TikTok received help from President Trump but Senate GOP still wants ban
TikTok is back online for 170 million American users. The company restored service following President Donald Trump’s promise not to enforce a law banning the app.
The Chinese-owned social media app went dark Sunday morning to comply with a bipartisan law banning it since it did not sell to an American buyer. However, even with a reprieve from President Trump, TikTok faces a threat from Trump’s Republican allies in the Senate.
Top Republican senators, including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Rick Scott of Florida, met yesterday as they prepared to take a hard line against Chinese ownership of TikTok, according to reporting by Fox Business.
Cotton objected over the weekend to block the advancement of a Democratic-led bill to undo the TikTok ban before it took effect.
In a statement published Sunday, Cotton said, “Now that the law has taken effect, there’s no legal basis for any kind of ‘extension’ of its effective date.”
His colleague Sen. Graham also accused TikTok of having what he called a “golden share structure.” Graham alleges Chinese President Xi Jinping controlled the company. He said he would introduce a bill blocking any company with this structure from being listed on U.S. exchanges.
It puts both of them on the opposite side of the issue, compared to President Trump, who addressed it at a pre-election rally on Sunday.
“As of today, TikTok is back,” Trump said at a rally on Sunday, January 19th. “The United States will do what we call a joint venture. And there’s no risk. We’re not putting up any money. All we’re doing is giving them the approval without which they don’t have anything.”
The law banning TikTok allowed a president to issue one 90-day extension if there was a buyer. The Justice Department certified one bid, a $20 billion offer led by businessmen Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary.
It’s unclear whether TikTok is interested in selling to them or any other buyer. It’s also unclear what the app’s future looks like after the 90-day window.
Trump says he supports abolishing the debt ceiling
President-elect Donald Trump said he supports abolishing the debt ceiling, which the federal government is on track to reach in January. During an interview with NBC News, Trump said getting rid of the federal government’s borrowing limit would be the smartest thing Congress could do.
“The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge,” Trump told NBC.
NBC reported that Trump suggested the debt ceiling, or the maximum amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills, is meaningless.
“It doesn’t mean anything, except psychologically,” Trump said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., did not reveal what he thinks of Trump’s proposal.
“The debt limit issue and discussion is premature at best,” Jeffries told reporters.
“I just think it’s common sense, it’s reasonable and it’s rational that we spend less next year than we spend this year. Every household would do this,” McCarthy said at the time.
Fiscal hawks oppose raising the debt ceiling because they don’t believe the government should continue outspending its revenue. The reality is every time Congress needs to give the Treasury Department approval to borrow more money, it does.
“I’m with President Trump. I do think that the debt limit is this fake sort of a deadline that we’ve never allowed to lapse. One hundred seven years, we’ve never defaulted on the debt. The only thing we have done is continue to increase the debt,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.
“There’s some Republicans who never voted to raise the debt limit and never will. So that’s just a reality,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “So you have to get Democrats where you lose Republicans.”
Even if the government hits the borrowing limit in January, the Treasury can use fancy accounting to keep paying the bills for many months before it defaults.
Suspect charged with murder in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
The man accused of gunning down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on a New York City sidewalk is charged with murder. And the Biden administration levels allegations of war crimes against two Syrians who were high-raking members of the now ousted regime. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.
Suspect charged with murder in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
After nearly a week of searching, the manhunt for the suspected gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel last week is over. Police said they located the 26-year-old suspect inside a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 300 miles from New York on Monday, Dec. 9.
The New York City Police Department filed first-degree murder charges against Luigi Mangione, according to court documents released Monday night. Mangione also faces charges of possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged driver’s license, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Mangione is described as a former high school valedictorian and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, who grew up in Maryland but has also had past addresses in California and Hawaii.
Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona after authorities said a McDonald’s employee recognized him as the person of interest seen in images related to Thompson’s shooting death.
When police arrived on the scene, they questioned Mangione. According to court documents, Mangione “started to shake” when asked if he’d recently been in New York City. Authorities said at first, he lied about his identity.
So proud of @NYPDMTN Detectives, and our Major Case and Homicide Squads, who worked around-the-clock on the homicide investigation in Midtown. I joined them last night to thank them for their dedication. No doubt, their work was instrumental to identifying the person of interest… pic.twitter.com/jAFA7JDcHd
Court documents show he was carrying a black 3-D printed pistol with a silencer. The NYPD said the “ghost gun” found on him was consistent with the one used in the murder. Ghost guns do not have serial numbers.
