Elon Musk’s X is now valued at about $19bn or less than half of what he paid to buy the social media company, according to a new report. The multibillionaire Tesla and SpaceX chief last year finally bought the microblogging platform that was formerly called Twitter for the price of $44bn or $54.20 per share. Mr Musk’s purchase was completed after a months-long legal battle with the company. A new internal valuation has now found there to have been a 56 per cent decrease in the company’s value over the last 12 months, suggested internal documents. Stock grants handed out to employees showed X/Twitter is now worth about $19bn, Fortune reported on Monday. Mr Musk earlier said he had overpaid for the social media platform that he called “an inverse start-up.” In March, he told employees in an email that they would receive stock awards based on a $20bn valuation of the firm. The valuation drop comes as several high-profile advertisers have withdrawn after the Tesla titan’s controversial takeover of the company. Mr Musk’s reign of the platform has been marred by mass layoffs, the chaotic roll out of a number of new features, including the site’s verification process, and the reinstatement of previously suspended high-profile accounts. The company was also rebranded X along with a new logo to replace the bird icon that had been there since the platform’s creation. There have also been rising concerns around X’s content moderation approach. The EU recently opened an investigation into the company as misinformation linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict began to spread on the platform. In July, Mr Musk shared that X is “still negative cash flow” with a “50 per cent drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load”. Banks involved in financing the multibillionaire’s deal to buy Twitter are also reportedly struggling to mitigate the impact of platform’s decline in value on their balance sheets. The Tesla and SpaceX boss, however, has remained optimistic about the future of the platform. Mr Musk claimed in an email last year that he saw a “clear, but difficult, path to a >$250B valuation” for the company. In a recent company meeting, he also reportedly expressed his belief that the rebranded X could serve as an all-purpose app with a range of features like job recruitment and dating services. “We’re rapidly transforming the company from sort of what it was, Twitter 1.0, to the everything app with an all-inclusive feature app where you can basically do anything you want on our system,” he said, according to The New York Times. The Independent has reached out to X for a comment. Read More Elon Musk slammed by Israel for offering to send Starlink to Gaza Elon Musk says X posts with misinformation are ‘ineligible for revenue share’ Twitter adds video calling – and lets strangers ring you Elon Musk was ‘almost in tears’ on Tesla earnings call, analyst claims Slack to retire its status account on Elon Musk’s X Tesla’s profits dip as Musk goes on rant about staff working from home

By Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's diversified group Merck KGaA flagged that full-year operating earnings would likely be in the

A mom promoted a children's book on grief on local TV before being arrested for her husband's murder. Kouri Richins, 33, appeared on TV only last month to speak about her book Are You With Me? “My husband passed away unexpectedly last year. March 4 was a one-year anniversary for us, He was 39,” she said on ABC4. “It completely took us all by shock,” she added. “We have three little boys, ten, nine and six, and my kids and I kind of wrote this book on the different emotions and grieving processes that we’ve experienced in the last year. I went on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to try to find something to help us cope at night, nights are the hardest. I just wanted some story to read to my kids at night and I couldn’t find anything that suited them, so I was like ‘let’s just write one’.” Ms Richins was arrested Monday for the March 2022 murder. She is accused of having poisoned her husband with fentanyl at their home in Kamas, Utah – a small town in the mountains close to Park City, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors argue that Ms Richins made a late-night call to the authorities in March last year to say that her husband was “cold to the touch”. Ms Richins told police that she made her husband a mixed drink using vodka to supposedly celebrate a recent sale of a home before she left to help one of their three children to sleep in their bedroom. She claimed that when she returned, she found him unresponsive and called the emergency services. A medical examiner found that Eric Richins had five times the lethal amount of fentanyl in his system. Ms Richins has been charged with murder in addition to allegedly possessing GHB. It’s a narcolepsy drug often used recreationally, such as at dance clubs, the AP notes. The charges are based on the officers’ accounts of their interactions with Ms Richins as well as the account of an “unnamed acquaintance” who said they sold the fentanyl to Ms Richins. The charges come two months after Ms Richins appeared on local TV to speak about her picture book Are You With Me? – which she authored to help children after losing someone close to them. Ms Richins appeared on a segment called Good Things Utah, saying that the death of her husband was unexpected and describing how it adversely affected her and her three children – all boys. She said that grieving for children was about “making sure that their spirit is always alive in your home”. “It’s, you know, explaining to my kid just because he’s not present here with us physically, doesn’t mean his presence isn’t here with us,” she told the local TV station. A police search warrant states that Mr Richins died on 4 March 2022. The Richins family is notable in Summit County, according to KPCW. The Richins Building in Kimball Junction was named after one member of the family – Sheldon Richins. Members of Mr Richins’s family said not long after his death that they suspected his wife of having killed him. Warrants state that “he warned them that if anything happened to him, she was to blame”. One of Mr Richins’s sisters claimed that he called her a few years ago when he was in Greece on vacation. He claimed that one of the drinks his wife had given him had made him very ill. The sister claimed that Ms Richins had made an attempt to take her brother’s life. A warrant also states that Ms Richins was caught changing her husband’s life insurance policy to make herself the only beneficiary. On Valentine’s Day last year, less than a month before his death, Mr Richins had an allergic reaction after having dinner with his wife. He broke out in hives, was unable to breathe, and passed out after using taking Benadryl and using his son’s EpiPen. According to court filings, Ms Richins had bought fentanyl pills for $900 a few days before the dinner. She asked for another $900 not long before Mr Richins’s death. Before he died, Mr Richins changed the beneficiary of his will and his power of attorney from his wife to his sister. A warrant states that he thought his wife might “kill him for the money”. Warrants also state that Mr Richins was planning on divorcing his wife, but that proceedings had yet to start at the time of his death. Ms Richins published the book on 7 March of this year, telling KPCW a few weeks later that it’s “designed to offer comfort and solace to young minds”. Last month, she told KPCW that the book was inspired by her own kids’ questions. “You know, ‘Is dad with us?’” she said. “Because they’re going through the sadness of knowing that he’s not here, presently.” The Independent has reached out to Ms Richins’s attorney for comment. Read More She wrote book on husband's death; police say she killed him Who is Lori Vallow? The ‘doomsday cult mom’ on trial for her children’s murders Alex Cox, Tammy Daybell and Charles Vallow: Key players in the Lori Vallow trial

