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Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal Thursday as a candidate for attorney general illustrates the roadblocks President-elect Donald Trump could face as he attempts to convert his campaign of “retribution” into a governing coalition capable of working within the realities of Washington. In Gaetz, Trump would finally get the loyal attorney general he felt like he never had in his first term. But it was a tough sell from the moment Trump announced Gaetz as his choice eight days ago — in a pick that shocked much of Washington. In the end, it was the “combination of the ethics report and opposition among Senate Republicans,” that doomed Gaetz’s candidacy, a senior Senate aide told NBC News. Before Gaetz’s withdrawal Thursday, Trump allies were pushing hard on GOP senators and other ambitious Republicans to publicly support his embattled Cabinet picks.

Persons: Matt Gaetz’s, Donald Trump, ”, Gaetz, MAGA, Trump, “, Vance, ” Gaetz, Sens, Mitch McConnell of, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins of, Markwayne Mullin, John Curtis of Utah, JD Vance, ” Sen, Mike Rounds, ” Rounds, Pete Hegseth, shouldn’t, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, Matt, they’re Organizations: Republican, The Justice Department, Republicans, NBC News, Trump, Capitol, Gaetz, “, Senate, Fox News, Justice Department Locations: Washington, Florida, Trump, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Oklahoma, Ohio, Hawaii

Grocery inflation just hit its peak after a single banana was sold for $6.2 million on Wednesday. Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun dropped over $6 million on the piece of produce — because it was duct-taped to a wall. The banana is part of a piece of artwork called "Comedian," created by the Italian artist and satirist Maurizio Cattelan. People view Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" on Oct. 25, 2024, in New York City. But the value of the artwork is not in the banana itself — it's derived from the certificate accompanying the purchase.

Persons: Justin Sun, Maurizio Cattelan, Maurizio Cattelan's, John Nacion, Sun, —, Sun's, ’, ” David Galperin Organizations: Getty, CNBC, Associated Press, Art Basel Miami Locations: Italian, New York City, John

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Thursday announced that he would withdraw his name from consideration to be President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general. In a post on TruthSocial, Trump praised Gaetz and said he had been doing "very well" in the confirmation process. "I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. Gaetz has vehemently denied those allegations and the investigation ended with the Justice Department electing not to charge Gaetz. The committee had been looking into the allegations against Gaetz on and off since 2021.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's, Vance, Gaetz, Trump, Matt, “, ”, Joni Ernst, John Cornyn, Ernst, “ I’m, Grassley, ” Ernst, I’m, Cornyn, “ Everything’s, ” Cornyn Organizations: Trump, DOJ, Administration, Justice Department, Capitol, Sens, NBC News Locations: Washington, Gaetz, Iowa, Texas

JonBenét Ramsey's father still clings to hope that his daughter's killer can be caught, saying Thursday he welcomes new pop culture attention on the nearly 28-year-old slaying. "I believe it can be solved if the police accept help from outside their system. Ramsey spoke on "TODAY" along with Joe Berlinger, the director of the upcoming Netflix docuseries “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey,” which comes out next week. While the Ramsey murder case is seared into the minds of Gen X and Baby Boomers, Gen Z and younger Millennials might not be as aware, Berlinger said. But the father said he's met with recently appointed Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn and is confident the department will be open to any assistance from outside Boulder.

