The Department of Justice failed to foolproof some of the redactions made to the Epstein files, leading to some unredacted versions of documents appearing online.
Some people have <a href="https://x.com/flyosity/status/2003487819587821613">discovered</a> that the redactions, which the Justice Department says have been made to protect victims, can be undone or worked around through Photoshop or by simply copying and pasting the text to a new document. Unredacted versions of some documents began to appear online after the department released a fresh tranche of an estimated 30,000 more pages.
In one redacted file, the blacked-out portion pertains to how the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associates allegedly obtained young victims for sexual abuse, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/23/epstein-unredacted-files-social-media">The Guardian</a>.
“Between September 2015 and June 2019, Indyke signed (FAC) for over $400,000 made payable to young female models and actresses, including a former Russian model who received over $380,000 through monthly payments of $8,333 made over a period of more than three and a half years until the middle of 2019,” says one redacted portion from a civil case in the Virgin Islands.
Other sections from the civil case detail how Epstein himself paid off or threatened victims to keep them from speaking to authorities.
“Defendants also attempted to conceal their criminal sex trafficking and abuse, conduct by paying large sums of money to participant-witnesses, including by paying for their attorneys’ fees and case costs in litigation related to this conduct,” one file says.
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“Epstein also threatened harm to victims and helped release damaging stories about them to damage their credibility when they tried to go public with their stories of being trafficked and sexually abused. Epstein also instructed one or more Epstein Enterprise participant-witnesses to destroy evidence relevant to ongoing court proceedings involving Defendants’ criminal sex trafficking and abuse conduct,” it continues.
The Justice Department announced its latest batch of Epstein file releases on Tuesday. The release of the files, mandated under the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed last month, has sparked more controversy as the records have revealed photos of famous acquaintances of Epstein, such as former president Bill Clinton, around the disgraced financier.
President Donald Trump has also appeared at times in the files. The president has long maintained innocence in Epstein’s schemes, and none of the files released have suggested that Trump was involved in alleged misconduct.

US-POLITICS-JUSTICE-EPSTEIN

The DOJ Tried To Redact The Epstein Docs. TikTok Found A Workaround.

Crime

Department of Justice

Jeffrey Epstein

Social Media

TikTok

U.S.

Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to unredacted filings in a class action by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.
In a 2020 research project code-named “Project Mercury,” Meta scientists worked with survey firm Nielsen to gauge the effect of “deactivating” Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta documents obtained via discovery. To the company’s disappointment, “people who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison,” internal documents said.
Rather than publishing those findings or pursuing additional research, the filing states, Meta called off further work and internally declared that the negative study findings were tainted by the “existing media narrative” around the company.
Privately, however, staff assured Nick Clegg, Meta’s then-head of global public policy, that the conclusions of the research were valid.
“The Nielsen study does show causal impact on social comparison,” (unhappy face emoji), an unnamed staff researcher allegedly wrote. Another staffer worried that keeping quiet about negative findings would be akin to the tobacco industry “doing research and knowing cigs were bad and then keeping that info to themselves.”
Despite Meta’s own work documenting a causal link between its products and negative mental health effects, the filing alleges, Meta told Congress that it had no ability to quantify whether its products were harmful to teenage girls.
In a statement Saturday, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the study was stopped because its methodology was flawed and that it worked diligently to improve the safety of its products.
“The full record will show that for over a decade, we have listened to parents, researched issues that matter most, and made real changes to protect teens,” he said.
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The allegation of Meta burying evidence of social media harms is just one of many in a late Friday filing by Motley Rice, a law firm suing Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat on behalf of school districts around the country. Broadly, the plaintiffs argue the companies have intentionally hidden the internally recognized risks of their products from users, parents and teachers.
TikTok, Google and Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Allegations against Meta and its rivals include tacitly encouraging children below the age of 13 to use their platforms, failing to address child sexual abuse content and seeking to expand the use of social media products by teenagers while they were at school. The plaintiffs also allege that the platforms attempted to pay child-focused organizations to defend the safety of their products in public.
In one instance, TikTok sponsored the National PTA and then internally boasted about its ability to influence the child-focused organization. Per the filing, TikTok officials said the PTA would “do whatever we want going forward in the fall… (t)hey’ll announce things publicly(,), (t)heir CEO will do press statements for us.”
By and large, however, the allegations against the other social media platforms are less detailed than those against Meta. The internal documents cited by the plaintiffs allege:
1. Meta intentionally designed its youth safety features to be ineffective and rarely used, and blocked testing of safety features that it feared might be harmful to growth. 2. Meta required users to be caught 17 times attempting to traffic people for sex before it would remove them from its platform, which a document described as “a very, very, very high strike threshold.&#8221; 3. Meta recognized that optimizing its products to increase teen engagement resulted in serving them more harmful content, but did so anyway. 4. Meta stalled internal efforts to prevent child predators from contacting minors for years due to growth concerns, and pressured safety staff to circulate arguments justifying its decision not to act. 5. In a text message in 2021, Mark Zuckerberg said that he wouldn’t say that child safety was his top concern “when I have a number of other areas I’m more focused on like building the metaverse.” Zuckerberg also shot down or ignored requests by Clegg to better fund child safety work.
Meta’s Stone disputed these allegations, saying the company’s teen safety measures are effective and that the company’s current policy is to remove accounts as soon as they are flagged for sex trafficking.
He said the suit misrepresents its efforts to build safety features for teens and parents, and called its safety work “broadly effective.”
&#8220;We strongly disagree with these allegations, which rely on cherry-picked quotes and misinformed opinions,” Stone said.
The underlying Meta documents cited in the filing are not public, and Meta is opposing their unsealing.
A hearing regarding the filing is set for January 26 in Northern California District Court.
(Reporting by Jeff Horwitz in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

