March 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Meta Platforms META.O signed a multiyear AI content licensing deal with News Corp NWSA.O, which will pay the Wall Street Journal owner up to $50 million a year.

- The coffee chain Starbucks SBUX.O plans to open a new corporate office in Nashville later this year, housing parts of its North American supply-chain operation.

- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended his decision to allow the Pentagon to use its tools for classified work, fielding questions from staff at an all-hands meeting about the principles behind the decision.

- Verizon VZ.N is reviewing hundreds of millions of dollars in sports and music sponsorship spending as part of a broader cost‑cutting push. The company has considered scaling back or even ending its high-profile NFL sponsorship, a deal signed in 2021 and valued at more than $1 billion.

- Banijay Group BNJ.AS agreed to combine its entertainment arm with All3Media in a deal that will create a media and entertainment group valued at roughly $5 billion, with brands such as “Peaky Blinders,” “Big Brother” and “The Traitors” under one roof.

- Ziff Davis ZD.O has agreed to sell its Connectivity division, which houses Ookla's Speedtest app and Downdetector outage tracker, to Accenture ACN.N for $1.2 billion in cash.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)

((globalnewsmonitoring@thomsonreuters.com))