Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, (formerly Twitter) visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp Monday amid ongoing accusations of him allowing antisemitic messages on the platform. Speaking afterward, he said that the tragedy of the Holocaust "hits you much more in the heart when you see it in person." Musk, 52, was touring the Nazi Germany established camp before attending a conference on antisemitism by the European Jewish Association in Krakow, Poland. Near the town of Oswiecim in southern Poland, Musk visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau site with Daily Wire podcaster Ben Shapiro and the founder and head of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin. While admitting to having been "naïve" about the extent of antisemitism until recently, Musk defended his X platform as a place for freedom of speech and ideas. "The overarching goal for the X platform is to be the best source of truth in the world," he said. The "relentless pursuit of the truth is the goal with X and allowing people to say what they want to say, even if it's controversial, provided that it does not break the law."
Music star Billy Joel hinted Monday that he is set to release his first new single in 30 years next week, previewing it with a teaser on social media. In a video Joel posted, his hand appears to turn a notebook page that is filled with faded lyrics and titled "Famous Last Words." Joel then appears with a dark suit, beginning to get a tune out of a piano in a dark room. The post then says the song is set to arrive Feb. 1. A six-time Grammy Award winner, the 74-year-old stopped releasing pop music in 1993 after he released "River of Dreams," finishing the album with a song titled "Famous Last Words." A news release indicated what may have fueled his reasons for creating the song, titled "Turn the Lights Back On," as a lyric includes "Did I wait too long ... to turn the lights back on?" While he has been performing concerts and established a residency at Madison Square Garden that ends in July, Joel has avoided showcasing new music outside of any classical releases. His last new songs were "All My Life" and "Christmas in Fallujah," both of them released as singles in 2007. "Turn the Lights Back On" will release on all music streaming platforms.