May 10 top stories
It is May 10. I will be covering top stories today, Thursday and Friday because Alex wants to catch up and finish a few projects. Here are today’s top stories.
Rep. George Santos charged in federal probe
George Santos, a Republican lawmaker representing the third district of New York, was taken into federal custody on Wednesday morning after turning himself in. He is being indicted on 13 federal charges related to accusations of misleading donors and misrepresenting his finances to government agencies.
The total charges include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
He allegedly directed someone in October 2022 to falsely tell potential donors that their funds would be used to buy television advertisements for Santos’ campaign. Instead, those funds were allegedly transferred to Santos’ personal banking accounts and were used for his personal benefit.
The charges also accuse the lawmaker of receiving more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits after falsely claiming he was out of work during the pandemic.
If he is convinced of all 13 charges, he can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Music Video Network to shut down
Paramount Global, MTV’s parent company, announced in a memo that MTV News will close its doors this week after 36 years after slashing its US workforce by 25%. MTV News launched in 1987 to fill a void for Gen X-ers and older millennials seeking a cable television alternative to traditional news networks with a focus on music, pop culture, news and politics.
Longtime MTV News employees and fans mourned over the announcement on Twitter, praising Kurt Loder for his coverage of so many huge moments in pop culture.
Nearly every major news, entertainment and technology company has been forced to slash its workforce in recent months as they face a slumping advertising market and other industry challenges.
Tucker Carlson takes his show to Twitter
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who was dismissed by the network last month, announced on Tuesday he would relaunch his show on Twitter soon.
The outspoken Carlson embraced conservative issues and delivered his views on his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on the FOX channel. He was able to achieve high ratings influence through his anti-immigration rhetoric, false conspiracy theories and the promotion of white nationalist talking points. Ratings slumped after his departure.
Carlson said in a video posted on Twitter, “Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter.
Musk, who is CEO of Twitter, tweeted “We have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.”
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[CDC is releasing a video series in American Sign Language to help you keep up with the latest COVID-19 news and guidance. View the COVID-19 information in ASL here: https://bit.ly/cdcASLvideos8 ]
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Biden predicts migrant surge when Title 42 ends
Multiple sources reported that President Biden said it will be chaotic for a while at the border when an emergency immigration restriction tied to the pandemic ends. We have legally been allowed to quickly expel migrants at the southern border for the last three years. However, children traveling alone were exempt.
The restrictions are often referred to as Title 42 because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law that allows curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health.
Why is Title 42 ending? The Biden administration announced in January that it was ending the national emergencies linked to the pandemic. That also spelled the end of using Title 42 to deal with immigration. Thursday is the last day Title 42 is expected to be used.
What happens next? Starting Friday, President Biden’s administration will begin denying asylum to migrants who show up at the US-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. The administration also created new legal pathways, including a plan to open 100 regional migration hubs.
Social media hacker pleads guilty
Joseph James O’Connor, a 23-year-old British national, pleaded guilty in connection with a July 2020 Twitter hack that compromised the accounts of high-profile politicians and celebrities.
The hacker used the accounts to solicit digital currency tweeting, “I am giving back to my community due to Covid-19! All Bitcoin sent to my address below will be sent back doubled. If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000! [The address is shown but blurred on the news articles intentionally.] Only doing this for the next 30 minutes! Enjoy.”
[Show screenshots of Floyd Mayweather, Wiz Khalifa, Mike Bloomberg and Kanye West; https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65540901 ]
Along with his co-conspirators, O’Connor stole at least $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency.
O’Connor pleaded guilty to charges including conspiring to commit computer intrusions, to commit wire fraud and to commit money laundering. He also pleaded guilty to other hacking crimes including gaining access to a high-profile TikTok account.
O’Connor, who was extradited to the US on April 26, will also forfeit more than $794,000 and pay restitution to victims. He faces a maximum of 77 years in prison at sentencing on June 23.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
Santos:
MTV:
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/mtv-news-shuts-down-paramount-layoffs-showtime-networks-1235607638/
Tucker Carlson:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/05/09/tucker-carlson-twitter-show-relaunch/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/media/tucker-carlson-twitter/index.html
Asylum:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-asylum-restriction-title-42-expires-border-deportations/
Hacker:
https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-bitcoin-scam-elon-musk-joe-biden-man-pleads-guilty-2023-5