News From Around the Web
#1 Live Nation Illegally Monopolized the Market for Tickets, Jury Finds - Mason Leib and Aaron Katersky for
, Richard Soriano, Ju_LiveMusic, ROMBO Magazine, hypebot, and Chad Childers on X
Live Nation illegally monopolized the market for tickets, protecting its position through pressure and leverage, jurors in Manhattan federal court found Wednesday. The jury determined that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, represent an illegal monopoly that used their position to make it harder for rivals to compete. The company controls concerts, tickets, and event venues as part of its live event business. During the five-week trial, the jury heard testimony from Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, Live Nation chief Michael Rapino, and others...
#2 3 Things to Know About Naval Blockades as U.S. Begins Patrols in the Strait of Hormuz - Scott Neuman for npr, xalfeed, Elina Vibes, Lindsey Graham/Fox News/Simba, Pope Leo XIV/PAnonymom, and Jacob/LBC (community note)
Days after the U.S. Navy began blockading the Strait of Hormuz, key questions remain unanswered about how such a large-scale operation can be sustained — and history suggests naval blockades are difficult to enforce and their results are often unpredictable at best. The White House says it wants to choke off Iran's main source of revenue, oil exports, by cutting the country off from global maritime trade. It's a move aimed at increasing economic pressure on Iran after weeks of U.S. strikes have failed to persuade the country's leaders to agree to end the war on Washington's terms...
#3 DNI Tulsi Gabbard Sends Criminal Referral Over Trump’s 2019 Impeachment to Justice Department - CNN, CPT35E, Parallel Polis in Exile, Ben OwenTM, J, and Unfiltered America on X
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent at least one criminal referral to the Justice Department seeking investigations of a whistleblower complaint and its handling by the intelligence community watchdog that led to the 2019 impeachment of President Donald Trump, a spokesperson for Gabbard’s office confirmed Wednesday. To bolster the referral, Gabbard this week released documents that she said exposed a “conspiracy used by Congress to impeach President Trump.” Gabbard’s office said the released documents show the then intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson did not follow policy in the handling of the whistleblower complaint...
#4 US Senate Republicans Back Trump Military Sales to Israel - Patricia Zengerle for Reuters/MSN, bird sender, Anadolu English, Daily Maverick, MOSCOW News, Irfan Ahmad, and War Monitor on X
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked two resolutions that would have stopped the sale of some $450 million in bombs and bulldozers to Israel, as President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans rallied behind his support for the Jewish state. But support for the resolutions from a large majority of the 47-member Senate Democratic caucus underscored growing frustration within that party about the effect on civilians from Israeli strikes on Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. A decades-long tradition of strong bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress means resolutions to stop weapons sales are unlikely to pass, but backers hope raising the issue will encourage Israel's government and U.S. administrations to do more to protect civilians...#5 LA Hotel Leaders Warn Mayor Bass’ $30 Wage Mandate Is Killing Business Ahead of World Cup, Olympics - Joshua Q. Nelson for Fox News, Dolly_World, Lisa Raymond, The Post Millennial, and Global News Report on X
Members of the Los Angeles hotel industry are "sounding alarm bells" as they struggle over a city-mandated minimum wage hike signed into law by Democratic Mayor Karen Bass. Industry leaders warn the policy could lead to a severe shortage of room availability just as the city prepares to take the world stage."We are absolutely sounding alarm bells. If the city doesn't start working with the business community, by 2028, things will be very different in terms of room availability at hotels," Rosanna Maietta, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), told Fox News Digital Wednesday. The timing is critical. Los Angeles will host a string of high-profile global events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium, the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, and the 2028 Summer Olympics...
