Elon Musk is on trial for a Twitter-related controversy dating back to 2018, and on Friday he defended his actions in a San Francisco court.

The trial revolves around Musk’s tweets from August 2018 where he claimed that he had secured financing to take Tesla private, spurring a stock frenzy that many of the automaker’s shareholders claim ruined their shares.

Musk said in court that it was difficult to link Tesla’s stock price to his tweets, and also said that his tweeting was “the most democratic way” to share information.



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“Just because I tweet about something doesn’t mean people believe it or will act accordingly,” he said in front of a nine-person jury.

The class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of shareholders who owned Tesla stock during the instability in 2018, alleging that Musk used his platform to commit fraud

Here’s what to know:

What happened in 2018?

On August 7, 2018, more than four years before Musk bought Twitter, he tweeted that he had “funding secured” for a $72 billion buyout of Tesla, and that he would take the company private for $420 a share. A few hours later he followed up with a second Tweet that many believe made the deal sound imminent.

“Investor support is confirmed. Only reason why this is not certain is that it’s contingent on a shareholder vote,” Musk tweeted.

At the time of the tweets, Tesla’s stocks had been doing poorly—one of the most heavily shorted stocks on the market—and the company was experiencing widespread production issues. Musk’s Tweets caused an immediate surge and seemingly caused a rally in the company’s stock prices for the next 10 days until Musk said that there would be no buyout. When Tesla’s shares climbed so high, it put short sellers at substantial risk of loss.

It became clear that a deal wasn’t and may never have been on the horizon and Musk ended up paying a $40 million settlement to securities regulators who also required him to step down as Tesla’s chairman. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged both Musk and Tesla with civil securities fraud and each party had to pay $20 million in fines.

Not long after the buyout fiasco in 2018, Tesla’s production picked up and subsequently, so did its shares. The company was manufacturing enough cars that its stock soared, and in 2021 Musk became the wealthiest person in the world. His acquisition of Twitter last year knocked him out of that spot, but he remains one of the most influential billionaires in the world.

The trial unfolds

The trial began Jan. 17 with a nine-person jury selection.

Musk’s legal team has argued that as a savvy businessman, Musk had been in preliminary talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as a potential investor. They said that Musk had spontaneously tweeted about the opportunity in an effort to be transparent.

Former Tesla shareholders have already begun testifying that amid all the chaos that week in 2018, many of them sold off their stocks and saw significant dips in the shares they kept. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen is presiding over the trial and ruled that the plaintiffs can’t bring up Musk’s $40 million settlement.

The case rests on the plaintiffs’ argument that Musk knowingly drove up Tesla’s stocks and never truly had plans to take the company private. Some of Tesla’s top executives and board members from 2018 are on the witness list, including Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch.

Although the court adjourned for the weekend, Musk is due back in the courtroom on Monday. The trial is set to span three weeks, continuing through Feb. 1.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who has spent more than two years as President Joe Biden’s top aide, is preparing to leave his job in the coming weeks, according to a person familiar with Klain’s plans.

Klain’s expected departure comes not long after the White House and Democrats had a better-than-expected showing in the November elections, buoyed by a series of major legislative accomplishments, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sweeping climate, health care and tax package that all Republicans rejected.

His tenure as chief of staff is the longest for a Democratic president in modern times.

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The person familiar with Klain’s plans was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm the development, which was first reported by the New York Times.

The White House did not return calls or emails seeking comment on Klain’s expected exit.

Now that Republicans have regained a majority in the House, the White House is preparing to shift to a more defensive posture. GOP lawmakers are planning multiple investigations into the Biden administration, examining everything from the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to U.S. border policy. Republicans are are pledging to investigate the president’s son, Hunter Biden.

Klain’s departure also comes as the White House struggles to contain the fallout after classified documents dating from Biden’s time as vice president were discovered at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at his former institute in Washington. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate the matter.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination, the company confirmed.

The factory’s closure in February 2022 was a key cause of a nationwide baby formula shortage that forced parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor’s offices. Production restarted in June.

The Justice Department has informed Abbott of its investigation and the company is “cooperating fully,” Abbott spokesperson Scott Stoffel said via email. He declined to provide further details.

The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the Justice Department’s consumer protection branch is looking into conduct at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant that led to its shutdown.