Shawn Layden is now strategic advisor at Tencent, three years after leaving Sony PlayStation.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Lorenzen threw the 14th no-hitter in Philadelphia Phillies history, a dazzling performance in only his second start with his new team, which beat the Washington Nationals 7-0 on Wednesday night.

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US women's national team coach Vlatko Andonovski has resigned, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The move comes less than two weeks after the Americans were knocked out of the Women's World Cup earlier than ever before. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the move had not been officially announced. An announcement was expected Thursday. The four-time tournament champions struggled throughout this World Cup. A victory over Vietnam to kick off the group stage was followed by a pair of draws against Netherlands and Portugal — barely enough to get the team into the knockout stage, The Americans played well in the Round of 16 against Sweden, but ultimately fell on penalties after a scoreless tie. The U.S. scored just four goals over the course of the tournament. The United States had never finished worse that third in the tournament. The 46-year-old Mr Andonovski was named coach of the United States in October 2019, taking over for Jill Ellis, who led the United States to back-to-back World Cup titles. He finished 51-5-9 during his time with the team. It wasn't just the World Cup that hurt Mr Andonovski's chances of keeping his job. The United States also finished with a disappointing bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Kate Markgraf, general manager of the U.S. women's team, stuck with Mr Andonovski following the Olympics and the team focused on developing young players ahead of the World Cup. The United States was bitten by injuries in the run-up to the tournament, losing a pair of key players. Mallory Swanson injured her knee during a friendly in April, and captain Becky Sauerbrunn couldn't recover from a foot injury in time. The World Cup was challenging for many elite teams because of the ever-growing parity in the women's game. Germany, Brazil and Canada, the winners in Tokyo, also got knocked out early. Andonovski was head coach of Seattle's OL Reign in the National Women’s Soccer League when he was hired. During his seven years in the NWSL, he led the now-defunct FC Kansas City from the league’s inception in 2013 until the club folded in 2017, winning two league titles with the team. Andonovski, a native of Skopje, Macedonia, played for several teams in Europe before embarking on a professional indoor soccer career in the United States. His predecessor, Ms Ellis, was named coach of the team in 2014 and led the US to eight overall tournament titles, including victories at the World Cup in 2015 and 2019. Over the course of her tenure, the United States lost just seven matches. Now the process will start to find a replacement, and the timeline is relatively short. The United States has already qualified for the 2024 Olympics in France. Read More Women’s World Cup LIVE: England prepare for final against Spain and latest reaction to win over Australia What time is the World Cup final on Sunday and who will England play? A timeline of Donald Trump’s spat with Megan Rapinoe: ‘Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!’ USA face ‘critical’ decision as Andonovski exits after disastrous World Cup Support grows for bank holiday if Lionesses win World Cup final Ella Toone’s PE teacher reveals why it’s no surprise she’s in the World Cup final

FIFA 23 Pre-Season Batch 2 release date is slated for Friday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. ET.

Bryant Gumbel's “Real Sports” newsmagazine was the longest-running show on HBO, and soon it will be no more

For decades since they were privatized, the UK’s public service providers have favored inflation-linked bonds as a cheap

The United Auto Workers said on Friday the union will expand its strikes against Detroit automakers General Motors