memeorandum: Buying Twitter, Elon Musk Will Face Reality of His Free-Speech Talk (Shira Ovide/New York Times)

5:45 PM ET, April 26, 2022

Top Items:

Twitter's top lawyer reassures staff, cries during meeting about Musk takeover — Monday was an emotional day at Twitter — even for its executives. — Shortly after billionaire Elon Musk bought the powerful social media platform, top Twitter lawyer Vijaya Gadde called a virtual meeting …

Discussion: Townhall, Wired, Raw Story, Breitbart, Washington Post, The Verge, Axios and TheBlaze, more at Techmeme »

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Why Elon Musk Bought Twitter — The social network's freewheeling poster child will pay forty-four billion dollars to take it private. What does he have in store? — On Monday, Elon Musk bought Twitter for forty-four billion dollars. Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla and the richest man on earth …

Discussion: The Atlantic, CBS News, Fortune, RedState and Constant Commoner

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

A Billionaires' World — The world's richest person didn't like Twitter. So he's buying it. — Give this article- - - Read in app — Two years ago, the economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman published a statistic that you don't normally see. It was the share of wealth owned by the richest 0.00001 percent of Americans.

Shira Ovide / New York Times:

Buying Twitter, Elon Musk Will Face Reality of His Free-Speech Talk — Tech's big shots have learned again and again that free speech isn't so simple. What happens when Mr. Musk owns Twitter? — A decade ago, Twitter executives, including the chief executive, Dick Costolo …

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:

EU warns Elon Musk over Twitter moderation plans — EU commissioner Thierry Breton tells Tesla chief executive: ‘Elon, there are rules’ — Brussels has warned Elon Musk that Twitter must comply with the EU's new digital rules under his ownership, or risk hefty fines or even a ban …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Wire, The Western Journal, Al Jazeera, Common Dreams, Engadget, Breitbart, Politico, Europe's ZEITGEIST, Washington Examiner, Brookings, Political Wire and The Atlantic, more at Mediagazer »

HuffPost:
Susan Collins: Elon Musk Should Let Donald Trump Back On Twitter

Discussion: Political Wire and NPR

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Republicans to Trump: Stay away from Twitter

Discussion: The Daily Beast, ABC News, RedState, Washington Examiner, PJ Media, BizPac Review, Florida Politics, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Twitchy and Raw Story

Zeve Sanderson / Tech Policy Press:
How to Evaluate Elon Musk's (Potential) Impact On Twitter

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, SFist, Daily Briefing, Ask Questions Later, Jacobin, GovExec.com, UPI and CBS San Francisco

New York Times:
On Twitter, conservatives celebrate, and progressives cringe, about Musk's ownership of Twitter.

Discussion: New York Post, Mediaite and Fox News

WSOC-TV:

Sources: Rep. Madison Cawthorn cited for having a gun at Charlotte Douglas — CHARLOTTE — Rep. Madison Cawthorn was cited for having a gun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Tuesday morning, three sources tell Channel 9. — According to the TSA, a 9 millimeter handgun was discovered …

Discussion: Raleigh News & Observer, HuffPost, USA Today, Insider, The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, Discourse Blog, Forbes, Mediaite, Daily Kos, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and IJR

CBS News:

Biden tells Congressional Hispanic Caucus he's looking at forgiving most federal student loan debt — President Biden is looking at different options to forgive most, if not all, federal student loan debt - a move that would thrill some of his most loyal supporters and financially strapped students nationwide …

Discussion: Insider, POLITICUSUSA and Forbes

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

Fears mount inside White House that Manchin won't agree to any deal — Biden aides have tried gauging the senator's interest in a potential agreement, but time is running out — President Biden last spring proposed spending more than $4 trillion to transform the American economy.

Discussion: Politico, Slow Boring, HotAir, Bloomberg and Political Wire

Washington Post:
Biden signals he's open to canceling student loans

Discussion: Forbes and The Nation

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:
Biden's sanctions coordinator to take leave of absence from White House

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Examiner and The Guardian

Myah Ward / Politico:
Kamala Harris tests positive for Covid

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Associated Press, UPI, Ace of Spades HQ, The Daily Wire, Florida Politics and WTOP News

Bloomberg:
Manchin Explores Possible Energy, Climate Package With GOP

Discussion: Insider, Daily Kos and Washington Times

CNN:
Vice President Kamala Harris tests positive for Covid

CNN:

CNN Exclusive: Meadows' texts reveal new details about the key role a little-known GOP congressman played in efforts to overturn election — Washington (CNN)Newly obtained text messages and recent court filings fill in significant gaps about the key role a little-known Pennsylvania Republican …

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Slate, The Full Belmonte, The Entermation Age and Raw Story

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
‘Yes sir’: New texts show Hannity promising on-air Trump campaign push

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Mediaite, Vanity Fair and Media Matters for America

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

AJC poll: Kemp has strong shot to knock out Perdue without a runoff — Gov. Brian Kemp has a chance of landing an outright victory against former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that shows the Republican incumbent with a hefty advantage over his Donald Trump-backed challenger.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Associated Press, Washington Post, Fox News, HotAir, National Review, WTOP News, New York Magazine and Political Wire

