So, Elon Musk is going to buy Twitter, after all. Country music legend Loretta Lynn dies. And how much attention does a Facebook post about a missing child get? It depends on the kid’s race.
? Hey! Laura Davis here. It’s Tuesday – here’s the news!
But first, rude airplane behaviors: Do you do anything on this list? ? I’m certainly guilty of one.
The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here.
? What’s the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.
Elon Musk’s Twitter deal finally gets the blue check
The deal is on again. After months of legal battles, Twitter has accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the social media platform for $54.20 a share, the company said Tuesday. The billionaire and Tesla CEO made an offer to buy Twitter earlier this year, but then tried to back out by alleging that Twitter misrepresented how it measures “spam bot” accounts that are useless to advertisers. A trial seeking to force Musk to buy Twitter was set to start on Oct. 17. Twitter shares surged 22% Tuesday on the news after trading was briefly halted.
No. 62: Aaron Judge breaks Roger Maris’ AL and Yankees home run record
There was a gasp, a moment of silence, and an explosion of exhilaration Monday evening, reverberating deep in the heart of Texas and heard ‘round the baseball world. New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge homered over the left-field wall off Texas Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco, and at 7:08 p.m. CT, become the American League Home Run King with his 62nd home run of the season, surpassing former Yankee Roger Maris’ record set 61 years ago in 1961. Judge validated his legacy, producing one of the greatest seasons in baseball history, joining the Mount Rushmore of greatest single-season home run hitters: Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and now Judge.
Country music icon Loretta Lynn dies at 90
Loretta Lynn, who rose from a hardscrabble upbringing to become the most culturally significant female singer-songwriter in country music history, has died. She was 90. Lynn’s family said she died Tuesday in her sleep at her “beloved ranch” in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. She was a mother of four when she launched her career in the early 1960s, and though many of her songs are filled with specifics of her wholly unique life, they had a universal appeal. She wrote about intimate matters – from her difficult, wearying childhood to fights with her husband – yet managed to strike a collective nerve. In her 1970 smash hit, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Lynn told the story of her upbringing, which helped her reach her widest audience yet.
What everyone’s talking about
The Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.
Did officials do enough to warn people before Hurricane Ian?
As the death toll in Florida from Hurricane Ian climbed to 71 on Tuesday, many continued to question whether lives could have been saved if officials had moved more quickly to evacuate barrier islands and other areas devastated by the storm. In Lee County – which includes Fort Myers and where Ian made landfall at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday – officials waited until 7 a.m. last Tuesday to order people to leave vulnerable coastal areas, while other southwest counties ordered evacuations last Monday. Of the confirmed deaths, 45 were in Lee County. Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who served two terms as Florida governor and dealt with several major hurricanes, said Sunday that state and local officials should review their decisions to see what could have been done differently. But other experts aren’t so sure. Keep reading.
How race affects social media efforts to find missing kids
Social media could be an equalizer for finding missing children, highlighting posts about kids from all backgrounds without the filters of traditional media and police…
Read More: Hurricane Ian, Elon Musk buying Twitter, Loretta Lynn dies. Tuesday’s news.