Elon Musk will probably get fewer invitations to come to Brazil after his companies received a pummeling from the country’s top judge.

X was blocked in Brazil yesterday after refusing to heed an order from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to appoint a local legal representative that could facilitate judicial requests to block users. This cuts off X’s access to an ultra-online market with 40 million monthly X users, per Emarketer.

• X claimed it’s getting punished for refusing to comply with Moraes’s “illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
• Musk called the judge an “outright criminal of the worst kind, masquerading as a judge” and “Dictator de Voldemort.”

Earlier in the week, Moraes froze the local bank accounts of Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, which the company called an unconstitutional attempt to hold it responsible for X’s actions.

Why did X get x-ed?

The Musk–Moraes conflict began in the spring, when the judge ordered X to block dozens of accounts allegedly spreading misinformation.

The court began probing X after the platform initially complied with the order but then reversed course, accusing the government of attempted censorship. Many of the targeted accounts were associated with Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who used so-called “digital militias” to claim that the election was stolen. Some critics of Moraes and Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro, have accused them of weaponizing the legal system to stifle political speech. The topic of online speech is particularly sensitive given Brazil’s upcoming municipal elections in October.

Musk shut down X’s operations in the country earlier this month after saying the government threatened to arrest its legal representative there.

Looking ahead…Brazilians will have to fire up their VPNs for the latest memes, risking an $8,774 daily fine, as local internet providers are expected to start blocking X’s website, and app stores there will remove the app.—SK

Monogram (Nasdaq: MGRM), known for their autonomous robotic surgical systems, completed a crowdfunded public offering and Nasdaq listing last year. What’s next?

They just filed for FDA approval to market and commercialize their patented AI joint replacement tech. By the year 2027, 50% of knee replacement surgeries will be robotic—up from 12% today.

Now, Monogram’s offering a new chance for investors: the opportunity to invest in preferred stock with an 8% dividend (in cash or kind). Their common stock closed as high as $3.44 in the past two weeks, but the unlisted preferred stock (which is convertible into one share of common) is available for $2.25/share.

Monogram currently plans to close the Series D Preferred offering on September 12, 2024.

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother killed by suspected drunken driver. The 31-year-old Columbus Blue Jacket known as “Johnny Hockey” and his 29-year-old brother, Matthew, were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles on a rural road in Oldmans Township, NJ, around 8:30pm on Thursday. Police said the driver, Sean M. Higgins, attempted to pass two vehicles and hit the brothers from behind. Higgins was charged with two counts of death by auto, reckless driving, possession of an open container, and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. The brothers were scheduled to be groomsmen in their sister’s wedding in Philadelphia yesterday.

Adnan Syed’s reinstated murder conviction to stand for now. In the latest twist in the legal saga at the heart of the popular podcast Serial, Maryland’s highest court ruled yesterday that an appeals court got it right when it revived Syed’s conviction for the murder of his high-school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and sent the case back to a lower court for a new hearing. The court found that it was an injustice that Lee’s family didn’t get more notice before the hearing that led to a ruling tossing Syed’s conviction and setting him free. Syed will remain out of prison while the case continues through the courts.

OpenAI considers changing its structure as top tech cos. look to invest. The Financial Times reports that the ChatGPT-maker is discussing changing its corporate structure, which currently has it governed by a nonprofit entity, to make it more attractive to investors as the company works to complete a funding round that values it at $100 billion. Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft (which is already a big OpenAI backer) are said to be considering participating in the investment round.

There’s a tip screen after basically every transaction these days, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see the concept embraced by a college football program.

Oklahoma State opens its season this afternoon, and fans can donate to the school’s name, image, and likeness (NIL) fund for student-athletes through QR codes on the back of their helmets. The initiative is believed to be the first of its kind. Fans at home can scan the codes on their TVs (or in photos that show up on social media) and toss the players a few bucks for the effort.

It’s an innovative way to remain competitive in the cutthroat world of college recruiting:

• Head coach Mike Gundy said the school spent $2.7 million on NIL deals last season, far below what rivals are dishing out to land top athletes.
• The money is pooled, so you can’t give directly to a quarterback who helped you win a bet.

Not everyone loves it. LSU head coach Brian Kelly voiced his displeasure with the concept, saying it “doesn’t feel collegiate for me.” LSU raises money for its NIL collective through LSU+, an $8.99-per-month streaming platform, which apparently does feel collegiate.—DL

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The writers at Hallmark couldn’t come up with a stranger royal love story if they were hallucinating from spoiled eggnog. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Durek Verrett, an American shaman, are getting married today in Geiranger, Norway, with 350 of their nearest and dearest influencers loved ones in attendance.

Märtha Louise, 52, and Verrett, 49, have both spent most of their adult lives getting side-eyed for saying they can communicate with spirits.

• The princess used to run a school to teach people to talk to angels.
• Verrett, a self-proclaimed sixth-generation shaman who heavily embraces social media, has advised celebrities like Selma Blair and has glowing reviews from Gwyneth Paltrow.

Märtha Louise—who put aside royal duties to get involved in her soon-to-be husband’s business but remains fourth in line to the throne—was also in hot water earlier this year for briefly using her title to market commemorative wedding gin despite being told by the king (her dad) not to use her title for profit.

Another peculiar detail: Traditional Norwegian media outlets won’t have any access to photos from the ceremony, an uncommon move in the country, according to the press. Instead, the couple gave Hello! (a British celeb mag) exclusive access to cover their nuptials and sold Netflix the film rights.—MM

It seems many of America’s millionaires aren’t so much balling out on caviar-topped everything and Swarovski-crusted phones these days as much as they are…saving for retirement. Thanks largely to a stock market that just won’t quit, the number of 401(k) millionaires hit a new record last quarter—rising 2.5% to 497,000, per Fidelity. It was the third quarter in a row of growth for retirement savings, Quartz reports, and the average amount in retirement accounts hit $127,100. But even those who have made it to the $1 million mark haven’t quite hit the figure most Americans think they need to retire comfortably. That’d be $1.46 million, according to the latest survey by Northwestern Mutual.