Elon Musk has one message to advertisers: “go f*ck yourself.”

X Marks the Spot Where We Fell Apart

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Elon Musk has one message to advertisers: “go f*ck yourself.”

This is to the people who fund X?

From its owner, yes. Yesterday, at the New York Times' DealBook Summit, Musk apologized for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory earlier this month on X. In response to a tweet that said Jews were responsible for pushing “hatred against Whites” as “hordes of minorities” flood Western countries, Musk responded: “you have said the actual truth.” This is the same conspiracy theory evoked by the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooter. Musk’s tweet shocked advertisers and caused a wave of companies — from Disney to IBM — to pull their ads.

Advertisers didn’t want to be associated with that?

No. It’s a problem for Musk, whose company could lose $75 million this year from the advertiser boycott — which has reportedly expanded to include more than 200 brands. Earlier this week, Musk traveled to Israel in what he denies was an apology tour. Now, he has called the tweet “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish thing I've ever done on the platform.” Still, Musk is accusing advertisers of “blackmail” and said the advertiser pullout was “gonna kill the company.” He said that when or if that happened, the public would blame the companies, not X. 

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Months ago, X boasted that 90% of its advertisers who fled had returned to the platform and were on track to help it turn a profit. Now, X could lose tens of millions of dollars from its main revenue stream as its owner tells advertisers boycotting him: “don’t advertise.”

Truce, Continued

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is extending to its seventh day. Minutes before the truce was set to expire, Israel's military said it will continue its pause in fighting as talks continue. Israel's announcement comes hours after its military and Hamas gave statements indicating they were ready to go back to war. Hamas told its military wing to be ready for combat, after Israel's military said it was prepared for the next stage of the war. This comes right before a shooting this morning in Jerusalem left 3 dead and 13 injured. Authorities say two brothers from east Jerusalem affiliated with Hamas, who were pronounced dead at the scene, were responsible.

Who people are remembering…

Henry Kissinger. Yesterday, the controversial foreign policy giant died at age 100. Kissinger was considered the most impactful secretary of state in the post-World War II era, advising 12 presidents over the course of his career — from JFK to former President Nixon to President Biden. He established a new relationship with China, formed the détente policy with the Soviet Union, and ended the US’s involvement in Vietnam — that last one earning him a Nobel Peace Prize. He’s also considered responsible for the US’s 1973 toppling of Chile’s president. He helped orchestrate the US bombing of Cambodia, which killed at least 50,000 civilians. He also supported or enabled a range of other violent assaults, including Pakistan’s in what is now Bangladesh in 1971 and Indonesia’s in East Timor in 1975. While Kissinger once dangled the threat of nuclear war as a form of deterrence, he has since endorsed an effort to end all nuclear weapons. Kissinger was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany in 1938.

Who people are pointing fingers at…

India. Yesterday, the US accused India of planning an assassination on a Sikh separatist who's a US citizen. The attempt was thwarted by a confidential source working for the US but authorities are accusing 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta of the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. Gupta allegedly agreed to pay $100,000 to carry out the murder and prepared a $15,000 advance on the payment just two weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House. This comes months after Canada accused India’s government of having a hand in the killing of a Sikh separatist Canadian citizen — who the Justice Dept says was an associate of Pannun. India has denied the allegations, and said it would open its own investigation.  

Who could be joining forces…

Cigna and Humana. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported the two biggest health insurers in the country could merge by the end of the year. The deal, if pushed through, would help them join forces to compete with rivals like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health. Cigna and Humana were valued at about $77 billion and $60 billion respectively. If completed, the merger would bring the combined company value to roughly $140 billion. Still, not everyone’s happy: rumors of the merger caused both Cigna’s and Humana’s stock value to drop more than 8% and more than 5% respectively.

…Oh and speaking of mergers, Jezebel, which shut down earlier this month, is set to make a comeback after being bought by Paste Media.  

Who’s there for the big, good boys…

Loyal. Earlier this week, the San Francisco biotech company announced it's one step closer in the FDA approval process for a drug meant to extend the lifespan of large dogs.

While governments are in Dubai for COP28…

Also on the docket for today: another George Santos expulsion vote.

What’s better than a hot girl walk...

A fast hot girl walk.

Who’s saying ‘that’s a wrap’...

Spotify.