News From Around the Web
#1 Elon Musk Calls for Abolition of European Union After X Fined $140 Million - Kai Nicol-Schwarz for CNBC, DogeDesigner/Leandro, Commentary Elon Musk, Eric Daugherty/Eric Haiderer, Wall Street Mav/Bariola, and iM Clausewitz on X
Elon Musk has called for the European Union to be abolished after the bloc fined his social media company X 120 million euros ($140 million) for a “deceptive” blue checkmark and lack of transparency of its advertising repository. The European Commission hit X with the ruling on Friday following a two-year investigation into the company under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which was adopted in 2022 to regulate online platforms. At the time, in a reply on X to a post from the Commission, Musk wrote, “Bulls---.”
#2 Trump Blasts Pardoned Democrat as Lacking “Loyalty” - Bill Barrow for AP, The Western Journal, Anne or Deeds, WKRG, Taxed Enough Already, and Jeremy Dostoyevsky on X
Donald Trump is angry that Rep. Henry Cuellar is running again as a Democrat rather than switch parties after the president pardoned the Texas congressman and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case. Trump blasted Cuellar for “Such a lack of LOYALTY,” suggesting the Republican president might have expected the clemency to bolster the GOP’s narrow House majority heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Cuellar, in a television interview Sunday after Trump’s social media post, said he was a conservative Democrat willing to work with the administration “to see where we can find common ground.” The congressman said he had prayed for the president and the presidency at church that morning “because if the president succeeds, the country succeeds.”
#3 Paramount Launches a Hostile Takeover Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery - David Goldman for CNN, butch diary, Variety/Rob/Tom, Steve, Total Apex Media, and Elbert Reyner/Luiz Fernando on X
Paramount has gone straight to Warner Bros. Discovery’s shareholders with an all-cash offer in an extraordinary endeavor to gain control of Hollywood’s most sought-after prize – a bid that Netflix beat on Friday. Paramount was widely expected to be the frontrunner for Warner Bros. But WBD opted instead for Netflix, which it said offered a more lucrative deal. The proposed marriage with Netflix caught Hollywood insiders by surprise — including Paramount CEO David Ellison, who still contends that his deal was the better offer...
#4 Pennsylvania Teens Visiting Polk County for Football Championship Arrested for Felony Retail Theft - Nancy Gay and Carla Bayron for FOX 13, Ron DeSantis, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, John Cardillo, ColonelTowner-Watkins, and Over Salted Pretzel/PhillyCrimeUpdate on X
Eight teenagers from Pennsylvania are accused of conspiring to steal more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from Dick’s Sporting Goods in Posner Plaza in Davenport. Around 10:55 a.m. on Saturday, deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office went to investigate a report of a retail theft in progress at the sporting goods store. The store manager contacted PCSO after seeing several teens concealing merchandise. Deputies looked at surveillance footage and said they saw the eight suspects enter the store separately in two groups . They said the first group entered the store and began walking around, looking at merchandise...#5 Florida Designates Cair, Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Groups - Rebecca Falconer for Axios, Ron DeSantis/Jim Rosica, Eric Daugherty, Amy Mek, and Dennis Michael Lynch on X
Florida has designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY," Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Monday evening — prompting CAIR to vow it'll sue his administration. CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the U.S., has already filed a lawsuit against Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last month designated the two groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Neither group features on the U.S. government's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations...
#6 Fed Independence Risk Troubles Kavanaugh in Trump Firing Fight - Zoe Tillman for Bloomberg/Yahoo Finance, Emma Ninja, Rose PArsons, Latinx Adjacent Doctor PhD, Andrew Branca Show, and Nick Timiraos on X
A key US Supreme Court justice indicated he wants to protect the Federal Reserve’s independence as the conservative majority weighed giving President Donald Trump power to fire members of the Federal Trade Commission and similar independent agencies. During arguments on Monday, Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised questions about the Fed several times. He asked the administration’s top lawyer, US Solicitor General John Sauer, to address opponents’ arguments that adopting a broad interpretation of Trump’s firing power in the FTC case ultimately would undermine the central bank’s independence.
#7 Jasmine Crockett Announces Texas Senate Bid - Politico, Economy in Focus, TheRealThelma Johnson, (news) DOGE, Joe Honest Truth, and Noir on X
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett declared a U.S. Senate run on Monday, jolting an already contentious Democratic primary as the party banks on flipping the reliably red state in its push to retake control of Congress’s upper chamber. Crockett, a two-term representative from Dallas, will challenge state Rep. James Talarico, a rising star within the Democratic Party. Despite polling suggesting an uphill battle, Democrats feel optimistic about winning statewide in Texas for the first time in decades by harnessing the same backlash to President Donald Trump that fueled their successful off-cycle elections last month. In 2018, the party caught a glimmer of hope when Beto O’Rourke came within 2 points of defeating Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in a blue wave...
#8 Donald Trump Issues New Threat to Mexico - Hollie Silverman and Gabe Whisnant for Newsweek, Roberto Martins, FarmPolicy, Owen Gregorian, Liberty Nation, and wR on X
President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on Mexico on Monday, accusing the country of violating a decades-old water treaty and warning he would impose a 5 percent levy unless it quickly releases water he said is owed to the United States and needed by Texas farmers. In a post to Truth Social, Trump said in part, "Mexico continues to violate our comprehensive Water Treaty, and this violation is seriously hurting our BEAUTIFUL TEXAS CROPS AND LIVESTOCK. Mexico still owes the U.S over 800,000 acre-feet of water for failing to comply with our Treaty over the past five years."
#9 Gene-Edited Fungi: Feeding the Future or Funding Control? Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, Stress Biology, Crop Protection Network, Max Groubert, and Ekonomi & Finans on X
At first glance, the new genetically engineered fungal “meat” recently highlighted by Cell Press looks like classic future-food bait. Fast-growing. Protein-dense. CRISPR-tweaked so it digests easier, costs less, and mimics the texture of meat—all without the animal. No feathers, no fur, no heartbeat. Just vat-grown muscle mimicry via their altered Fusarium fungal strain. The scientists behind it say it tastes like meat. As expected, they say it’s the answer to industrial livestock. Fewer emissions. Less land. Lower water use. And above all, less guilt—a kind of eco-absolution served sizzling, no questions asked. But here’s the thing: whenever a solution shows up looking this sleek, this frictionless, there’s usually something beneath it that we’re not being told...#10 Charter School Company Run by GOP Rising Star Left Parents Scrambling - Michael Kaplan for CBS News, John Cardillo, Loggerhead, Spencer Hakimian, and Chris Nelson/Florida Politics
Kathleen Cetola believed she had found the perfect fit for her 9-year-old grandson Landon when Optima Classical Academy broke ground in 2023 near her home in Fort Myers, Florida. As the primary caregiver for Landon, Cetola was drawn to the smaller class sizes and more traditional curriculum, which she felt would be "less woke" than the public school he was currently attending. "Regarding gender and race, I want him to be able to make up his own mind," Cetola told CBS News. "They were selling the fact that they were focused on the education and the classical type of teaching. I thought that was going to be a great opportunity for Landon."
