--- description: AT&T buys DirecTV, U.S. accuses China of hacking, Balkans flooding could unearth landmines, and Michael Jackson rises from the dead. title: Michael Jackson Moonwalks from Beyond the Grave at Billboard's image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54c8a57e3e36a1fa/69868f09e8524b0ee0602d89/at-t.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [The Brief](/tag/the-brief/) ## The Brief Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # AT&T Dials Up DirecTv by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2014 3:26 PM CUT  Pedestrians walk by an AT&T store on Oct. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. Pedestrians walk by an AT&T store on Oct. 23, 2013 in San Francisco.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [TIME Video](/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2014 3:26 PM CUT Here are the stories TIME is watching this Monday, May 19: * [AT&T](http://time.com/104428/att-directv-merger/ "undefined") will buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion in an attempt to keep up with Comcast. * The United States formally charged Chinese military officials of [economic espionage](http://time.com/104508/u-s-charges-chinese-government-officials-with-cyber-espionage/ "undefined"). This marks the first time the U.S. has charged state actors for explicitly acting at the behest of a foreign government in cyber crimes. * Flooding in the [Balkans](http://time.com/103693/record-balkan-floods-claim-at-least-20-lives/ "undefined") continues with heavy rains threatening to unearth buried land mines. * A [holographic Michael Jackson](http://time.com/104340/justin-timberlake-michael-jackson-rule-the-2014-billboard-music-awards/ "undefined") came back from beyond the grave to perform at the Billboard Music Awards. The Brief is published daily on weekdays. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/104715/eric-holder-economic-espionage-michael-jackson-flooding-att/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/104715/eric-holder-economic-espionage-michael-jackson-flooding-att/"},"headline":"AT&T Dials Up DirecTv","datePublished":"2014-05-19T15:26:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:55:13.478Z","description":"Welcome to #theBrief, the four stories to know about right now—from the editors of TIME","url":"https://time.com/104715/eric-holder-economic-espionage-michael-jackson-flooding-att/","keywords":["The Brief","China","Katy Perry","Eric Holder","Comcast","Justin Timberlake","Robin Thicke","AT&T","michael jackson","espionage","Flooding","directv"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54c8a57e3e36a1fa/69868f09e8524b0ee0602d89/at-t.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Video","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-video/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54c8a57e3e36a1fa/69868f09e8524b0ee0602d89/at-t.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pedestrians walk by an AT&T store on Oct. 23, 2013 in San Francisco.","caption":"Pedestrians walk by an AT&T store on Oct. 23, 2013 in San Francisco.","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/the-brief/","name":"The Brief"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/104715/eric-holder-economic-espionage-michael-jackson-flooding-att/","name":"AT&T Dials Up DirecTv"}}]}] ```