memeorandum: 4/25/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM. (Punchbowl News)

7:20 PM ET, April 25, 2022

Top Items:

Elon Musk to Acquire Twitter — Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion.

Brooke Singman / Fox News:

Trump will not return to Twitter even as Elon Musk purchases platform, will begin using his own TRUTH Social — Trump said a Musk Twitter takeover would be a positive development, but he will stay with his own platform — Twitter reportedly nearing deal to accept Elon Musk's offer

Greg Roumeliotis / Reuters:

Twitter set to accept Musk's original $43 bln offer — Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is poised to agree a sale to Elon Musk for around $43 billion in cash, the price the chief executive of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has called his “best and final” offer for the social media company, people familiar with the matter said.

Bloomberg:

Twitter on Track to Reach Deal With Musk as Soon as Monday — Twitter is in the final stretch of negotiations about a sale to Elon Musk, a person with knowledge of the matter said, Bloomberg News reports. The social media company is working to hammer out terms of a transaction and could reach …

Dan Primack / Axios:

Twitter agrees to be bought by Elon Musk — Twitter on Monday agreed to be acquired for around $44 billion in cash by Elon Musk, just weeks after the tech mogul launched his unsolicited, take-it-or-leave-it offer. … - It's sure to be criticized by those who disagree with Musk's laissez-faire views …

Discussion: Bloomberg, CNN, HotAir, Insider, Washington Post, Poynter, Mercury News, Breitbart, Mediaite, The US Sun, Slashdot and Human Events

Kate Conger / New York Times:

Twitter Employees Search for Answers as Musk Takeover Becomes Reality — Workers say they have been left largely in the dark about what a sale to the billionaire will mean for them and their shares in the company. — In January 2020, thousands of Twitter employees gathered in Houston for a corporate summit called #OneTeam.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Hill, The Daily Beast, HotAir, The Verge, Mediaite, The Dossier, New York Post and Techdirt, more at Techmeme »

Variety:

FX and The New York Times Announce Elon Musk Exposé Documentary (TV News Roundup) — Right on the heels of the news that Elon Musk is nearing a deal to buy Twitter, a television documentary about the polarizing businessman has been announced to premiere this May.

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Deadline, Mediaite and IJR

Kanishka Singh / Reuters:

Human rights groups raise hate speech concerns after Musk's takeover of Twitter — Human rights groups on Monday raised concerns about hate speech on Twitter (TWTR.N) and the power that its takeover by Elon Musk would give the billionaire after the self-described “free speech absolutist” …

Discussion: New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Caller and Twitchy

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Twitter accepts Elon Musk's buyout deal — KEY POINTS — Twitter's board accepted billionaire Elon Musk's offer to buy the social media company and take it private, the company confirmed. — The announcement ends a weeks-long saga Musk kicked off when he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share, his “best and final.”

Washington Post:
Trump says he won't rejoin Twitter. Some advisers don't believe him.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Magazine, The Hill and Slashdot, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:
Twitter Accepts Elon Musk's Offer to Buy Company in $44 Billion Deal

Discussion: TechCrunch, Fox News, Big League Politics, Florida Politics, WTOP News, Bloomberg, Sportico, Metro.co.uk, CBS San Francisco, Fortune and Vanity Fair

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Biden officials worry Musk will allow Trump to return to Twitter

Discussion: The Verge, Bloomberg, The Federalist, The US Sun, Mediaite, Voice of America and Political Wire

Evelyn Douek / The Atlantic:
Running Twitter Is Going to Disappoint Elon Musk

Discussion: KTVX-TV, The US Sun and National Review

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
Marjorie Taylor Greene Predicts Elon Musk Will Reinstate Her Twitter Account

Discussion: Fortune

CNN:

CNN Exclusive: Mark Meadows' 2,319 text messages reveal Trump's inner circle communications before and after January 6 — Washington (CNN)CNN has obtained 2,319 text messages that former President Donald Trump's White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sent and received between Election …

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

‘Exhilarated’ McConnell said Jan. 6 ‘discredited’ Trump, book says — Hours after a mob ransacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in a bid to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described himself as “exhilarated” about the potential damage to then-president Donald Trump.

Discussion: Insider, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, Mediaite and Raw Story

Brent D. Griffiths / Insider: Trump pushed Lindsey Graham to tell reporters about how good he is at golf: book

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
McCarthy dodges questions about audio, Trump and Jan. 6

Discussion: Associated Press, Insider, The Hill and Political Wire

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Greene, in text to Meadows, raised topic of martial law to keep Trump in power

Discussion: CNN, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Insider, The Hill, Mediaite and Rolling Stone

CNN:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments in since-deleted videos contradict testimony on close ties to Capitol rioter — 'I'm not answering that': Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies at hearing challenging her congressional candidacy — (CNN)Since-deleted videos from Georgia …

Discussion: Washington Post

Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The Jolt: Takeaways from the brawl between Brian Kemp and David Perdue

