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Donald Trump has attempted to negotiate a potential TikTok sale on live television, in what was supposed to be an announcement about investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

The US president was holding a news conference about a $500bn (£405bn) investment in AI infrastructure in the country, but was questioned about a range of topics.

At one point he attempted to negotiate the sale of Tiktok with American businessman Larry Ellison, who is said to be worth more than $204bn (£165bn).

President Donald Trump announced an investment in AI infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria
Image:
President Donald Trump announced an investment in AI infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria

Mr Trump also had to defend some of his actions just one day into his second term.

When the topic of TikTok was raised, Mr Trump said he was “open” to his close friend Elon Musk buying the app, adding: “I would be, if he wanted to buy it. I’d like Larry [Ellison] to buy it too.”

He continued: “I have the right to make a deal, the deal I’m thinking about, Larry let’s negotiate in front of the media.

“The deal I think is this. I’ve met with the owners of TikTok, the big owners, it’s worthless if it doesn’t get a permit… with a permit it’s worth like a trillion dollars.

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“What I’m thinking of saying to someone is buy it and give half to the US, half, and we’ll give you a permit… the US will be the ultimate partner and the US will make it very worthwhile for them.”

“Sounds like a good deal to me Mr President,” Mr Ellison said, when asked by the president about the offer.

During the press conference, Mr Trump also said he received a “very nice letter” from the outgoing Joe Biden.

“It was a little bit of an inspirational type letter, joy, do a good job, important, very important the job is, I think it was a nice letter, I think I should let people see it… I appreciated the letter,” he said.

Capitol riot pardons

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Trump addresses Capitol riot pardons

As part of a blitz of executive orders Mr Trump signed on Monday, he issued pardons for more than 1,500 people involved in the Capitol riot – including the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders.

When asked how he justified pardoning convicted violent rioters, some of whom attacked police, he said: “I am the friend of police more than any president that has been in this office.

“They’ve been given a pardon, I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive.”

When further questioned over the words of his vice president JD Vance, who said no violent rioters would be pardoned, Mr Trump claimed they had “served years in jail and murderers don’t even go to jail in this country”.

Tariff countdown

Across the campaign trail, Mr Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of using tariffs against other countries.

But for the first time, he gave a date for potentially bringing them in.

He vowed to hit the European Union (EU) with tariffs and said his administration was discussing imposing an additional 10% tariff on goods imported from China from 1 February because, he claimed, fentanyl was being sent from China to Mexico and Canada, then on to the US.

Read more:
Will Trump be crypto’s most powerful supporter?
Who might buy TikTok after Trump ultimatum?
Inauguration weekend with die-hard Trump fans

OpenAI's Sam Altman speaks at Tuesday's press conference next to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria
Image:
OpenAI’s Sam Altman speaks at Tuesday’s press conference next to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria

“The European Union is very, very bad to us, so they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way… you’re going to get fairness,” he said.

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Mexican navy training vessel hits New York’s Brooklyn Bridge – as reports say three injured

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Mexican navy training vessel hits New York's Brooklyn Bridge - as reports say three injured

A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.

The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.

Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.

The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.

Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.

The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.

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The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.

A New York Police Department harbour unit prepares to board the Cuauhtemoc. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.

It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

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One person dead after explosion outside fertility clinic in California

One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.

The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.

The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.

Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.

“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

Debris covers the ground after an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif.  (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)
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Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP

In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”

It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.

“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.

The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.

“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.

Debris covers the ground after an explosion on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in Palm Springs, Calif.  (ABC7 Los Angeles via AP)
Image:
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP

The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).

A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.

The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.

Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”

Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.

California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director’s seashells post ‘meant assassination’

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director's seashells post 'meant assassination'

A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.

James Comey, then the FBI Director, in July  2016. File pic: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
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James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP

He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.

What does ’86 47′ mean?

The number 86 can be used as a verb in the US. It commonly means “to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly”.

One recent meaning of the term is “to kill”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which said it had not adopted this meaning of 86 “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use”.

The number has previously been used in a political context by Matt Gaetz, who was President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general but withdrew from consideration following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr Gaetz wrote: “We’ve now 86’d…” and listed political opponents he had sparred with who ended up stepping down.

Meanwhile, 47 is supposedly representing Mr Trump, who is the 47th US president.

Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.

“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”

Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.

The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.

Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.

Read more US news:
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Cassie challenged over Diddy ‘freak off’ allegations

Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.

While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.

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