By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.High school football: Rice Lake surrenders lead, state title in Wisconsin Division 2 championship gameWASHINGTON D.C., DC — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. As budget chief, Vought envisions a sweeping, powerful perch The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” Vought could help Musk and Trump remake government's role and scope The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Homan and Miller reflect Trump's and Project 2025's immigration overlap Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” Project 2025 contributors slated for CIA and Federal Communications chiefs John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.

Join Sam McKewon and Amie Just as they dive deep into the Husker sports scene — rationalizing, analyzing, and summarizing as only they can! In the latest episode of The Showdown, Sam McKewon and Amie Just break down a jam-packed week for Nebraska Athletics. The open with the football game between Nebraska and Wisconsin, how the Huskers' can come out victorious in the matchup and the weird comments from Luke Fickell about who will be the Badgers' play caller. They move onto the doubleheader between both Nebraska and Creighton basketball teams, including the loss of Natalie Potts and how Creighton's difficult schedule can help the Husker women. The duo also talk the Husker men's chances against the Bluejays and Ryan Kalkbrenner. They close out with Nebraska volleyball's upcoming match against Wisconsin on Senior Day and the looming match against Penn State. Subscribe to HuskerExtra.com Join co-hosts Sam and Amie as they dive deep into the Husker sports scene – rationalizing, analyzing, and summarizing as only they can! Get local news delivered to your inbox!

By MICHELLE L. PRICE WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles National Politics | Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes National Politics | In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.

3 HBO shows coming in 2025 that I’m putting at the top of my watchlistBy Lawrence Delevingne (Reuters) -Stocks in the U.S. and Europe were mixed on Monday, while the dollar gained versus the euro, amid political turmoil in France and positive signals for the U.S. economy. French equities finished little changed in choppy trading after politicians there planned a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a move likely to cause the French government to collapse this week. Broader European shares pulled back on the news but still finished the day up 0.66% on the day. In the U.S., data showed manufacturing contracted at a moderate pace in November, with orders growing for the first time in eight months and factories facing significantly lower prices for inputs. More economic data is expected this week, including the key monthly jobs report on Friday. Wall Street stocks were mixed, with a boost from technology shares such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Amazon.com Inc, which gained 3.2% and 1.4%, respectively, although Intel fell 0.5% after the faltering American chipmaker announced CEO Pat Gelsinger’s retirement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.29% to 44,782, the S&P 500 rose 0.24% to 6,047 and the Nasdaq Composite rose about 1% to 19,403. “We are seeing a bit of a reversal of the last few weeks with tech leadership returning and rallies in financials and cyclicals pausing,” John Belton, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds in New York, said in an email. Belton added that data points released over the weekend suggested Black Friday spending was above expectations, with particular strength seen in e-commerce sales. The euro sank around 0.75% to $1.0498, as the dollar got a boost over the weekend as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned BRICS emerging nations against trying to replace the greenback with any other currency. The euro has lost 14% over three months, partly on concern the euro zone economy might need deeper interest rate cuts than expected from the European Central Bank. [EMRG/FRX] Amid the political drama in France, the risk premium that investors demand to hold French government debt jumped. The gap between France and Germany’s 10-year bond yields – a measure of French borrowing costs compared with the euro zone benchmark – rose about 7 basis points to 87 bps, although it remained below last week’s 12-year high of 90 bps . “Heightened political uncertainty could also play a role at the margin in keeping alive market expectations for larger 50 bps ECB rate cut this month although the hard economic data is not fully supportive,” MUFG currency strategist Lee Hardman said. Global stocks edged higher, leaving the MSCI All-World index up about 0.3%. DOLLAR, U.S. BOND YIELDS FIRM The Federal Reserve is in focus and Friday’s monthly payrolls report could be the deciding factor when policymakers consider whether to cut rates again on Dec. 18. A number of Fed officials are due to speak this week, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Traders put the odds of a quarter-point reduction at about 60%. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Monday he was inclined to cut the benchmark interest rate as monetary policy remained restrictive enough to keep putting downward pressure on inflation, while the labor market was roughly in balance, something the Fed wants to maintain. In Treasury markets, the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes was flat on the day at 4.194%. That has left the dollar index, which measures the currency against six others, up 0.33% at 106.39, having gained 1.8% in November. In Asia, mainland Chinese shares closed up 0.8%, following a robust reading in a private manufacturing survey on Monday. The yen, meanwhile, was steady near Friday’s six-week high of 149.47. Gold slipped 0.6% to $2,637 an ounce, under pressure from the strong dollar, after sliding more than 3% in November, its worst monthly performance since September 2023. [GOL/] Oil prices were steady, as optimism around strong factory activity in China was largely offset by concerns the Fed will not cut U.S. rates again at its December meeting. [O/R] In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.88% to $95,619.00. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston and Amanda Cooper in London. Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Ed Osmond, Jan Harvey, Alexander Smith, Gareth Jones, Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