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Abbott closed the factory after the Food and Drug Administration began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Inspectors uncovered several violations at the plant, including bacterial contamination, a leaky roof and lax safety protocols. But Abbott has stated that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, which involved different bacterial strains.

Abbott is one of just four companies that produce 90% of U.S. formula, and its February recall of several leading brands, including Similac, squeezed supplies that had already been strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.

The shortage was especially acute for children with allergies, digestive problems and metabolic disorders who rely on specialty formulas. The Abbott factory is the only source of many of those products.

The FDA has faced intense criticism for taking months to close the plant and then negotiate its reopening.

MINNEAPOLIS — Investigators in Minnesota are looking into allegations two men have been running a TikTok gambling scheme in the state’s casinos.

Court filings this week indicate the state Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division is investigating allegations that an Edina man and his younger brother have been collecting fees for playing slots on behalf of others watching TikTok, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. State law prohibits placing bets on behalf of someone else. No one has been charged so far.

A search warrant affidavit alleged the Edina man used cash apps to collect an initial $5.99 subscription fee as well as $25 for every $100 deposited for wagering. He then streamed live as he and sometimes his brother played the slots. Court filings indicated the two have been running the operation at the Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake and the Treasure Island Resort & Casino just outside Red Wing. One of their sessions ended just before dawn Thursday.

The Edina man has 165,000 followers around the world. Video highlights archived on his TikTok page show wads of cash and slot machines rolling up jackpots, including a $15,000 hit in December.

Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division spokesperson Nicole Roddy confirmed the investigation to the Star Tribune, saying the agency has never encountered such a case until now.

Officials with the American Gaming Association, which represents sports books and casinos nationwide, said they, too, haven’t heard of such a case until now. The association’s vice president for government relations, Alex Costello, said the alleged scheme violates casinos’ anti-money laundering protocols.

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Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, speaks at the 2015 Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, Michigan.

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• Elon Musk said a paid ad-free model for Twitter users will soon be available. 
• The billionaire said in a tweet Saturday that ads are “too frequent” and “too big.” 
• The subscription would join the platform’s other paid model, Twitter Blue. 

Elon Musk wants to give Twitter users a way to bypass advertisements he says are “too frequent” and “too big” — but at a cost.

The billionaire Twitter owner wrote in a tweet Saturday that the company will launch a “higher priced subscription that allows zero ads” in the coming weeks. 

The paid subscription would join Twitter Blue, a model in which users pay a fee to receive a verified blue checkmark, as well as access to features like an edit button. Twitter Blue currently costs $11 a month for mobile iOS and Android access, and $8 for desktop users. The cost for the ad-free tier was not immediately clear. 

The forthcoming subscription comes as Musk continues to find himself in hot water with advertisers since his takeover in October 2022. Many are expressing concern around the executive’s unpredictability and disdain for content moderation, while others pull their ads altogether. 

In November, several brands announced they would pause advertising on Twitter, including General Motors, Volkswagen, Audi, and Pfizer, among others. And while Musk has attempted to assuage their concerns in meetings, hesitancy remains. According to The Information, the ad-buying company Group M has cut spending on the social platform by as much as 50%. 

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported Musk will be required as early as this month to make the first interest payment on the $13 billion loan he took out to complete the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, leaving the company in a precarious financial position. 

New York-based Thinx is known for its “bloody” ads posted around New York City to promote its absorbent underwear.

Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images

• In a class-action lawsuit announced in November, plaintiffs accused Thinx of failing to tell customers their period underwear contained potentially harmful PFAS.
• Thinx has agreed to settle the suit and pay up to $5 million as a result, reports say.
• A spokesperson for Thinx denies claim that their products contain PFAS.

Thinx will pay up to $5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the brand of failing to inform customers of potentially harmful chemicals in their underwear.

The New York-based period and incontinence adult apparel company has agreed to pay $4 million for consumers’ claims and any court-approved attorney fees, and an additional amount up to $1 million to cover any more valid claims, NBC News reported.

In the lawsuit, which began more than two years ago NPR reported, plaintiffs said Thinx’s period underwear contain PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are synthetic chemicals used to make food wrappers and workout clothes grease- and water-resistant.

In December, the settlement received preliminary approval from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, and plaintiffs learned of the settlement just days ago, NPR reported.

The company denied the allegations and made it clear that the settlement was not an admission of guilt, according to NBC.

