Semafor: “The former congressman was expelled last Friday for a variety of sins and alleged crimes, including overcharging the credit card of a colleague’s mother. He has, in the intervening four days, stumbled across a path to making a living that dwarfs the $174,000 salary he earned as a member of Congress.”

“In fact, Santos said — and screenshots and the CEO of Cameo confirmed — that he has lined up more than that sum in his first 48 hours on the platform. People pay between $200 and $300 to Santos for various flavors of communication.”

“In towns across the nation, there is that person – the kid who made it big, starred in some movies, became an action hero, maybe even won some awards,” The Messenger reports.

“What if that person told you about an upcoming local election? Or a candidate who you should consider supporting? They are famous, sure, but they are more than that: They are your town’s famous person, someone with local credibility because they know what it’s like to grow up where you did.”

“That’s the theory behind The Hometown Project, an progressive effort that looks to pair celebrities with candidates for state legislature, school board, or other local offices from the areas they grew up in.”

“Fans who attend Pink’s shows this week in Florida will get more than just a performance. The ‘So What‘ singer plans to give out 2,000 books that have been banned from the state’s public schools and libraries,” The Messenger reports.

“Donald Trump hung up on Kim Kardashian when she called for help with a clemency case — because he assumed she voted for President Biden,” Jonathan Karl writes in Tired of Winning, Axios reports.

“A Taylor Swift Instagram post drove record-breaking web traffic to Vote.org this week and helped the site register more than 35,000 new voters,” Axios reports.

Oliver Anthony criticized the use of his viral folk song at the Republican debate this week, in a new video statement.

Said Anthony: “I wrote that song about those people… It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news trying to identify with me like I’m one of them.”

Donald Trump threw his support behind country music star Jason Aldean, after his music video — filmed at the site of the 1927 lynching of a Black teenager — was pulled from CMT, Insider reports.

Said Trump: “Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!”

From the song’s lyrics: “Well, try that in a small town. See how far ya make it down the road. Around here, we take care of our own. You cross that line, it won’t take long. For you to find out, I recommend you don’t.”

Italy’s minister of culture has contacted Mark Zuckerberg about the possibility of staging a fight against Elon Musk in the Colosseum, TMZ reports.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson told Rolling Stone that Donald Trump reminds him of the same racist “rednecks” who taunted him as a child.

Said Jackson: “That’s what the Republican Party is to me. They’re doing it to young people, gay people. They don’t care who you are. If you’re not them, you’re the enemy.”