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Chaotic Scenes, Elon Musk Throws Down, and Expansion Success
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Good morning. It's Tuesday, April. 23, and we're covering Elon Musk throwing down in effort to protect free speech, NYPD descends upon NYU in riot gear, MLB power rankings, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
American Fact of the Day!
Louisiana - A hurricane makes landfall in Louisiana every three years: Well, to be more precise, it’s actually every 2.8 years on average. The amount of tropical storms and cyclones to hit Louisiana is about twice the amount of hurricanes, with two storms on average reaching Louisiana’s shores every three years. One of the worst hurricanes to ravage Louisiana within recorded history was Hurricane Katrina, a category three hurricane when it hit land on August 29, 2005.
Breaking Updates
Elon Musk Throws Down in Effort to Protect Free Speech in Australia Over 'Global Content Bans'
Elon Musk has put a lot on the line for free speech -- $44 billion to be exact. But it hasn't stopped him from speaking out or challenging things he believes are an existential danger, like the suppression of speech on social media. He's even recently blasted the new NPR CEO and said he would be starting a campaign for the First Amendment.
Musk is now fighting an effort from Australia to try to censor posts on X. It came about as a result of posts related to the attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emanuel that authorities have called a terrorist attack. But they're also talking about "misinformation" and disinformation with the same claims about having to "protect" the public.
Here's what the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:
We need to recognise that, and social media has a responsibility. By and large, people responded appropriately to the calls by the E-Safety Commissioner. X chose not to. They stand, I think, I find it extraordinary that X chose not to comply and are trying to argue their case. We know, I think overwhelmingly, Australians want misinformation and disinformation to stop. This isn't about freedom of expression, this is about the dangerous implications that can occur when things that are simply not true, that everyone knows is not true, are replicated and weaponised in order to cause division and in this case, to promote negative statements and potentially to just inflame what was a very difficult situation. And social media has a social responsibility.
Tanya Plibersek hilariously accuses Musk, whom she terms an "egotistical billionaire," of trying to dictate to the Australian government when indeed it appears that it's the Australian government trying to do the "dictating" here and not just to Musk. X is saying these edicts could then result in global content bans.
While Meta complied with the order, X objected, saying on Friday that some of the posts that were ordered to be removed “publicly commented on the recent attack” but “did not violate X’s rules on violent speech.” The company also said it did not believe the order fell within the scope of Australian law and that the commissioner “does not have the authority to dictate what content X’s users can see globally.”
In a court hearing Monday, the eSafety commissioner was granted a two-day legal injunction to compel X to hide certain posts related to the attack, including violent footage. The commissioner argued that X’s decision to “geoblock” the content—meaning that it would not be accessible to users in Australia—was insufficient to comply with Australian law because geoblocking can be skirted with the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), according to the ABC.
Read more updates here
Chaotic Scene As NYPD Descends Upon NYU in Riot Gear, Arrests Dozens of Pro-Hamas Extremists
It’s another night in New York City, and these days, that means it’s another evening of radical pro-Hamas protesters taking over the campuses of once-proud institutions like Columbia University and NYU.
Although folks like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will try to tell you that the demonstrations are oh-so-peaceful, and President Joe Biden will try to claim that there are good people on both sides of the issue, the truth of the matter is that many of these activists are loudly pledging their allegiance to Hamas terrorism, condemning America, and shouting their hatred of Jews.
Cops in riot gear cuffed the protesters – who are demanding NYU divest from holdings tied to Israel over the ongoing violence in Gaza — with zip ties and led them to police buses, the university’s student-run newspaper Washington Square News reported. NYU faculty members linked arms and stood side-by-side to form a human barrier between a swarm of cops and student protesters, according to a video shared by a City reporter. The professors were the first to be arrested.
Once the cops moved in, they also tore down tents that students erected Monday morning as part of a “Gaza Solidarity” encampment at the private university’s Gould Plaza on West 4th Street. Earlier in the day, NYU’s director of Campus Safety informed protesters that they would “face consequences” if they did not leave the encampment by 4 p.m., WSN reported.
Protesters are still marching on the streets of Manhattan as of this writing. While one might find some sympathy for those suffering in Gaza due to the Israel-Hamas war, these agitators forget or ignore entirely that it was Hamas that brought on this battle with their savage, inhuman Oct. 7 attacks against the Jewish state, where they wantonly raped innocents and killed over 1,200 people.
These “demonstrations” are a sad commentary on our society, and it’s incomprehensible that so many in our university system are openly celebrating terrorists and condemning the democratic countries of Israel and the United States.
Read more updates here