Persons: JonBenét, John Ramsey, Ramsey, NBC's, That's, Joe Berlinger, JonBenét Ramsey, Gen, Gen Z, Millennials, Berlinger, there's, he's, Steve Redfearn, JonBenet, ” Redfearn, ” John Ramsey, Patsy Organizations: Netflix, Boomers, Boulder, Boulder Police, NBC News, Boulder Police Department Locations: Boulder , Colorado, ”, Ramsey, Boulder ., Boulder

WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee announced Thursday that Republicans plan to create a subcommittee that would work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on President-elect Donald Trump's recently announced advisory group, the "Department of Government Efficiency." Greene and the Trump team didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The lawmakers have already met and are working with the team, including Ramaswamy, a person familiar with the effort said. "We’re going to work very closely with Elon Musk and Ramaswamy, Comer said during an interview with Fox Business on Thursday. Greene has served on the Oversight Committee since Republicans retook the House majority in 2023.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump's, Marjorie Taylor Greene, James Comer, Greene, didn't, Trump, Musk, Ramaswamy, Comer, We’ve Organizations: Elon, Department of Government, GOP, Rep, Fox News, Trump, Ramaswamy, Fox Business, Wall Street, White, Office of Management, Budget, Republicans Locations: Ky

☆ HBO says 'Harry Potter' series will 'benefit' from J.K. Rowling's involvement
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Two of the biggest Harry Potter fan communities, MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, denounced Rowling’s views and severed ties with the author’s future projects. On Sept. 10, she posted the U.K. open casting call for the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to her 14.2 million followers on X. “Every time we sit down to have a fun conversation about Harry Potter, the conversation becomes angry and depressing, and so we end up not publishing,” she says. “There are so many fans who deeply disagree with what Rowling is saying, but still want to engage in the Harry Potter fandom.”Ironically, while Rowling’s actions have undermined many Potter fans’ dedication to her, they also appear to have strengthened those fans’ solidarity with each other. We can love and enjoy that without the author.”The question now is whether HBO can cast the same spell.

Persons: J.K, Rowling, Harry Potter ”, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Eddie Redmayne —, Harry Potter, Francesca Gardiner, Mark Mylod, ”, Casey Bloys, Harry Potter —, “ J.K, Gardiner, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, “, Potter, She’s, It’s, Melissa Anelli, “ Harry, “ It’s, Maggie Smith, Murray, Kat Miller, MuggleNet, Miller, Radcliffe, “ Potter, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, traumatised detransitioners, rebuking John Oliver —, Lumos, Trump, ” Miller, —, Anelli, Tylor Starr, Starr Organizations: Warner Bros, Discovery, ” HBO, J.K, HBO, Potter Locations: “

Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of an overnight attack, in what would be the first use of such a weapon during the conflict. Ukrainian forces also used British-supplied long-range Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia for the first time on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. Moscow on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for the first time, Kyiv said. But this kind of a strike might have a value as a signal,” said nuclear forces expert Pavel Podvig. Russian forces have seized the momentum in recent months and eked out a succession of territorial gains, particularly on the eastern front lines.

Persons: Dmitry, Lysak, Vladimir Putin's, ”, Pavel Podvig, “, Podvig, Kim Jong, Alexander Bollfrass, ” Bollfrass Organizations: Western, Dnipro, Emergency Service of, Getty, . Institute for Disarmament Research, Kremlin, Strategy, Technology, Institute for Strategic Studies, NBC News, Trump Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Dnipro, Moscow, Ukrainian, Astrakhan, Kryvyi, Emergency Service of Ukraine, AFP, Russia's Kursk, London, China

☆ Australia launches ‘landmark’ bill to ban social media for children under 16
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s center-left government on Thursday introduced a bill in Parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to $32 million for social media platforms for systemic breaches. Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15, but users were able to avoid the ban with parental consent. The law would force social media platforms, and not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure the age-verification protections are in place. “Social media has a social responsibility ... that’s why we are making big changes to hold platforms to account for user safety,” she said.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, ByteDance’s TikTok, Elon Musk’s, Snapchat, Albanese, Michelle Rowland, Rowland, ” Organizations: ”, Liberal Party, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Labor, United Locations: SYDNEY, Australia, France, United States

