In the long contest between consolidation and competition, a coalition of state attorneys general has stepped back from the threshold — settling their antitrust challenge to the proposed $81 billion union of Paramount and Warner Bros. The states had argued that merging two of entertainment's great empires would narrow the field for consumers and creators alike, but through negotiation rather than litigation, a path forward has been cleared. The deal, already past federal scrutiny, now stands closer to completion, though the terms of peace between the states and the companies remain largely uns