Paramount CEO David Ellison told a group of the company’s top executives that he will start the process of exiting California on Oct. 1 if State Attorney General Rob Bonta will not negotiate to settle an antitrust suit around the planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Ellison made the remarks at a meeting last week. Details were first reported by Puck and confirmed by Deadline.

Bonta is leading a group of 20 State Attorneys General in the case that is set to go to trial in federal court in the Northern District of California March of 2027. Oct. 1 is the day Paramount starts to accrue a so-called ticking fee of $7 million a day agreed to in the WBD deal terms if the transaction hasn’t closed by then. Paramount had asked the judge for a November trial date.

Deadline hears that Ellison was emphatic at the meeting that he does not want to relocate but also doesn’t feel welcome in Paramount’s home state as the company and the AG wage a PR battle. The $111 billion merger has been approved by the DOJ and international regulatory agencies, including in the EU and UK.

The AGs’ suit is focused on antitrust claims in three areas — wide release films, blockbuster films and cable network programming. Ellison has promised the combined studios will release 30 films a year with significant theatrical windows. He has said he offered to put that in writing for the AG and otherwise engage in settlement talks around potential concessions.

A relocation would start with the company’s headquarters, followed by studio jobs. Ellison would move Paramount, or the merged Paramount-WBD, regardless of the outcome of a trial. Beyond the ticking fee, Paramount would owe WBD a $7 billion termination fee (the largest in corporate history) if the deal falls apart unless Warner’s board led by CEO David Zaslav agrees to renegotiate. WBD can walk if the deal is not clinched by June 4.

Rumors had surfaced months ago that Ellison was considering a California exit if the AG did not soften his stance. Destinations mentioned have included Tennessee, Texas and Georgia. Potential new home states have presumably offered significant incentives if Paramount relocates.

In response to previous threats to leave the state, Bonta has called it a “last ditch effort to try to blackmail my office and the attorneys general into allowing an illegal deal.”

Paramount has accused Bonta of playing politics. In an op-ed published in Deadline on Monday, the California AG said “Paramount and Warner Bros see the writing on the wall: that they will lose in a court of law. So instead, they are resorting to the court of public opinion. They want to talk about anything but the facts of this case … As disingenuous as it may be, they are welcome to do so.”

The California Film Commission on Monday announced that Paramount’s Alicia Silverstone-starring Clueless series and EGOT superstar Viola Davis‘ corporate fixer series Ascent  have been allocated nearly $38 million in Golden State tax incentives under its sweetened package to curb runaway production.

The threat of coastal flooding this week on the Southern California coast led to a suspension of service for part of Metrolink’s Orange County Line and preparations to protect shorelines residences.

Metrolink suspended Orange County Line service south of the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station, starting Monday. The temporary service changes will be in effect Monday through Friday, when high tides are expected to pound the coastline in Orange County and other locations.

Temperatures start to drop. Kelley Moody has the forecast for Monday Aug. 10, 2026.

A coastal flood advisory was issued for Orange County beaches from 6 p.m. Monday to 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The high tides were expected to affect low-lying beaches south of Point Conception. Minor coastal flooding is possible starting Monday evening and continuing through Wednesday, when tide heights of up to 7.5 feet are expected between 8 and 10 p.m. each evening.

During that period, Orange County Line trains will operate only between Los Angeles and the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. No alternate bus service will be provided.

Metrolink said weekend service is not expected to be affected. Last month, similar high-tide conditions caused delays that extended beyond the affected corridor.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and freight rail service are expected to continue operating as long as conditions remain safe, according to Metrolink.

The agency said crews have been reinforcing the rail line in south Orange County this week by adding rock and other protective material to help guard against erosion. Workers also will continue inspecting the coastal tracks during high tides, with equipment and repair materials staged nearby if needed, officials said.

In Long Beach, the city installed a wooden fence on part of the shoreline to protect beach-side homes from high tides. The neighborhood was hit hard by high surf last month.

City New Service contributed to this report.

The 24-foot trailer was packed and ready: sleeping bags, towels, backpacks and other items needed for a free four-day summer camping trip for children of incarcerated parents.

But late last month, the trailer was taken from the parking lot where a camp volunteer was storing it in Anaheim.

Elizabeth Vallejo, who co-founded Camp Agape California with her husband, said the items were part of the faith-based organization’s broader mission: supporting prison families by creating a space where children can heal, practice forgiveness and build lives. She hopes the camp can help them avoid becoming caught in the cycle of the criminal justice system.

Research studies have shown that children of incarcerated parents are more likely to experience mental health challenges and develop antisocial behaviors. They also face an increased risk of substance abuse and are more likely to enter the criminal justice system.

Vallejo said the four-day summer camp held in September in the San Bernardino Mountains is part of the effort to lessen those risks.

When the trailer was stolen, the loss sparked frustration and anger throughout the camp. Vallejo said she personally went through the five stages of grief. At first, she was in a state of shock, describing her mind as being in a fog. As reality set in, so did the anger.

“You messed with the wrong ministry because you stole from God,” she recalled telling herself, as if addressing the thief or thieves.

The incident appeared to have tugged on something much deeper. It reminded her of the losses she had experienced in her own life.

She thought back to her mother, who took custody of her niece and nephew when her sister died at the age of 21 and the kids’ father was serving time in prison.

“I saw the hardship of [my mother] raising her grandchildren,” she said.

In 2017, when she and her husband launched Camp Agape California, Vallejo said she was tested in profound ways. Her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and endured aggressive treatment before recovering. That same year, she lost her mother.

Amid the grief, she found comfort in the camp’s purpose, creating a place where children of incarcerated parents could feel supported, something she wished had existed for her mother when she was caring for her sister’s kids.

Despite the emotional weight of that year, Vallejo and her husband pressed forward and launched the camp. The first year, she said, they had 110 children and very little money.

“Little by little we were growing,” she said.

So did their stock of items purchased over the years: coffee makers, games, camping equipment, banners to welcome the children on the first day of camp, along with a red carpet.

Videos on the nonprofit’s website show children stepping out of luxury buses, walking between camp volunteers who welcome them with applause and cheers.

This year, the camp expects to have more than 200 children, evidence of the growth that’s happened over the years. The camp, which operates under Breaking the Cycle, a nonprofit they launched last year, has about 200 volunteers.

“It takes an army to make the camp happen,” she said.

Vallejo said many children who age out return to the camp as volunteers.

Despite the loss of the trailer and its contents, Vallejo said she, her husband and the volunteers will press on.

“We still have the camp, we have the children, we have buses and the volunteers,” she said. “Camp’s gonna happen.”

She said the camp teaches children about forgiveness, so she and her husband put that lesson into practice by forgiving the people who took the trailer.

In an effort to recoup what they’ve lost, they took to the fundraising platform GoFundMe to raise approximately $28,000. So far, as of Friday, they’ve raised $26,900. The couple have already replaced the stolen trailer.

“We know God’s gonna come through, so let’s wait and see what he does,” she recalled telling her husband one day. “We walk by faith.”