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A poll conducted in the hours after the United States and Israel launched a major military operation against Iran, sparking regional retaliation, shows dismal approval for the strikes from the US public.

The Reuters Ipsos poll was conducted beginning on Saturday and closing on Sunday, before the administration of President Donald Trump announced that the first US troops had been killed in the conflict. Only one in four respondents approved of the US-Israeli attacks.

The early findings could have a significant effect on how the Trump administration moves forward in the days ahead and on how lawmakers respond to the attacks, particularly as they look to a punishing midterm election season.

Trump on Sunday promised to continue what he described as a “righteous mission” until “all objectives are achieved”. Referencing the three US military members announced killed on Sunday, Trump said that “there will likely be more before it ends”.

After a US-Israeli strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump again framed Iran as an existential threat to the US, claiming that the country’s leaders “have waged war against civilization itself”.

The Reuters-Ipsos poll suggested that the US public does not share that view, with 43 percent of respondents saying they disapproved of the war and another 29 percent saying they were unsure.

Approval among Republicans was stronger, but not resounding, with 55 percent saying they approved of the strikes, 13 percent disapproving and 32 percent unsure.

Perhaps most significantly, about 42 percent of Republicans said they would be less likely to support the operation if it led to “US troops in the Middle East being killed or injured”.

About 74 percent of Democrats disapproved of the strike, with 7 percent approving and 19 percent unsure.

Midterms loom

The poll released on Sunday comes as Republican lawmakers have largely coalesced around Trump’s message on Iran, even as its contradiction to Trump’s campaign promises risks alienating his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.

Trump had run on a pledge to cease “endless wars” and halt US interventionism abroad in an “America First” pivot.

While Trump has shown a unique ability to shape the views of his staunchest supporters in his likeness, some conservative commentators have warned that he is playing with fire.

“If this war is a swift, easy, and decisive victory, most of them will get over it,” Blake Neff, a former producer for late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, wrote on X on Saturday.

“But if the war is anything else, there will be a lot of anger.”

He added that “success can override bad explanations. So we must pray for success.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the confirmation that US soldiers had been killed “brings home the cost of the war”.

“Americans, by a very large margin, don’t want to be tied up in an ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” he said during a television interview. “The fact that Americans have died suddenly shows this is not just a video game from the standpoint of America.”

Beyond the three US military personnel killed, at least 201 people have been killed in Iran, nine in Israel, two in Iraq, three in the United Arab Emirates and one in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of respondents to the Reuters-Ipsos poll, including 34 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of independents, said they would be less likely to support the campaign against Iran if gas or oil prices increased in the US.

The conflict has threatened arterial trade routes, with several companies suspending shipments in the area.

Democrats will also be keeping a close eye on public sentiment on the war, which will surely hang over the campaign season ahead of the midterm elections in November.

The party has made affordability a key issue, with incumbents and upstart challengers alike portraying Trump’s military adventurism, which has also included the US abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, as out of touch with his messaging.

Elected Democrats, meanwhile, have given a range of responses to the US operation against Iran, with at least one Democratic senator praising Trump’s strikes. Others celebrated Khamenei’s killing, but remained more circumspect on Trump’s justification for the attacks, while several others were forthright in condemning the strikes.

Several Democrats on Sunday said the killing of US soldiers underscored the urgency of passing a war powers resolution, which would require approval from Congress before further military action is taken.

“I’m thinking of the brave American soldiers killed today,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, a proponent of the resolution, posted on X on Sunday. “They should still be with us.”

“Trump said he would keep us out of war. This is his war of choice.”

A vote on the resolution is expected early this week.

Paramount Skydance is betting its future on its streaming business, as gains at the media and entertainment company’s Paramount+ platform helped boost earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025.

On Wednesday, Paramount reported $8.1 billion in revenue for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31, up 2% compared to the previous year’s quarter. That was due to growth in its streaming business, which saw a 10% increase in quarterly revenue to $2.2 billion, as well as gains at Paramount’s filmed entertainment segment, which reported revenue of $1.3 billion,an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.

The company’s TV media business, however, had a tougher quarter.

That segment reported revenue of $4.7 billion, down 5% compared to last year, as traditional broadcast networks continue tolose subscribers. Paramount also cited a 10% decrease in advertising, partially due to a drop in political spending and not having the Big 10 championship as it did in 2024.

Paramount reported an operating loss of $339 million, which included $546 million in restructuring and transaction-related costsattributed to its merger with Skydance last year. Diluted losses per share totaled 52 cents, compared to a loss of 33 cents during the prior year.

Chief Executive David Ellison praised the company’s progress under his tenure, noting that investments in the film studio, original series, UFC and tech upgrades to Paramount+’s streaming platform and advertising would build momentum in the coming years.

“It’s been six months, but we really do feel good about the work the team has done to date,” he said during an earnings call with analysts Wednesday afternoon. “You can expect that to accelerate into the future quickly.”

The company said it expects total revenue of $30 billion for 2026, which would mark a 4% increase compared to 2025. Paramount signaled the primary driver of that growth will be its streaming business, though the company also anticipates a boost from its studio segment.

Company executives declined to answer questions on the call about Paramount’s bid to acquire rival Warner Bros. Discovery.

The only mention of the ongoing fight was in Paramount‘s letter to shareholders, which noted that the company was “confident” in its standalone strategy and growth trajectory, but that adding Warner would be an “accelerant to achieving these goals more quickly” and in a way that would be “economically compelling” for Paramount’s shareholders.

Paramount submitted a higher bid Monday offering $31 a share in cash to Warner Bros. Discovery investors. Previously, the offer was $30 a share.

