Month: April 2022

The board of social media platform Twitter announced on Monday it has accepted a $44 billion offer from SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk to purchase the company and make it private. The company said that under the terms of the deal, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash per share, representing a 38% premium to its April 1 stock price — the last trading day before Musk disclosed his about 9% stake in Twitter.

The announcement came after reports that Musk would move ahead with his bid to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company he didn’t already own.  Musk said in a statement: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square, where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

Board Chairman Bret Taylor said, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

The 50-year-old Musk has said that Twitter is not living up to its potential as a communications giant, and has long been highly critical of the social platform.  Musk said that under his ownership, Twitter would reach “extraordinary potential” as a private company.   However, critics note that Musk has shown a pattern of not tolerating criticism and using Twitter to publicly mock people. Some fear that that the platform under Musk may institute a hands-off policy on content meant to stir up social unrest, after the billionaire decried the platform’s decisions to bar some offensive posts as censorship.

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On Monday, Texas’ highest criminal court delayed the execution of death row inmate Melissa Lucio, who was set to die Wednesday.  The decision from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals means a lower court can now review Lucio’s claims that she is innocent and that her execution should be stopped, based on new evidence that would clear her in the death of her 2-year-old daughter.

Lucio, the only Latina on Texas’s death row, was sentenced to death 14 years ago in a capital murder case involving her daughter, Mariah. During her trial, prosecutors argued that Lucio physically abused the toddler, and that Mariah had bruises on her body, signs of a head injury, and an untreated broken arm when she died in February 2007.  Lucio’s legal team denied those claims and argued that prosecutors built their case around false medical evidence and a coerced confession from Lucio, following an hours-long interrogation with Texas Rangers. The defense argued that Lucio was sleep-deprived and pregnant with twins, and asserted her innocence more than 100 times, but was ignored.

Lucio’s lawyers have also said that she was susceptible to falsely claiming responsibility for the death because of her past experiences with physical abuse and sexual assault.  According to those supporting Lucio and her lawyers, Mariah’s death was accidental and she died after falling down a flight of outdoor stairs as the family was preparing to move to a new apartment. They said Mariah had a mild disability that caused her feet to be turned in and that the child was prone to falling. On the day of the incident, Mariah was crying but did not seem to be seriously injured; however, the girl died two days later.

After the high court issued the stay of execution, Lucio said in a statement shared by her legal team: “I thank God for my life. I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always. I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren.”

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Authorities confirmed that at least four people died in a house fire in Philadelphia early Sunday morning. The Philadelphia Fire Department said three children were among those pronounced dead after both floors of a two-story rowhome in the neighborhood of Kensington caught fire at around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said in a news conference on Sunday afternoon that 38-year-old woman jumped out of a window to escape the blaze and was taken to a hospital to be treated for burns.  The fire was placed under control at 2:28 a.m.  Officials said the house did not have working smoke detectors and encouraged those without working smoke detectors to call 311 to have the department install them.

The Philadelphia fire department tweeted: “Despite a strong response by the PFD it has been a devastating morning in Kensington. Please keep the community and our members in your thoughts. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the medical examiner’s office will work to determine the causes of death.”

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A South Carolina police officer was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance early Sunday morning. Cayce, SC Police Chief Chris Cowan said in a press conference Sunday that police officer Roy Andrew Barr, 28, was killed while responding to a domestic disturbance in the city at around 2:48 a.m. after the suspect opened fire.  The suspect later killed himself.

Barr joined the Cayce Police Department in 2016 and was promoted to the K-9 division in 2020. He worked with a dog named, Molly, that performs tracking and narcotics functions.  Police Chief Cowan said:  “He loved his dog, Molly, and he loved his job. He loved being a K-9 officer, and he was good at it.” 

Cayce Mayor Elise Partin said in a news conference: “Our hearts are breaking in Cayce. Officer Drew Barr has been an important part of the Cayce family since 2016. All of our Cayce officers, our Cayce team and our Cayce citizens mourn with Officer Barr’s family.”  

Police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Austin Henderson; Police Chief Cowan said Henderson killed himself after a seven-hour negotiation and the coroner’s office confirmed the cause of death.

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