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President-elect Trump could keep his pledge to “save” TikTok – and still address national security concerns that spurred Congress to authorize a ban — by brokering a sale of the Chinese-owned app to a US buyer, experts told The Post.

China-based ByteDance has until Jan. 19 to completely divest its stake in TikTok or face a total US ban of the app.

In a last-ditch scramble to nix the law, ByteDance and TikTok have appealed to the Supreme Court and cozied up to Trump in the hope that he can somehow intervene.

The Supreme Court agreed to take up the case on Wednesday and has scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 10 — just nine days before the ban takes effect.

A US appeals court previously rejected TikTok’s bid to block the bill in a 3-0 decision, which suggests the company faces an uphill battle to win a late reprieve.

If Trump agrees that TikTok should remain online in the US and decides to get involved, a full divestiture is the only realistic path forward, according to Michael Sobolik, senior fellow at American Foreign Policy Council and author of Countering Chinas Great Game.

If you really want TikTok to operate in the United States, and if you want it to operate safely for Americans, then there needs to be a complete separation from its parent company, Sobolik said. And there cannot be any sort of ownership or control, direct or indirect, from a foreign adversary government. I don’t think there’s any alternative.

Trump who led the original push to ban TikTok during his first term said at a Monday press conference that he has a warm spot in my heart for TikTok and would take a look at the situation. Soon after, Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Details from the meeting have yet to emerge and its unclear whether the talks between Trump and Chew yielded any progress toward a resolution.

Representatives for TikTok and the Trump transition team did not return requests for comment.

Brokering a deal will be no easy feat. TikTok has insisted that it is not for sale and argued that the tight divestment window made finding a buyer impossible, even if it were inclined.

China also has said it will resist any attempt to force a TikTok sale and Beijing has export controls to stop the sale of its algorithm.

Still, the looming deadline creates a great opportunity for a win-win situation if Trump can hammer out a deal, according to Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on China, which led the charge on the ban-or-sale bill.

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President Trump is a great negotiator. He loves America. He loves our national security, Moolenaar told The Post. He also recognizes that TikTok is a very valuable platform, and I think he will be able to put together a coalition of people who want to see this app continue in the United States, but do it in a secure way.

The Justice Department described TikTok as a national-security threat of immense depth and scale that functions as a Chinese spying and propaganda tool on US soil, capable of secretly manipulating content served to users through its recommendation algorithm and mass data collection such as location-tracking, among other risks.

TikTok has argued that the sale-or-ban law is unconstitutional and vehemently denied that it poses a threat to national security.

Aside from helping to negotiate a deal for TikTok, Trump is limited in what he can do to intervene. The law gives the president the power to impose a 90-day extension on the Jan. 19 deadline if there are signs of significant progress toward a deal.

Trump could push Congress to amend or reverse the law, but that could prove difficult given the overwhelming bipartisan support it received.

He could also direct the Justice Department not to enforce the law but that would shift major legal liability to app store operators like Google and Apple.

Last week, the House Select Committee on China sent letters to Google’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook reminding them they are obligated to remove TikTok from their app stores by Jan. 19 if a sale wasn’t reached.

The uncertainty about Trumps strategy on TikTok has created a conundrum for Republicans including some close allies who have vocally supported a ban.

“Trump was the original champion for the TikTok ban, so it makes it difficult for his fellow Republicans to now have another opinion, one DC insider who requested anonymity said. Trump can get away with that, but they certainly can’t.”

While softening his rhetoric toward TikTok, Trump has appointed several China hawks and outspoken TikTok critics to key Cabinet and government agency positions.

That includes Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, Under Secretary of State nominee Jacob Helberg, incoming US Ambassador to the United Nations Elise Stefanik and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Its possible that Trump will seek to use TikTok as a bargaining chip as part of broader negotiations with China, according to Nathan Leamer, a former FCC policy adviser and CEO of Fixed Gear Strategies.

With Trump in office, its a whole new ballgame to hold China accountable, Leamer said. TikTok is an arrow in his quiver. Maybe they do make a deal for the CCP to divest. No one is against the platform if its separate from ownership by a totalitarian state.

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UK

Gallagher brothers share a high-five and hug as Oasis reunite on stage after 16 years

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Gallagher brothers share a high-five and hug as Oasis reunite on stage after 16 years

Oasis have reunited on stage for the first time in almost 16 years – with brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher sharing a high five and the briefest of hugs as they closed a performance that for fans was more than worth the wait.

After the split in 2009, for many years Noel said he would never go back – and for a long time, as the brothers exchanged insults through separate interviews (and on social media, for Liam), it seemed pretty unlikely to ever happen.

But now, here they are. As they walked out on stage at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, all eyes were on the Gallaghers for a sense of their relationship – dare we say it, friendship? – now after all these years.

There was no reference to their fall-out or making up, but the gestures were there – lifting hands together as they walked out for the first time.