FILE PHOTO: Illustration shows Meta logo

Meta Buried ‘Causal’ Evidence Of Social Media Harm, U.S. Court Filings Allege

Courts

President Trump Signs Executive Order In The Oval Office

Bessent Says ‘Final Deal On TikTok’ Has Been Reached, Trump And Xi Will ‘Consummate’ It In Korea

Communist China

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Technology

World

Xi Jinping

Persecution reaches a fever pitch in the “Christian Murder Capital” of the world, Russia ratchets up its saber-rattling with a nuclear drill, and an illegal immigrant honored by the City of Los Angeles allegedly rams an ICE vehicle.
It’s Thursday, October 23, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Christian Genocide You Probably Haven’t Heard Of</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990063" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Christian-Murder-Capital.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Christian genocide ongoing in Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives this year alone, but human rights advocates say the Nigerian government has turned a blind eye.
In the first nine months of this year, advocacy groups estimate that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed across Nigeria, many in attacks that leave entire communities burned to the ground.
For more than a decade, this pattern of violence has gone largely unnoticed. But American lawmakers — including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) — are calling for Nigeria to be reclassified as a “country of particular concern” for religious persecution.
“Many in the media share the same woke mindset that they will not call out radical Islamic terrorism for what it is, especially when it&#8217;s Christians who are the victims. And so it takes the rest of us to highlight this needs to end,” Cruz told Morning Wire.
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Judd Saul is the founder of Equipping the Persecuted, a group that has been on the ground trying to minister to Nigerian Christians. He said the crisis has been building for decades as radical Muslim groups have been taking control of the area.
“What they have done is they move in, they populate, and once they gain population, they start taking political control. And once they gain political control, the killing starts,” Saul told Morning Wire.
These deaths often occur among women, children, and the elderly who can’t easily flee their small villages.
Why the silence: One of Saul’s biggest frustrations is how little the world knows about the ongoing genocide. The Nigerian government effectively controls what gets reported. Western outlets too often repeat official denials without sending reporters to see the devastation themselves.
“The mainstream media never shows up. They just take the government’s word for it, and every time Christians are killed, it’s always ‘unknown gunmen.’ But we know who’s doing it,” Saul said.
Now footage is emerging of burned churches, mass graves, and displaced families living under tarps in camps with no food or medicine.
Response from Washington: Cruz introduced legislation this month: the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. It will impose sanctions on Nigerian officials accused of facilitating violence against Christians and other religious minorities.
Response from Nigeria: Nigerian officials continue to deny that Christians are being targeted for their faith. They’re framing the violence as clashes between herders and farmers. But many international watchdogs like Open Doors and International Christian Concern say that’s false.
Saul says the Nigerian military has repeatedly failed to respond to warnings of attacks. It’s because of this inaction that many Nigerian Christians are calling on the United States government to use its international influence to shine a spotlight on these atrocities.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Push For Peace In Ukraine</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990061" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Peace-Summit-Axed.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: President Trump canceled a second summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hours later, a fresh barrage of Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine.
Moscow doesn’t appear to want to end the war. It recently launched another major missile and drone attack on Ukraine that killed seven people – part of Russia&#8217;s campaign to knock out Ukraine’s energy supplies ahead of winter.
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/u-s-lifts-key-restriction-on-ukraines-use-of-western-long-range-missiles-5a15c12d?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdQ8iMn0Xl6WlTrEflM-qAdv5sTUs7vuBvNZqNHOO44yer9ClOXnPh5RoBrwOw%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68f9bcbf&amp;gaa_sig=bR0aCbBe-iAb62JlmwUtP7EmQ0bOUlbyBoNFYlO5isMUbFBJT0FTYJFJG1PtWOXrVgGcUK2uNDoFNFO31R14WQ%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>, the United States has given Ukraine the green light to launch its own attacks inside Russian territory. Trump has <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115419686256202789">denied</a> that report, but on Tuesday, Ukraine used a British Storm Shadow cruise missile to hit a plant in Bryansk, Russia.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also announced on Wednesday a “substantial pickup” in sanctions against Russia.
