Donald Trump has given TikTok 75 days to convince US officials it doesn’t threaten national security – most likely by finding a new, US owner for its American operation.
He signed the executive order within hours of entering the White House and told reporters: “I tell you what. Every rich person has called me about TikTok.”
The wildly popular social media platform briefly went offline in the US on Sunday ahead of a ban, but hours later, it came back online with a message thanking the president.
“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” it said in a statement.
TikTok is owned by Chinese company Bytedance, and US politicians are worried sensitive data about Americans could be given to the Chinese government, which TikTok has repeatedly denied.
So who could buy the all-singing, all-dancing short video platform, which is valued at around $100bn (£82bn) if it is sold with its algorithm?
Image: Jimmy Donaldson, more popularly known as MrBeast. Pic: AP
MrBeast
Youtuber MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, posted on 14 January: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”
People took him seriously; he soon posted again saying several billionaires had contacted him to try and make the bid a reality.
He posted more updates from meeting rooms where he said he had been discussing the bid with “a bunch of billionaires”.
After Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Youtuber posted a video to TikTok saying he was on a private jet “about to put in my official offer for this platform”.
“I might become you guys’ new CEO, I’m super excited,” he said.
Image: Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
Elon Musk
The tech billionaire Elon Musk hasn’t directly commented on rumours he could buy TikTok.
However, Bloomberg News reported that officials in Beijing were considering whether to allow a possible sale to the X owner.
Although TikTok denied the rumours, saying “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction”, Mr Musk has a lot of business dealings with China and may be a favourable owner if ByteDance is forced to sell.
With Musk running President Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, he would be well placed to help Chinese relations with the new Trump administration.
Owning the US TikTok operation could also give him plenty of new data on which to train xAI.
Image: Kevin O’Leary. File pic: AP
Shark Tank investor
Kevin O’Leary, a celebrity investor on Shark Tank (America’s version of Dragon’s Den) put in a bid to buy the platform as part of a group calling themselves The People’s Bid for TikTok.
The group, also backed by World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners Lee, offered to buy the platform without its algorithm.
They then planned to rebuild the back end of the app using American-owned technology,
Many said it would be tricky to maintain the app that way, given the Chinese-made algorithm is what makes it so popular.
Image: Perplexity co-founder and chief executive Aravind Srinivas. File pic: AP
Perplexity AI
A US search engine startup, Perplexity AI, reportedly offered to merge with TikTok US on Saturday.
Under that bid, most of ByteDance’s investors would retain their equity stakes and the partnership would give more video to Perplexity to use in their model.
Image: Donald Trump on inauguration day. Pic: Reuters
The US government?
When TikTok came back online on Sunday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.”
It’s unclear how this would work and Mr Trump hasn’t offered any more details since taking office.
When the ban was being discussed in Congress back in March 2024, there were other businesspeople keen to make an offer too.
Those included the former chief executive of games company Activision Blizzard Bobby Kotick and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
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.
Image: 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.
Image: Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Image: Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Image: 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.
Image: A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Image: 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.
Image: 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.
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.
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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.
Image: 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”.
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.
Donald Trump has said, again, that he is “not happy” with Vladimir Putin.
In an extraordinary cabinet meeting, the US president criticised his Russian counterpart, and announced he had approved sending defensive weapons to Ukraine.
After weeks of rejecting Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for defence support – why the sudden change of tact? Is Trump’s relationship with Putin fraying?
And what’s the latest as Trump hosts Benjamin Netanyahu again, a day after the Israeli prime minister announced he had nominated the US leader for the Nobel Peace Prize.
What next in hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza? Tariffs are also back. Trump announces more… and more.
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