'COVID Cautious' Bowling Is a Thing, and It Is Gloriously Ridiculous - Watch

( MENAFN - GetNews) International Process Solutions (IPS), a trusted leader in calibration and compliance services, is proud to announce the expansion of its offerings with Lab Installation Services now available across Southern and Northern California. This strategic move aims to meet the growing demand for high-quality laboratory setup solutions for businesses and research facilities in California's bustling biotech, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. With more than two decades of expertise in calibration, validation, and compliance, IPS has built a reputation for precision, efficiency, and reliability. The introduction of lab installation services demonstrates the company's commitment to providing end-to-end solutions for its clients, enabling laboratories to operate at optimal performance from the moment they are established. Meeting a Critical Industry Need Modern laboratories demand precision and attention to detail, from the placement of specialized equipment to the configuration of utilities and compliance with stringent regulatory standards. International Process Solutions' Lab Installation Services aim to address these challenges by offering comprehensive support for: 1. Equipment Installation: Placement and setup of essential lab tools, ensuring precision and adherence to industry standards. 2. Utility Integration: Connection and optimization of utilities such as gas lines, electrical systems, and HVAC to meet the specific needs of laboratory operations. 3. Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring installations meet ISO and GMP standards, as well as local and federal safety guidelines. 4. Customized Solutions: Tailored installations designed to meet the unique requirements of biotech, pharmaceutical, and research facilities. Expertise You Can Trust “We understand the critical role a well-installed laboratory plays in advancing science, innovation, and business operations,” said IPS spokesperson.“By launching our Lab Installation Services, we're empowering our clients with the tools and infrastructure they need to achieve precision and reliability from day one.” IPS's team of certified professionals leverages their deep knowledge of calibration and compliance to deliver turnkey solutions for new and expanding laboratories. From initial planning and design to final installation and certification, IPS ensures a seamless and stress-free experience. Serving California's Leading Innovation Hubs The launch of Lab Installation Services is tailored to meet the needs of California's diverse industries, including biotechnology hubs in the Bay Area and rapidly growing pharmaceutical sectors in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. The company's dual presence in Northern and Southern California ensures timely and responsive service for businesses statewide. IPS's long-standing relationships with local and global clients further position the company as a trusted partner in advancing science and innovation. Whether it's a startup building its first lab or an established company expanding its research capabilities, IPS provides a comprehensive solution to meet their needs. Commitment to Sustainability In addition to offering cutting-edge services, International Process Solutions is committed to sustainability. The company integrates energy-efficient technologies and environmentally friendly practices in its installations, helping laboratories reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining peak efficiency. About International Process Solutions Based in San Carlos, California, International Process Solutions specializes in calibration, validation, and compliance services for biotech, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. As an ISO-certified company, IPS delivers exceptional quality and expertise, helping clients meet the highest standards of accuracy and reliability. The addition of Lab Installation Services further reinforces IPS's position as a one-stop solution provider for laboratory needs. MENAFN18122024003238003268ID1109009571 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Pheu Thai appears to beat People’s Party in Udon Thani local election(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear a bid by TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban on national security grounds. The highest U.S. court did not immediately act on a request for an injunction to halt the looming ban. Here is what will likely happen next for TikTok. WHAT’S NEXT FOR TIKTOK IN COURT? The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Jan. 10, just over a week before the ban is due to take effect on Jan. 19. TikTok and its parent ByteDance aim to block a U.S. law passed in April that would force ByteDance to divest of TikTok or face the ban. TikTok also has asked that the court issue an injunction to put the ban on hold while the legal process plays out, but the court has not yet acted on that request. The social media company has argued that the law would harm free speech. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the government on Dec. 6, citing national security considerations related to China. Last year, TikTok took similar legal actions to stop a ban on the app in the state of Montana, where a preliminary injunction was granted. HOW DID THIS START AND HOW LONG WILL THIS ALL TAKE? In August 2020, then-President Donald Trump sought to ban both TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, but was blocked by courts. In June 2021, President Joe Biden withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders that sought to ban new downloads of WeChat and TikTok. However, legislators later advanced a bill that compelled ByteDance to divest or face a ban. It passed with wide margins in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. To be considered a qualified divestiture, the president must determine TikTok is no longer controlled by and would have no operational relationship with a Chinese entity. When Biden signed the bill in April, a 270-day clock started. That clock ends on Jan. 19, but the process could be extended by court review. DOES TRUMP HAVE A ROLE HERE? Trump becomes president on Jan. 20, the day after the U.S. law indicates a ban would start. If Biden certifies a path to a qualified divestiture has been identified, there is evidence of “significant” progress toward a sale and there are legally binding agreements in place, he can authorize an additional 90 days for any deal to be finalized. The additional time would throw the final decision to Trump, who has said he has a “warm spot” for TikTok and will not allow short video service, which is used by 170 million Americans, to be banned. If the Supreme Court does not halt the law before it takes effect, it is not clear how Trump, once in office, would be able to affect the matter. TikTok in court papers raised the possibility that the new administration would “pause enforcement” or seek to mitigate its potential consequences, although at least one senator has noted that Trump cannot ignore the TikTok law. U.S. tech companies could face billions of dollars in fines if they allowed users to access TikTok after Jan. 19 and even if Trump said he would not enforce the law, they could face potential risks from others who might seek to enforce it. WILL TIKTOK CHANGE AT ALL? The TikTok app should not change for its U.S. users between now and Jan. 19. WHAT DOES THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT SAY? China has a list of technologies that would need Chinese government approval before they are exported. Experts said TikTok’s recommendation algorithm would fall under the list, making divestment very difficult for ByteDance. (Reporting by Chris Sanders; additional reporting by David Shepardson and Peter Henderson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

