Thursday, October 22nd, 2026 - Meta Owes New Mexico $25 Billion, Witkoff Calls Putin a “Humanitarian,” Musk Floats “Elon Inc.”

Today's Headlines: The EU says it’s investigating whether Russian, Iranian, and Algerian actors helped fuel the riots in France and elsewhere, with pro-Kremlin and far-right accounts reportedly caught spreading violent videos (though officials stress they didn’t start the protests) and regulators asking Amazon and Vinted to pull listings for apparently looted goods, while the EU and Canada are also trying to cut their Starlink dependence, with Canada’s Telesat promising a rival network by 2028 that will be open to allies, which means defending against Russia and, apparently, us. Speaking of Russia, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff called Putin a “humanitarian” and saluted him after Russia released American Stephen Hubbard, who was captured in Ukraine in 2022 and accused of being a mercenary. Back home, polls keep moving toward Democrats, but votes alone may not be enough this year, and as proof, members of the Bush family, including Neil Bush, are backing Democrat James Talarico over Ken Paxton in Texas, while Stella Parton (Dolly’s sister) warned voters to double-check their ballots after hers kept flipping to the wrong candidate in Tennessee. Meanwhile, New Mexico had a big day, suing Epstein’s longtime lawyer and accountant Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn for allegedly helping finance and conceal his trafficking at Zorro Ranch, which could cost them their estate proceeds and push assets toward victims, and on top of that, a court ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion over the Cambridge Analytica case after a jury found more than 43 million violations of its unfair practices act (down from nearly $220 billion, with 15% annual interest, and Meta is appealing). Speaking of Meta, it also warned California that Zuckerberg might leave the state over a billionaire tax and is creating a new stock class that lets him sell up to half his stake without losing voting control, and in more billionaire news, Elon floated merging SpaceX and Tesla by the end of 2027, which conveniently helps him chase that trillion-dollar earnout, while also promising Tesla will sell humanoid robots next year. Finally, Mayor Mamdani’s administration proposed the nation’s first rule on AI customer service chatbots, requiring companies doing business in NYC to disclose AI use, provide timely help instead of looping you through menus, and offer a human option, with fines of $525, $1,050, then $3,500 for repeat violations. Resources/Articles mentioned: Financial Times: EU probes pro-Kremlin disinformation around French riots Cybernews: Telesat Lightspeed: Canada’s Starlink rival could aid Ukraine WaPo: Trump’s special envoy calls Vladimir Putin a ‘humanitarian’ The Guardian: Bush’s brother crosses party lines to vote for James Talarico for Senate | Texas The Tennessean: Dolly Parton’s sister, Stella, reminds voters to double check their ballots after early voting in TN. How to verify WSJ: New Mexico Sues Jeffrey Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant CNBC: Meta ordered to pay $25 billion penalty in New Mexico Cambridge Analytica case Politico: Zuckerberg considered leaving CA over wealth tax, Meta says WSJ: What to Know About the SpaceX-Tesla Merger Talks WSJ: Musk Says Tesla Aims to Begin Humanoid Robot Sales Next Year Gothamist: NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices