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If you think TikTok is messing with the heads of young people, consider what it’s been doing to America’s most powerful adults.

Last March, Congress voted overwhelmingly to ban the app on American soil unless a US buyer was found.

Despite claims or speculation that anyone from Elon Musk to MrBeast might be buyers, a deal has yet to emerge, with TikTok maintaining it’s not for sale.

Read more: TikTok to be banned in the US from Sunday, Supreme Court rules

Now, the US Supreme Court has dismissed legal challenges against the ban by the company and its users that said the new law would violate US free speech laws.

As things currently stand, the ban will take effect on January 19th, with TikTok saying the app will “go dark” in the US on Sunday.

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Why is TikTok getting banned in the US?

But will it?

Outgoing US President Joe Biden and his successor Donald Trump, who both originally backed the ban, are siding against it.

Mr Biden has said he will not allow prosecutions for violations of the ban during his last 36 hours in office.

Mr Trump has indicated he will use an executive order to effectively suspend the ban until a US buyer is found.

You can almost hear the chuckles in the corridors of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

Though owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, TikTok has never been available in China.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

It was the US Congress that decided the app was (delete as appropriate to your level of paranoia): distracting; influencing; spying on; brainwashing American youth.

Yet it looks as if Mr Biden’s last day in office may be overshadowed by 170 million, mostly young, Americans opening their favourite app to be confronted with a blank screen – and blaming him for it.

And Mr Trump celebrating his inauguration with the chief executive of TikTok Shou Zi Chew, but without his 14.8 million followers on TikTok.

Not to mention the seven million US businesses, according to TikTok, that profit from the platform having to hawk their wares on Facebook, Instagram and X and understandably wondering about the fairness of it all.

It’s looking as if America called TikTok’s bluff and it simply “swiped up”, threatening to take all the dances, trends, memes and marketing opportunities with it.

And America has flinched.

FILE - Devotees of TikTok gather at the Capitol in Washington, as the House passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell, on March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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TikTok users protest against the ban. File pic: AP

So what happens now?

TikTok may accept the reassurance of Mr Trump and keep the app running in the US. But it’s a legally precarious position for a company as it would still be in breach of US law.

According to incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, team Trump will “keep TikTok alive… if there is a viable deal”.

But what does that even look like?

TikTok’s success is largely based on its technology.

Its algorithm is famous (or infamous, depending on whether you are a teenager or parent) in social media for its ability to feed users content that keeps them glued to the app.

A powerful AI curates the “For You” page that tailors videos, not just based on content a particular user views, but the faces, video length, text and topics it thinks they will like.

The company has key patents on automatic music generation and various filters that help users create videos.

While it has a hefty 170 million users in the US, it has more than 1.4 billion more worldwide.

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ByteDance has indicated that TikTok’s algorithm is not up for sale, nor, it’s reasonable to assume, are the rest of its patents.

Why would it give up all that for a fraction – albeit a lucrative one – of its overall market?

It seems unlikely a potential US buyer would pay much just to own TikTok’s platform and its list of US users if it had no way of offering them the same experience they enjoyed on the app before.

ByteDance (and the Chinese government which would have to approve the deal) could be persuaded to sell the app in its entirety to a US entity.

But the price is expected to be high: in the region of $100bn, which would be steep for even America’s richest tech titans.

That said, a deal could happen.

Mr Trump has announced he discussed TikTok on a call with China’s premier Xi Jinping.

Has the app become an unexpected pawn in US-China relations?

Keen to avoid punitive tariff’s threatened by Mr Trump, Beijing may be willing to let TikTok go.

Mr Trump may help close the deal, win favour with 170 million young voters, and gain powerful leverage over yet another social media platform.

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Judge pauses Donald Trump’s plan to put thousands of USAID workers on leave

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Judge pauses Donald Trump's plan to put thousands of USAID workers on leave

A federal court has paused aspects of a plan by Donald Trump to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and put roughly 2,700 of its staff on leave.

District judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by the US president during his first term, agreed with legal arguments from the largest government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers.