VALUE LINE, INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER EARNINGSEagles rule out QB Jalen Hurts (concussion protocol) vs. CowboysPresident Joe Biden is facing bipartisan criticism over his administration's handling of reported drone sightings in the Northeast, with Republicans drawing comparisons to the alleged Chinese spy balloon that traversed the country last year. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign Nexus,” Biden's National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, told reporters Thursday. “Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.” But that explanation isn't sitting well with a growing chorus of politicians from both political parties who say the Biden administration needs to be more involved and more forthcoming about the incidents. "The last time there was an object flying in our skies, they told us it was a weather balloon," former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley posted on X. "It turned out to be China collecting information on our military installations. Now we are facing a similar situation, no answers. The federal government knows what this is. They owe it to the American people to tell us as this relates to our national security." Haley and others have compared the situation to the Chinese spy balloon incident from spring 2023, when the Biden administration allowed the object to fly across the continental U.S., including over sensitive military locations, before shooting it down in the Atlantic Ocean. Biden was criticized not only for the delay in taking action but for refusing to even inform the public of the balloon's existence until it was spotted by a newspaper photographer in Montana. With residents of New York, New Jersey, and now Pennsylvania and Maryland saying they've spotted large drones in the sky for weeks, that criticism is flying around again. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told Fox News's Ryan Schmelz the drones should be "shot down if necessary" and that the lack of communication is "absolutely unacceptable." Another Democrat, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), said the public deserves "a lot more information and a lot more transparency." Reported sightings of the drones began in November, with a high concentration coming in and off the coast of the Garden State. Biden administration officials had previously shot down reports that an Iranian “mothership” was operating in the Atlantic Ocean and coordinating the drone flights. Kirby added that the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting New Jersey officials in investigating the sightings, “using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin." The lack of insight has prompted speculation, including that the drones belong to the U.S. government. In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not address whether the agency was in contact with the Pentagon to resolve the reported drones' origins. The mysterious aerial vehicles have been described as resembling small car-sized aircraft and have been flying over a New Jersey military installation, as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster private golf resort. The Washington Examiner has contacted the Trump transition team seeking comment. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) suggested Wednesday that the unidentified objects could pose a national security risk from China. Adding to the pressure is yet another member of Biden's political party, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ), who called for the federal government to pull more resources into investigating aircraft. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) said he rode around with New Jersey police officers Thursday evening and saw lights moving low over the tree line, apparently referencing the drones, which were sometimes white and sometimes flashing red and green. Last night I went out with local police to spot drone flying over New Jersey, here’s what I saw. We drove to Round Valley Reservoir and the officer pointed to lights moving low over the tree line. Sometimes they were solid white light, others flashed of red and green.THREAD pic.twitter.com/ly7kUUDWDn — Andy Kim (@AndyKimNJ) Kim said that he hasn't gotten any follow-up from the FBI about its investigation or what it has compiled so far. Both of New Jersey's senators, along with New York Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), have also sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Whitaker asking for a briefing on the situation. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The sightings have been spotted in areas further south in recent days, including in the Washington, D.C., area. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he personally witnessed some Thursday night just 25 miles from the nation's capital. "I join with the growing bipartisan chorus of leaders demanding that the federal government immediately address this issue," he wrote . "The American people deserve answers and action now."Edmond’s $92M sculpture park, art center planned for 2026