Benzinga's Talk of the Town: Top Social Trending Stories You Need To Know

What's trending on social media today:

DOJ Sued Google: The Department of Justice has opened up a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google for dominance in the online ad market and anti-competitive practices. The government said Google should be forced to sell its ad manager suite. In response, Google said, "DOJ is doubling down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow."

PELOSI Act: The Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act was reintroduced by U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a bill to prevent lawmakers and their spouses from trading or holding individual stocks. The bill would require the Congress member found in violation to return the profits to the American taxpayer. In January, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reiterated the need to put an end to Congress members trading or owning stocks while in office. In related news, Nancy Pelosi sold $3 million worth of Google stock four weeks ago. 

U.S. Debt Default: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen activated another extraordinary cash management measure on Tuesday to avert breaching the federal debt limit by suspending daily reinvestments in a large government retirement fund that holds Treasury debt. In a letter to the House Speaker, Yellen wrote. "My predecessors have taken this suspension action in similar circumstances. By law, the G Fund will be made whole once the debt limit is increased or suspended. Federal retirees and employees will be unaffected by this action."

Rick & Morty: TV Channel Adult Swim has cut ties with Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland as the actor prepares to defend himself against domestic violence charges by his ex-girlfriend. A statement by Adult Swim said, "Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on season seven."

Microsoft Earnings: Microsfot Inc MSFT reported second-quarter earnings on Tuesday after-hours. The company missed revenue consensus marginally but clocked $2.32 earnings per share which beat the street view. Microsoft Azure cloud growth slowed, which caused the stock to dip after the company conference call amid a cautious third-quarter outlook. However, some analysts saw the positives in earnings and are bullish on future growth.

Tesla Earnings: Tesla Inc TSLA and its CEO Elon Musk remain mostly in the news. Tesla is due to report its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts from JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley have lowered the price targets on Tesla going into earnings.