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to reject three efforts led by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders that would have blocked certain offensive weapons sales to Israel. In a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Sanders argued that the resolutions "would not affect any of the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks," focusing instead on offensive weapons. "As I have said many, many times: Israel had the absolute right to respond to that horrific Hamas attack, as any other country would. I don’t think anybody here in the United States Senate disagrees with that," he said in his floor speech. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive into the dense enclave since the attack, according to health officials in Gaza.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ed Markey, Netanyahu, Martin Heinrich, Tammy Baldwin, “, Catherine Cortez Masto, ” Sen, Jacky Rosen, ”, Joni Ernst, Bill Cassidy, Israel’s Organizations: U.S, United States, Hamas, Democrats, Biden Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, United States, D, Iowa

☆ Brazil ex-President Jair Bolsonaro indicted over alleged knowledge of coup plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Jennifer Hauser | Julia Vargas Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Brazilian authorities have indicted ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accusing him of “full knowledge” of a 2022 plot to kill his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and overturn the results of the presidential election. On Thursday, Brazil’s federal police indicted 37 individuals including Bolsonaro, as part of the investigation into the fallout of the 2022 presidential elections, in which Bolsonaro’s bid for reelection was defeated, CNN Brasil reports. Police reportedly allege that Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of a plan to prevent Lula and his government from taking office after his election victory. Earlier this week, Brazilian police arrested five people, including a former adviser to Bolsonaro, over the alleged plots. In October 2022, Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro, Lula, Lula’s, Geraldo Alckmin, Alexandre de Moraes, Moraes, Mário Fernandes –, Bolsonaro’s, Flavio Bolsonaro, ” Organizations: CNN, CNN Brasil, Police, Supreme, Brazilian Locations: Brasilia

☆ ‘A lot of fear:’ Trump’s deportation proposals are already rattling workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“People are afraid of walking the streets right now; there’s a lot of fear … a lot of fear,” Sanchez said. “Shrinking worker (supply) in a period in which those sectors need more workers and are having a hard time finding workers will clearly generate a slowdown,” Peri said. Although temporary farm visas — known as H-2A — do exist, there is no legal way to have year-round foreign workers. “We know [undocumented immigrants] are working, they’re not sitting at home,” he said. “The slowing in immigration that’s broadly anticipated will probably show up in tighter labor markets for lower-skilled workers,” he said in an interview.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Sam Sanchez, ”, Sanchez, ” Sanchez, Giovanni Peri, Peri, Ron Estrada, “, ” Estrada, farmworkers, Joe Sohm, Farmworker Justice’s Estrada, Carolinians, they’re, “ They’ve, Biden, Trump, Michael Feroli, Julia Pollak, Scott Olson, it’s, Joe Brusuelas, ” Karoline Leavitt, Vance, Joanne Eriaku, Eriaku, she’s Organizations: CNN, Chicago, Coast Hospitality Group, “, Global Migration, University of California, Davis, UCDavis, Migration Center . Business, Biden, Farmworker, North Carolina Growers Association, Congressional, CBO, JPMorgan, Republican National Convention, RSM, Trump, United Nations, UN, Social Locations: America, Mexico, Little, San Francisco, Chicago, ”, Milwaukee, Chicago’s Little, Springfield , Ohio, New York City, Uganda, Eriaku, Kenya, United States

☆ Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are starting a 'Dogecast' podcast to chronicle their government efficiency drive
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are starting a podcast to chronicle DOGE's attempt to cut government spending. Musk and Ramaswamy have been using X to promote their new roles in government efficiency. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are planning on keeping federal workers and the American public up to date on their progress at the Department of Government Efficiency with a new podcast. Elon Musk added on X that the podcast would host guests and previously suggested the live streams would be weekly. Political scientists have questioned whether Musk and Ramaswamy's ideas, which include "deleting" whole government departments and mass layoffs of federal workers, are achievable.