Police said Mangione also had on him a fake ID, matching the one used by the suspect at a New York City hostel before the shooting, and a three-page written note.
“That document is currently in the possession of the Altoona Police Department as part of their investigation but just from briefly speaking with them, we don’t think that there’s any specific threats to other people mentioned in that document, but it does seem that he has some ill will toward corporate America,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney said.
Multiple reports Tuesday morning, Dec. 10, claimed those writings included the phrases “these parasites had it coming” and it “had to be done.”
During a press conference Monday evening, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) spoke of how the killing has led to some people online sharing their frustrations and anger over the healthcare system but emphasized that Mangione is not a martyr.
“In some dark corners, this killer’s being hailed as a hero,” Shapiro said. “Hear me on this: he is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this [Monday] morning. The real heroes every day in our society are the women and men who put on uniforms like these and go out in our communities to keep us safe. This killer is not a hero. He should not be hailed.”
Mangione will remain in custody in Pennsylvania pending his extradition to New York, which is expected to take place later this week.
Jury finds former US Marine not guilty in NYC chokehold death trial
Tensions remain high in New York after a jury acquitted U.S. Marine veteran Daniel Penny of all charges on Monday, including criminally negligent homicide, in the chokehold death of a schizophrenic man, whose behavior had some people on the New York subway testifying they feared for their lives.
The caught-on-camera deadly incident from May 2023 saw Penny put Jordan Neely in a chokehold from behind after Neely walked up and down the F train saying “somebody is going to die today”.
Prosecutors said the chokehold lasted too long, was reckless, and resulted in the 30-year-old homeless man’s death. The defense brought an expert in to show Neely was under the influence of the synthetic marijuana drug K2, arguing he died from drug use and a previous medical condition.
Outside the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday, fights broke out as protesters and counter-protesters clashed. After the verdict Neely’s father stated, “There is no justice.”
US charges 2 former Syrian officials with war crimes
The United States has charged two former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials with war crimes. The DOJ said during Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud oversaw operations of a detention facility where Americans and civilians who had been deemed enemies of the state were tortured.
In other developments in the Middle East, the U.S. has also sent a special envoy to Beirut, Lebanon to find out what happened to Austin Tice. Tice is an American journalist who vanished in Syria 12 years ago.
"We have heard from sources that have been vetted by the U.S. government that Austin is alive." Austin Tice has been missing in Syria for 12 years. Today his brother & sister tell me "every day is a day that Austin should be released and a day that Austin could be released." pic.twitter.com/o08OgOFKEm
On Sunday, Dec. 8, President Joe Biden said he believes Tice is still alive and his administration is committed to bringing him home. Syria has publicly denied holding Tice.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a large-scale attack on Syria, striking what it called strategic military sites after the fall of the al-Assad government. It also expanded its presence into the Golan Heights, a buffer zone along the country’s border with Syria.
Israel claimed the move is temporary and aimed at ensuring nearby areas are not exposed to any potential security threats, but Iran has appealed to the United Nations Security Council, saying the expansion is a “flagrant violation” of U.N. charter, breaking a 50-year cease-fire agreement.
Hegseth looks to shore up Senate support on Capitol Hill
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary is back on Capitol Hill this week. He’s looking to shore up support from Senate Republicans.
Pete Hegseth met with Senators Joni Ernst and Lindsey Graham on Monday. Both had expressed concerns over allegations against Hegseth of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement of veterans’ charities and excessive drinking.
Hegseth denies a lot of it and says he is changed man. He served in the Army in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Lord & Taylor to relaunch as online discount luxury retailer
Another department store chain is set to make an internet comeback. Lord & Taylor is set to relaunch in 2025 as a discount luxury e-commerce platform offering designer goods and Lord & Taylor-branded products, according to its new owner.
Regal Brands Global acquired the Lord & Taylor intellectual property in September after its previous owner, Saadia Group — which had re-launched the chain as an e-commerce website in 2021 — ceased operations.
Regal Brands reportedly aims to position Lord & Taylor products to compete with other high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
‘Emilia Perez’ receives most Golden Globe nominations
Trump calls Harris ‘mentally impaired.’ Allies want him on message.