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
A leading Trump sycophant may soon get the humiliation he deserves

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Breitbart and PolitiFact

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The not-so-neat trick GOP candidates play on the ‘stolen election’

Discussion: Raw Story and Daily Kos

Sarah Rumpf / Law & Crime:

Florida's Contractual Obligations to Bond Holders Block Repeal of Disney's Special Taxing District, Says Reedy Creek in New Statement — Ever since Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the bill repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), the special taxing district operating …

Discussion: Occupy Democrats and The Duckpin

Jacob Schumer / Bloomberg Tax:

The Contractual Impossibility of Unwinding Disney's Reedy Creek — There's been a lot of talk about whether Florida lawmakers can legally dissolve Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District, but there's one basic reason why Florida can't dissolve it—it promised bond purchasers that it wouldn't …

Discussion: MSNBC, HotAir, American Experiment, Washington Post, Morning Shots, The Dispatch and Political Wire

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
Winners and losers in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis-driven Florida redistricting

Discussion: Florida Politics and Townhall

New York Times:

McCarthy Feared G.O.P. Lawmakers Put ‘People in Jeopardy’ After Jan. 6 — New audio recordings reveal Kevin McCarthy worried that comments by his far-right colleagues could incite violence. He said he would try to rein in the lawmakers, but has instead defended them. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: The Nation, The Hill, The American Independent and Washington Post

Andrew Kerr / Washington Examiner:

Madison Cawthorn implicated in potential insider trading scheme, experts say — EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Madison Cawthorn may have violated federal insider trading laws as he hyped up an alleged pump-and-dump cryptocurrency scheme, multiple watchdog groups told the Washington Examiner.

Discussion: The American Independent, POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

Most Americans have been infected with the coronavirus at least once, the C.D.C. says. — The common perception that nearly everyone in America seemed to have been infected with the Omicron variant last winter may not have been far from the truth. By February 2022, nearly 60 percent …

Cdcmmwr / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Seroprevalence of Infection-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies — United States, September 2021-February 2022

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Examiner, STAT, Politico, CBS News, Forbes, Florida Politics, New Jersey Online and UPI

Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Joe's missing millions! Financial records reveal Biden had $5.2million in unexplained income - as emails show he paid Hunter's legal bills for one megabucks Chinese deal and was tapped as ‘big guy’ to get a 10% cut in another — Emails from Hunter's laptop reveal Joe Biden agreed …

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Ace of Spades HQ

William Turton / Bloomberg:

Tech Giants Duped Into Giving Up Data Used to Sexually Extort Minors — Major technology companies have been duped into providing sensitive personal information about their customers in response to fraudulent legal requests, and the data has been used to harass and even sexually extort minors …

NBC News:

U.S. intel helped Ukraine protect air defenses, shoot down Russian plane carrying hundreds of troops — As Russia launched its invasion, the U.S. gave Ukrainian forces detailed intelligence about exactly when and where Russian missiles and bombs were intended to strike …

Discussion: Washington Post, Metro.co.uk, Foreign Policy, New York Times, ABC13, Political Wire and The Covid Chronicles

Harvard University:

Message from Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow — “We remake Harvard every day. If Harvard was not a leader years ago on the issue of racial inequality, it can be a leader today.” Tomiko Brown-Nagin, chair, Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard University

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Fox News, Forbes, The Daily Caller and Mercury News

Washington Post:
Harvard leaders and staff enslaved more than 70 people, report finds

Discussion: Harvard University President, The Hill, UPI, TheBlaze and Al Jazeera

Ben Gittleson / ABC News:

ABC News Exclusive: Dr. Birx speaks to Trump disinfectant moment, says colleagues had resignation pact — White House COVID response coordinator reveals details before book release. — The coronavirus response coordinator for President Donald Trump's COVID task force, Dr. Deborah Birx …

Discussion: USA Today, HuffPost, Politico, The Hill and Political Wire

Matt Binder / Mashable:

Libs of TikTok tweeted fake accusations about a school teaching second graders about furries — The school district was harassed by her followers as a result. — Second graders are learning about furries in school? — That's what the prominent right-wing Twitter account Libs of TikTok (@LibsofTikTok) said in a tweet on Monday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Twitchy

CNN:

'A magician, I'm not': Democratic Senate candidates run against a Democratic-controlled Washington — Washington (CNN)Running against Washington is nothing new. Running against Washington while your party controls the White House, Senate and House is something significantly more complicated.

Discussion: Common Dreams

Politico:

Dems grow alarmed by lack of fear over Roe's future — Ten years ago, Todd Akin's candidacy sank over “legitimate rape.” Now, laws are being passed restricting abortion even in cases of rape. Has the political ground changed? — For decades, Democrats insisted that Republicans …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:

Schumer says he's keeping discussions with Feinstein on her ability to serve private — Lawmakers are reportedly questioning California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's capacity to do her job at her age — Report raises questions about Democrat Feinstein's cognitive abilities

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Insider

ProPublica:

Building the “Big Lie”: Inside the Creation of Trump's Stolen Election Myth — Co-published with FRONTLINE … By the time Leamsy Salazar sat down in front of a video recorder in a lawyer's office in Dallas, he had grown accustomed to divulging state secrets.