Elon Musk sweeps members of Congress into his social media sway

Elon Musk has used his social media platform to communicate directly with members of Congress dozens of times on legislation and congressional activities in the months running up to the 2024 election, a megaphone that experts say is akin to lobbying even if it doesn’t meet the legal definition.

Musk owns the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and he posts regularly to his 202 million followers a range of issues, including the promotion of his plans for space exploration and his support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

But he also used simple replies to amplify the posts of some Republican members of Congress on claims about illegal immigration and disaster relief, as he becomes more vocal in the run-up to the election.

The online interactions with lawmakers also deal with his business interests, such as SpaceX. For example, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform announced it would investigate the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to deny $885 million in rural broadband subsidies to Starlink, the satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. “Great!” Musk replied to the committee’s post.

—CQ-Roll Call

Michigan lawmaker, who sponsored Holocaust remembrance proposal, compares her state to Nazi Germany

DETROIT — Republican state Rep. Gina Johnsen, who once sponsored a resolution to remember the "cruel atrocities" of the Holocaust, described Michigan as Nazi Germany, at a campaign event, and accused her political opponents of being "murderers," according to a recording obtained by The Detroit News.

Johnsen, a first-term legislator from Lake Odessa, made two separate references to Nazi Germany at a Sept. 28 get-out-the-vote rally, organized by the conservative organization Turning Point Action, and with Republican state House candidate Andy Shaver of Charlotte, according to audio recorded by someone who attended. The gathering took place inside a Baptist church in the Lansing area.

At one point during the discussion, Johnsen attempted to encourage people to become involved in the 2024 campaign, saying sacrificing personal time for the political cause would be worthwhile.

“I haven’t done a garden in a few years," Johnsen told the crowd. "You know why? Michigan is falling down into the sewer. We’re in desperate times. Nazi Germany. That’s where we are guys."

—The Detroit News

Infant mortality in the US worsened after Supreme Court limited abortion access

Infant deaths have increased in the United States since the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe vs. Wade and allowed states to make abortion illegal, researchers reported Monday.

The change became detectable three months after the June 2022 ruling with an elevated rate of infant mortality involving babies born with serious congenital anomalies, the researchers found.

By the end of 2023, there were six months when the death rate for infants with severe anatomical problems was significantly higher than in the years leading up to the high court's decision. The researchers also identified three months when the nation's overall infant mortality rate had increased.

However, neither of those rates fell below their historical range in the year and a half after the ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The findings, reported Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, were seen as a clear sign that the Dobbs decision has prevented some women from terminating pregnancies that otherwise would have ended in abortion.

—Los Angeles Times

King Charles III lambasted by Australian senator for 'genocide'

CANBERRA, Australia — British King Charles III has been berated by an Australian senator in Canberra, who accused the monarchy of “genocide” against her nation’s indigenous people and declared: “You are not my king.”

Lidia Thorpe, who campaigns on First Nations issues, disrupted Charles’s welcome to the capital Canberra with her outburst which overshadowed a speech by the King highlighting his debt to the descendants of Australia’s first inhabitants.

During the event Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese hinted at his hopes Australia will ditch the monarchy and become a republic when he told the King: “Nothing stands still.”

Charles and Camilla have faced low-key demonstrations during their tour of Australia, which began on Monday, from supporters of First Nations resistance to colonization, who have been displaying a banner with the word “decolonise” at a number of events.

—dpa