Elon Musk declares ‘massive cyberattack’ as X users report multiple outages

X users reported that the site, formerly known as Twitter, experienced multiple outages throughout Monday. Musk took to X to address the outages Monday afternoon.

“There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against X,” Musk wrote in a post at 1:25 p.m. “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing …”

A user commented saying “They want to silence you and this platform,” to which Musk responded, “Yes.” No attacker or cause has been formally identified to explain the outages

The first two outages of Elon Musk‘s social media platform were resolved in about 45 minutes, according to Downdetector. Variety reported that the outages effected thousands of users in the United States and the United Kingdom.

—Boston Herald

Teacher loses job after refusing to use transgender students’ pronouns, Wisconsin lawsuit says

A Wisconsin teacher has reached a settlement with his former employer after he says he lost his job because he refused to refer to transgender students by their names and pronouns, his attorneys said.

Jordan Cernek was a middle school and high school English and language arts teacher for the Argyle School District from August 2021 until August 2023, according to a federal lawsuit filed July 8, 2024.

McClatchy News reached out to Argyle School District for comment on March 10 but did not immediately hear back.

During an August 2022 meeting, staff members were told the district was implementing a new policy in which teachers would have to use “different names and pronouns for any students who requested them,” the lawsuit said.

—The Charlotte Observer

Penn, bracing for federal funding cuts, orders a hiring freeze and other changes

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania has ordered a hiring freeze and other economies as the university braces for the impact of potential federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The changes are “effective immediately, and until further notice,” according to an email sent to staff Monday and obtained by The Inquirer.

The belt tightening at the city’s largest employer comes as universities nationwide cope with a downturn in finances because of shifting winds in Washington.

Columbia University, for instance, lost $400 million; Trump administration officials said the cuts came because it believed the university had not adequately addressed antisemitism. Harvard University, also an Ivy League school like Penn and Columbia, announced a hiring freeze Monday as well.

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Trump privately angry after King Charles III welcomed Zelenskyy, Trudeau

President Donald Trump has reportedly been fuming since realizing that King Charles III no longer regards him as “special.”

This realization for Trump, an open admirer of the British royal family, has come in the past week after Charles showed solidarity with two of Trump’s biggest antagonists — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to multiple reports.

Charles welcomed the two leaders to his private country estate, Sandringham, for friendly meetings and photos ops on March 2 and 3.

In a follow-up to these meetings, Charles was expected to use his annual Commonwealth Day address Monday to play “peacemaker” and call on nations to “come together in the spirit of support and friendship” rather than focusing on “differences” in “uncertain times,” the Times U.K. reported.

—The Mercury News