Extra, Extra
Dept of Injustice: Justice Department opens criminal probe involving E. Jean Carroll testimony in Trump sexual abuse lawsuit. A predator is using the power of our justice system to further target one of his sexual assault victims. And not a single person thinks that move will even dent his support among GOP leaders. This kind of ass-kissing will continue apace. Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait. So will the DOJ’s corruption. DOJ Tries to Unmask Reddit and X Users Who Criticized ICE.
+ School Bullies: “Officers in Texas displayed startling belligerence at times, grabbing or tackling students a fraction of their size over misconduct that often appeared to be minor. Children in elementary school, including one as young as 6, were handcuffed. Teenagers were arrested, charged with crimes and even jailed. In the most extreme cases, they wound up in hospitals, bruised or concussed, after being body-slammed or shocked by Tasers, which are prohibited in the state’s juvenile detention facilities but allowed in its public schools.” NYT (Gift Article): Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students.
+ Valuation Inflation: Anthropic Tops OpenAI to Become the World’s Most Valuable A.I. Start-Up. (Its valuation is more than double what it was just 3 months ago. Forget AI, we’re gonna need a bigger calculator…)
+ Graft Craft: Tired: The art of the deal. Wired: The craft of the graft. The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. (I guess this makes up for dad skipping Jr’s wedding…)
+ Free Milli: “Day and Young MC issued statements on social media disputing Wednesday’s announcement from Freedom 250, while Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told The Associated Press that neither she, her sister Linda Rocco nor any of the other group members had been asked to come.” Milli Vanilli and Morris Day say they won’t perform at Trump-linked Freedom 250’s DC shows. They’ve still got Vanilla ICE. Our lineup seems better. Bruce Springsteen calls out the White House and announces a protest festival.
+ Search for Hire Meaning: “Bari Weiss, CBS’s editor in chief, named Nick Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker, as the show’s executive producer. The network also fired two on-air correspondents.” (Editor’s note: Wait, what?)
+ Sinner Can’t Take the Heat: “As the match wore on, Sinner bent over on the clay court in apparent exhaustion multiple times and was hardly even running, resorting to drop shots and serve-and-volley tactics to try to shorten the points.” In a shocker, No. 1 Jannik Sinner falls apart, eliminated from French Open. Novak now has his opening for major win 25. (If you’re not into tennis, there’s still a story of interest here. Heat isn’t even supposed to be a factor at the French Open. This year, players, like many Europeans, are melting in May.)