Persons: Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk, Ramaswamy, Tesla, he'd, Donald Trump's, DOGE cryptocurrency, RTO Organizations: Department of, YouTube, Department of Government Locations: American

☆ John Prescott, former UK deputy prime minister, has died, his family says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —John Prescott, a former British deputy prime minister in Tony Blair’s Labour government, has died, his family said on Thursday. Prescott, 86, died following a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family said in a post on X. He served as deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2007. Prescott was one of Blair’s most colourful ministers and was known as a plain-speaking politician who bridged the divide between the traditional left-wing and the modernizers in the Labour Party.

Persons: John Prescott, Tony Blair’s, Alzheimer’s, Prescott Organizations: CNN, Tony Blair’s Labour, Labour Party Locations: British, Prescott

☆ Bluesky CEO: Our platform is 'radically different' from anything else in social media
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBluesky CEO: Our platform is 'radically different' from anything else in social mediaJay Graber, Bluesky CEO, joins CNBC's 'Money Movers' to discuss how Bluesky developed as competitor to X, expectations for growth, and more.

Persons: Jay Graber, Bluesky

☆ How to Use Bluesky If You’re Leaving X
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Hank Sanders | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bluesky, the Twitter-like social media platform that emerged as an alternative for X users who had become frustrated with Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform, is having a second wind. When Mr. Musk bought X — then called Twitter — in October 2022, competitors like Mastodon and Hive Social received a rush of new users. Other competitors came on the scene later, including Threads and Bluesky, and were welcomed with surging sign-up requests. Since the 2024 presidential election, Bluesky has added millions of new users, its chief executive said. Whether you’ve left X for a new home or simply want to understand one of the most downloaded free apps, here is what you need to know about Bluesky.

Persons: Musk, —, Bluesky, you’ve Organizations: Elon, Twitter

☆ Zomato offers a job with a catch – you have to pay to get it
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Esha Mitra | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The post sparked immediate backlash from Indian social media users and inspired several memes and spoofs. “Guys basically he is trying to uplift those who are already uplifted,” one user wrote, referring to Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. Another said, “A job is supposed to help you pay bills and put food on the table. Deepinder Goyal, the CEO of Zomato, in an image dated June 30, 2015. “I hope that ‘pay the company to get a job’ doesn’t become a norm in this world – that’s not cool,” he wrote.

Persons: Deepinder Goyal, “, Goyal, ” Goyal, Ramesh Pathania, Soumya Bhowmick, ”, doesn’t, Zomato Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Hindustan Times, Getty Images, CNN, ” CNN Locations: New Delhi, India

☆ Adani vs. Hindenburg: How one of India's biggest empires descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Gautam Adani, the billionaire chairman of India's Adani Group, was indicted on Wednesday along with seven others in New York federal court for his involvement in a large-scale bribery and fraud scheme. March 2023 to May 2023In March, India's Supreme Court sets up an independent six-member panel to investigate the allegations made in the Hindenburg report. Then in May, the court-appointed panel said it has "drawn a blank" in its probe into Adani group, according to Reuters. December 2023 to January 2024By the end of 2023, Adani Enterprise shares had recovered from the fallout and concluded the year with smaller declines of 26%. Modi has been accused by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for assisting the Adani Group in securing contracts in Sri Lanka, India and Australia.

Persons: Gautam Adani, Hindenburg, Adani, Madhabi Puri, Narendra Modi, Modi, Rahul Gandhi Organizations: Hindenburg Research, India's, Adani, Hindenburg, Adani Enterprises, Reuters, Adani Enterprise, Bloomberg, Indian, Forbes Locations: Krakow, Poland, New York, Asia, Madhabi Puri Buch, Sri Lanka, India, Australia

☆ No one would talk to Sebastian Stan about his Donald Trump movie for 'Actors on Actors': 'They were too afraid'
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementSebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump in "The Apprentice," a movie about his life in the 1970s. Stan said other actors wouldn't discuss Trump, and the film, with him for Variety's "Actors on Actors." You won't see Sebastian Stan doing an "Actors on Actors" interview about his new Donald Trump movie "The Apprentice," because, according to the actor, no one would talk to him about it. "We couldn't get past the publicists or the people representing them, because it was too afraid to talk about this movie." "We invited him to participate in 'Actors on Actors,' the biggest franchise of awards season, but other actors didn't want to pair with him because they didn't want to talk about Donald Trump," Setoodeh said.

