Tina Nguyen

Politico reports that Zuckerberg quietly purchased a 15,000 square-foot mansion in Washington, D.C. for $23 million in cash, making him the latest billionaire tech C.E.O. to purchase a pied-a-terre in the Capitol. It’s the third-highest real estate transaction in D.C. history, and was so secretive that “soon after the deal went through in early March, images of the house became pixelated on Google Maps.”

Reports of Elon Musk’s impending departure from the White House could not have been better timed for Tesla’s stock prices, which had started plummeting after its dismal Q1 report was released this morning. Within hours of the news breaking, the price not only recovered but surged an extra 5 percent. (As always when it comes to Musk’s relationship with the Trump administration, let’s see how long that surge lasts.)

Journalist Ken Klippensten obtained an internal memo directing employees to conduct a “social media review” of foreign students applying for visas, and must flag any online posts or screenshots “advocating for, sympathizing with, or persuading others to endorse [or] support” a terrorist organization. The directive is seemingly aimed at students who participated in pro-Palestine – or as the memo specifically characterized it, “pro-Hamas” – campus protests.

Less than three months after the BitMEX crypto exchange was hit with a $100 million fine for money laundering – and hours after he pardoned ex-Nikola CEO Trevor Milton for defrauding investors in his EV company – Trump issued pardons to Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Dalo and Samuel Reed, CNBC reported Friday. The three men had previously pled guilty to several felony charges related to money laundering and failure to police the exchange.

Rep. Ritchie Torres and the House Democrats, who are reportedly drafting a bill entitled “The HOUTHI PC SMALL GROUP Act” that would criminalize the use of unsecured messaging apps to send classified information. (Per Axios, it’s an acronym for “Homeland Operations and Unilateral Tactics Halting Incursions: Preventing Coordinated Subversion, Military Aggression and Lawless Levies Granting Rogue Operatives Unchecked Power.”)

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ramped up his campaign against soft drinks by launching a drive to ban food stamp recipients from using them to purchase that addictive, bubbly sweetness. Meanwhile, The Bulwark’s Will Sommer has detected what looks like the latest campaign in the curious world of MAGA paid sponcon: right-wing influencers suddenly defending soda against government regulations.