The exchange in missile attacks came as Trump backed out of a second peace summit with Putin. It was supposed to be held in Budapest, Hungary. The White House canceled the summit after a phone call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Trump said Tuesday he <a href="https://x.com/Osint613/status/1980741977000821245">canceled</a> the summit because he did not “want to have a wasted meeting.”
Foreign policy experts <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/10/22/russia-does-not-feel-enough-pressure-ukraine-bombarded-over-2-deadly-nights-as-trump-sours-on-meeting-with-putin/">say</a> this was a necessary move by Trump, recognizing that Putin does not feel enough pressure for peace talks to be productive.
Ceasefire deal?: Trump said this week that the battle lines should be frozen where they are as a precondition to peace talks. Europe has backed that position, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think that was [a] good compromise, but I’m not sure that Putin will support it,” Zelensky told reporters after landing in Oslo.
The Ukrainian president has continued to press his case for Tomahawk missiles after his meeting at the White House last week. Zelensky said in a <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1980683702448386417">post</a> on X that “Russia continues to do everything to weasel out” of a ceasefire, and “as soon as the issue of long-range capabilities for Ukraine became less immediate, [Moscow’s] interest in diplomacy faded. This signals that deep strike capabilities may hold the key to peace.”
Israel: Vice President JD Vance paid a visit to Israel this week, primarily signaling the Trump administration’s commitment to holding together the ceasefire and moving forward with Trump’s 20-point peace plan. While there, Vance recognized some of the limits of the current situation.
“You basically have two regions in Gaza, one of which is relatively safe – I wouldn&#8217;t say very safe – and one of which is incredibly dangerous, and part of ensuring that we get to a durable peace is to broaden the scope of the area that&#8217;s safe,” <a href="https://x.com/AdamMilstein/status/1980692659422576716">said</a> Vance. “The international security force is a big part of that. We don&#8217;t yet have the international security force set up. That&#8217;s something we&#8217;re working towards.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Illegal Alien TikToker Nabbed In Los Angeles</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990059" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Anti-ICE-Activist-Shot.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: An illegal immigrant and well-known TikToker was shot by federal authorities in Los Angeles after he tried to evade arrest for a second time and allegedly rammed a federal vehicle.
The illegal immigrant allegedly behind the attack is Carlitos Ricardo Parías, 44, who is known on TikTok as Richard LA and who regularly exposes ICE operations online to his more than 132,000 followers.
The suspect allegedly tried to impede an ICE operation months ago, but got away. He was seen in handcuffs being hauled into a vehicle by bystanders while federal authorities were trying to arrest him for allegedly interfering with immigration operations, federal law enforcement sources told The Daily Wire.
U.S. Marshals encountered him again this week, arresting him while he attempted to flee a second time. During the attack on ICE agents in which Parías allegedly rammed a federal vehicle, agents responded with gunfire, hitting Parías in the elbow. A U.S. Marshal was wounded by a ricochet bullet that hit him in the hand.
Parías has been charged with assaulting a federal officer, which carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison.
Parías has been considered somewhat of a local hero, being honored by the Los Angeles City Council for his “tireless efforts to safeguard our neighborhoods from illegal raids” in exposing ICE operations on TikTok.
He is being prosecuted aggressively by U.S. attorneys in part because federal officials get so little support in deep blue, sanctuary areas that protect illegal aliens.
New York City riot over deportations: Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday raided New York City’s Canal Street, notorious for illegal immigrant crime, as a mob of rioters attempted to stop them.
Law enforcement arrested illegal aliens of African origin, each with a lengthy rap sheet. Five of the aliens entered the United States illegally and were let go under former President Joe Biden.
The raid on Canal Street came after Turning Point USA reporter Savanah Hernandez exposed African immigrants selling counterfeit designer handbags along the sidewalk. The aliens would take off running wherever the police showed up.
Sanctuary policies have protected the illegal immigrants, as well as facilitated their illicit activities on Canal Street, according to federal officials.

