Connect with us

Published

on

close video Why has the removal of Twitter’s blue checks caused such a controversy?: Gary Hoffmann

‘Kennedy’ panelists Robby Soave, Gary Hoffmann and Scott Levenson discuss Twitter’s decision to add blue checks to the accounts of dead celebrities.

Jack Dorsey gave his unfiltered perspective on Elon Musk’s purchase and leadership of Twitter this weekend while speaking with users of Bluesky, a Twitter alternative the billionaire is backing. 

"No," Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, answered a Bluesky user on Friday who asked if he thought Musk was the best leader for the platform, Bloomberg reported. "Nor do I think he acted right after realizing his timing [of the purchase] was bad. Nor do I think the board should have forced the sale. It all went south."

Musk finalized his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion last October, following a protracted legal battle in which he tried to get out of the sale. After the purchase, the SpaceX CEO began laying off thousands of employees, claiming the company was losing $4 million a day. 

He also controversially began charging Twitter users $8 a month in April to receive a "blue check," ending the platform’s previous verification system. 

TWITTER TO TAKE 10% CUT ON CONTENT SUBSCRIPTIONS AFTER 12 MONTHS 

Jack Dorsey had previously supported Elon Musk buying Twitter. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

"Payment as proof of human is a trap and I’m not aligned with that at all," Dorsey added on the invitation-only platform. "The payment systems being used for that proof exclude millions if not billions of people."

Official agencies and some notable users with a large number of followers have maintained their blue checkmarks or have been given gray ones that signify a government agency or official.

Dorsey had previously been friendly with Musk and a year ago he tweeted, "Elon is the singular solution I trust" regarding the platform. "I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness." 

TWITTER'S WILD RIDE UNDER ELON MUSK – 1 YEAR LATER 

Amid the November layoffs, Dorsey apologized for growing the company "too quickly."

"Folks at Twitter past and present are strong and resilient," he wrote on Nov. 5. "They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment. I realize many are angry with me. I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that." 

But on Friday, Dorsey said to Bluesky users that Twitter "would have never survived as a public company." 

Twitter CEO Elon Musk speaks at the “Twitter 2.0: From Conversations to Partnerships,” marketing conference in Miami Beach, Florida, on April 18, 2023. ((Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Would you rather have had it owned by hedge funds and Wall Street activists? That was the only alternative," he argued. 

Fox Business has reached out to Twitter for comment. 

Continue Reading

World

At least 34 dead in Ukrainian city of Sumy after Russian missile strikes

Published

on

By

At least 34 dead in Ukrainian city of Sumy after Russian missile strikes

At least 34 people – including two children – have been killed after a Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian city.

The country’s state emergency service said another 117 people have been injured, with 15 children among them, in the northeastern city of Sumy.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry later added that one of the children injured was a baby girl born this year, saying “even newborns are targets for Russia’s crimes”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also shared videos on Telegram of the aftermath of the attack on social media, showing dead bodies in the middle of a city street near a destroyed bus.

As it happened: Russian attack is ‘signal’ to US and Ukraine

Firefighters work on site of missile strike in Sumy. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Image:
Two children were killed in the strike. Pic: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Russia ‘dragging out this war’ – Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian president said on social media “only scoundrels can act like this” and that “tough reaction from the world is needed”.

Russia wants exactly this kind of terror and is dragging out this war,” he added. “Without pressure on the aggressor, peace is impossible.

“Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and air bombs. We need the kind of attitude towards Russia that a terrorist deserves.”

Andriy Kovalenko, a security official who runs Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, noted the strike came after a visit to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From Saturday: Putin meets Trump envoy for talks

US official: ‘This is wrong’

Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump‘s envoy for the Ukraine war, said the attack crosses “any line of decency” and that “there are scores of civilian dead and wounded”.

He added: “As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war.”

In response to Mr Kellogg, Mr Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvynm asked: “Don’t you think it’s time to smack the Moscow mule across the nose with a 2X4?”.

Later, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the strike was “horrifying” and a “tragic reminder of why President Trump and his Administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace”.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy added he was “horrified” by Russia’s “barbaric strike” on Sumy, and called for an “immediate ceasefire”.

Meanwhile, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “cruelty struck again” and called the strike a “blatant violation of international law”.

It came hours before a separate Russian strike killed three people in the central district of the southern city of Kherson.

Read more:
Why Putin seems to be raising the stakes
2025 ‘critical year’ for Ukraine, warns minister

The local governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said a 68-year-old woman was injured and died in hospital and that a 48-year-old man also died after “the occupiers dropped an explosive device from a drone”.

A 62-year-old woman was also killed “as a result of the shelling”.

On Saturday, a Russian guided bomb hit a house in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk on Saturday, injuring four people.

Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that three others could be trapped under rubble.

It comes after Russian diplomats accused each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure.

“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said, adding that Moscow would provide a list of Kyiv’s attacks from the past three weeks.

Andrii Sybiha, his Ukrainian counterpart, dismissed the claim saying on Saturday that Russia launched “almost 70 missiles, over 2,200 [exploding] drones, and over 6,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians” since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.

Continue Reading

UK

McIlroy wins Masters to complete career Grand Slam – follow latest reaction

Published

on

By

Continue Reading

UK

Rory McIlroy claims career Grand Slam with US Masters win

Published

on

By

Rory McIlroy claims career Grand Slam with US Masters win

Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.

The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.

McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after winning in a playoff against Justin Rose after the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Image:
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after winning in a playoff against Justin Rose after the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Image:
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP

“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.

“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”

McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.

Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

More on Golf

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.

The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.

How did McIlroy get to the victory?

McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.

The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.

The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.

Continue Reading

Trending