Twitter

Donald Trump is no longer persona non grata on the bird app ... all thanks to Elon Musk, who just made the decision to bring him back into the fold.

The announcement was made Saturday by EM himself, who wrote ... "The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei." He also linked to the results of a poll he posted Friday, which posed the question of whether DT should be allowed to return.

The results were pretty close, but ended up being in favor of letting Trump back on Twitter ... with 51.8% of the more than 15 million people who voted saying "Yes." 48.2% were opposed.

Elon was pretty impressed by the numbers on his own question ... saying earlier in the day that it was fascinating to see the results pour in, and later noting that at least 134 million had viewed the poll -- seemingly referencing some internal data he has access to.

Now, while Trump's account is, in fact, accessible again to the public -- this after being nothing but a blank page for well over a year now after being permanently banned post-Jan. 6 -- it doesn't appear Trump has tweeted anything yet ... and possibly might not at all.

Reports say he was quoted on Truth Social last month, saying he was going to stick to his own platform and that he was done with Twitter ... even amid the prospect of EM ownership.

His last public tweet dates back Jan. 8. Interestingly, DT's follower count took a nose-dive into the hundreds of thousands, but it's steadily climbing right now. Trump was once one of the most followed Twitter accounts at his peak, and "the people" clearly want him back.

CBS has started what could be a devastating ripple effect on Twitter ... hitting the pause button, indefinitely, on posting new tweets amid uncertainty under Elon Musk's stewardship.

The network's news division, CBS News, announced Friday it'd be suspending all Twitter activity from its official profiles as it continues to monitor things. CBS News says it's doing this out of an abundance of caution and in light of all the tumultuous updates.

Word of CBS News' decision was first reported Friday during that night's broadcast of "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell," during which reporter Jonathan Vigliotti seemingly announced the move on behalf of the entire company. CBS confirmed it shortly thereafter.

Vigliotti was reporting on the rumored chaos at the bird app's HQ ... where a majority of employees are said to have quit recently, leaving Twitter as a bare-bones operation and at risk of completely shutting down. That hasn't happened quite yet, but the fear is there.

CBS News's last original tweet links to a story about ex-WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki's failed effort to quash a subpoena she's been roped into. The account also retweeted a TV segment discussing the DOJ's new special counsel investigating Trump. Both of those were posted almost a full 24 hours ago, and CBS News hasn't tweeted anything new since.

Ditto for local affiliates, it seems. KPIX -- the Bay Area's CBS News arm -- hasn't tweeted anything since yesterday either ... and that policy seems to apply to most, if not all, of CBS's stations across the country. We should note, they're still posting stories to their home pages.

The reason this is a big deal -- assuming it carries on for an extended amount of time -- is because Twitter has become the go-to source for news ... not just for users, but for news organizations themselves. A lot of outlets rely on Twitter to get news out quickly, not to mention the traffic captured as one of the key social media sites and the wide reach it carries.

CBS News refusing to tweet is a major statement, and if it catches on among other big publishers ... it could make Twitter even less relevant, sparking a true mass exodus.

Elon Musk seems to be leaving the fate of Donald Trump's Twitter account up to bird app users ... asking folks to vote on his reinstatement.

Elon posted a Twitter poll Friday on his account, asking users to vote either "Yes" or "No" on reinstating the former president's Twitter page.

Musk first posted the poll then left a reply ... "Vox Populi, Vox Dei" ... a Latin phrase meaning, "the voice of the people is the voice of God."

Elon's poll already has 1.4 million responses and counting, and it's not even been live for an hour. The poll will be up for 24 hours, giving folks until Saturday evening to decide.

As you know, Trump was banned from Twitter by the previous ownership in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot. The former president is also banned from other mainstream social media apps.

Elon's hinted at Trump's return to Twitter since buying the bird app for $44 billion ... but this is the first time he's sought feedback through a Twitter poll.

Elon Musk will tell ya the reports of Twitter's death are greatly exaggerated -- in fact, although news spread quickly the app's on the verge of shutdown, Elon says it had one of its best days ever.

Thursday night, while #RIPTwitter became the number 1 trending topic in the U.S., the Chief Twit himself tweeted, "We just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol ... let that sink in."

That tweet came after hundreds of his employees reportedly quit ... following his demands for people within the company to work "long hours at high intensity" or get booted.

The deadline for jumping ship or staying aboard was reportedly Thursday at 5 PM ... and it looks like a good amount were fine with saying goodbye.

The reported mass jump prompted millions of tweeters to take it as a sign of the end for the bird app ... although the surge to which Elon referred might have a lot to do with people using the "dead" platform to talk about its death.

Pretty damn meta (not you, Zuckerberg).