“We take customer health and product safety seriously,” a company spokesperson said in a statement obtained by NBC. “We can confirm that PFAS have never been part of our product design. We will continue to take measures to help ensure that PFAS are not added to our products.

The first report of Thinx underwear potentially containing the chemicals was in January 2020, from Sierra Club magazine columnist Jessian Choy. In her column, Choy said she mailed her Thinx underwear to a nuclear professor who discovered PFAS in the crotch of the item.

An editor’s note attached to Choy’s story Friday suggested the class-action suit as a result of Choy’s investigation into the toxicity of her own Thinx underwear. 

“As part of the settlement, Thinx has agreed to undertake numerous measures to ensure that PFAS are not intentionally added to the products at any stage of production, which speaks directly to the concerns of Plaintiffs and class members,” an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement obtained by NBC.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to high levels of PFAS can lead to increased risk of certain cancers, changes in liver enzymes, and increased cholesterol levels.

Thinx was founded in 2013 and considers its underwear “the first period innovation” in 76 years since the invention of the menstrual cup, according to its official site. Ten years later, period underwear are still a small part of the menstrual care industry although more companies have come forward to compete with Thinx.

The class-action lawsuit isn’t the first issue Thinx has faced since its 2013 launch. In 2017, founder and former CEO Miki Agrawal was accused of acting inappropriately at work in an article in New York Magazine’s The Cut.

Former employees alleged Agrawal commented on their breast sizes, changed clothes in front of employees, and often spoke about her sexual desires at work, according to the report. Amid the shocking accusations, Agrawal stepped down from her CEO role in 2017, The New York Post reported.

Thinx customers who purchased underwear between Nov. 12, 2016, and Nov. 28, 2022 can submit a claim before April to potentially receive a $7 refund for each purchase up to three pairs of period underwear or a voucher for 35% off a single purchase of up to $150.

The way Jewish institutions reacted to a few dozen pro-Palestinian students protesting at the University of Michigan last week exemplifies an unwelcome trend in pro-Israel advocacy: the rise of Snowflake Zionism.  

The protesters marched through campus on Jan. 12 behind a woman who shouted into a bullhorn, “There is only one solution!” They chanted back, “Intifada! Revolution.”

The protest prompted a storm of outrage from some Jewish organizations, right-leaning  Jewish outlets and social media, amplifying concerns that college campuses are not welcoming to supporters of Israel.

“We’re outraged by the chants calling for a violent intifada and demanding ‘Zionists have got to go’ by SJP at @UMich,” tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League. “Let’s be clear: this is a direct call to violence and the university must investigate this as a possible violation of Jewish students’ rights under #TitleVI.”

Such responses have now become a kind of Palestinian-Jewish Kabuki. Students march. Jewish organizations swoop in, hurling accusations of antisemitism, demanding investigations and threatening to strip away federal funding. 

There are plenty of real antisemitic threats, as well as vandalism and assaults, committed on campuses and off. . But by intervening in every campus display of anti-Israel activity — and attempting to defund schools over it — in the guise of making  campuses “safe” for pro-Israel Jewish students, are we are creating a generation of fragile Zionists unable to stand up for what they believe in the face of fierce criticism?

In a report on the University of Michigan published before the Jan. 12 rally, the L.A.-based organization StopAntisemitism.org concluded that students “do not feel safe expressing their support for Israel.”

It echoed language many pro-Israel advocates used last fall after nine student groups at UC Berkeley’s law school voted not to invite Israel supporters and Zionist speakers to their events. 

“We stand firm in the face of hostility toward Jewish students,” Jacob Baime, CEO of the Israel on Campus Coalition, wrote then. “We envision the American college campus as a place where supporters of Israel feel confident about openly celebrating the Jewish state.”

Note what has become the go-to jargon for these situations: Pro-Israel students must feel “confident,” “safe” and “comfortable.”

My question is, says who?

When I was a kid, I learned about the lives of the early Zionists like Catholic children are taught about the saints. They battled malaria, despair, extreme cold and heat, homesickness, poverty, Arab attacks and Ottoman and British persecution. 

They never felt safe or comfortable, and keeping confidence up was a challenge. 

