By Brian Stelter, David Goldman, CNN

(CNN) — Once again, Warner Bros. Discovery has chosen Netflix as its preferred suitor over Paramount.

On Wednesday, the WBD board advised shareholders that last month’s revised offer from Paramount is still not as appealing as the existing agreement with Netflix — even though Paramount said it had addressed many of Warner Bros.’ biggest concerns.

The WBD board called Paramount’s hostile takeover offer “inadequate” and overly risky.

In a letter to shareholders, the board linked Paramount’s proposal to a leveraged buyout, a financial process that relies on using mostly borrowed funds to buy a company.

Paramount is much smaller than WBD, so “to effect the transaction, it intends to incur an extraordinary amount of incremental debt — more than $50 billion — through arrangements with multiple financing partners,” the WBD letter stated.

This structure “poses materially more risk for WBD and its shareholders,” including the possibility of the whole takeover plan falling apart, compared with the “certainty of the Netflix merger,” the letter added.

Paramount has sought to alleviate concerns about the financing by pointing to the fact that one of the world’s richest people, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, is bankrolling much of the proposed takeover. His son David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, triggered a bidding war for WBD last year by making an unsolicited bid for the assets, including CNN.

WBD, led by CEO David Zaslav, then ran an auction process and accepted Netflix’s offer of $27.75 per share for Warner Bros. and HBO, with $23.25 in cash and the rest in Netflix stock.

Paramount offered $30 per share and went public with that offer after it was spurned by the WBD board. But the board continues to insist that Paramount’s proposal is inferior.

Along with concerns about debt financing and onerous conditions connected to the offer, WBD has cited the potential value of its cable assets, which Netflix is not acquiring.

WBD’s cable channels, including CNN, are being broken off into a new, publicly traded company called Discovery Global later this year. The Warner board has argued that Discovery Global will have significant value on its own, while Paramount has valued it at just $1 per share.

When Paramount first launched its hostile takeover bid, WBD called the offer “illusory” and raised questions about the financing, which comes in large part from the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

In response, Paramount said on December 22 that Larry Ellison would personally guarantee the $40.4 billion he is putting up to bankroll the $78 billion transaction. The Ellisons also committed to let WBD shareholders peer into the finances of their family trust, and Paramount raised the breakup fee it would pay WBD to $5.8 billion, matching Netflix’s promised payment.

However, Paramount didn’t increase its bid above $30 in that amended offer.

Now, Paramount has a decision to make: It can walk away, it can raise the bid, or it can demand a vote from WBD’s shareholders.

The hostile nature of Paramount’s offer means that owners of WBD’s stock could reject the board’s recommendation if the company decides to put matters directly in shareholders’ hands.

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By Elizabeth McBride, CNN

(CNN) — When travelers head to the Pankisi Valley, the warnings often begin before they arrive, usually from the mouth of a concerned taxi driver, unsure they should be driving tourists to this remote destination.

“‘Why are you going there? What are you doing? I don’t know, it’s not safe for you there,’” the drivers say, according to Khatuna Margoshvili, a guesthouse owner in the rugged, beautiful valley.

Pankisi in Georgia, the former Soviet country beyond the eastern fringes of Europe, has long carried a reputation shaped more by headlines than tourism. In the early 2000s, Chechens fleeing Moscow’s war on their homeland used the valley as a refuge. Russia alleged some were former militants.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States claimed al Qaeda operatives were present in Pankisi and speculated that Osama bin Laden was among them — allegations that were never proven. The stigma deepened in the 2010s, when ISIS recruited dozens of residents from the valley.

Today, it’s a different story, as visitors who do make the journey are discovering. A 2023 report by the US Agency for International Development described Pankisi as “peaceful,” and online searches for Pankisi Valley return listings for horse-riding tours, felt workshops and classes in making khinkali dumplings, rather than reports of Islamic extremism.

And while the US State Department still cautions American citizens against travel to the region, many are still making the trip.

“In the past two, three years, 80% of our guests have come from America,” Margoshvilli says.

Unusual traditions

Tourism in Pankisi is still relatively new, and remains limited compared with more established destinations in Georgia. But interest has grown as accommodations have sprung up and tour operators have begun to include the valley in their itineraries.

Karolina Zygmanowska, a guide with Weekend Travelers Georgia, began organizing tours to Pankisi two years ago.

