AT&T Cleared to Buy Time Warner in Blow to Trump Administration

• Judge Leon rejects Justice Department request to block merger • AT&T on brink of buying CNN owner after almost two years

AT&T Inc. was cleared by a judge to take over Time Warner Inc. in an $85 billion deal that will fuel the mobile-phone giant’s evolution into a media powerhouse and could spark a wave of new mergers.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s request for an order blocking the Time Warner acquisition, saying the government failed to make its case that the combination would lead to higher prices for pay-TV subscribers. The judge ...