The Full Belmonte, 3/8/2023
Texas women say state ban put their lives at risk
“Five women are suing Texas over its near-total abortion ban, saying they were denied abortion care despite having complications that put their lives and fetuses at risk. The lawsuit is seeking clarity on when doctors can act — and not fear prosecution.
Four of the plaintiffs spoke at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday about their experiences with being denied abortions and left suffering life-threatening complications.
•Amanda Zurawski's story: After being diagnosed with cervical insufficiency and preterm pre-labor rupture of membranes, doctors told plaintiff Zurawski and her husband the loss of their baby was inevitable and her life was in danger, but doctors were unable to provide an abortion due to the state’s restrictions.
•Anna Zargarian, another plaintiff, was 19 weeks pregnant when she had to rush to the emergency room after her water broke prematurely. Due to Texas’ abortion laws, the doctors said they wouldn't be able to offer her the recommended care, termination. In Texas, her choice was to wait to deliver her baby naturally or develop a life-threatening condition. She decided to fly to Colorado to receive an abortion.
•'Defend and enforce the laws': In response to the lawsuit, supporters of the state’s abortion bans argued the laws do allow for interventions to save the life of the mother.
Anna Zargarian, one of five plaintiffs in Zurawski v. State of Texas, speaks in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, March 7, 2023 as the Center for Reproductive Rights and the plaintiffs announced their lawsuit, which asks for clarity in Texas law as to when abortions can be provided under the "medical emergency" exception in S.B. 8. SARA DIGGINS/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Two kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico
“The two surviving Americans in a group of four violently abducted last week in Mexico returned to the U.S. Tuesday, one of them with a non-life-threatening wound. Mexican authorities said the two other members of the group traveling for cosmetic surgery were killed Friday after getting caught in a drug cartel shootout in the border city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state, just south of Brownsville, Texas. Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said the Americans, traveling in a white minivan, had crossed the border only 2 1/2 hours before the shooting occurred. A 33-year-old woman not linked to the group was killed by a stray bullet, he said.” Read more at USA Today
Mexican army soldiers search for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, March 6, 2023. AP
Recent storms have dropped more than 100 inches of snow in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California.
Floods
“As many parts of California attempt to recover from colossal amounts of snow that trapped mountain communities, more than 16 million people are now under flood watches ahead of a storm set to drench the state Thursday with dangerous amounts of rain. The places that will be impacted -- mostly across central and Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento -- have already been dealt layers of snow from the previous brutal storms. In response to the ominous forecast, many residents in the region have been urged to prepare at least two weeks of essentials ahead of the likely flooding. The impending atmospheric river event won't be the first this year to lash California. Late last year and into the new year, multiple rounds of heavy rains from atmospheric rivers soaked entire neighborhoods and unleashed mudslides that killed at least 18 people.” [CNN]
Marijuana
“Voters in Oklahoma will reject a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana in the state for adults ages 21 and older, CNN projects. The measure in Tuesday's special election would have allowed for possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana and the growth of up to six marijuana plants. If it had passed, there would also have been a 15% tax on sales of recreational marijuana in the state. Supporters of the measure argued it would bring in new tax revenue, but critics said it would negatively impact communities. It was one of several ballot measures on cannabis use that has been considered by voters in recent months. Similar measures in November failed in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota, while voters in Maryland and Missouri passed measures for recreational cannabis use.” [CNN]
TikTok
“A dozen senators unveiled bipartisan legislation Tuesday expanding President Joe Biden's legal authority to ban TikTok nationwide, marking the latest in a string of congressional proposals threatening the social media platform's future in the country. The legislation specifically aims to give the government new powers, up to and including a ban, against foreign-linked producers of electronics or software that the Commerce Department deems to be a national security risk. The proposed law takes a wide-ranging approach to fears that companies with ties to China could be pressured by that country's government into handing over Americans' data. The legislation has ‘sparked a lot of interest’ from other senators beyond the 12 co-sponsors and among some members of the House in both parties, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said.” [CNN]
'You ain't seen nothing yet': DeSantis opens Florida's 2023 legislative session
“In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s legislative opening, Republican leaders in Florida have been dutifully teeing up much of the legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought, including new limits on civil lawsuits and outright bans on socially conscious investing by governments, and diversity programs at colleges and universities. And DeSantis' State of the State address Tuesday to a packed crowd of lawmakers was structured to echo far beyond the state Capitol, in advance of his expected bid for the Republican presidential nomination. ‘I can promise you this, you ain’t seen nothing yet,’ the governor concluded.” Read more at USA Today
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida.