Former President Donald Trump made a campaign stop in Wisconsin over the weekend of Sept. 28, where he criticized the Biden-Harris administration for its immigration and border policy. Trump said Vice President Harrisshould be impeached for her handling of the southern border. He made the comment while standing next to mugshots of immigrants who are in the country illegally and accused of committing crimes.
Then Trump got personal and called Harris mentally disabled.
“Kamala is mentally impaired,” Trump told the crowd. “Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way. She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country.”
Those personal attacks are frequent and Trump’s allies are frustrated he’s not sticking with policy.
“Vice President Kamala Harris is not mentally impaired,” CNN’s Jake Tapper said during “State of the Union.”
“No, I just think she’s crazy liberal,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., responded. “I don’t question her…”
“What do you think about that rhetoric?” Tapper pressed.
“I just think the better course to take is to prosecute the case that her policies are destroying the country. They’re crazy liberal,” Graham said.
“Faced with the choice of continuing with the missteps that have overtaken the past several weeks of his campaign or embracing a more calculated approach aimed at appealing to a small subset of undecided voters who are likely to sway the outcome of the election,” Politico reported.
“It’s not that he’s going backwards,” A Trump ally who was granted anonymity told Politico. “But he should be doing better.”
When asked to defend Trump, surrogates like former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., turn it back to a policy discussion.
“It had just come out that under this Biden-Harris, and remember the responsibility that Harris had for the border, they have allowed more than 425,000 illegal aliens who are convicted of a crime,” McCarthy said on CNN.
Senate may subpoena DHS for ‘stonewalling’ Trump assassination probe
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he’s “ready, willing and able” to subpoena the Department of Homeland Security if it fails to provide more information about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Blumenthal is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Investigations which has been looking into the first attempt on Trump’s life in Pennsylvania.
“I think it’s tantamount to stonewalling in many respects,” Blumenthal said. “The Department of Homeland Security has to be more forthcoming, not only to me, but to the American people. And it has to do it quickly or it will fuel the conspiracy theories that are so dangerous to our democracy as well as undermining its own credibility.”
Blumenthal wants the information from DHS because it oversees the Secret Service. The senator said the agency is failing to provide documents, witnesses and other evidence.
“We have told them repeatedly about our frustration. I’m deeply dissatisfied and disappointed,” Blumenthal said. “I am reaching the point of total outrage.”
Blumenthal previously said a report summarizing the findings of Congress will be issued very soon. He believes Americans will be shocked and appalled by the lapses and failures in Pennsylvania.
The acting director of the Secret Service recently told Congress the budget is strained and they need more personnel. Meanwhile, President Biden said the Secret Service needs more help and former President Trump said they need more people on his detail.
Lawmakers are considering extra funding for the agency as they work to avoid a government shutdown. But many lawmakers think the agency is doing a poor job of using the resources it already has.
“We need answers more than the Secret Service needs money,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.
“Are they too overworked? Do they have too many things to deal with given the workforce they have? Should they have more agents? The answer is yes,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said.
“The Secret Service has a management issue in the use of its money and manpower. Until it does better in accountability and management, it will continue to be short on resources,” Blumenthal said.
Congress gave the Secret Service $3.1 billion for the current fiscal year. Senate leadership said if the service requests more for next year, they will provide it.
Blumenthal wants Khalid Sheikh Mohammed deal scrutinized
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is calling for the plea deal given to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to be scrutinized very carefully. Blumenthal is a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and said he has not received an explanation from the Biden administration.
“I think there are interests here that may not have been represented as fairly and aggressively as they should have been,” Blumenthal said. “I champion the 9/11 families in their legal action against Saudi Arabia. There is so much here that we don’t know. We have an obligation to tell the American people about the potential complicity not only of these defendants but of Saudi Arabia and other countries.”
On July 31, the Defense Department announced Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two of his accomplices are expected to plead guilty at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. All three were jointly charged and arraigned in 2008 and 2012. Their lawyers had previously requested they receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty plea.
Mohammed conceived the idea of using planes in the attack and received approval from Osama Bin Laden to move forward with planning.
Mohammed was subject to waterboarding and torture while in custody. The evidence collected while he was being tortured is inadmissible in court, which contributed to the years of delays.