FYI -- a pretty cold projection popped up on the company's HQ in San Fran Thursday night, during this "all-time high" ... calling Elon a slew of names that just gets more and more brutal.

"Celebrity Jeopardy!" may want to rethink some of its answers, because lots of fans are pissed off the show used killer Brian Laundrie as part of the game.

Actors John Michael Higgins and Wil Wheaton squared off against comedian Joel Kim Booster during Sunday's semifinal round when all the drama went down concerning Brian Laundrie. Laundrie, as you may recall, killed Gabby Petito in Wyoming in 2021 while the couple was on a cross-country road trip. His remains were later found in a Florida nature preserve after he committed suicide.

"Jeopardy!" host Mayim Bialik read the clue from "The A List" category in which all answers included the letter "A."

Bialik said, "In 2021 Fugitive Brian Laundrie Ended His Days Fla.'s Myakkahatchee Creek Area, Home to These Long & Toothy Critters."

Booster correctly responded, "What are alligators?"

Bialik then went on to the next topic as if nothing was wrong. But, fans of the show saw A LOT wrong and took to Twitter to voice their fury.

One person wrote, "This is the most tasteless and insensitive answer I've ever seen on any Jeopardy! What the hell were they thinking? Making light of that tragic situation is repugnant. Damn."

Another roared, "THIS, this is beyond offensive. It's appalling & completely insensitive, not to mention totally unnecessary. Shame on, @Jeopardy."

A third observer asked, "What in the hell is wrong with you? Have you no soul? I can't believe this question got past your lawyers."

A fourth angrily stated, "That Jeopardy! question mentioning Brian Laundrie and the answer was alligators?? What the actual hell, that was so … out of line. Not necessary! There was no reason to mention him at all!"

F1 star Sergio Pérez says he's not going to dwell on the fact his teammate, Max Verstappen, refused to help him out during the Brazilian Grand Prix ... claiming the issue is "behind us."

Verstappen came under fire for disobeying Red Bull's orders and not letting Checo pass him at the end of Sunday's race ... which ultimately hurt his spot in the driver standings.

Pérez broke his silence on the situation Monday ... saying he talked things over with Max after the race, and they're moving past it.

"With Max and the team everything was discussed yesterday and it will remain internally," Checo said on Twitter. "This is behind us and we will continue working as the great team that we have been until now."

Many criticized Max for his actions because he has the 2022 championship on lock ... and Checo is in a tight race for second with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who finished 4th in Brazil.

If Max -- who was positioned in 6th at the time -- would have let Pérez through, he would have been able to keep his lead over Leclerc in the standings.

Audio of Verstappen's exchange with the Red Bull crew was released after the race ... which showed the 2021 champ voicing his disagreement with the demand.

"I told you already last summer. The guys don't ask that again to me -- are we clear about that?" Max said. "I gave my reasons and I stand by it."

Sergio was heard reacting to Verstappen's antics ... saying, "It shows who he really is."

It's a pretty shocking move on Max's part -- especially considering everything Checo did for him as he made his title run last year.

The life of Elon Musk is so strange ... even he is perplexed by it, and obviously amused!!

Twitter's new honcho beamed into the B20 business conference in Indonesia Monday ... and was engulfed in darkness and surrounded by burning candles.

Musk was asked about his $44 billion purchase of Twitter and how he's managing it all with Tesla and his other companies.

The world's richest man was shockingly transparent ... "I have too much work on my plate -- that is for sure. I am really working the absolute most amount that I can work from morning 'til night, 7 days a week ... this is not something I recommend, frankly."

Then things really got weird. During a long pause, Musk began looking around and smiling, seemingly baffled. "I don't know what else to say ... but it is um ... and I just look at this video and it's so bizarre."

Musk began laughing hysterically, ending with ... "I'm sitting in the dark surrounded by candles ... it's so bizarre."

As we reported ... Musk has been trying to get his bearings at Twitter ever since he acquired the company in late October. He fired thousands of employees to offset major losses caused by a downturn in ad sales, or so he says. Musk has also seen a flood of fake accounts appear on the social media platform -- which was exactly what he was attempting to stop.

Even more worrisome, President Biden has said Musk's foreign business ties should be investigated to make sure everything is on the up and up.

Mike Pence says Donald Trump's characterization of him as a coward on January 6th was reckless and made him angry ... and he got emotional talking about it.

The former Veep talked about that dark time with ABC's David Muir, and when Muir read back the ex-Prez's tweet as the insurrection was unfolding ... you can see MP get visibly upset, seemingly searching for the right words.

Eventually, he found them ... saying Trump's suggestion that he lacked the courage to do what was necessary to avoid a "steal" couldn't be more off the mark. Pence told his daughter, who was also at the Capitol, it takes more courage to uphold the law than to break it, which is what DT wanted him to do.