Phil Sears, AP
Fed chair testifies before Senate on inflation, speeding up rate hikes
“Citing a recent surge in job growth and inflation, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress Tuesday the central bank will likely raise its key interest rate higher than anticipated and could resume larger hikes after slowing the pace in recent months. ‘If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes,’ Powell told lawmakers. Although Powell has acknowledged the strategy could trigger a recession, he has said a bigger risk is inflation that becomes entrenched because households and businesses expect it to persist.” Read more at USA Today
Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday, March 7, 2023. AP
Why Congress is fighting about a D.C. criminal code
“A rare Senate vote Wednesday to block Washington, D.C., criminal code reform is a political fight dressed up as a policy debate. Democrats and Republicans alike are using the moment to appear tough on crime or defend the autonomy of city residents and renew a progressive push for statehood in the nation's capital. D.C.'s revision is the first in a century and lowers or eliminates some penalties. It lowers the maximum jail time for carjacking and robberies. It eliminates most mandatory minimum sentences and expands jury trials for misdemeanors.” Read more at USA Today
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting on reducing gun violence, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, July 12, 2021, in Washington. Evan Vucci, AP
Republicans slam Fox News' Tucker Carlson over Capitol riot clips
Image caption,
Republicans pushed back on claims made by Fox News host Tucker Carlson
By Mike Wendling
BBC News
“Senate Republicans and Capitol police have criticised Fox News after one of its hosts aired previously unseen clips of the riot two years ago at Congress, and played down the violent disorder.
Host Tucker Carlson showed the video on Monday night, arguing it ‘does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress’, but rather ‘mostly peaceful chaos’.
A top congressional Republican gave Mr Carlson exclusive access to the video.
But some Republicans say the Fox host mischaracterised the raid on Congress.
The top-rated host on Fox News, a conservative network, has long insisted that other media outlets exaggerated violence at the Capitol on 6 January 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the complex as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election.
He has also suggested without evidence that government agents could have instigated the riot.
In the roughly 45-minute segment, Mr Carlson said the video showed that while a minority of protesters did commit violence, most were ‘sightseers’.
His show on Tuesday night included an interview with Tarik Johnson, a former Capitol Police officer who said he donned a pro-Trump red hat during the riot in order to help fellow officers escape the melee.
Mr Carlson questioned why intelligence about possible violence that day wasn't relayed to rank-and-file officers, but he did not broadcast much new video from the riot.
Criticism of Monday's segment came from Democrats as well as top Republicans in Washington, the head of the Capitol police, and the family of a police officer whose death was mentioned by Mr Carlson in the show.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday it had been a ‘mistake for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks’ about the riot.
Mr McConnell pointed to an internal memo by Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, whose agency is responsible for protecting the buildings where the lawmakers meet.
Image caption,
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell shows reporters a copy of the memo
In that memo, Mr Manger says the primetime Monday broadcast was ‘filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack’.
‘The programme conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video,’ he wrote.
‘The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments.’
During Monday's programme, the Fox host showed footage of the ‘QAnon Shaman’ - a man named Jacob Chansley and also known as Jake Angeli - wandering around the Capitol building trailed by police officers who show no signs, at least in the clips broadcast, of attempting to stop or arrest him.
Chansley, who was bare-chested and wearing a headdress made of fur and horns that day, became one of the most recognisable figures from the Capitol riot.
He pleaded guilty in September 2021 to obstructing an official proceeding and is currently serving a 41-month prison sentence.
Mr Carlson said the videos - which have not been viewed by the BBC or any other media organisation in full - showed that police had acted as Chansley's ‘tour guide’.
This version of events was rejected by Mr Manger, who called the allegation ‘outrageous and false’.
‘Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building,’ he wrote.
The justice department says about 140 police officers were assaulted that day.
Around 1,000 people have been arrested so far in connection with the riot, most of them charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building, according to justice department figures.
More than 300 have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including more than 100 who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.
Mr Carlson also focused on Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who collapsed after returning to his office during the siege and died the next day.
Fox News showed footage of Mr Sicknick continuing to perform his duties inside the Capitol after being pepper-sprayed.
‘Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not to do with the violence he suffered outside the Capitol,’ Mr Carlson said.
In April 2021, a medical examiner found that Mr Sicknick had died of natural causes from a medical condition not brought on by an injury.