Blumenthal said the Biden administration owes both Congress and the victims’ families an explanation for why they entered the plea agreement. He expressed concern that the families may not have been represented fairly.
“When we fight terrorists and we have them in custody, we need to hold them accountable with the kinds of penalties that really do justice to the victims,” Blumenthal said.
Republicans also condemned the deal.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s weakness in the face of sworn enemies of the American people apparently knows no bounds,” Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. “The only thing worse than negotiating with terrorists is negotiating with them after they are in custody. The families of their victims and the American people deserve real justice.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the move was the wrong signal at the wrong time.
“When we give a plea deal to the mastermind of 9/11 that just encourages more attacks,” Graham said. “I think it was an ill conceived idea. He’s not going anywhere. I mean, he’s held as an enemy combatant.”
Congress is in August recess and will also be out of Washington for all of October. So, if there’s going to be a public hearing on the deal, it will be at least a month out.
Blumenthal, Graham introduce bill making Russia state sponsor of terrorism
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a bill that would require the Biden administration to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terror. It is the duo’s second attempt at pushing this through Congress. The senators first tried in May 2022 with a resolution that urged the secretary of state to make the designation but did not mandate it.
“Russia deserves to be in this small, selective club of atrocity committing killers,” Blumenthal said.
The senators raised the stakes in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea. On that trip, Putin signed a military defense agreement with the country’s dictator Kim Jong Un.
”Signing a military partnership hostile to the United States, hostile to peace and liberty and justice around the world,” Blumenthal said, explaining why he believes the measure is so urgent.
If signed into law, the bill would restrict Russia’s sovereign immunity in the U.S. court system and increase penalties for evading sanctions. Countries on the list are also banned from defense exports and sales.
In addition, the list implements restrictions on dual-use items with civilian or military applications, like global positioning satellites, night vision technology and nuclear technology.
“I don’t think we’re being provocative by labeling Putin a state sponsor of terrorism, I think we’re being rational. I think the designation is earned,” Graham said. “It would matter.”
The senators do not have a timeline for getting this bill approved. They hope to get it through committee and the normal legislative process. However, they said they are prepared to ask for unanimous consent to get it passed on an expedited basis if necessary.
“I don’t even need to go into the classified briefings that we’ve received to tell you how frightening the idea is that Russia would be lending its nuclear expertise to North Korea,” Blumenthal said.
The senators said they do not know how much support the bill would receive in the House.
Graham likened a failure to stand up to Putin now to those who went along with Hitler’s expansion of German territory in the 1930s.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Premier Edouard Daladier, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and the Italian Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, meet in Munich in October 1938. Credit: Getty Images.
“If you give Russia a pass here, given all Putin has done, then we’ve lost deterrence,” Graham said.
The four countries currently designated as state sponsors of terror are Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria. The senators contend Russia deserves to join their ranks for the war crimes committed against Ukraine.
Graham stands by 15-week abortion ban despite Trump criticism
Former President Donald Trump’s announcement that he supports a state-by-state approach to abortion has received pushback from both sides of the aisle. Pro-life lawmakers criticized the announcement, saying they want a national abortion ban. Those who are pro-choice said Trump took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade and would go even further if he could.
“The states will determine by a vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land, or in this case the law of the state,” Trump said in a video statement on Monday, April 8.
Trump then went on Truth Social to say that one of his closest allies in Congress, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is doing a great disservice to the Republican Party and country by advocating for a national 15-week ban.
In 2022, Graham introduced a bill that would ban abortion after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest and risks to the health of the mother. Graham has previously said that he will reintroduce the bill before the November elections.
“The state’s rights approach, to me, you sort of abandoned your position on late-term abortion,” Graham told reporters.
Graham explained his stance, saying 15 weeks is the point at which a baby can feel pain.
“I think Trump is right in this regard, it’s a state issue up to a point,” Graham said. “As that child develops, I think the American people find a consensus around 15 weeks that they’d like to limit abortion.”
Republican lawmakers told Straight Arrow News they agree with President Trump’s new position. They contend it is consistent with what the American people want and aligned with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
“The Supreme Court has turned it back over to voters, we’ve got to let voters sort through this,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said. “This is a tough issue. It’s a complex issue. And I think for those of us who are pro-life, we’ve got to go out and make that moral case to voters.”
“President Trump’s comments yesterday were anything but extreme, they are mainstream,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said.