As Pence speaks, you see him incessantly tapping his foot ... itself a show of emotion.

Remember, Pence was overseeing the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6 ... when at some point in the day, in the middle of their session, hundreds of rioters came barreling through Capitol doors and windows, causing lawmakers to hide in fear.

For some reason, Muir pressed Pence about what he thought Trump could've possibly been doing at the White House that whole time -- Pence had no idea because he wasn't there. Pence told Muir he'd have to take that one up with Trump himself.

There's not much ambiguity here ... Pence has not only broken ties with Trump, he has contempt for him. It's especially stunning because during Trump's presidency Pence was his #1 cheerleader.

Elon Musk may have just put his own foot in his mouth regarding his new baby, Twitter -- because he pissed off a U.S. Senator ... who has the power to investigate him, officially.

The Chief Twit got into a digital squabble Sunday with Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts ... this after the lawmaker sent EM an official letter asking for an explanation on why so many people have been able to impersonate others on Twitter, including Markey himself.

You see, a WaPo reporter recently did what a ton of others have done lately -- changing their profile names/pics and pretending to be another public figure. In this case, the journo was assuming Markey's identity to prove a point ... and the Senator wants some answers.

Markey was firm ... accusing Elon of putting profits over Twitter's integrity, to which the man in question fired back, "Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?"

He followed up by poking fun at the fact that Sen. Markey has a mask in his profile pic, but the legislator wasn't in a kidding mood. He appeared to threaten Elon with the prospect of Senate hearings if he didn't get his house in order ... beyond just Twitter, in fact.

Markey wrote in response, "One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies. Or Congress will."

Elon left it there, but he started to get mocked as well by other reporters and pundits ... many of whom noted that he just might've screwed himself into a subpoena to testify -- seeing how Markey sits on a few key subcommittees that oversee exactly what Elon dabbles in in the private sector ... like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, The Boring Co. and now Twitter.

Return to the office or resign!!!

Elon Musk was secretly recorded giving that ultimatum to remote-working Twitter employees while discussing plans for a 40-hour work week during a recent staff meeting. As you may recall ... some employees were clocking 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week to meet Musk's aggressive demands following his $44 billion purchase of the company.

A clip from the fiery recording was released by ABC News Thursday night ... and Musk can clearly be heard laying down the law.

"Let me be crystal clear, if people do not return to the office when they are able to return to the office -- they cannot remain at the company. End of story," Musk pointedly says on the audio.

A Twitter worker pushes back ... "Even if people returned to the office. The offices are separate offices -- we won't be in person anyways."

But, Musk isn't having it ... "You can still maximize the amount of in-person activity."

He then compares Twitter to his other company, Tesla, to drive home his point, "Tesla is not one place either, but you know, it's basically if you can, if you can show up at an office and you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted!"

Musk goes on to say plenty of Tesla employees work remotely, but they are "exceptions" and "exceptional people." He ends with ... "I totally understand if that doesn't work for some people. But that's the new philosophy for Twitter."

The world's richest man recently cleaned house at Twitter, slashing half the workforce. The fired employees sued Musk for violating federal and California laws by not giving them proper notice before they were canned and offering them unfair severance packages.

Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for the laid-off workers, told ABC News she will use the audio clip as evidence to show Musk is eliminating remote work to avoid paying employees without giving them proper notice -- a violation of the WARN Act.

Meanwhile, Musk also announced Twitter may fall into bankruptcy if more people don’t sign up for his $7.99 monthly subscription service to offset slumping ad sales.

Elon Musk's Twitter regime is royally pissing off Doja Cat and she's not afraid to curse him out for it ... even though she's also asking for his help.

Doja was up early Thursday furiously ripping the new $8 Twitter Blue subscription ... and noticed she couldn't remove her Twitter subheader name after changing it to "Christmas."

Doja posed the question, "Why can't I change my name on here" -- and then aimed her scorn directly at the Chief Twit, saying ... "also f*** you Elon."

Elon got a kick out of being publicly dragged but assured the superstar artist he was diligently working on the bugs behind-the-scenes.

Doja isn't the only one feeling the brunt of the pay-for-clout subscription.

A fake LeBron James tweet about leaving the Lakers recently sent the sports world into a temporary frenzy and several high-profile accounts have vowed to stop tweeting.

No, LeBron James isn't demanding a trade back to Cleveland ... but a verified Twitter account pretending to be the Los Angeles Lakers star duped people into thinking so on Wednesday -- as a result of Elon Musk's $8 blue check mark rollout.

The bird app's new subscription feature already has the trolls running wild ... and King James was the first to fall victim to the antics.

An account named @kIngjamez tried to pull a quick one shortly after the verification party got started ... saying, "I am officially requesting a trade."