On Tuesday Mr Sicknick's family issued a statement saying they were ‘outraged’ at the coverage and lambasted the network as ‘propaganda’.” [BBC]
Fox documents: ‘The whole thing seems insane’
Screenshot: Fox News last night (Go deeper)
“Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott that hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham maybe ‘went too far’ in pushing former President Trump's election-fraud claims, according to court documents made public yesterday.
Murdoch told Scott in a Jan. 21, 2020, email: ‘Still getting mud thrown at us! … Maybe Sean and Laura went too far. All very well for Sean to tell you he was in despair about Trump but what did he tell his viewers?’
Tucker Carlson said in a text message two days before the Capitol riot, according to the filings: ‘We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait ... I hate him passionately.’
Carlson wrote about voting-machine conspiracy theories (via N.Y. Times): ‘The whole thing seems insane to me.’
Fox News, in a statement yesterday, accused Dominion Voting Systems, the plaintiff in the case, of a ‘PR campaign to smear FOX News and trample on free speech and freedom of the press. We already know they will say and do anything to try to win this case, but to twist and even misattribute quotes to the highest levels of our company is truly beyond the pale.’
Takeaways from the latest filing.” [Axios]
Biden in hot water with Dem lawmakers
President Biden waves from The Beast as he heads back to the White House from Capitol Hill after attending last week's Senate Democratic luncheon. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
“First it was crime, now immigration: For the second time in as many weeks, President Biden has inflamed fellow Democrats, who are questioning his tactics and strategy, Axios' Hans Nichols and Andrew Solender report.
Why it matters: Cracks in Biden's coalition are emerging as vulnerable Democrats chart their paths to re-election — and the White House focuses on crime and immigration, sensitive issues that Republicans can't wait to run on.
In the latest flare-up, the administration is considering whether to revive detentions of migrant families who enter the U.S. illegally.
That has enraged some Democratic lawmakers, who yesterday called on Biden not to resume the detentions that many had blasted as inhumane when then-President Trump imposed them.
The flap over possible border detentions came a week after Biden decided to support a Republican resolution blocking a controversial D.C. crime law that many vulnerable House Democrats had voted for.
Some Democrats cast Biden's moves as a betrayal — and several were incensed that in both cases, they didn't get advance word of the White House's thinking before it became public.
‘The lack of communication on immigration-related policy decisions is an insult,’ Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is deeply involved in immigration policy, told Axios.
‘It would be like making civil rights legislative ideas and thoughts without checking with the Congressional Black Caucus.’
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas held a call with House Democrats yesterday to try to smooth things over, several members on the call said. But Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-Ill.) said afterward: ‘We haven't resolved anything.’
Between the lines: The White House is adjusting to a new internal regime, with Jeff Zients serving as chief of staff instead of Ron Klain, who often made himself available to progressive lawmakers.” [Axios]
March 8, 2023
Staff Writer, NYT Magazine
Good morning. Since Roe v. Wade ended, the battle over legal abortion has largely shifted to access to pills.
Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
Becoming mainstream
“Since the end of Roe v. Wade last June, access to abortion pills has muted some of the effect of the severe restrictions on abortion that 14 states have imposed. Abortion opponents have responded by trying to reduce access to those pills. The resulting struggle has become the main battle to watch in the post-Roe landscape.
Today’s newsletter examines the latest developments — including a court ruling expected soon — and explains what’s likely to happen next.
How pill access grew
The most effective and safest method of medication abortion requires two drugs. The first, mifepristone, ends the pregnancy. The second, misoprostol, causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus, like a miscarriage. In approving this regimen in 2000, the F.D.A. imposed restrictions on mifepristone because of questions then about its safety. Among other rules, patients had to visit a clinic, doctor’s office or hospital to receive the medication.
In 2021, during the pandemic and after President Biden took office, the F.D.A. lifted the in-person requirement. The shift opened a new avenue for telemedicine abortions. In about 30 states, women could legally end their pregnancies at home, with pills prescribed through an online consultation and mailed to them. If they had questions, they could call a private national hotline to talk to medical professionals.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe last year, demand surged for abortion pills by mail. An international organization, Aid Access, provided prescriptions for the pills from European doctors, often filled in India, to patients in states with bans. Overseas pharmacies, advertising online, also ship abortion pills without a prescription to every state.
These offshore routes to access, which operate in a legal gray area in states with abortion bans, will probably remain open. But they carry potential legal risks for women and it can take a few weeks for the drugs to arrive from overseas, a delay that can create problems since medication abortion is more effective and less likely to cause complications early in pregnancy.