Democrats, including President Biden, said if Republicans gain control of Congress and the White House in November, they will pass a national abortion ban and President Trump will sign it.
“The Trump smokescreen simply is a disguise for a Republican strategy and plan to pass a national abortion ban,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “They’ve made it clear. And that’s why this election is so urgently important.”
“I don’t know where he stands on this issue,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said of Trump. “I think it’s pretty clear that he’s trying to find the best political position to help him in November.”
Since the 2022 Dobbs decision, 21 states enacted abortion restrictions earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v. Wade, according to The New York Times. Twenty-six states kept abortion legal or enacted new protections, and three states have had their bans blocked in court.
Speaker Johnson wants to pay for Ukraine aid with seized Russian assets
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he will bring a Ukraine aid bill forward when Congress returns from its Easter recess during the week of April 7. Johnson said the bill must be bipartisan because the Republican majority is so thin. If GOP members try to pass a measure on their own, they can only lose one vote.
However, the Senate passed a $95 billion package for Ukraine and Israel in mid-February, which Johnson refused to bring up. So what changed? Lawmakers believe they now have better ways to pay for it.
Congress could pass the REPO Act, which gives the president the authority to confiscate Russian assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction and deposit them in the Ukraine Support Fund. The REPO Act already passed the Senate and appears to have growing support in the House.
“If we can use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them, that’s just pure poetry,” Johnson said on “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” on Fox.
The Department of Justice has worked to do something similar since the war began through Task Force KleptoCapture. The DOJ has restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million from Russian oligarchs and others who have helped fund the war, including mega-yachts and millions in real estate at a Ritz Carlton near Miami.
Lawmakers are also considering making the aid a loan that would eventually be repaid if or when Ukraine is able to. Republicans in both the House and Senate have expressed support for such a measure.
“To our friends in Ukraine, we want to be there for you,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Feb. 12. “But we’re $34 trillion in debt. Let’s make it a loan, pass it back when you can, if you can.”
Democrats wanted to write Ukraine a check without extra funding measures. But Ukraine is running so low on ammunition and resources that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin, D-Md., now says he’d consider it.
“We’ve got to get help to Ukraine. If it starts as a loan, if we can’t do anything other than that, we might have to consider that. But this is in our national security interests,” Cardin said on “Meet the Press,” March 17.
The New York Times reported that a Ukraine aid package could be tied to a measure that would reverse President Joe Biden’s moratorium on new permits for liquified natural gas export facilities. That would give Republicans a political win on what has been a very divisive issue for the party.
Democrats eye another push to eliminate filibuster with Sinema, Manchin gone
Senior Senate Democrats are interested in making another attempt to eliminate or alter the filibuster. This happens as two of their party’s biggest opponents to the change — Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V. — are retiring.
“I hope that we will use this opportunity to take a hard look at the Senate rules,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. “A filibuster has dramatically changed the United States Senate for the worse. We’re no longer a deliberative, mandatory body and it’s because of the filibuster. And I miss it. I remember the days when it was a fulsome, bipartisan chamber.”
In addition to a total elimination, there are options to alter the filibuster. The options include requiring a talking filibuster or placing restrictions on the type of legislation it can be used for.
“Because Senator Sinema essentially opposed changing the filibuster, now, we may have a majority in favor of reforming this set of rules which is obstructive, really an obstacle to progress that the American people want,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “The majority should rule in the United States Senate. The minority shouldn’t be able to block us.”
Republicans are unified in their stance that the 60-vote threshold must remain. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that it has served the Senate well.
“I’ve been for preserving it when it was not to my advantage,” Graham said. “If you want the Senate to become the House it would be a bad, bad decision.”
The last attempt to end the filibuster was in January 2022, when Democrats were trying to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. The legislation did not have sufficient support due to Republican opposition. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to move the act forward by making a point of order, which required a simple majority vote of approval. It failed 52-48 because Manchin, Sinema and every Republican voted against it.
Schumer referred to the voting rights bill when asked if he would make another attempt at ending the filibuster once Sinema and Manchin leave.
“When people attempt to — courts or legislators — take away voting rights, particularly of the most disenfranchised people, we have an obligation to do everything we can to restore those voting rights,” Schumer said.
If Democrats are going to make any changes, they will need to maintain their majority. Since Sinema and Manchin are retiring, that has become more difficult.