Persons: Sebastian Stan, Donald Trump, Stan, wouldn't, Trump, Ali Abbasi, Roy Cohn, Jeremy Strong, Trump's, Ivana, Maria Bakalova, It's, Abbasi, Gabriel Sherman, Ramin Setoodeh, IndieWire, didn't, Setoodeh, Sherman, Tuesday's, we're Organizations: Trump, Cannes, Penske Media Corporation, Cannes Film, Briarcliff Entertainment Locations: States

☆ Elon Musk just reignited his feud with Jeff Bezos
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementElon Musk reignited his long-running feud with Jeff Bezos in a X post on Thursday. Musk said Bezos told people that Trump would lose and they should sell their Tesla and SpaceX stock. Elon Musk has taken aim at Jeff Bezos once more, reigniting the war of words between the world's two richest people. In a X post on Thursday, Musk said that Bezos had told people to dump their shares in his companies because Donald Trump was bound to lose the presidential election. This message about Bezos is a way to give himself an excuse to legitimately do so, by saying that 'Bezos started it.'"

Persons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Musk, Bezos, Trump, Donald Trump, ince, ould, ake Organizations: SpaceX Locations: lon, usk, ehicles,

☆ Delhi's 15 times higher than safe toxic smog levels is disrupting lives, says consulting CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Hannah Abraham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementNew Delhi reported severe levels of air pollution this week. Titus Koshy, CEO of United Consultancy Services Group, told BI his employees struggle to commute. Air pollution in India's capital, New Delhi, has become so severe that some people are struggling to commute to work. Titus Koshy, CEO of United Consultancy Services Group which has more than 150 employees, told Business Insider that the toxic smog engulfing the city had made it difficult for his staff to come into the office. AdvertisementA 2019 study by the World Bank estimated the global cost of health damages associated with exposure to air pollution to be $8.1 trillion.

Persons: Smog, Titus Koshy, Koshy, JP Morgan, Shubham Gupta Organizations: United Consultancy Services, BBC, World Health Organization, WHO, United, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Delhi's, KPMG, Cisco, Mondelēz, World Bank Locations: Delhi, New Delhi, United States, KPMG India, NCR

☆ The Miss Universe CEO said crowning a winner with 'blonde hair and blue eyes' is the 'ultimate evolution' for the pageant
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Anneta Konstantinides | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But when a reporter asked Jakrajutatip about the evolution of the Miss Universe pageant, she fixated on Theilvig's looks. Hector Vivas/Getty ImagesJakrajutatip was in the audience at Miss Universe 2018 when Angela Ponce became the first transgender woman to compete. A month after the video was recorded, the 72nd Miss Universe pageant was held. AdvertisementMiss Universe's identity crisisThere have been subtle shifts in the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants since Jakrajutatip took over the organization. Theilvig shares many similarities with every past Miss Universe winner: She is cisgender, under 29, unmarried, without children, and not plus-sized.

Persons: Anne Jakrajutatip, Victoria Kjaer, Jakrajutatip, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, Theilvig, Kjaer Theilvig, Hector Vivas, Angela Ponce, Donald Trump, Josh Brasted, vitiligo, Osmel Sousa —, Raul Rocha —, —, Donald Trump Jr, Elon Musk, Trump, Rocha, Sousa, Musk, Barbies, CARL DE SOUZA, Alyssa Klinzing, I'm, Klinzing Organizations: Miss, Miss Universe, Miss USA —, BI, Miss USA, 72nd Miss, New York Times, WE, Trump Jr, USA, AFP, Miss Kansas Teen USA, Miss Kansas USA, Miss Houston USA Locations: Denmark, Nicaragua, India, South Africa