"Thank you #LakersNation for all the support through the years. 💯 Onto bigger and better things! 👑 #ThekidfromAKRON #ImComingHome."

Of course, the REAL @kingjames' most recent tweet is an ad for a video game.

Here's the issue -- If folks didn't notice the misspelling handle or click on the check mark to read WHY the account is verified, they were led to believe #6 was going back to the 216.

Another account pretended to be ESPN insider Adam Schefter ... claiming Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels had been fired.

Elon's decision to give any Twitter Blue subscribers a blue check without any vetting had people concerned for this exact reason ... and so far, it's proven to be a massive headache for some.

The new Twitter head defended his decision ... explaining it was a way for the company to make money.

Jessica Simpson is responding to some serious concerns from her fans ... after being featured in an ad online that many saw as anything but normal.

Jessica starred in a new Pottery Barn Kids clip last week ... where she showed off her 3-year-old Birdie's room -- showing how the company's collection brought the place together.

Seems harmless enough ... but the comment section quickly filled up with concerning messages -- with many asking if she's ok, and one even writing "blink twice if you need help Jess." Some saw the performance as forced, with the speech just feeling off.

The 42-year-old singer responded to the noise Sunday night ... posting a clip of herself singing in her studio in order to "ground myself and heal" -- adding, "peoples' comments and judgments can still hurt deeply with their incessant nagging."

She doesn't directly call BS on the worrisome fans' fears, but adds, "The most important thing I have learned through the last 5yrs without alcohol being a guard for escapism, is that I CAN and ALWAYS WILL get through it."

Whitney Cummings says she's joining OnlyFans to tell dirty jokes, free from the backlash and controversy swirling on other social media sites ... and she's ripping Elon Musk's app.

We got Whitney at LAX and asked why she decided to hitch her wagon to OF, where she's producing a new show about comedy roasts.

Whitney sees OnlyFans as the future for comedians looking for a safe space to tell jokes ... seeing it as an alternative to places like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, explaining how comedians are dragged when jokes push boundaries.

The way Whitney sees it, the audience at OnlyFans is already used to the taboo -- the site is infamous for offering subscriptions to models selling nude content -- whereas places like Twitter are littered with "dorks" and "snitches" who want to report humor as hate speech.

Whitney's planning to charge about $10 a month for her OnlyFans page, where she will experiment with material she says may be too explicit for someone scrolling the timeline at lunch ... and she's already got jokes about potential nudes making their way to her page too.

Elon Musk is postponing his plan to charge Twitter users a $7.99 monthly subscription fee -- just one day after announcing the move ... and it's all because of the midterms.

Citing an internal Twitter memo, the New York Times reported Musk was putting his policy on hold -- for now -- over concerns his verification service would cause the spread of fake news across his social media platform, potentially influencing voters during the midterms.

Twitter employees had made a stink about it, insisting anyone could pay for the blue check subscription fee and create accounts posing as President Biden, members of Congress or news organizations. Scammers could then unleash false information about voting results on the verified accounts, causing distrust among citizens ahead of Tuesday's election.

Over the weekend, Musk introduced his "Twitter Blue" subscription fee to verified users and tried to appeal to other people using a celebrity sales pitch. He promised all subscribers would get a blue checkmark "just like the celebrities." He also mentioned ideas to cut ads and allow for extended videos to be posted on the social media network.

One Twitter worker -- using the internal Slack channel to communicate with fellow employees -- questioned why the company was "making such a risky change before elections, which has the potential of causing election interference."

Twitter management buckled under pressure and decided to kick the subscription fee release date to November 9, one day after the election.

Elon Musk has made good on his promise to charge Twitter users a fee ... and he's now trying to lure other customers with a celebrity sales pitch.

Musk -- who purchased the social media giant for $44 billion last month -- has officially launched Twitter Blue for $7.99 a month to users with verified accounts.

Twitter announced the move Saturday ... and tried to make it appealing to the masses with a reference to star power.

The statement began ... "Get Twitter Blue if you sign up now. Blue checkmark: Power to the people. Your account will get a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you follow."

The company then mentioned plans to cut half the ads and make the remaining ones much better. "Since you’re supporting Twitter in the battle against the bots, we’re going to reward you with half the ads and make them twice as relevant.”

It also pledged to allow users to post extended videos and give them priority rankings for quality content in the form of replies, mentions and searches.

Musk is hoping that by charging the monthly user fee he can offset the major losses he's accrued since his massive purchase of Twitter in late October.

Elon insists the San Francisco based-company is hemorrhaging $4 million a day, leading to him firing half the workforce -- or roughly 3,700 employees.

After receiving an ominous email about the pending layoffs, Twitter workers filed a class action lawsuit to try to save their jobs, arguing Musk had given them insufficient notice, which was in violation of federal and California law.