How opponents are fighting back
Opponents of abortion have a bold counterstrategy. They want to block the use of mifepristone not only in states with abortion bans but also nationwide.
In November, anti-abortion organizations and doctors sued in Texas to challenge the F.D.A.’s approval of medication abortion 23 years ago. They argue that mifepristone is unsafe. In fact, research has clearly established the safety and efficacy of the F.D.A.’s approved regimen. Serious complications are possible but rare. So, on the merits, the suit may seem far-fetched.
But the plaintiffs made sure to file suit (a practice some experts call ‘judge shopping’) in a division of a Federal District Court with one judge, a Trump appointee named Matthew Kacsmaryk who has longstanding views against abortion. If he blocks the F.D.A.’s approval, it would be unprecedented, experts said in an amicus brief.
The drugstore battle
Separate from the Texas case, the national divide over abortion is playing out in pharmacies.
In January, Walgreens, CVS and other companies said they would apply for a newly available certification from the F.D.A. to dispense both drugs in states where abortion remains legal. But 21 Republican attorneys general — including four in states where abortion is still legal — threatened legal action against the pharmacy chains. Walgreens promised not to provide the pills within those states.
The chains see an opportunity for another new market. Their interest signals that medication abortion is becoming mainstream. In large parts of the country, that’s unwelcome.
What’s next
Other lawsuits are trying to protect access to abortion pills. One, filed by states where Democrats are in power, asks a judge to affirm the F.D.A.’s approval of mifepristone and remove the remaining restrictions on the medication. Another, by a U.S. manufacturer of the medication, is challenging state bans on the pill.
For now, mifepristone and misoprostol remain widely and quickly available in states where abortion is legal. And the medications can be obtained through avenues like Aid Access, with a delay, in states where abortion is not legal.
Taken together, the drugs are more than 95 percent effective, research shows. Alternatively, people can take only misoprostol in higher doses, but this method is 88 percent effective, according to a study in the U.S. published last month, and is also more likely to cause side effects like nausea and diarrhea.
A ruling from Judge Kacsmaryk could come any day. If he issues a nationwide injunction to block the provision of mifepristone, his ruling could increase health risks and physical discomfort for women.
‘The Texas lawsuit is based on the false claim that mifepristone is unsafe and leads to a high need for physician intervention,’ Abigail Aiken, one author of the new study, said. ‘And yet, if we move to a miso-alone protocol, the need for physician intervention will, if anything, be increased.’
A nationwide injunction would be immediately appealed. It’s also possible that Judge Kacsmaryk can’t actually stop the legal provision of mifepristone, at least in the short term, three law professors argue. Congress set procedures for the F.D.A. to withdraw approval from a drug, and the process takes time to follow. A judge can order a review but shouldn’t have the power to circumvent the rules, the law professors say.
The F.D.A. also has a workaround: When the risk is low, the agency can give manufacturers permission to keep distributing products, like some baby formula, which violate the law in some way.
It’s a strange idea: a federal agency using its discretion to avoid enforcing a court ruling. But it could also be the only way for women in the U.S. to continue accessing the safest and most effective method of medication abortion — as long as a president who supports abortion access is in office.” [New York Times]
Mass Strikes Sweep France
“More than one million people joined strikes that roiled France on Tuesday, part of a sweeping campaign protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s contentious plan to change the country’s pension system.
Macron’s proposed reforms—a major platform in his reelection campaign—would increase the legal retirement age from 62 years to 64 years by 2030 and require people to work for longer in order to receive their full pension.
But the plans have been deeply unpopular, with Tuesday’s strikes marking the latest in a spate of demonstrations that have rocked the country in recent months. In January, over one million people also took to the streets to express their anger and opposition to Macron’s proposals.
Following labor unions leaders’ calls to ‘bring France to a standstill,’ on Tuesday the demonstrators and strikers disrupted public transportation and flight departures across the country, while many schools closed for the day. Demonstrators blockaded oil refineries, and some protesters and police reportedly clashed.
But Macron also appears intent on moving forward, and the stakes are high for the unions organizing the strikes. While France’s unions may seem like they have never been stronger, they have actually been undergoing a ‘steady decline’ that has left them fragmented and with shrinking membership numbers, as Michele Barbero reported for Foreign Policy from Paris.