☆ Box CEO Aaron Levie, who voted for Kamala Harris, explains why more Democrats should embrace Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementBox CEO Aaron Levie said Democrats should embrace Elon Musk. Levie, who supported Kamala Harris, said he thinks Musk is uniquely qualified to support innovation. In an interview with Business Insider, Levie explained why he thinks Democrats should make an effort to embrace Musk, and how he thinks it would benefit American innovation. Levie supported Vice President Kamala Harris for president, donating to her campaign as well as President Joe Biden's before he dropped out of the race. He said he thinks Musk would be uniquely able to identify things that get in the way of progress in those areas.

Persons: Aaron Levie, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris, Levie, Joe Biden's, didn't, Donald Trump, Musk, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Biden, Tesla, EVs, he'd, Sen, Chris Coons, " Coons, Coons, Pete Buttigieg, Helene, Buttigieg, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Musk's Organizations: Democratic, Business, Democratic Party, Republicans, SpaceX, Twitter, White, Ford, GM, Tesla, EVs, Republican, Fox, Department of Government Efficiency, Transportation, Elon, Politico, Department of Government, Department of Defense Locations: Delaware

☆ Bluesky CEO Jay Graber says X rival is 'billionaire proof'
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But CEO Jay Graber has some cautionary words for potential acquirers: Bluesky is "billionaire proof." Graber was referring to the way millions of users left Twitter, now X, after Elon Musk purchased the company in 2022. Bluesky now has over of 21 million users, still dwarfed by X and Threads, which Facebook's parent debuted in July 2023. Threads has roughly 275 million monthly users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in October. Although Musk said in May that X has 600 million monthly users, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates 318 million monthly users as of October.

Persons: Bluesky, Elon Musk's, Jay Graber, CNBC's, Graber, Elon Musk, Meta didn't, Mark Zuckerberg, Musk, Jack Dorsey's, Dorsey, Jack, we're, we've, that's, Nobody's, algorithmically, We're, That's, Trump Organizations: Twitter, Elon, Meta, Blockchain Capital Locations: Brazil

☆ Trump AG pick Matt Gaetz says he's withdrawing
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Matt Gaetz said Thursday he is withdrawing his name from consideration as President-elect Donald Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general, ending the controversial bid that put prior allegations of sexual misconduct in the spotlight. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many," Gaetz said in a statement posted on his X account. "There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I'll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General," he said. The Department of Justice's investigation into whether Gatez sex-trafficked a minor girl ended last year without charges being filed. The House committee, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, on Wednesday deadlocked on a vote to release a report on its probe of Gaetz.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump's, Gaetz, Vance, CNN's Paula Reid, Susan Wild of, reconvene, Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Leavitt Organizations: U.S, Trump, Republican, The, Republicans, Democrats, Gaetz, Truth, Administration, Department of Justice, CNBC, Yildirim Locations: Washington ,, Florida, Washington, Susan Wild of Pennsylvania

☆ Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Exchange Posts About Trump on X
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A few months ago, a three-post exchange between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on Mr. Musk’s X would have passed for petty sniping between billionaire rivals. “Just learned tonight at Mar-a-Lago that Jeff Bezos was telling everyone that @realDonaldTrump would lose for sure, so they should sell all their Tesla and SpaceX stock,” Mr. Musk wrote Wednesday night, referring to two of his companies. 100% not true,” Mr. Bezos responded on Thursday morning. “Well, then, I stand corrected,” Mr. Musk wrote back, with a laughing-crying emoji. With President-elect Donald J. Trump's history of animosity toward Mr. Bezos, the posts carried an unspoken message about Mr. Musk’s growing power within the incoming administration.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Musk’s, “, Mr, Musk, Nope, Bezos, Donald J Organizations: SpaceX

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