Nov 3, 2017 - Politics & Policy

Twitter blames “human error” for temporarily deactivating @realdonaldtrump

Twitter signage is draped on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Mark Lennihan / AP

Twitter released a statement Thursday evening saying an employee had "inadvertently deactivated" President Trump's personal twitter account. The removal of Trump's account caused an immediate reaction among Twitter users, until the account reappeared minutes later.

"Earlier today @realdonaldtrump's account was inadvertently deactivated due to human error by a Twitter employee. The account was down for 11 minutes, and has since been restored. We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again."

Update: Twitter said its preliminary investigation shows Trump's account was deactivated by a customer support representative on their last day of work at Twitter.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 11 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 a.m. ET: 30,217,420 — Total deaths: 946,847— Total recoveries: 20,554,349 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 a.m. ET: 6,677,516 — Total deaths: 197,682 — Total recoveries: 2,540,334 — Total tests: 91,546,598 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump vs. his own administration on virus response.
  4. Health: Massive USPS face mask operation called off — The risks of moving too fast on a vaccine.
  5. Business: Unemployment drop-off reverses course — 1 million mortgage-holders fall through safety net — How the pandemic has deepened Boeing's 737 MAX crunch.
  6. Education: At least 42% of school employees are vulnerable.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
16 mins ago - Economy & Business

U.S. nutritional supplements retailer takes first step to sell to China’s Harbin Pharma

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

GNC Holdings, the Pittsburgh-based nutritional supplements retailer, received bankruptcy court approval to sell itself to China’s Harbin Pharma for $770 million, although the deal still faces U.S. political pressures over how GNC customer data is protected.

Why it matters: It's a reminder that the U.S.-China merger mess goes well beyond smartphone apps, with Sen. Marco Rubio asking for a CFIUS review.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Ben Geman, author of Generate
1 hour ago - Energy & Environment

Tallying Trump's climate changes

Reproduced from Rhodium Climate Service; Chart: Axios Visuals

The Trump administration's scuttling or weakening of key Obama-era climate policies could together add 1.8 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent to the atmosphere by 2035, a Rhodium Group analysis concludes.

Why it matters: The 1.8 gigatons is "more than the combined energy emissions of Germany, Britain and Canada in one year," per the New York Times, which first reported on the study.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow