans on the Moon this decade. But now a subcommittee of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology has begun reviewing the space agency's policy, expressing concerns.

During a hearing on Thursday in Washington, DC, the subcommittee members asked a panel of experts how NASA could maintain its global leadership in space over China in general, and more specifically, how to improve the Artemis Program to reach the Moon more quickly.

The most stringent criticism of the Artemis Program was offered by former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin.

"The bottom line is that an architecture which requires a high number of refueling flights in low-Earth orbit, no one really knows how many, uses a technology that has not yet ever been demonstrated in space, is very unlikely to work – unlikely to the point where I will say it cannot work," Griffin said.

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