Extra, Extra
Tech Exec Killed: “Bob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square, was identified as the 43-year-old man stabbed to death in Downtown San Francisco early Tuesday morning. The news was confirmed by MobileCoin, the crypto company where Lee served as chief product officer.” Lee also developed the popular Cash app. This is a terrible story. It could also turn into a loud political story, as the killing is sparking rage at ‘lawless’ city of SF. (There’s no doubt that San Francisco is in rough shape these days. But to keep things in perspective, “there were 12 homicides in San Francisco this year as of April 2, compared to 10 in the same year-to-date period in 2022.”)
+ Gee Wis: In an election that has ramifications for abortion laws, gerrymandering, and the next presidential election, “Democrats have scored a major off-year election victory in Wisconsin, winning the state’s open supreme court seat and flipping control of the court to liberals for the first time in 15 years.” In Chicago, Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected as Chicago’s next mayor .
+ UN-cool “Russia’s U.N. ambassador on Monday dismissed U.S. and European Union descriptions of its presidency of the Security Council this month as an April Fool’s joke.” Russia rejects US claims its UN council presidency is a joke. (It’s worse than a joke.)
+ Electoral College: “Led by the Washington-based conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation, the groups have created an incubator of policies that would restrict access to the ballot box and amplify false claims that fraud is rampant in American elections.” Dark money groups push election denialism on US state officials. (The virus has mutated and moved way beyond Trump.)
+ Dating Scam: “The arrest in Nguyen’s case was a rare form of justice for the victims of a proliferating scam being used around the world, particularly in Latin America. Men are lured to meet women via dating apps, and then drugged for days at a time as their bank accounts are drained.” An American Met a Woman on Tinder in Colombia. Now She’s Accused of His Murder.
+ I Can’t Quit You: “Journalists are put off by Musk’s antics, and dunk on him daily. But those same journalists — along with a bunch of people Musk arbitrarily suspended, fired, or laid off — continue to tweet just the same, propping up the service with their quips and sports tweets and food photos just as they always have.” Casey Newton: Why journalists can’t quit Twitter. (I’m a recovering Twitter addict. I miss it. Journalists don’t get off Twitter because they’re addicted to the dopamine. There is no higher calling or deeper meaning. It’s the juice. The juice pulled them in. The juice keeps them there. Hell, the juice is why Elon Musk can’t stop tweeting all day even though he has like 20 jobs.)