The Show Notes: Elon's New Company, Shanghai Lockdown, & The Praying SCOTUS Case
Welcome! Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election over the weekend.
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Clip of the day: 😳
Twitter Goes Private?
Twitter is warming up to Elon Musk’s offer to purchase the company for $43 billion less than two weeks after the billionaire made the offer. Both sides worked through Sunday night to reach a deal. Reuters says that a deal is imminent today. More from The Wall Street Journal:
The potential turnabout on Twitter’s part comes after Mr. Musk met privately Friday with several shareholders of the company to extol the virtues of his proposal while repeating that the board has a “yes-or-no” decision to make, according to people familiar with the matter. He also pledged to solve the free-speech issues he sees as plaguing the platform and the country more broadly, whether his bid succeeds or not, they said.
Shanghai Chaos
Authorities in Shanghai are erecting fences around the houses and condos of citizens who tested positive for COVID. The city of 25 million residents had 40 COVID deaths on Saturday. The New York Post story has the best pictures. Other Chinese cities have begun hoarding food in preparation for a Shanghai-like lockdown. Chinese stocks are tumbling on extended lockdown news.
Update: Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony Blinkin and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukrainian President Zelensky over the weekend in Lviv, Ukraine. They shared plans to step up diplomatic pressure in Ukraine. Here are more Ukraine headlines:
Blinken: U.S. wants to see Russia weakened. - WSJ
Russia bombs 5 railway stations in Ukraine. - The Guardian
Biden nominates Bridget Brink as new US Ambassador to Ukraine. - Fox News
U.S. believes Ukraine can win the war with "the right equipment". - Axios
The Belarusian railway workers who helped thwart Russia’s attack on Kyiv. - The Washington Post
Praying Football Coach Reaches Supreme Court
From Bloomberg.
The justices on Monday are set to hear arguments from Joseph Kennedy, who lost his job at a public high school outside Seattle after repeatedly taking a knee alongside his players on the 50-yard line after games. The case, the fourth religious-rights argument of the Supreme Court’s term, gives the court’s conservative majority a fresh chance to relax the separation of church and state.
Bremerton School District says Kennedy’s prayers were becoming a community spectacle and leaving players feeling pressured to join. But the coach says the district violated his constitutional rights by punishing what he says was private religious expression.
Here’s more on the SCOTUS case with AP News.
The rest of the news:
Putin appears unsteady during church service as illness rumors mount. - NY Post
Orrin Hatch passed away at the age of 88. - WSJ
Joe Manchin’s approach to Biden’s Presidency is paying off in West Virginia. - Morning Consult
Hawley endorses Thiel-backed Arizona Senate candidate. - Politico
What doomed CNN+? How rival strategies and executive intrigue fueled the streaming service’s rapid demise. - CNBC
Democrats approach a midterm message but struggle to deliver it. - The Washington Post
The Squad could grow stronger even if Dems lose big. - Axios
Elizabeth Warren wants Biden to lower drug prices without congress. - Politico
Election fraud claims dominate Georgia GOP governor’s debate. - Politico
Political correctness is losing. - New York Magazine
Climate activists dies after setting himself on fire. - New York Times
San Francisco is rejecting the left’s crime policies. - The Bulwark