MRN_251023_V1

Morning Brief: Nigerian Christians Slaughtered, Russia Standoff, & Illegal Alien TikToker Nabbed

Christianity

genocide

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Los Angeles

Media

Nigeria

Politics

Russia

Ted Cruz

Ukraine

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

A Taylor Swift fan who accused the singer of selling a necklace with allegedly blatant Nazi symbolism has gone viral with her claims.
Also, the item has disappeared from Swift’s <a href="https://store.taylorswift.com/">merchandise site</a>, though it’s unclear if this was due to the accusations or because it sold out. Reps for Swift did not immediately return a request for comment on the controversy.
User sampire1513, whose profile describes her as “the friend that’s too woke” and “happily gay married,” posted a video detailing all the symbolism she saw on the necklace being sold on Swift’s merchandise website. The jewelry piece was meant to go along with the song “Opalite” from the singer’s newest “The Life of a Showgirl” album.
The video has gone viral on multiple social media platforms, earning 5.4 million views on TikTok and a ton of supportive comments.
The TikTok creator opened by mentioning the reception to the song “Opalite,” which she said has “racial undertones.”
“I am in the business of  listening to black women. I think they would know what a microaggression sounds like against them way better than I ever could,” sampire1513 began.
She said after seeing the necklace, she has decided that the song “Opalite” is “completely intentionally racial. And I am sick.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The fact this have 400k likes proves our society is DOOMED <a href="https://t.co/LM0U06mfQy">pic.twitter.com/LM0U06mfQy</a>
— Leo (@Swiftsbeatle13) <a href="https://twitter.com/Swiftsbeatle13/status/1978575424427847890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2025</a></blockquote>
The TikTok creator goes on to describe how the necklace has lightning bolts, but insists that the way these lightning bolts are designed is meant to represent something specific while acknowledging that the lyrics say, “dancing through the lightning strikes.”
“They are specifically SS lightning bolts,” sampire1513 continues. “Okay? It is not ambiguous. That is exactly what it is.”
She goes on with the conspiracy accusations.
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“And then, if you&#8217;ll look, there are eight of them,” the TikTok user says. “Why does that matter? Because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet. Many Nazi, neo Nazi circles, gangs, will put an 88, meaning [Heil] Hitler, they&#8217;ll put it in their bios, they&#8217;ll tattoo it on their bodies, they&#8217;ll put it on their motorcycles, their leather jackets … I&#8217;m not reaching … the 88 thing is extremely common.”
Sampire1513 goes on to claim that the cross on the necklace is a “f***ing iron cross,” a German military medal.
The social media creator said after seeing the necklace, there are only two options.
“Number one, Swift&#8217;s team and Swift herself, they put this out, and they genuinely just didn&#8217;t know what they were doing. And it&#8217;s a complete happenstance that it resembles any commonly used Nazi dog whistles,” she said, noting that for this to happen, there would have to be no one on the team who is Jewish or who went through “cultural sensitivity training.”
“&#8230;Option number two, which is, she knows exactly what this is, and that’s what she decided to put out. What the f***,” the user said.
Sampire1513 demanded that Swift put out a statement condemning Nazism and hatred. “I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;m reaching at all,” she said in conclusion of the necklace’s alleged symbolism. “I think it&#8217;s clear as f***ing day.”
The user set her TikTok account to private Thursday as the video continued gaining traction online. X users called her out for the allegations.
“That’s some unhinged stuff right there. As someone who studied the 3rd Reich for many years at university &#8211; no, they don’t look like SS lighting bolts, those look like the last 2 letters in KISS. That looks NOTHING like the Iron Cross,” one commenter <a href="https://x.com/Davidwebrooks/status/1978750769584087290">wrote</a>.
“If you see a [lightning] bolt and think nazi i think there&#8217;s only one person obsessed with nazis and it aint taylor swift,” another person <a href="https://x.com/Swiftsbeatle13/status/1978575424427847890">said</a>.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift Fan Accuses Singer Of Selling Nazi-Themed Necklace In Viral TikTok