“Their romantic dreams were smashed in a twinkling in the face of the harsh and depressing reality of the Land of Israel,” historian Gur Alroey wrote in Haaretz. “The scale of their expectations was matched by the scale of their disappointments.” Among these early Zionist pioneers, at least 60 killed themselves.

I think of those men and women, with all their faults and prejudices, their toughness, guile and luck, when I hear Jewish leaders go on about creating campuses that are “safe” for students who love Israel.

Their intentions may be protective and parental, but the outcome is all wrong.

What’s happening to Jewish students on campus is what the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt says is happening across America. By protecting ourselves from conflict and hardship, we are nurturing fragile intellects and weak spirits.

“College is quite possibly the best environment on earth in which to come face-to-face with people and ideas that are potentially offensive or even downright hostile,” Haidt writes in his 2018 book The Coddling of the American Mind, . 

And it’s not as if pro-Israel students themselves always even want the “protection” the anti-antisemitism groups demand.

The Forward’s Arno Rosenfeld followed pro- and anti-Israel activism at George Washington University for a year. Several students said  the outside attention “bends toward histrionics.”

“All these organizations have their own agenda,” Jessica Carr, 21, a senior and president of GW for Israel, told Rosenfeld. “Even though we might agree with them — we’re all pro-Israel — they all have their own agenda and it’s not necessarily what’s best for GW.”

I think the anti-Zionists are doing our kids a favor. They are provoking those who disagree to marshal their best arguments, to figure out ways to inform and persuade others, and maybe, just maybe, to consider the merits of other points of view. 

Doing this is more important than ever, because the tensions are about to get much worse. The new Israeli government has announced plans to carry out a de jure annexation of the West Bank, restrict the rights of minorities, subvert the country’s democracy by overruling the courts and crack down on liberal protesters.

That is certain to fuel criticism not just from Israel- and Jew-haters, but from broad swathes of American society, where more and more people — Jewish and not — will begin to wonder just what values Israel and the U.S. have in common. 

I happen to think the anti-Israel student groups at Berkeley were wrong to ban Zionist speakers — a very snowflake move. And the marchers at Michigan should not really be encouraging an intifada, given that the first two  cost thousands of Palestinian and Israeli lives. Why perpetuate strategies that have not only failed, but will keep making things worse?

But the pro-Israel groups’ tactics of trying to shut down protests and intimidate university administrators belong on the “keep making things worse” list, too.

I don’t know what the opposite of “snowflake” is, but there are plenty of examples on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian debate of people who engage with their opponents and aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

Just look at the 80,000 Palestinian and Jewish Israelis who showed up in the driving rain in Tel Aviv last weekend to defend their rights against the new government. 

When asked during a Zoom call what Jews who want to support Israel but not its new government should do, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dennis Ross pointed to that rally. “One of the things you can do is identify with them,” he said. “You can support them.”

What you can’t do is expect it to be comfortable.

 

The post When did Zionists become snowflakes? appeared first on The Forward.

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said on Saturday they will resume peace talks in Mexico next month, overcoming a recent impasse after the government recently declared and then called off a bilateral ceasefire.

There was a first cycle of talks last year in Caracas to end the guerrillas’ part in nearly six decades of war.

The about-face on the ceasefire came after ELN said it had not agreed to it. The government blamed a misunderstanding of the ELN’s position.

Both sides held an emergency meeting in Caracas this week and agreed to hold the second round of negotiations on Feb. 13 in Mexico, one of the guarantor nations for the talks along with Norway, Venezuela, Cuba and Chile.

“In said cycle, the issue of society’s participation in peace building will be addressed. At the same time, a bilateral ceasefire will begin to be discussed and agreed upon,” said a statement issued following the emergency meeting.

Colombia and the ELN said they would jointly examine progress in implementing agreements reached during the first cycle of talks and agreed to keep communication channels open even when not at the negotiating table.

For the ceasefire to work, “you have to agree on the rules of the game and protocols, and these protocols in turn cover the armed forces and the ELN. That will take time,” said Pablo Beltran, head of the ELN delegation.

Beltran said he hopes to advance “substantially in the agreement” at the next meeting in Mexico.

The government has said ceasefires remain in force with another four groups: two dissident groups founded by former FARC rebels and crime gangs the Clan del Golfo and Self-Defenses of the Sierra Nevada.

President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 urban guerrilla group and who took office last year, has pledged to seek peace agreements or surrender deals with armed groups of all stripes.

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