Headlines for Friday morning, July 8, 2022, include:
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed during a campaign speech Friday morning. Abe was Japan’s longest serving leader before stepping down in 2020 over health concerns. He was shot twice from behind reportedly with a makeshift gun. The alleged gunman was arrested. Leaders around the world have expressed surprise that the assassination happened in Japan, a country unaccustomed to gun violence.
“This is shocking. It’s profoundly disturbing in and of itself. It’s also such a strong personal loss for so many people,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at the G-20 Foreign Ministers summit in Bali, Indonesia Friday. “Prime Minister Abe was an extraordinary partner and someone who clearly was a great leader for Japan, for the Japanese people but also so admired as a global leader and one who really during his time in office brought the relationship between our countries, the United States and Japan to new heights.”
The deal between Elon Musk and Twitter is reportedly in great jeopardy after Musk discontinued discussions over funding for the $44 billion acquisition. Musk has been at odds with Twitter over the amount of bot and spam accounts on the platform. While data has been unclear, Twitter executives did announce Thursday more than 1 million spam accounts are removed from the social media platform each day. Musk has previously stated Twitter needs to show spam accounts represent fewer than 5% of all accounts for a deal to proceed.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed an executive order on Thursday authorizing state authorities to detain and return illegal immigrants to ports of entry at the border. It’s the latest and arguably most aggressive approach from the governor in the battle over immigration law with the Biden administration. Critics of the executive order argue immigration policy is a federal government responsibility. Supporters of the executive order argue an invasion at the U.S.-Mexico border opens the door for the state to take legal action.