Celebrities

Entertainment

Music

Nazis

viral video

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at ensuring TikTok becomes “American-operated all the way,” he said.
After months of delaying the enforcement of a law banning TikTok, Trump announced a new framework facilitated by his executive order, which would transfer ownership of the social media platform from China to a group of American investors. Congress passed a law in 2024 to either ban the Chinese-owned TikTok or force its sale due to national security and privacy concerns.
“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said as he signed the executive order. “I have great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China and the approval of China.”
Trump thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for agreeing to the deal. He said some of the investors in the project included Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, entrepreneur Michael Dell, and Rupert Murdoch.
Vice President JD Vance played a key role in negotiating the framework. He said that the deal would allow Americans to use TikTok “with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is going to be secure, and it’s not going to be used as a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens.”
Vance said that TikTok was valued at around $14 billion and that more details about the specific investors would be revealed in the coming days.
According to the text of the executive order, the framework resolves the national security concerns by removing “the TikTok application and certain other applications from the ‘control’ of a foreign adversary and precludes any ‘operational relationship’ between a formerly affiliated entity controlled by a foreign adversary and the new joint venture.”
It also “prohibits the storage of sensitive United States user data in a manner that would place such data under the control of a foreign adversary and requires such data to be stored in a cloud environment run by an American company.”
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld the law banning TikTok, ruling that it did not violate the First Amendment for Congress to prohibit the application due to national security concerns.

President Trump Signs Order On TikTok’s US Operations

Trump Says TikTok Will Be ‘American-Operated All The Way’ Under New Deal

Big Tech

China

JD Vance

National Security

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping&#8217;s progress on a TikTok deal this week could help bolster talks to allow parent ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of the short video app, experts said.
The move forward, albeit a small one, comes eight months after a legal deadline passed for Chinese ownership of TikTok in the United States to end, and follows lengthy discussions about a sale.
Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that he appreciated &#8220;the approval of the TikTok Deal&#8221; from Xi, after a call between the leaders of the world&#8217;s two biggest economies.
Xi&#8217;s statement did not mention an approval. It said &#8220;the Chinese government respects the will of firms and welcomes companies to conduct business negotiations on the basis of market rules to reach a solution consistent with Chinese laws and regulations while balancing interests,&#8221; according to the meeting summary in Xinhua state media.
China blocked a similar agreement on the app used by 170 million Americans in April during a trade dispute.
&#8220;Readouts from Washington and Beijing suggest the call between Trump and Xi went well, with words like &#8216;positive&#8217; and &#8216;constructive&#8217; being used by both sides to characterize the important bilateral conversation,&#8221; said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. &#8220;While the leaders apparently blessed the TikTok deal, important details surrounding such matters as who would own and control the algorithm remain unclear.&#8221;
Either way, months of work, at the very least, lie ahead. Trump this week extended the deadline to complete the divestiture to December 19. And lawmakers have raised concerns about reported details on the preliminary framework agreement reached earlier in the week in Madrid.
Congress had ordered the app shut down for U.S. users by January 2025 if its U.S. assets were not sold by Chinese owner ByteDance.
Trump has declined to enforce the law while his administration looks for a new owner, which Democrats say is illegal. He has said he is worried a ban on the app would anger TikTok&#8217;s huge user base and disrupt political communications. He has largely downplayed national security concerns that motivated Congress to demand a Chinese divestiture.
&#8220;I like TikTok; it helped get me elected,&#8221; Trump said during a press conference on Thursday. &#8220;TikTok has tremendous value. The United States has that value in its hand because we&#8217;re the ones that have to approve it.&#8221;
Scott Kennedy, head of the Chinese Business and Economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, &#8220;the contours of the conversation today and over the last few months better align with China&#8217;s interests than U.S. interests.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;we&#8217;re talking about individual business deals. We&#8217;re not talking about Chinese structural reforms.&#8221;
Key questions about the deal remain. The precise ownership structure of the company is unclear, as is the amount of control China will retain, or whether Congress will approve.
The deal would transfer TikTok&#8217;s U.S. assets to U.S. owners from ByteDance, Reuters has reported. Sources familiar with the deal said U.S. TikTok would still make use of ByteDance&#8217;s algorithm.
That arrangement worries lawmakers concerned that Beijing could spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app. China has said there is no evidence of a national security threat posed by the app.
(Reporting by Chris Sanders, David Shepardson and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

