The Hill

AT&T and Time Warner are extending the termination date of their merger to April 22, 2018 now that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing to block their deal.  Despite the DOJ’s move to stop the merger, both companies are hopeful they’ll still be able to complete the $85 billion deal if they beat the agency’s lawsuit. “AT&T intends to vigorously contest the DOJ’s allegations and is confident that the Court will reject the DOJ’s challenge to the merger,” the company wrote in its SEC filing.

[Commentary] The Justice Department (DOJ) just filed a lawsuit over AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner. For a number of reasons, I think this is a good thing. In fact, it could be a really good thing, and that is true regardless of who wins in the end. Here’s why:

Reason 1: The antitrust agencies and the courts have given businesses a pretty clear framework of how to think about mergers between direct competitors, but this is not true when it comes to vertical mergers.

Reason 2: An AT&T loss might actually be good for CNN.

The dispute over Roy Moore's Senate campaign has now led to a legal complaint against White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. Walter Shaub, a former government ethics official and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, said Conway's comments about Moore's Democratic challenger Doug Jones may be a violation of the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from getting involved in elections. Shaub said he filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.  "She’s standing in front of the White House.