“People asked for the tour, so we started to run it. The interest started after we heard that a number of guesthouses had opened there,” she says. “They have their own community, their own culture — their food is even a little bit different from other parts of Georgia.”

Most families living in the valley are Kists, descendants of Chechen and Ingush settlers who migrated to Georgia in the 19th century. They speak Chechen, alongside Georgian and sometimes Russian. They follow Sufi and Sunni Muslim traditions in a country that is predominantly Orthodox Christian.

Every Friday, women from across the valley gather at the Old Mosque in the village of Duisi to perform zikr, a rite rooted in Sufi mysticism. Participants move in a circle, chanting, singing and clapping as the pace gradually increases. Pankisi is the only place where women perform zikr, and visitors can ask to observe the ceremony.

Pankisi sits close to Tusheti, a mountainous region already popular with hikers, but tourism in the valley itself is only just taking shape. Over the past decade, community initiatives — many supported by foreign aid — have helped build a small tourism industry from scratch.

For some residents, the motivation to open up to tourists went beyond income. Margoshvilli is a member of the Pankisi Valley Tourism and Development Association (PVTDA), founded in 2018 by a group of women who hoped tourism could help change perceptions of the valley.

Their efforts have drawn international attention. In 2020, Lonely Planet included Pankisi in its guide to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. That same year, Georgia’s tourism board began promoting the region on its website — just two years after a controversial counterterrorism raid in the valley.

Uncertain times

Locals say unemployment previously played a role in ISIS’ success

By Holly Yan, Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — More than a week after a Columbus, Ohio, couple was shot dead in their home – the same place they exchanged wedding vows and were raising their young family – their killer is still at large and police have released few details about their investigation.

Spencer and Monique Tepe, 37 and 39, were killed in the early hours of December 30 while their two young children were inside the residence. Their children, ages 1 and 4, were not physically harmed, police said; they and the family’s dog are now in the care of relatives, their brother-in-law told CNN.

A notable development in the case came Monday, when the Columbus Division of Police released surveillance footage showing a “person of interest” walking in the alley near the couple’s home in the Weinland Park neighborhood, just north of downtown. It was taken during the timeframe investigators believe the couple was killed, police said.

Police have not discussed possible suspects or a motive in a case they are investigating as a double homicide. Mystery has shrouded the killings since police revealed early on there were no obvious signs of forced entry and no firearm was found at the scene, CNN affiliate WSYX reported.

As law enforcement continues to ask the public for information, here’s a timeline of what we’ve learned since the Tepes were killed:

December 29

The last publicly known sighting of Spencer Tepe is on this day, a Monday.

After a friend told a dispatcher the following day he saw a body, the dispatcher asked when he’d last spoken with Tepe, according to 911 calls reported by WSYX. The friend responded: “Yesterday, I suppose.”

In a follow-up question, the dispatcher asked whether Spencer Tepe had been ill. The friend responded, “No, no. I was just with him yesterday.”

December 30

Sometime between 2 and 5 a.m. is when the Tepes are killed, according to Columbus police. Detectives believe the Tepes were killed in the upstairs of their home.

Police have not responded to CNN’s questions about why or how they isolated that three-hour window. Investigators later asked for any video footage from that time period.

The first 911 call comes at 8:58 a.m. from Dr. Mark Valrose, the owner of Athens Dental Depot, where Spencer Tepe was a dentist. Valrose, calling from his vacation in Florida, says employees told him Spencer Tepe hadn’t shown up for work.

Valrose asks police to conduct a wellness check, saying: “He is always on time, and he would contact us if there were any issues,” according to the recording.

“I don’t know how else to say this, but we are very, very concerned. This is very out of character for him,” he continues. “We can’t get in touch with his wife, which is probably the more concerning thing.”

At 9:22 a.m., an officer arrives at the home to perform the check, but no one answers the door and they leave, WSYX reported, citing police records.

Around 30 minutes later, Spencer Tepe’s colleagues and a friend arrive at the home, but they also do not get a response, the dispatch records showed. A man at the scene calls 911 at 9:56 a.m., saying he hears children inside.

The dispatcher tells him the police are being sent back to the home.

Two minutes later comes a third 911 call, this time from another colleague who says they’ve been unable to reach Spencer Tepe for about three hours, according to the recordings.