TikTok Logo With US Flag

Sale Of TikTok’s U.S. Assets May Get Boost After Recent Trump-Xi Call

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made progress on a TikTok agreement and pledged to meet face-to-face in just over a month in South Korea.
The two sides appeared to lower tensions during the first call in three months between the leaders of the two superpowers, but it was not immediately clear if the call had yielded the expected firm agreement over the fate of the popular short-video app.
Trump did say the leaders agreed to talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that starts on October 31 in Gyeongju, South Korea, and for a potential later visit to China by Trump. Reuters previously reported that the two sides were planning such a meeting.
&#8220;We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,&#8221; Trump wrote on social media.
&#8220;The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!&#8221; Trump wrote.
But China&#8217;s statement made no reference to a final agreement.
&#8220;On TikTok, Xi said China&#8217;s position is clear: the Chinese government respects the will of firms and welcomes companies to conduct business negotiations on the basis of market rules to reach a solution consistent with Chinese laws and regulations while balancing interests,&#8221; according to the meeting summary in Xinhua.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Xiuhao Chen and Ethan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Donald Trump/Xi Jinping

Trump Plans To Meet China’s Xi After Progress Made On TikTok And Trade

Trump Says He And China's Xi Made Progress On TikTok And Trade, To Meet Soon

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States and China have a deal that would keep TikTok operating in the United States, transferring its U.S. assets to U.S. owners from China&#8217;s ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year.
A deal on the popular social media app, which counts 170 million U.S. users, stands as a breakthrough in months-long talks between the world&#8217;s No. 1 and No. 2 economies that have sought to defuse a wide-ranging trade war that has unnerved global markets.
&#8220;We have a deal on TikTok &#8230; We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,&#8221; Trump said.
He lauded the trade deal reached with China, calling it an upgrade for both countries, and said it would preserve tens of billions of dollars of value.
&#8220;The kids want it so badly, I have parents calling me up. They don&#8217;t want it for themselves. They want it for their kids,&#8221; Trump said.
Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 during the Biden Administration that required divestiture due to fears that TikTok&#8217;s U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.
The Trump administration has repeatedly declined to enforce a law requiring the app to shut down due to worries it would anger users and disrupt political communications, instead extending the divestiture deadline on three separate occasions.
Trump has credited the app with helping him win re-election last year, and his personal account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account last month.
CNBC reported Tuesday that the deal is expected to be closed within the next 30 to 45 days, and that the agreement will include existing investors in TikTok&#8217;s China-based parent ByteDance and new investors.
Reuters has not independently verified CNBC&#8217;s report. However, the details are in line with Reuters&#8217; reporting in April that the deal would spin off TikTok&#8217;s U.S. operations into a new company based in the U.S. and majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors.
Tariffs And TikTok
A deal for TikTok had been in the works in the spring, but was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump&#8217;s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Washington has maintained that TikTok&#8217;s ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government, and Beijing could use the app to collect data on Americans.
The company has said U.S. officials have misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the U.S. on cloud servers operated by Oracle, while content moderation decisions that affect American users are also made in the U.S.
CNBC also reported on Tuesday that Oracle will keep its cloud deal with TikTok as part of the agreement. Reuters reported earlier this year that the White House was working on a plan to tap Oracle, along with a group of outside investors, to take control of the app&#8217;s operations.
As part of the plan, Oracle would have been responsible for addressing national security issues, Reuters had then reported.
Shares of Oracle pared some gains on Tuesday following the news on TikTok and were last up nearly 3%.
A framework agreement was reached by officials from both countries on Monday, marking a breakthrough after months of intense talks. The White House has been involved to an unprecedented level in the closely watched deal talks.
Amid escalating trade tensions, U.S. and China delegations discussed the divestment as part of broader disputes over tariffs and tech export control regulations.
A final confirmation on the deal is expected on Friday in a call between Trump and President Xi Jinping.
Several suitors, including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, a startup run by OnlyFans founder, and Amazon, had expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion.
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw, Deborah Sophia, Jaspreet Singh; Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva)

