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AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. agreed to waive the right to terminate the companies’ merger agreement, until June 18, 2018. Previously, the companies had agreed to terminate the deal if the merger failed to close by April 22, 2018. Telecom giant AT&T is battling the Trump administration over its proposed merger with media giant Time Warner, as antitrust regulators have sued to block the deal. In November, Trump said the deal was “not good for the country.” The original date of the merger agreement was Oct. 22, 2016. AT&T’s stock has lost 8.6% year to date, while Time Warner shares have slipped 3.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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Merck & Co. Inc. and Pfizer Inc. said Friday that the Food and Drug Administration has approved diabetes drug Steglatro tablets, and the fixed-dose combination Steglujan tablets. Steglatro (ertugliflozin) is indicated, as an adjunct to diet and exercise, to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The drug makers entered into a worldwide collaboration in 2013 for the co-development and co-promotion of ertugliflozin, with Merck’s sales force to exclusively promote Steglatro in the U.S., and share costs and potential revenue with Pfizer on a 60%-40% basis. Steglatro will cost $8.94 per day and Steglujan will cost $17.45 per day. Both will be available in January 2018. Neither stock is active in premarket trade. Year to date, Merck’s stock has lost 3.9%, Pfizer shares have gained 11.6%, the SPDR S&P Pharmaceutical ETF has climbed 12.0% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 25.4%.

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World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Vince McMahon may take another shot at pro footbal, according to an ESPN report Thursday. Citing SEC filings, ESPN said McMahon has recently sold about $100 million in WWE stock “to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football.” In 2001, McMahon formed a rival to the National Football League — the XFL, a joint venture with NBC that flopped and lasted only one season. McMahon reportedly founded Alpha Entertainment LLC in September, which has since filed for a number of XFL-related trademarks, as well as trademarks for the names “URFL,” “UFL” and “United Football League.” While the NFL is the dominant league in U.S. pro sports, its attendance and TV ratings have fallen in recent years, perhaps providing an opportunity for a rival league to gain traction.

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The Senate passed a bill Thursday to fund the federal government through Jan. 19, hours after its approval by the House. The bill heads off a partial government shutdown this weekend, and is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. In addition to extending agency funding at current levels, it would fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, through the end of March, and also extends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill also contains language preventing automatic spending cuts to programs including Medicare. Approval of that language would allow Trump to sign the Republican tax bill Friday as well. Legal protection for “dreamers,” the children of undocumented immigrants, was not included, and is likely to be a contentious topic when spending talks are revisited next month. Separately, the Senate did not vote on an $81-billion disaster-relief bill for areas struck by hurricanes and wildfires, which the House passed earlier in the day.

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ADT Inc., a home-security company that was acquired in 2016 by Apollo Global Management LLC , plans to return to the public markets. The company filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, though Apollo plans to hold more than 50% of the shares, which will make ADT a “controlled company.” The SEC filing lists a target of $100 million for the IPO, though that is typically a placeholder figure used to estimate fees that is changed in later versions. Apollo combined ADT with another home-security company it acquired, known as Protection 1, and the new entity produced a net loss of $295.6 million on revenue of $3.21 billion in the first nine months of 2017, according to the filing. The company plans to list the stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ADT.

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La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. rose more than 16% Thursday afternoon after the company announced it had received approval for a new drug to increase blood pressure. The drug, Giapreza, is used to treat patients suffering from septic and other forms of shock, and La Jolla plans to make it available in March 2018 after getting the OK from the Food and Drug Administration. “We look forward to bringing this new treatment option to the many critically ill patients suffering from septic or other distributive shock,” Chief Executive George Tidmarsh said in Thursday’s announcement. La Jolla shares hit $33 in late trading after closing with a 4.5% gain at $28.30. Even before the after-hours bump, La Jolla shares had gained more than 61% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased 25.4% in that time.

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A total of three executives overseeing content have left Amazon.com Inc. for Apple Inc. , with the latest departures reported Thursday, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter. Amazon stock is flat after hours at $1,175.43 and Apple stock is up a fraction to $175.15. Tara Sorensen has been at Amazon since 2012 and served as the head of kids programming, the Reporter said, and will serve the same role at Apple. Former Amazon international development executive Carina Walker and head of business affairs Tara Pietri are also leaving for Apple. Sorensen won an Emmy for youth programming series “Lost in Oz,” “Tumble Leaf” and nominations for “Annedroids,” the Reporter said. The three executives are expected to begin at Apple in January. Apple stock has gained 51% this year, as the S&P 500 index rose 20%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which Apple is a component, has gained 25%.

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday will step down as executive chairman of the search giant’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. , in January. Schmidt will remain on the board and serve as “a technical advisor on science and technology issues,” Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page said in Thursday’s announcement. “Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition,” Schmidt said, referencing Google’s two cofounders and its current CEO. “The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving.” Page and Sergey Brin recruited Schmidt to be the CEO of their young company in 2001, and he served in that post until 2011, when Page took over the reins and Schmidt moved up to the chairman role. Schmidt has been a prominent figure for Alphabet since, appearing regularly in public on behalf of the company. Alphabet said it plans to appoint a non-executive chairman to replace Schmidt as the head of its board.

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Papa John’s International Inc. founder John Schnatter is stepping down as chief executive, according to a report late Thursday on The Wall Street Journal. The pizza chain also announced late Thursday that Steve Ritchie, a former franchisee and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, mentioning only that Schnatter would “continue to champion” the company’s principles in his duties as chairman and founder. Schnatter will also “pursue his personal passion for entrepreneurship, leadership development and education,” according to the company’s statement. Last month, Papa John’s apologized for Schnatter’s comments during an earnings call earlier in November blaming poor sales on NFL player protests. Shares of Papa John’s ended the regular trading day down less than 0.1%. The stock is down 31% this year, versus gains of 20% for the S&P 500 index.

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