Your weekend long reads 🗞

Saturday, April 30

How does Russia's Vladimir Putin maintain his grip on power? What will Elon Musk do with Twitter? And Olivia Wilde's moment in the process-serving spotlight.

It's John, and these were some of the must reads this week from the USA TODAY NETWORK. Let's dive right in.

But first: Mother's day is next weekend. If you're still searching for that perfect gift, we've got you.🎁

And now, this week's must reads.

Putin's power

USA TODAY's Josh Meyer this week had a trio of compelling stories examining Vladimir Putin's rise to power and how he maintains it.

Putin's financial empire: Russia's leader has amassed a fortune that some authorities believe is one of the largest in the world. Using public resources and a close circle of friends, Putin created a new class of oligarchs whose business riches became, effectively, Putin's own . "He has run his financial affairs in a way that's totally consistent with the biggest organized crime boss on the face of the earth," says former U.S. illicit finance official David Asher.

All in the family: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered economic sanctions against Putin and members of his immediate family, but the system that built Putin's riches has also frustrated efforts to punish him . To hit Putin where it hurts most, experts told USA TODAY, U.S. and European officials need to also sanction Putin's ex-wife, several alleged girlfriends and their children and others directly related to them.

Crushing opponents: During Vladimir Putin's rise, he and his associates are suspected of silencing some of those who raised questions about the source of his apparent wealth. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned and nearly killed, then was arrested. Possibly dozens of people have been killed or survived poisonings and other assassination attempts or have had their investigations blocked or shut down.

#ElonMusk

It seems like everything Elon Musk does these days is news. So when Twitter confirmed this week that the billionaire and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX plans to acquire the social media company, it set off a frenzy of, well, news. Here are some highlights of our coverage:

•	What the Musk deal means for Twitter users
•	Will free speech mean more hate speech?
•	Who is Elon Musk anyway?
•	Republicans gain followers, Democrats lose following shakeup

You've been served

When Actress Olivia Wilde was served with custody documents while onstage at an event in Las Vegas, it was "the process serving seen 'round the world," in the words of USA TODAY's Maria Puente. Talk about cringeworthy. Puente took a closer look at the strange episode and the ethics of high-profile process serving.

There are more must reads below.👇 Have a great weekend!