The headline "OASIS REUNITED" was shown on stage at the gig. Pic: PA
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The headline “OASIS REUNITED” was shown on stage at the gig. Pic: PA

Fans at the Oasis gig. Pic: PA
Image:
Fans at the Oasis gig. Pic: PA

Headlines and tweets of speculation and then confirmation of the reunion filled the screens as the show started. “This is happening,” said one, repeatedly.

In the end, it was all about the music.

Liam has received criticism in the past for his voice not being what it once was during his solo or Beady Eye performances, but back on stage with his brother tonight he delivered exactly what fans would have hoped for – a raw, steely-eyed performance, snarling vocals, and the swagger that makes him arguably the greatest frontman of his day.

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This was Oasis sounding almost as good as they ever have.

Fans sang along and held up their phones to film as Oasis performed. Pic: PA
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Fans sang along and held up their phones to film as Oasis performed. Pic: PA

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Oasis: ‘It’s good to be back’

They opened with Hello, because of course, “it’s good to be back”. And then Acquiesce, and those lyrics: “Because we need each other/ We believe in one another.”

The song is said to be about friendship in the wider sense, rather than their brotherly bond and sibling rivalry, but you can’t help but feel like it means something here.

Over two hours, they played favourite after favourite – including Morning Glory, Some Might Say, Cigarettes & Alcohol, Supersonic and Roll With It.

Liam Gallagher as Oasis takes to the stage in Cardiff. Pic: PA
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Liam Gallagher as Oasis takes to the stage in Cardiff. Pic: PA

In the mid-section, Liam takes his break for Noel to sing Talk Tonight, Half The World Away and Little By Little; the tempo slows but there is by no means a lull, with the fans singing all his words back to him.

Liam returns for hits including Stand By Me, Slide Away, Whatever and Live Forever, before sending the crowd wild (or even wilder) with Rock And Roll Star.

Noel Gallagher performing on stage. Pic: PA
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Noel Gallagher performing on stage. Pic: PA

An Oasis fan is pointing at the stage during the gig. Pic: PA
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An Oasis fan is pointing at the stage during the gig. Pic: PA

When the reunion announcement was made last summer, it quickly became overshadowed by the controversy of dynamic pricing causing prices to rocket. As he has done on X before, Liam addressed the issue on stage with a joke.

“Was it worth the £4,000 you paid for the ticket?” he shouted at one point. “Yeah,” the crowd shouts back; seemingly all is forgiven.

After Rock And Roll Star, the dream that very quickly became a reality for this band, Noel introduced the rest of the group, calling Bonehead a “legend”.

Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs of Oasis. Pic: PA
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Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs of Oasis. Pic: PA

Liam Gallagher carried a tambourine in his mouth during the concert. Pic: PA
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Liam Gallagher carried a tambourine in his mouth during the concert. Pic: PA

Then he acknowledges all their young fans, some who maybe weren’t even born when they split. “This one is for all the people in their 20s who’ve never seen us before, who’ve kept this shit going,” he says before the encore starts with The Masterplan.

Noel follows with Don’t Look Back In Anger, and the screens fill with Manchester bees in reference to the arena bombing and how the song became the sound of hope and defiance for the city afterwards.

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‘I’d have paid £10,000 to see them’

Two fans sat on their friends' shoulders as Oasis performed. Pic: PA
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Two fans sat on their friends’ shoulders as Oasis performed. Pic: PA

During Wonderwall, there’s a nice touch as Liam sings to the crowd: “There are many things I would like to say to you, but I don’t speak Welsh.”

It is at the end of Champagne Supernova, which closes the set, that it happens; Noel puts down his guitar, and they come together for a high-five and a back-slap, a blink-and-you’d miss it hug.

Read more:
What you need to know about the Oasis tour
Liam Gallagher hits out at council after fans branded ‘rowdy’

“Right then, beautiful people, this is it,” Liam had told the crowd as he introduced the song just a few minutes earlier. “Nice one for putting up with us over the years.”

From the roar of the audience, it’s safe to say most people here would agree it’s been worth it.

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Politics

Sweden’s justice minister says to ‘turn up the pressure’ on crypto seizures

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Sweden’s justice minister says to ‘turn up the pressure’ on crypto seizures

Sweden’s justice minister says to ‘turn up the pressure’ on crypto seizures

Gunnar Strömmer reportedly said that Swedish authorities had confiscated more than $8.3 million worth of criminal profits since a law related to seizures was passed in 2024.

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US

At least 13 people confirmed dead and more than 20 missing from girls camp in Texas flooding

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At least 13 people confirmed dead and more than 20 missing from girls camp in Texas flooding

13 people have been killed in the US state of Texas after heavy rain caused flash flooding, according to local media reports.

Officials have also said more than 20 are missing from a girls’ camp in Texas.

As much as 10 inches (25 centimetres) of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in the county, confirmed fatalities from the flooding and dozens of water rescues so far.

A flood watch issued on Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to seven inches (17 centimetres) of rising water.

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