Business

GOP TikTok Mogul Also Tied To Truth Social Merger

The New York Times reports: Jeff Yass, the billionaire Wall Street financier and Republican megadonor who is a major investor in the parent company of TikTok, was also the biggest institutional shareholder of the shell company that recently merged with former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company. A December regulatory filing showed that Mr. Yass’s trading firm, Susquehanna International …

Read More »

X’s Daily US Users Down 23% Since Musk Takeover

NBC News reports: In February, X had 27 million daily active users of its mobile app in the U.S., down 18% from a year earlier, according to Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm based in San Francisco. The U.S. user base has been flat or down every month since November 2022, the first full month of Musk’s owning the app, …

Read More »

FBI Sends Letter To Passengers On Infamous Alaska Airlines Flight: “You Are A Possible Victim Of A Crime”

The New York Times reports: Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines plane that made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew off this year have started to receive letters from the F.B.I. identifying them as possible victims of a crime. The letters are a sign that a criminal investigation the Justice Department has opened into Boeing, the manufacturer of the …

Read More »

Investors Approve Deal To Take Truth Social Public

The Guardian reports: Investors approved plans to take Donald Trump’s social media platform public on Friday, netting the former president a paper fortune of $3bn. Trump Media & Technology, the firm behind his minnow social network Truth Social, has spent years fighting to land on the stock market via a so-called “blank check” merger with a shell company. It finally …

Read More »

DOJ To Sue Apple Over iPhone Antitrust Violations

Bloomberg News reports: The US Justice Department is preparing to announce an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Inc. Thursday, according to two people familiar with the matter The suit is expected to be filed in federal court in New Jersey, said one of the people. The US is accusing Apple, the world’s second-most-valuable tech company, of violating antitrust laws by blocking …

Read More »

RBG Awards Ceremony Scrapped For Murdoch, Musk

The Daily Beast reports: An awards ceremony where Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, and others were set to be given an award in the name of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg won’t go ahead as scheduled, the foundation running the event announced Monday, after backlash from the late Supreme Court justice’s family. Julie Opperman, chair of the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation, …

Read More »

Musk: My Ketamine Use Is Good For Tesla [VIDEO]

CBS News reports: Elon Musk defended his prescription for ketamine, saying his usage of the drug helps him alleviate a “negative chemical mind state” that benefits investors in Tesla, the electric car maker he leads as CEO. Musk made the comments in an hour-long interview with former CNN host Don Lemon, who posted the sometimes contentious conversation Monday on social …

Read More »

Solar Eclipse Tourism Spurs Surge In Hotel Bookings

Axios reports: A glimpse of next month’s once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse is already one of the country’s hottest attractions. Millions of people are planning to travel to areas with the best views, and businesses are cashing in on the hype by offering eclipse-themed goodies. Come April 8, as the moon’s shadow passes northeast across North America, it should completely engulf several …

Read More »

$60M Philly Bible Museum To Close After Three Years

The Christian Post reports: The American Bible Society will be closing down its Faith and Liberty Discovery Center, around three years after the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based museum, which cost around $60 million, had opened. In a press release emailed to The Christian Post on Monday morning, the ABS announced that the center was ending operations on April 1, with the last …

Read More »

Musk: “Moderation Is Propaganda Word For Censorship”

Mediaite has the transcript: Lemon: They’re not illegal, but they’re hateful. And they can, they can lead to violence. As I just read to you, the shooters, you know, in all of these mass shootings, attributed social media to radicalizing. Musk: So, Don, you love censorship, is what you’re saying? Lemon: No, I don’t love censorship. Musk: Then why, why …

Read More »

Amazon Begins Online Sales For OTC Birth Control Pills

CNN reports: The rollout is underway for Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill approved in the United States, and online sales begin Monday morning, according to drugmaker Perrigo. Consumers can start ordering Opill online Monday, and orders will be fulfilled within a day or two, Sara Young, senior vice president and chief consumer officer at Perrigo, said in an …

Read More »

Targets Takes 10-Item Self-Checkout Limit Nationwide

NBC News reports: Target is set to limit the number of items that can be purchased in its self-checkout lanes to 10 items or fewer. The retail giant said Friday that the change would take effect Sunday at most of its almost 2,000 stores nationwide. Some self-checkout lanes may also close entirely at certain hours depending on foot traffic patterns, …

Read More »

SpaceX Has $1.8 Billion Deal To Build US Spy Satellites

Reuters reports: SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a U.S. intelligence agency, five sources familiar with the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company and national security agencies. The network is being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 …

Read More »

Realtors Group Slashes Commissions, Settles Lawsuits

The New York Times reports: American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after a real estate trade group agreed to a landmark deal that will eliminate a bedrock of the industry, the standard 6 percent sales commission. The National Association of Realtors, a powerful organization that has set the guidelines for home sales …

Read More »

NYC Battles Thousands Of Unlicensed Weed Shops

Gothamist reports: A new boots-on-the-ground survey from Councilmember Gale Brewer’s office found more than twice as many illicit cannabis shops operating on the Upper West Side as in late 2022, the last time her staff canvassed the area. Brewer is one of city government’s biggest crusaders against NYC’s unlicensed cannabis shops, and the informal headcount comes as city and state …

Read More »

FCC: Cable Providers Must Disclose “All In” Price In Ads

Deadline reports: The FCC passed new rules that will require cable and satellite providers to clearly disclose the “all in” price of subscriptions in promotional materials. “The advertised price for a service should be the price you pay when your bill arrives,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. “It shouldn’t include a bunch of unexpected junk fees that are separate from …

Read More »

Musk “Could Care Less” About Hate Speech Criticisms

Mediaite has the transcript: LEMON: Hate speech on the platform is up. Do you believe that X and you have some responsibility to moderate hate speech on the platform, that you wouldn’t have to answer these questions from reporters about the great replacement theory as it relates to– MUSK: I don’t have to answer these questions. LEMON: –great replacement theory …

Read More »

Police: Suburban Housewife Masterminded $8 Million “California Girls” Shoplifting Ring From Her Mansion

The New York Post reports: A California mom of three has been accused of masterminding an organized crime ring that stole nearly $8 million worth of makeup from stores like Ulta, T.J. Maxx and Walgreens — and then resold it online to churn a profit. Michelle Mack, 53, ran the sprawling enterprise from her $2.75 million mansion in the San …

Read More »

Musk Axes Lemon’s X Show Over Drug Use Questions

Axios reports: Former CNN anchor Don Lemon said on Wednesday Elon Musk canceled his new show on X, formerly Twitter, after he interviewed the multi-billionaire last week. Lemon claimed Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech “absolutist,” was “mad” at him over the “tense” interview, which will be included in the premier episode of “The Don Lemon Show” next week. “Apparently, free …

Read More »

Family Dollar Announces Closure Of Nearly 1000 Stores

NBC News reports: The parent company of Family Dollar said it would close approximately 1,000 stores, citing market conditions, store performance and other factors. Shares of Dollar Tree fell as much as 13% in Wednesday trading as the company also posted financial results that missed analysts’ expectations, including a net loss of more than $1.7 billion for the fourth quarter. …

Read More »