They sued to stop Mr Trump’s administration attempting to close USAID, which distributes billions of dollars of humanitarian aid around the world.

Justice department official Brett Shumate told Judge Nichols that about 2,200 USAID employees would be put on paid leave under the administration’s plans.

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What is USAID?

“The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID,” said Mr Shumate.

It echoes comments President Trump made on Friday in a post on Truth Social accusing USAID – without evidence – of corruption and spending money fraudulently.

But Karla Gilbride, a lawyer for the unions, argued the plans were unlawful: “The major reduction in force, as well as the closure of offices, the forced relocation of these individuals were all done in excess of the executive’s authority in violation of the separation of powers.”

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Judge Nichols’s order, which is in effect until 14 February, blocks Mr Trump’s administration from implementing plans to place the 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave from Saturday.

It also reinstates some 500 employees who had already been furloughed.

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And there will be a ban on relocating USAID humanitarian workers stationed outside the US, after overseas staff were ordered to return home within 30 days.

Judge Nichols will consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing scheduled for next week.

But he rejected other requests from the unions to reopen USAID buildings and restore funding for agency grants and contracts.

Soon after being inaugurated, Mr Trump ordered all US foreign aid be paused to ensure it is aligned with his “America First” policy.

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The dismantling of USAID has largely been overseen by Elon Musk, who is spearheading the president’s effort to cut costs and bureaucracy.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio insists the government will continue providing foreign aid, “but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest”.

Friday’s ruling is the latest setback in the courts for the Trump administration.

Judges have temporarily paused other controversial policies, including one offering financial incentives for federal workers to resign and another ending American citizenship for anyone born in the US if their parents are in the country illegally.

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Day 20: Inside Trump’s White House

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Day 20: Inside Trump's White House

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Twenty days into Donald Trump’s second term, US correspondents James Matthews and Mark Stone are joined by Washington DC cameramen Ed Young and Michael Herd to take a step back and discuss what it’s like covering the White House under President Trump compared to President Biden.

They also share some of the moments they got close (perhaps too close) to the most powerful man in the world.

You can email James, Martha and Mark on trump100@sky.uk

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Wreckage found in Alaska for missing Bering Air plane carrying 10 people

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Wreckage found in Alaska for missing Bering Air plane carrying 10 people

A small plane which crashed in western Alaska with 10 people on board has been found and the US Coast Guard (USCG) says there were no survivors.

The Bering Air flight left Unalakleet at 2.38pm on Thursday but contact was lost less than an hour later, the firm’s operations director David Olson said.

On Saturday, in a post on X, the coastguard said: “USCG has ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx 34 miles southeast of Nome. 3 individuals were found inside and reported to be deceased.

“The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident.”

The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan – carrying a pilot and nine adult passengers – was flying across Norton Sound when tracking site Flightradar24 reported it at 5,300ft before contact was lost.

It was travelling from Unalakleet, a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, to Nome, a gold rush town just south of the Arctic Circle.

The flight time is normally just under an hour.

Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the aircraft’s last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.

Nome in Alaska.
Pic: AP
Image:
The plane was heading to Nome, just south of the Arctic Circle. Pic: AP

In a post on Facebook, Nome’s fire department issued an update: “The Nome Search and Rescue Team is spooling up with assistance from the Alaska Air National Guard with recovery efforts.

“From reports we have received, the crash was not survivable. Our thoughts are with the families at this time.”

On Friday, Lieutenant Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, from the Alaskan coastguard, explained that the plane suffered a rapid loss of altitude and speed, according to radar data, but did not expand on the potential cause.

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Weather in Unalakleet at take-off time was -8.3C (17F) with fog and light snow, according to the US National Weather Service.

Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska and air travel is often the only option of travelling long distances in rural parts of the US state, especially in winter.

It comes soon after two major air accidents in the US in recent weeks.

Sixty-seven people were killed when a jet and helicopter collided in Washington DC and seven died when a medical plane crashed in Philadelphia.

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