Hello, from the final night of the RNC in Milwaukee. CNN and Fox News remember Lou Dobbs, Netflix reports Q2 numbers, WBD weighs its NBA decision, Secret Service blasts right-wing attacks against female agents, Mark Zuckerberg reportedly slices into metaverse division, Max teases "Dune: Prophecy," Hollywood mourns Bob Newhart, and so much more.

Trump Takes the Throne

CNN Photo Illustration/Rebecca Wright

Donald Trump has pulled off an unprecedented feat.

When he accepted the Republican Party's nomination for president on Thursday night, Trump completed a remarkable and once unthinkable comeback, cementing his victory not only over fellow Republican contenders, but also over one-time GOP kingmaker Rupert Murdoch.

It's hard to overstate how formidable of a task it was for Trump to capture the Republican nomination while swimming upstream against Murdoch Media and much of the Republican party. Comprised of Fox News, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's media outlets hold significant sway over the Republican base and the party elite.

In the wake of the 2020 election and January 6th attack, Murdoch exiled Donald Trump from his right-wing media kingdom, privately vowing to make the disgraced former president a "non-person." Soon after, Trump vanished from the airwaves of Fox News. And in his place was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Murdoch's media outlets regularly lavished praise on the Republican governor, with the Post even going so far as to declare him "DeFuture" on its cover.

But Trump easily slayed DeSantis in the GOP primaries, despite Murdoch having backed the anti-woke warrior and bathed him in the warm light of his kingdom. After vanquishing DeSantis, Trump effortlessly defeated the rest of the Republican field, comprised of former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and others.

That turn of events was accomplished largely due to the ascendent tenets of MAGA Media. Trump, who managed to remain popular among grassroots supporters, harnessed the power of those loyal forces, with popular figures such as Steve Bannon, and outlets like The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart, keeping his message alive.

Just a decade ago, it was far more difficult to circumvent Murdoch. But the 93-year-old mogul's power — while still considerable — has waned as a horde of online outlets have cut into his command of the flow of information to the Republican base.

That fact has not been lost on the Trump family. Speaking to Axios at the Republican National Convention this week, Donald Trump Jr. bashed Murdoch, declaring in no uncertain terms that he no longer holds the position of the ultimate power broker in Republican politics.

"There was a time where if you wanted to survive in the Republican Party, you had to bend the knee to him or to others," Trump Jr. said. "I don't think that's the case anymore. I don't think the influence of sort of mainstream cable is what it used to be."

Now that Trump has won the nomination and taken his spot back on the GOP throne, Murdoch is the one bending the knee. Not only is he attending the RNC, witnessing the coronation in person as Trump runs away with the party's nomination despite his efforts, but Murdoch's media companies have reverted back to serving as a mouthpiece for the election-denying and insurrection-inciting candidate.

It's an illustrative moment in GOP power dynamics. Murdoch, without question, remains powerful, but his powers have limits. And Trump, over the course of the 2024 campaign, has put them on display for the world to see.

CNN Photo Illustration/Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Death of Dobbs: Lou Dobbs, the longtime business news anchor who became one of Donald Trump's most vocal supporters in media, died on Thursday. He was 78. "It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of 'the great Lou Dobbs,'" a statement posted on his official social media account said, calling him a “fighter till the very end." Dobbs had a lengthy career in broadcast journalism, spending more than two decades at CNN, which he joined at its inception in 1980 and anchored the program "Moneyline." Dobbs left CNN in 2009 to help Rupert Murdoch launch the Fox Business Network. CNN said, "Lou was one of the CNN originals, who helped launch and shape the network." And Fox called him, "an incredible business mind with a gift for broadcasting." I have more on Dobbs here.

► Here's the moment in which Neil Cavuto broke the news to Fox News viewers. "This really hits the Fox News family," he said.

► As one of Trump’s biggest boosters, Dobbs spent the latter part of his career promoting streams of misinformation and conspiracy theories on behalf of the then-president. After the 2020 election, Dobbs used his Fox program to repeatedly promote false conspiracy theories that the vote had been rigged by shadowy companies that flipped millions of votes from Trump to Joe Biden. These on-air comments helped spur voting technology companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic to sue Fox News for defamation.

CNN Photo Illustration/Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

Netflix's Q2 Numbers: Netflix shares remained steady in after-hours trading Thursday after the streamer beat expectations on its second-quarter earnings. Netflix said revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $9.5 billion and added 8 million subscribers, with its ad-supported tier membership growing by 34% quarter on quarter. "Given this sustained progress, we believe that we’re on track to achieve critical ad subscriber scale for advertisers in our ad countries in 2025, creating a strong base from which we can further increase our ad membership in 2026 and beyond," Netflix wrote in its letter to shareholders. "Our ad revenue is growing nicely and is becoming a more meaningful contributor to our business." CNBC's Lillian Rizzo has more.

► Netflix raised its expected revenue growth for the full year to 15%, up from the 14% previously projected.

► Netflix will axe its cheapest ad-free plan in the U.S., as it continues to drive subscribers to its more lucrative ad-driven plans.

► He's already exiting?! Netflix ad boss Peter Naylor is departing the company after joining in 2022.

► Netflix poured cold water on a potential bundle with Disney+ or Max, saying it is already a "go-to destination for entertainment."

► Ted Sarandos, however, showed respect to YouTube, saying, "We clearly do compete with YouTube in certain segments of their business. And we certainly compete with them for time and attention." 

CNN Photo Illustration/Gene J. Puskar/AP

Secret Service Pushes Back: The Secret Service has had enough. After days of right-wing media attacks on female agents, claiming they failed during the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and shouldn't be allowed in the elite force, the agency pushed back on the misogynist claims Thursday. "It is an insult to the women of our agency to imply that they are unqualified based on gender. Such baseless assertions undermine the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our workforce," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The agency, he added, is "appalled by the disparaging and disgusting comments against any of our personnel." The reaction comes after law enforcement professionals, including a former Secret Service deputy director, strenuously disputed the narrative that has been promoted by right-wing social media figures, Fox News, and billionaire X owner Elon Musk. CNN's Hadas Gold has more here.

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The Hard Reality: Mark Zuckerberg is cutting spending to Reality Labs, the AR/VR division of Meta that houses the billionaire's much-talked about metaverse. The Information's Wayne Ma and Kalley Huang reported Thursday that as Meta ramps up investment in A.I., Zuckerberg is dramatically trimming costs at Reality Labs, which he has sunk tens of billions of dollars into and previously held up as the future of the company. According to Ma and Huang, hardware teams in the division have been told to cut spending by a staggering 20%. Read the full report here. 

🔎 Zooming in: As A.I. technology quickly advances, Meta is far from the only company to make changes to their corporate strategy. Nearly every major player in Silicon Valley has made cuts and moved to position their companies for a future dominated by the nascent technology. 

CNN Photo Illustration/Everett Collection

Hartbreak in Hollywood: Hollywood was once again mourning a fallen star on Thursday. Bob Newhart, the legendary comedian and actor, died Thursday. He was 94. The exact cause of death was unclear, but according to his longtime publicist, it occurred after a series of short illnesses. Newhart's death prompted a wave of tributes from figures in the comedy and entertainment worlds. "His brilliant comedy and gentle spirit made everyone he encountered so happy," Judd Apatow said. CNN's Dan Heching and Todd Leopold have more here.