Mark Zuckerberg regrets caving to Biden White House pressure on COVID
Plus, Israel Rescues First Hostage Alive From Gaza Tunnels; And a look at five generations of US workers
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Good morning,
Tennis anyone? Opening Day of the 2024 US Open on Monday set a single-day attendance record with 74,641 fans.
There were some great matches, too. American Coco Gauff, No. 3 seed, got a W in front of fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
16-year-old Iva Jovic of California became the youngest American to win a women’s main-draw match at the US Open since 2000.
Then Novak Djokovic, at age 37, won his first match of the tournament as he attempts to reclaim the title — this would be his 25th grand slam singles title.
🎾 We’ll be watching!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
🇮🇱 ISRAEL RESCUES FIRST OCT. 7 HOSTAGE ALIVE FROM TUNNELS UNDER GAZA
Israeli forces rescued a hostage from Gaza on Tuesday— the eighth hostage rescued alive (in four separate IDF operations) since Oct. 7. But Farhan al-Qadi is the first hostage rescued alive from the terror group’s sprawling tunnel network underneath Gaza.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The 52-year-old is an Israeli Muslim— part of Israel’s Bedouin Arab community. Al-Qadi recounted the rescue, saying, “Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it.”
Israeli special forces, acting on intelligence, found al-Qadi alone— without his Hamas captors— when they were combing through a network of tunnels in southern Gaza.
The military says he told them he was held in a number of locations during his 326 days in captivity.
The Israeli military says it learned “lessons” from previous operations and applied them to their rescue.
Earlier in the war, Israeli troops who encountered three hostages inside Gaza accidentally shot and killed them, believing they were terrorists.
FAMILY REUNITED
Al-Qadi was working as an unarmed guard at a village near the Gaza border when he was abducted on Oct. 7. He was one of six Bedouin Muslims taken to Gaza; 21 others were also killed.
Al-Qadi was taken to a hospital after the rescue operation, and the IDF says, “He is in a stable medical condition” and back with his family— two wives and 11 children.
A video went viral of his family sprinting through the halls of the Israeli hospital to see him.
His brother says, “I can’t explain these feelings. It’s better than being born again."
ANY HOSTAGE DEAL IN SIGHT?
There are still 108 hostages in Gaza, two-thirds of whom are believed to be alive. Diplomatic efforts from the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar have failed since November’s hostage deal. For now, negotiations appear to have stalled over Israel’s plan to keep some troops in Gaza after the war ends to prevent a future attack.
📌 ZUCKERBERG REGRETS CENSORING META CONTENT AFTER WHITE HOUSE PRESSURE
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg says he now regrets bowing to pressure from the Biden administration over moderating content during COVID and other political content— and not speaking out sooner.
“I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction,” Zuckerberg wrote. He said that while platforms like Facebook and Instagram made the final call on whether to censor any posts, he regrets some of the decisions made under pressure from Washington.
In a letter sent to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Monday, the chairman and CEO of Meta also vowed NOT to spend heavily on election access this cycle as he has done in past years. It comes amid heightened tension between Big Tech and the US government. Many Democrats argue companies like Meta are not doing enough to combat misinformation, while many Republicans argue that they are doing too much, and censoring free speech.
THE LETTER
According to Zuckerberg, back in 2021, “senior officials from the Biden Administration” pressured Meta— the parent of Facebook and Instagram— to “censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.”
He went on to say the pressure he felt was “wrong” and he came to “regret” not bring more outspoken about it.
Zuckerberg also noted in his letter that his team temporarily demoted a story from the New York Post about Hunter Biden after the FBI warned Meta about potential Russian disinformation around it.
“It's since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn't have demoted the story,” Zuckerberg wrote.
The White House shot back: “Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: The Supreme Court ruled last term that government officials can communicate with tech companies, and alert them to content they view as harmful. However, there is a set of laws from Florida and Texas meant to limit Big Tech’s content moderation that the Supreme Court sent back to lower courts for further review — meaning, those could come back to the high court. Bottom line: The fight between what we see online, Big Tech’s power, and the government’s regulatory role is not even close to over.
📌 FIVE GENERATIONS IN WORKFORCE AT SAME TIME
People like Warren Buffett, age 93, and Paul McCartney, 82, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, 84, are part of a generation of older workers who appear to be postponing retirement— indefinitely. For the first time ever, the American workforce is now made up of five different generations: from the silent generation down to Gen Z.
Workers age 55+ in 1990 made up about 10% of the US labor force. Now that group is 23% of the workforce.
What’s to blame? Generational gridlock— or when older workers stay in jobs longer and younger people move up the ladder more slowly. Part of this has to do with necessity—older Americans needing to work to make ends meet—and some of it just has to do with people living longer, healthier lives.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr. added to Trump transition team (CNN)
📌 More than 200 former Bush, McCain and Romney Republican staffers endorse Kamala Harris (AXIOS)
📌 Kamala Harris to sit down for first major interview since becoming nominee (CNN)
📌 Judge blocks Biden administration from granting legal status to immigrant spouses of US citizens (CBS NEWS)
📌 Trump staff had altercation during controversial visit to Arlington National Cemetery (NPR)
📌 Two workers killed and a third injured in an explosion at a Delta Air Lines facility in Atlanta (AP)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Top US, China officials to meet on military, Taiwan, fentanyl (REUTERS)
📌 New protests over rape and murder of Indian doctor see police use water cannon, tear gas on demonstrators (CBS NEWS)
📌 Ukraine’s F-16 jets get first aerial kills (DEFENSE NEWS)
📌 Ukraine to present 'victory plan' to US (BBC)
📌 Germany's grandmothers take on the far-right ahead of key state elections (NPR)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Americans are taking a lot more sick days — and Gen Z is leading the charge (BI)
📌 Vaccine hesitancy eats into back-to-school shots (AXIOS)
📌 US awards $521 million in grants to boost EV charging network (REUTERS)
📌 Ikea trials resale website to rival eBay and Gumtree (BBC)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 British rock band Oasis announces reunion tour 15 years after break up (CNN)
📌 The Paralympic Games open today, some 4,400 athletes will compete for 549 medals across 22 sports over 11 days in Paris (ABC NEWS)
📌 Kelce brothers sign deal with Amazon for ‘New Heights’ podcast worth more than $100 million (VARIETY)
📌 Mariah Carey says her mother and sister died on the same day (NPR)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 28
1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom bought 200,000 people to Washington DC, an event that became a high point of the civil rights movement and where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
1970: The Jackson 5 released ‘I’ll Be There.’
1996: Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, after 15-years of marriage, officially divorced. They had been separated since 1992. She tragically died just over a year after the divorce.
2003: Madonna, dressed as a groom, opened MTV’s Video Music Awards by kissing her ‘brides,’ Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
FUN FACT: Jennifer Lopez was supposed to be one of the brides, but was shooting a movie and had to drop out. She was replaced by Aguilera.