China-US tensions set to be defining issue of our time – and TikTok ‘threat’ is alarming Washington
One revealing exchange spelt out the reason that America’s top intelligence officials believe TikTok is a threat to US national security.
The vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, asked the Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, a few simple questions.
(L-R) Chair Mark Warner listens as vice-chair Marco Rubio speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. Pic: AP
Rubio: “Could they use TikTok to control data on millions of users?”
FBI director: “Yes.”
Rubio: “Could they use it to control the software on millions of devices given the opportunity to do so?”
FBI director: “Yes.”
Rubio: “Could they use it to drive narratives like to divide Americans against each other? For example, let’s say China wants to invade Taiwan, to make sure that Americans are seeing videos arguing why Taiwan belongs to China; why the US should not intervene?”
FBI director: “Yes.”
It was one of the numerous moments when the Chinese-owned and globally popular social media app came up at this annual committee hearing on worldwide threats, with testimony from all the leaders of key intelligence community agencies.
(L-R) FBI Director Christopher Wray, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and Defence Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier
The TikTok threat provides a tangible headline and will resonate with millions of TikTok users in America and beyond.
Indeed, there is more than a little angst at the political implications of a US government decision to ban the app in America.
How will young voters react to being told they can’t use the app they are seemingly addicted to? The intel chiefs’ response to that was essentially ‘tell them that China is gobbling up all their personal data’.
But beyond the TikTok headline, the central theme which ran through this hearing was China.
A 3D printed TikTok logo is seen in front of a US flag
Read more:
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China accuses US of ‘abusing state power’ following TikTok bans
TikTok banned from EU Commission phones over cyberattack fears
This Capitol Hill spectacle provides the rare opportunity to hear directly from America’s top intelligence officials and China came up again and again.
Of course, there was talk of Russia, Iran, domestic extremist terror threats and even the strain on American society of gun violence and opioid drug use. (There have been over 100 mass shootings in America so far this year and 100,000 Americans die annually from opioid abuse. Absorb that.)
But the central thread running through the two-hour televised hearings with senators was the threat posed by the government in Beijing.
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Why is TikTok getting banned?
At times it feels like there is almost an inevitability to future conflict with China.
The cable news channels constantly scream ‘The China Threat’.
Spy balloons, shot down, are pushing the geopolitical strain to the limit.
Chinese ownership of American land is riling politicians. The race to have the most sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms has genuinely existential consequences.
Some say forget the situation between Ukraine and the West; if that is not a sideshow then it is a precursor for what could come with China.
The China-US relationship is set to be the defining issue of our time and that of our children.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
Read more:
Sisters killed in Texas flooding found holding hands
Why did deadly Texas floods catch people by surprise?
Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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