#6 New Jersey Voters Head to the Polls for a Special Election to Fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s House Seat - Owen Auston-Babcock and Ryan J. Karlin for NBC News, FOX 5 NY, Craig Caplan, Elizabeth Barcohana/VoteHub, JamiethaFounder/Michael Casey, and Evan Troxel on X
Progressive activist Analilia Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway are facing off Thursday in the special election to succeed New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress. Mejia advanced from a crowded primary in February in New Jersey’s 11th District that featured veteran Democrats, including former Rep. Tom Malinowski, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. Hathaway, a Randolph Township councilman, was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Mejia enters the contest in the Democratic-leaning district as the favorite. Former Vice President Kamala Harris carried the 11th District by 9 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election, while Sherrill defeated her Republican congressional opponent by 15 points that year. Sherrill also carried the district by the same margin in her gubernatorial victory last November...#7 Sotomayor Apologizes for Criticizing Kavanaugh Over ICE Arrests, in Rare Public Supreme Court Clash - Joe Walsh for CBS News, Goodness and Mercy, Watching Trending, theoneandonlybigalinthestl, Bella, and Katie Buehler on X
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor apologized Wednesday for publicly criticizing Justice Brett Kavanaugh over a ruling on immigration stops — and seeming to imply that her conservative colleague's views were shaped by an out-of-touch upbringing. "At a recent appearance at the University of Kansas School of Law, I referred to a disagreement with one of my colleagues in a prior case, but I made remarks that were inappropriate," Sotomayor said in a statement issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. "I regret my hurtful comments. I have apologized to my colleague." Sotomayor did not mention Kavanaugh by name. But during last week's event in Kansas, she reportedly offered rare — and personal — criticism of a Supreme Court order in which Kavanaugh was the only member of the majority to lay out his rationale in writing...
#8 Homeland Security Worker and Another Woman Are Killed in a Series of Atlanta-Area Attacks - Sarah Brumfield, R.J. Rico, and Julie Watson Associated Press/WAPT, CNN/Matt Van Swol, Homeland Security, Tomi Lahren/New York Post, and Eric Daugherty on X
A man has been charged in a string of attacks near Atlanta that left two women dead and a man in critical condition, drawing the Trump administration’s attention after one victim was identified as a Department of Homeland Security employee who was walking her dog. The killing of the DHS worker, Lauren Bullis, and shootings of the two other victims on Monday led Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin to issue a statement raising concerns that the 26-year-old defendant, U.K.-native Olaolukitan Adon Abel, was granted U.S. citizenship in 2022, when Joe Biden was president. “These acts of pure evil have devastated our Department, and my prayers are with the families of the victims,” Mullin wrote in a statement posted on social media, cataloging a litany of the defendant's previous alleged crimes but not specifying whether they happened before he was granted citizenship...
#9 JD Vance Suspends 447 Hospices in LA as Part of Anti-Fraud Crackdown - Benjamin Brown for New York Post, Nick Sortor, Andrew Kolvet, Carl DeMaio, and Fox News on X
Licenses for hundreds of suspicious hospice agencies in Los Angeles were suspended by the anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday, just weeks after The California Post exposed a network of physicians appearing to drive tens of millions in questionable billing. 447 hospice facilities and 23 home health agencies suspected of fraud in the LA area had their license suspended, according to Fox News Digital, representing roughly $600 million in fraudulent spending. It’s not clear if the number of suspended agencies is in addition to the 221 hospice providers that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said were suspended back on April 2...
#10 Lauren Boebert Seeks To Cancel Eric Swalwell’s Pension - Kate Plummer for NEWSWEEK, Rep. Lauren Boebert/@Chicago1Ray, Gen. Reality -, GEORGE- USA 1st, Gold Way RE - Real Estate/Val, and Jennifer Lawrence/AZ Night on X
Lauren Boebert is seeking to cancel Eric Swalwell's pension as the fallout from sexual assault allegations made against him continue. Swalwell, a California Democrat, suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday and resigned from Congress on Tuesday after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. In a video posted on X, Boebert, a Colorado Republican, accused Swalwell of abusing power "to assault and victimize women" and said she was "working to find a way to cancel his congressional pension." If legislation is passed to stop former politicians from receiving their pensions it will represent an added layer of accountability by affecting the incomes of those convicted of sexual abuse...
And Now for Something Special 
There are good people in the world...
Chick-fil-A Employee Finds and Returns $10,000 in Bathroom, Tries to Refuse Reward - Joseph Lamour for TODAY
A fast-food worker and good Samaritan made sure a customer was blessed with relief on Easter weekend. On April 3, Jaydon Cintron, a Chick-fil-A worker in Kinston, North Carolina, became a hero to a customer who had misplaced two envelopes containing $9,833 in cash. He found them that morning in the men’s restroom. “They were on the floor next to the toilet. My first thought was just like, ‘Okay, no, this isn’t happening,” Cintron told NBC affiliate WITN on April 7. “Something is wrong.”