Tuesday’s demonstrations could therefore be a defining moment. ‘For the first time in decades, all major workers’ organizations have managed to set their differences aside in a show of unity that is revitalizing the movement,’ Barbero wrote. ‘It’s either the last gasp of French labor—or the beginning of a rebirth.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Intelligence on the Nord Stream explosions. U.S. officials have examined new intelligence that indicates the September 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines may have been perpetrated by a pro-Ukraine group—although the intelligence did not say who the individuals were or who else was involved, the New York Times reported. There is no evidence connecting the attacks to President Volodymyr Zelensky or top Ukrainian officials, according to U.S. officials.
U.S. officials have stressed that the intelligence is not conclusive, and much remains unknown about the explosions.” [Foreign Policy]
“Iran’s rebellion hasn’t dislodged its clerical leadership, but in some ways it has changed women’s lives.
It is six months since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested for allegedly flouting Islamic dress codes. Her death in custody sparked the biggest revolts since 1979, and those street protests have now waned.
What is left is a substantial shift, mainly across urban Iran. More women than ever before are deciding to unveil and quietly test government-imposed dress rules.
As the world marks International Women’s Day, such pushing of boundaries is fraught with risk in Iran. The image of the enveloping black chador is tied to the Islamic Republic’s more than four-decade rule, now under a hardline government installed in 2021 and led by a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
It also comes at a time of other important challenges for the Iranian regime with repercussions beyond its borders.
Talks with the US and other world powers over containing its nuclear program have frozen. As diplomacy falters, international nuclear inspectors have detected uranium enrichment levels in Iran close to weapons-grade.
Israel, unnerved by that development and concerned Iran is seeking air defenses from Russia, has shortened its timeline for any potential strike on an atomic program it views as an existential threat. And as Moscow’s war on Ukraine rages almost 2,000 miles away, Tehran is building a transcontinental trade route to Russia that is beyond the reach of any foreign intervention.
Back home, a spate of suspected poisoning attacks on schoolgirls since November has once more underlined the threats to women and girls. After officials first dismissed them or put the effects down to ‘stress,’ Khamenei this week called the incidents a ‘big crime’ that warranted severe punishment.
Videos shared on Twitter showed protests outside several schools last week. In some of them, chants of ‘death to the dictator’ and ‘death to the child-killing regime’ can be heard.
It’s a level of public defiance unthinkable just six months ago. — Sylvia Westall [Bloomberg]
A demonstration against the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran in September 2022. Source: Getty Images
“Easing limits | The US is set to lift Covid-19 testing requirements for travelers from China as soon as this week, sources say, a significant step toward normalizing links between the two countries as the pandemic recedes. The US ordered all travelers older than 2 to provide a negative test before entering the US in January, after China’s pivot away from strict Covid restrictions led to a massive outbreak.” [Bloomberg]
“Seeking refuge | Argentina is providing an unlikely haven for Russians fleeing their homeland over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, Scott Squires reports. Despite economic crises and inflation near 100% in the Latin American nation, Russians have been arriving in droves, including many heavily pregnant women undertaking the journey of more than 12,000 miles to ensure their children gain Argentine citizenship at birth.
The former head of Gazprombank’s Swiss unit and three colleagues went on trial in Zurich today over financial transactions made by a cello-playing confidant of Putin’s. [Bloomberg]
China’s latest attempt to boost its flagging birth rate is a crackdown on betrothal gifts, or caili. It’s a tradition where the groom-to-be pays a “bride price” to the woman’s family to demonstrate his sincerity and wealth, while also compensating them for raising a daughter in a country that has long favored sons. Almost three-quarters of marriages in China involve the custom, but few people expect the clampdown to work.
“Brexit hope | UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s deal to solve the bitter dispute with the European Union over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements has sparked hope in the City of London that the two sides could finally formalize a pledge to work together on setting rules for banks and financial markets.” [Bloomberg]
Conservatives' ESG attack plan
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
“A conservative group leading the charge against ‘woke capitalism’ has given congressional leaders a roadmap for attacking the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement, Axios' Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu report.
Why it matters: The new report from Consumers' Research (no relation to the group that rates appliances) gives the clearest window yet into the right's strategy for undermining ESG in the months ahead.
The 30-page report offers a long list of questions for House Republicans to ask at public hearings to establish fact patterns for litigation.
For asset managers: ‘Identify all environmental or social activist groups of which you have been a member between 2017 to present.’
For companies: ‘Have you been on the receiving end of any 'engagements' by Activists, Coordinators [activist groups], or anyone acting on behalf of a Coordinator with respect to ESG topics at your company?’
Zoom out: Republicans have drawn blood — and forced a Democratic Party split — by targeting ESG investing at the state and federal levels.