Discussion: HuffPost, Daily Kos, Washington Post, BizPac Review, HotAir, Washington Examiner, CNN, Fox News and Associated Press

Aaron Rupar / Public Notice: Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't remember anything and you can't prove she does

New York Times:

Judge Holds Trump in Contempt Over Documents in New York A.G.'s Inquiry — Former President Donald J. Trump was ordered to turn over materials sought by Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and will be fined $10,000 per day until he does so. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, New York Magazine, CNBC, Talking Points Memo, Rolling Stone, Deseret News, Washington Times, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, POLITICUSUSA, Reuters, Syracuse Post-Standard, Occupy Democrats and Washington Examiner

CNN:
Judge holds former President Trump in civil contempt for failing to comply with document subpoenas from New York attorney general

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Gizmodo, HuffPost, Forbes, KRON4, Al Jazeera, The Root, UPI and Daily Kos

Fox News:

Biden's White House senior adviser called ‘Squad’ members ‘f—ing idiots’: book — White House counselor Steve Ricchetti said the issue with progressives is 'they don't understand that they lost' — Fox News Flash top headlines for April 25 — A new book being published by a pair …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner and IJR

Politico:
Judge threatens to stop Biden's Title 42 plan, right as he rushes to defend it

Discussion: Washington Times, Associated Press, ABC13, Washington Post, The Daily Wire, Common Dreams and Political Wire

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:
Democrats approach a midterm message but struggle to deliver it

Discussion: RedState, Townhall, New York Post, Daily Kos, HotAir, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Political Wire and Twitchy

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

GOP handling of Kevin McCarthy's treachery sinks to abysmal lows — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spent the weekend phoning Republicans to do damage control, Punchbowl News reports, after we learned that he seriously considered calling on Donald Trump to resign the presidency after the mob assault on the Capitol.

Discussion: HuffPost, Media Matters for America, PBS NewsHour and Daily Kos

Punchbowl News:
4/25/22 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM.

Discussion: The Hill and Washington Post

Washington Post:

Supreme Court lets Thomas Jefferson High School admissions policy stand — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place an admissions system for a prestigious Northern Virginia science and technology high school that administrators said opened the magnet program to a wider socioeconomic range …

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Bloomberg and Blue Virginia

Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Public school coach asks Supreme Court to OK post-game prayers

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Deseret News, Politico, Washington Examiner and Human Events

Harvard University:

Spring 2022 — A national poll released today by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School indicates that while 18-to-29-year-olds are on track to match 2018's record-breaking youth turnout in a midterm election this November and prefer Democratic control 55%-34% …

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, Common Dreams, Forbes, The Daily Wire, Uniic Media, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, USA Today and Insider

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:

Joe Manchin's Approach to Biden's Presidency Is Paying Off in West Virginia — Over the past year, Manchin has seen the largest job approval rating improvement of any senator — 57% of West Virginia voters approve of Manchin's job performance, up from 40% during the first quarter of 2021.

Discussion: HotAir, USA Today, Insider, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Mediaite, Decision Desk HQ, Washington Times, The Daily Wire and IJR

Michael Hunt / Los Angeles Times:

As Finland considers NATO membership, citizens mobilize for an invasion by Russia — When the Finnish Reservists' Assn. recently announced wartime defense courses for civilian women in the southern town of Haemeenlinna, the 400 slots filled almost immediately, with a waiting list of 500 more.

Discussion: nationalinterest.org

Anders Fogh Rasmussen / New York Times:
Putin Is Pushing Finland and Sweden Into NATO's Arms

Discussion: Associated Press, Raw Story and The New Arab

Jolie McCullough / The Texas Tribune:

Melissa Lucio's execution halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — Acknowledging substantive questions about Lucio's guilt and the fairness of her conviction, the appeals court blocked her Wednesday execution so the case can be further investigated. — Copy link

Discussion: Innocence Project, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Common Dreams, WKRG-TV and NPR

Matt Bai / Washington Post:

Why Elizabeth Warren is stirring up an intra-party feud — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) occupies a singular place in the Democratic Party: a former Harvard law professor with unshakable self-certainty, she lends the presumption of intellectual rigor to every argument she makes.

Discussion: Words & Deeds, Townhall and BizPac Review

Heather Digby Parton / Salon:

Nobody cares about Jared: How long can Kushner get away with it? — Just as there are no repercussions for Donald Trump running his business out of the White House — There's a lot going on in the world these days, but I have to say that I'm disappointed that there isn't more attention …

Vulture:

The 101 Best Movie Sequels of All Time — Whether they come after, before, or between their predecessors, these films have their own indelible legacies. — Presented by — You loved the movie and you want more. The studio loves money, and they want more too.

Politico:

EU celebrates, and frets, over Macron's victory — No need for any more conferences: Emmanuel Macron is the future of Europe. — With his decisive electoral victory over right-wing challenger Marine Le Pen on Sunday, Macron not only clinched five more years as president of France …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Guardian and The American Conservative