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Elon Musk's Twitter takeover

Laura L. Davis   | Paste BN

It looks like Elon Musk will buy Twitter after all. Judge finds Donald Trump in contempt in New York legal fight. And a "plane swap" stunt went wrong in the skies over Arizona.

👋 Heyo! It's Laura, it's Monday, and I've got a whole lot of news for you.

But first, waddle on over and check this out. 🐧 Celebrated annually on April 25, World Penguin Day recognizes one of the most interesting birds on the planet. Take a look at these penguins across the globe.

The Short List is a snappy Paste BN news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.

🚨 Read this: Marlin Dixon went to prison as a teen, locked up for a killing that made national headlines and stunned his city of Milwaukee. Since his release at 32, he said he’s already achieved things he dreamed about: getting his own living space, finding a good job and separating himself from violence. "I've been through the fire. Now people need to see my value." 

It's official: Elon Musk is set to buy Twitter

The social media giant confirmed Monday that Musk, Tesla's CEO and a billionaire, will acquire the company in a deal worth $44 billion. Once the deal is complete, which is expected this year, Twitter will become a privately held company. Shares of Twitter rose more than 5% in afternoon trading Monday. Musk has criticized how strictly Twitter moderates content on its platform. “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?" he tweeted this month. Despite its cultural influence and with 416 million weekly users as of April 16, the platform has lagged social media rivals including the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. 

Texas appeals court issues stay of execution for Melissa Lucio

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday issued a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio, on death row for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter in 2007. Lucio, 53, was scheduled to be executed Wednesday. The court ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider the new evidence presented by Lucio's legal team and issued a stay "pending resolution of the remanded claims" in her habeas application. Lucio was convicted in 2008 for the murder of her daughter Mariah, who prosecutors said suffered physical abuse leading to her death. But Lucio's legal team has claimed new evidence shows the toddler's death was an accident caused by an undiagnosed injury sustained after falling down the stairs two days before.

What everyone's talking about

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Trump found in contempt of court

A New York judge found former President Donald Trump in contempt of court Monday for failing to adequately respond to a subpoena issued by the state's attorney general as part of a civil investigation into his business dealings. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay a fine of $10,000 per day. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, had asked the court to hold Trump in contempt after he missed a March 31 court-imposed deadline to turn over documents. James has been conducting a lengthy investigation into the Trump Organization, the former president's family company, centering on what she has claimed is a pattern of misleading banks and tax authorities about the value of his properties. Trump, a Republican, has been fighting James in court over the investigation, which he has called a politically motivated "witch hunt."

Top US officials pledge more aid for Ukraine

The Biden administration upped its financial pledge and nominated a new ambassador for Ukraine following a quasi-clandestine meeting in Kyiv between two top U.S. Cabinet officials – Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken and Austin told Zelenskyy and his advisers that the United States would provide an additional $300 million in foreign military financing and had approved a $165 million sale of ammunition. On Monday, President Joe Biden announced he would appoint Bridget Brink as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, filling a position that has been vacant for three years. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first U.S. ambassador to Ukraine since Donald Trump removed Marie Yovanovitch from the post in 2019.

👉 More news: Sweden, Finland reportedly to apply to NATO; Britain estimates that 15,000 Russians have been killed. Monday's updates.

Real quick

Plane swap gone wrong

Aviation history will have to wait – but disaster was avoided. Two cousins, Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, were unsuccessful in completing the first "plane swap" Sunday night in the skies over Arizona when one plane spiraled out of control as the two pilots were thousands of feet in the air. Both pilots were safe with no reported injuries, according to Red Bull, which sponsored the event. With the airbrake system engaged on both planes, the two men jumped out at 12,100 feet. Aikins was able to successfully get into the other plane, but Farrington was unable to, and was forced to deploy his parachute before landing safely on the ground. The plane spiraled out of control, deploying its own parachute before touching down. The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that the agency would investigate.

A break from the news

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