Piers Mandelit Del Barco
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Paramount Skydance holds broadcast licenses for CBS and needs the FCC to sign off on its merger with Warner Bros.
Discovery, which owns CNN and HBO.
David Ellison's company recently filed papers asking the FCC to permit foreign investors to hold more than 25% of its equity and voting interests.
According to those documents, the investors include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
But FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez says there are serious unresolved questions about those investments that she says could jeopardize national security.
Gomez is calling on the FCC to conduct a full and independent review before approving transactions with foreign governments, which she says have, quote, a troubling willingness to silence journalists.
The letter was signed by Hollywood directors and actors, among them J.J.
Abrams and Denis Villeneuve, Bryan Cranston, Glenn Close, and Jane Fonda.
As founder of the relaunched Committee for the First Amendment, Fonda has posted videos opposing the deal by media mogul David Ellison, backed by his billionaire father Larry Ellison.
The letter argues the deal would not only consolidate the media, it would shrink competition, independence, and diversity of the entertainment industry.
In a response, Paramount Pictures reiterates its support of talent and promises to release a minimum of 30 feature films a year with full theatrical runs.
And Piers Mandelit Delbarco reports.
Nick Reiner has been locked behind bars in L.A.
's downtown men's jail since the day his parents Rob and Michelle Reiner were found stabbed to death at their home.
The 32-year-old was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Reiner is no longer under suicide watch, and today he's expected to enter a plea.
He had a long history of substance abuse and attempts at rehabilitation.
Some legal experts say it's possible his attorneys may try to use an insanity defense.