ESG supporters say they're offering products for investors who want to back companies that align with their values — everything from climate change to reproductive rights.” [Axios]
Elon Musk apologises to sacked Twitter worker over online row
Halli Thorleifsson
By James Clayton
“North America technology reporter
Twitter chief executive Elon Musk has apologised over an exchange he had on the platform with an employee.
It came after worker Halli Thorleifsson tweeted to Mr Musk saying: ‘Your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am employed or not’.
Mr Musk responded by asking: ‘What work have you been doing?’
After a series of follow up questions and answers Mr Thorleifsson said he received an email confirming that he had been fired.
Mr Musk followed that Twitter conversation with a tweet on Tuesday describing Mr Thorleifsson as ‘the worst’ before deleting it.
But in an apparent change of heart, Mr Musk took to the platform a few hours later to apologise - and appeared to offer Mr Thorleifsson his job back.
‘I would like to apologise to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful.’
‘He is considering remaining at Twitter,’ he added.
On Monday, Mr Thorleifsson told the BBC exclusively that he could not get an answer from Twitter's human resources department on whether or not he had been sacked.
‘My theory is they made a mistake and are now looking for anything they can find to make this a "for cause" firing to avoid having to fulfill their contractual obligations,’ he said.
Mr Thorleifsson, who sold his creative agency Ueno to Twitter in 2021, did not want to say how much he was paid for the company. However, there is speculation that Twitter would have to pay him a considerable amount upon his departure from the firm.
Mr Thorleifsson has muscular dystrophy and has campaigned in Iceland for better wheelchair access.
According to local reports, when he sold his company to Twitter he structured the deal deliberately to pay a high rate of tax to the Icelandic government.
Last year, he was voted person of the year in Iceland by four media outlets.
Some of Mr Thorleifsson's former colleagues could not understand why he had been singled out for such public criticism.
Photographer Daniel Houghton tweeted ‘As someone who has worked directly with Halli Thorleifsson during a turnaround, this is super disappointing to see. Not only is his work ethic next level, his talent and humility are world class.’
Mr Musk replied: ‘Based on your comment, I just did a video call with Halli to figure out what's real vs what I was told. It's a long story. Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet.’
After apologising, Mr Musk said that Mr Thorleifsson was considering coming back to Twitter. The BBC has not spoken to Mr Thorleifsson since Mr Musk's apology.
Mr Thorleifsson had previously told the BBC the situation was ‘strange’ and ‘extremely stressful’.
The BBC has asked Twitter for further comment but the company did not immediately respond.” [BBC]
Chatbot therapy
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“People are already using chatbots as therapists, Axios tech and gaming editor Peter Allen Clark reports.
Why it matters: No one's suggesting you replace a compassionate human professional with a probability-driven neural network. But plenty of users appreciate the approachability — and low cost — of an onscreen text box.
What's happening: Users are filling online forums with accounts of their experiences casting ChatGPT as their personal therapist.
In the ChatGPT subreddit, it's easy to find people offering examples of addressing trauma or attempting to improve communication skills with the tech.
Others are sharing advice on what kind of prompts to use and how to get the best responses in a ChatGPT therapy session.
The low cost isn't the only lure. Users also praise the accessibility of the tech and the comfort they feel in engaging with it.
YouTuber Arnold Trinh said in a video: ‘Typically these coaching sessions, these therapy sessions can cost upwards of $90 in the U.S., and with ChatGPT you can have access to it for free.’
ChatGPT creator OpenAI's policies say its tech is not to be used to tell ‘someone that they have or do not have a certain health condition, or providing instructions on how to cure or treat a health condition.’” [Axios]
The restored Procuratie Vecchie in Venice.Richard Davies
Architecture’s top prize
“David Chipperfield, a British architect known for merging modern spaces with historic buildings, won the Pritzker Prize.
The jury cited Chipperfield’s recent restoration of the 16th-century Procuratie Vecchie in Venice, a beloved landmark on St. Mark’s Square, and noted his renovation of the Neues Museum in Berlin, which saved elements of the World War II-damaged building. ‘With it, Berlin has one of the finest public buildings in Europe,’ the Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman wrote in 2009.” [New York Times]
1 for the road: Sporting paydays
Data: Sportico. Table: Axios Visuals
“Michael Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time, earning an inflation-adjusted $3.3 billion through the end of 2022, Axios Sports co-author Jeff Tracy writes from data by Sportico.
Serena Williams ($600 million, No. 38) is the only female athlete in the top 50.” [Axios]