Around 10:03 a.m., the friend who said he’d seen Spencer Tepe on Monday calls 911 a

By Alexandra Banner, CNN

The Justice Department says it has released less than 1% of its Jeffrey Epstein-related files and is still reviewing more than 2 million documents. Sorting through the files is painstaking, with each one carefully checked to shield victims’ identities, as required by law.

Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day.

1⃣ Greenland takeover threat

The White House is discussing options to acquire Greenland — and has not ruled out the use of military force. President Donald Trump’s interest in the Arctic island centers on its strategic and economic value. The self-governing Danish territory sits at a critical location between the US, Europe and Russia. It is also believed to hold significant untapped resources, including oil, gas and rare earth minerals. European leaders on Tuesday issued a joint statement denouncing the idea, saying “Greenland belongs to its people.” Back in Washington, many lawmakers have warned that the administration’s rhetoric on Greenland and NATO ally Denmark could strain global alliances.

2⃣ California wildfires anniversary

Today marks one year since two California wildfires tore through Los Angeles, reducing neighborhoods to ashes and upending the lives of thousands. The Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire killed at least 31 people, destroyed over 16,000 structures and left communities reeling in grief. The fires rank as two of the three most destructive in California’s history. One year on, many residents of the fire zones have described anger, frustration and exhaustion as they cope with the fires’ long-term impact on their lives. At the same time, many have shown remarkable resilience as they navigate the complex process of rebuilding on burned lots.

3⃣ Venezuela oil

In the days since the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, tensions have flared over control of the country’s vast oil reserves. On Tuesday, President Trump said Venezuela will turn over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the US. It will be sold at market value for as much as $2.75 billion, with the proceeds controlled by the US. A senior Trump administration official tells CNN the oil has already been produced and will be shipped to the US for refining. Analysts say the move could slightly lower oil costs, but it is unlikely to have a major impact on Americans’ gas prices.

4⃣ Flu season

Doctor visits for flu symptoms have reached their highest level in 25 years, the CDC reports. This comes as nearly all US states are showing high or very high levels of flu activity, driven by a new variant called subclade K. Health officials urge vaccination to reduce the risk of severe illness, although current vaccines may provide only partial protection since subclade K began spreading after strains were chosen for this year’s flu shots. The CDC estimates that at least 11 million people have had the flu this season, 120,000 have been hospitalized as a result and 5,000 have died.

5⃣ Brown University shooting

The suspect in last month’s shooting at Brown University and subsequent killing of an MIT professor admitted to the attacks in a s

Por Priscilla Álvarez y Catalina E. Shoichet, CNN

El destino de cientos de miles de inmigrantes venezolanos en Estados Unidos sigue en el limbo tras la captura del presidente de Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, que augura un futuro incierto para el país.

La línea dura del presidente Donald Trump frente a los abusos del Gobierno de Maduro contribuyó a su triunfo rotundo en el sur de Florida, donde los venezolanos constituyen una gran parte de la población.

Pero la relación entre su administración y la comunidad venezolana ha sido turbulenta.

El año pasado, una serie de medidas de la administración Trump que eliminaron las protecciones contra la deportación de los venezolanos, muchos de los cuales huyeron de su país en medio del deterioro de las condiciones económicas y el temor a la persecución política, generaron un sentimiento de traición.

Ahora, mientras muchos venezolanos en Estados Unidos celebraron la captura de Maduro y su esposa por parte de las fuerzas estadounidenses en Caracas, también siguen preocupados por el equipo que sigue en el poder allí y por lo que podría esperarles si la administración Trump los envía de regreso.

“Podría haber progreso. No sabemos cuándo. No sabemos si habrá progreso. Pero lo que sabemos es que vivimos actualmente y la situación se ve terriblemente mal para cualquiera que quiera ir a Venezuela ahora mismo”, declaró Adelys Ferro, directora ejecutiva del Caucus Venezolano-Americano. “La incertidumbre es enorme, más grande que nunca, y la desesperación es algo que ni siquiera puedo explicar”.

La administración Trump dejó en claro su intención de continuar deportando a venezolanos, incluso mediante el uso de la Ley de Enemigos Extranjeros, en una presentación judicial del lunes que citó la acusación del Departamento de Justicia contra Maduro para justificar el uso de la autoridad en tiempos de guerra, que está atrapada en un litigio en curso.

La secretaria de Seguridad Nacional, Kristi Noem, también manifestó durante el fin de semana que las decisiones de la administración sobre los programas de inmigración que benefician a los venezolanos no han cambiado tras la captura de Maduro.