The company also agreed to pay $7 billion to Warner should the deal fail to clear various regulatory hurdles. That was a $2 billion increase. (The previous commitment was $5 billion.)

Paramount reaffirmed that it would cover the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner would owe Netflix if Warner abandoned its deal with the streamer.

Paramount also said it would pay a so-called ticking fee sooner. Now, the company said it would pay an additional $0.25 per quarter to shareholders after Sept. 30 until a Paramount-Warner transaction closed. It also agreed to cover Warner’s potential $1.5 billion in financing costs associated with a planned debt exchange offer.

Additionally, Paramountsaid it “agreed to an obligation to contribute additional equity funding to the extent needed to support the solvency certificate required by PSKY’s lending banks.” That provision was offered because Warner board members have expressed concerns that Paramount may not be able to round up sufficient financing to close such a gargantuan deal.

But the company’s earnings — and the declines its facing in its own TV business — raised concerns about the potential Warner acquisition, John Conca, analyst at Third Bridge, wrote in an email.

“It is becoming questionable why leadership is aggressively pursuing [Warner], a deal that would effectively double their exposure to dying linear networks while also creating even more massive integration headaches,” he said.

Feb. 20 (UPI) — The 43-day government shutdown in the fall stymied U.S. gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

GDP for the fourth quarter of 2025 grew by 1.4% on an annual basis, more than a full point below the Dow Jones estimate of 2.5%. Consumer spending climbed more slowly than expected, while government spending lagged behind greatly.

The slowdown in growth is significant when compared to the 4.4% growth recorded in the third quarter.

While economic growth slowed, inflation continued to apply pressure. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the key measurement of inflation used by the Federal Reserve, increased by 2.9%, well above the Fed’s 2% target.

The price index for GDP purchases rose 3.7%, accelerating from 3.4% in quarter three.

The BEA report says the full effects of the record government shutdown “cannot be quantified” as the data cannot be separated. It still estimated the effects of reduced labor services by government employees.

Hundreds of thousands of government employees were furloughed during the shutdown.

“BEA estimates that this reduction in services provided by the federal government subtracted about 1.0 percentage point from real GDP growth in the fourth quarter,” the report says.

Government spending in defense and nondefense declined, as did spending on exports.

Health care services were a leading source of growth in consumer spending. Decreased spending on goods offset this growth.

Paramount Skydance has sweetened its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding a $2.8 billion “break fee” for Netflix and a payment to shareholders set to increase for every quarter after January 1, 2027 that the transaction does not close.

However, it’s not clear the latest move will do much to sway Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, which has endorsed a rival bid from Netflix.

The David Ellison-led company sent notice Tuesday of its revised offer to the Warner Bros. Discovery board, adding that it was open to further negotiation.

“While we have tried to be as constructive as possible in formulating these solutions, several of these items would benefit from collaborative discussion to finalize,” the letter states. “If granted a short window of engagement, we will work with you to refine these solutions to ensure they address any and all of your concerns.”

Paramount’s all-cash offer still stands at $30 a share. In addition to the termination payment and so-called “ticking fee” for shareholders of 25 cents per share — which the company said would total about $650 million in cash value each quarter — Paramount also said it would “eliminate” Warner’s $1.5 billion financing cost associated with its debt exchange offer.

The company also said it would “provide flexibility” for Warner to refinance its existing $15 billion bridge loan.

Ellison said the new additions to Paramount’s bid “underscore our strong and unwavering commitment to delivering the full value [Warner Bros. Discovery] shareholders deserve for their investment.”

“We are making meaningful enhancements — backing this offer with billions of dollars, providing shareholders with certainty in value, a clear regulatory path, and protection against market volatility,” he said in a statement.

Warner confirmed it received Paramount’s new offer and said in a statement Tuesday that it would “carefully review and consider” the revised bid.

However, the Warner board is “not modifying its recommendation” on its agreement to sell its studios, HBO and HBO Max to Netflix, and advised shareholders not to take “any action at this time” on Paramount’s tender offer to shareholders.

A record fiscal quarter for Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks division was dampened slightly by a streaming aquisition and a protracted fight with YouTube, the Burbank media and entertainment giant reported Monday.

Disney recorded overall revenue of about $26 billion in the three-month period that ended Dec. 27, up 5% compared to the previous year. Disney’s income before income taxes totaled nearly $3.7 billion, a 1% jump from the same time period last year. Earnings per share were $1.34 for the quarter, down from $1.40.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement that he was “pleased” with the company’s start to the fiscal year and nodded at the transition ahead to a new CEO.

“As we continue to manage our company for the future, I am incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the past three years,” he said.

It was a big quarter for Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks, cruise line and Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii.

The sector reported $10 billion in revenue, aided by a 1% bump in attendance at its domestic theme parks and higher guest spending. The launch of the new Disney Destiny cruise ship in November also helped boost operating income to $3.3 billion, a 6% boost compared to the previous year.

Disney’s box office success with billion-dollar hits like “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” helped propel revenue for its entertainment division by 7% to $11.6 billion. But costs related to its acquisition of a majority stake in FuboTV, as well as higher marketing costs in theatrical distribution and streaming services affected the sector’s operating income, which declined 35% to $1.1 billion.

The dip in operating income from the entertainment sector took a toll on the company’s total segment operating income, which was down 9% to $4.6 billion. That was also partly due to Disney’s contract dispute last fall with YouTube TV, which lasted for nearly 15 days and resulted in a blackout of Disney channels.

The temporary suspension of Disney channels on YouTube TV took a $110 million toll on operating income within Disney’s sports division, which was down 23% to $191 million. Sports revenue for the quarter totaled $4.9 billion, up 1% compared to the previous year.