Trump Says U.S. Has A Buyer For TikTok

ByteDance

Bestselling author Jodi Picoult went on a full TikTok tirade over the reactions to Charlie Kirk’s murder.
The 59-year-old fiction writer, who has sold more than 40 million copies of her 28 published novels and short stories, is receiving a significant amount of backlash for her angry rant.
“An undeserved violent death does not negate the terrible pain that he inflicted on others,” <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1967347462051704996">Picoult said</a>. “I&#8217;m not buying into the hypocrisy.”
“You won&#8217;t trick me into believing it&#8217;s just about respect for life when your side has cheered families being ripped apart, when your side has proudly supported Alligator Alcatraz merch,” the “My Sister’s Keeper” author continued.
Picoult went on to accuse conservatives of “immediately jump[ing] to blame trans people and targeting HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), even though — shocker! — the shooter was a cis, white man from a Trump-supporting family who was raised to love guns.”
“I have always condemned all gun violence and I will continue to do so, but, as usual, the right only cares about violence when it happens to them. So, you know what? Miss me with the fake self-righteousness.”
Her rant spread quickly on X, sparking fierce opposition. By Monday morning, the TikTok was still public, but once it went viral, Picoult locked it down to private.
“Totally unhinged,” Libs of TikTok replied to the clip.
“Jodi, you write novels where the bad guy always gets exposed in the end. Congratulations, you’ve just made yourself the villain in real life,” another commenter <a href="https://x.com/merikuh/status/1967347960976654797">wrote</a>.
“Another brainwashed liberal spreading lies about Charlie Kirk. You can guarantee these people never watched any of Charlie’s videos. They live in their echo chambers believing each other’s lies,” a third agreed, vowing to boycott Picoult’s books.
This isn’t the first time the woke side of the publishing industry has shown its blatant bias regarding Kirk’s assassination. Author Stephen King was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-king-walks-back-lie-about-charlie-kirk-with-half-hearted-apology">forced to apologize</a> after falsely accusing Kirk of advocating for gay people being stoned to death. 
The horror writer admitted his statement was untrue and deleted the original after social media comments flooded in, with followers proving him wrong.

Jodi Picoult

Author Jodi Picoult Melts Down On TikTok, Lashes Out At Charlie Kirk Supporters

Author Jodi Picoult Directs TikTok Tantrum At Charlie Kirk Supporters

assassination

Books

Charlie Kirk

MADRID (Reuters) &#8211; The United States and China have reached a framework agreement to switch short-video app TikTok to U.S.-controlled ownership, top U.S. officials said on Monday, with President Donald Trump set to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the agreement after a meeting between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in Madrid, but declined to give any of the commercial terms of the agreement.
Bessent told reporters that further details would wait to be determined in a call on Friday between Trump and Xi.
Trump said on Monday that trade talks with China had gone very well and hinted that a deal had been reached to resolve issues the U.S. has over TikTok ownership.
&#8220;The big Trade Meeting in Europe between The United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,&#8221; Trump wrote on his TruthSocial platform.
&#8220;A deal was also reached on a “certain” company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!&#8221;
Earlier on Monday a U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations had said that the U.S. would press ahead with a ban on TikTok if China didn&#8217;t drop its demands for reduced tariffs and technological restrictions as part of a divestiture deal.
U.S. and China delegations met to discuss the divestment from TikTok by Chinese owner Bytedance as part of a round of broader talks on tariffs and economic policy taking place in Madrid. TikTok faces being shut down as early as September 17 in the U.S. unless it moves to U.S. ownership.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Bessent and Greer said China wanted concessions on trade and technology in exchange for agreeing to divest from the popular social media app.
&#8220;Our Chinese counterparts have come with a very aggressive ask,&#8221; Bessent said, adding: &#8220;We are not willing to sacrifice national security for a social media app.&#8221;
POOR TIMING
The U.S.-China negotiations at the Spanish foreign ministry&#8217;s baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz, which began on Sunday, were the fourth round of talks in four months to address strained trade ties and a looming divestiture deadline for TikTok.
They took place as Washington demands that its allies place tariffs on imports from China over Chinese purchases of Russian oil, which Beijing on Monday said was an attempt at coercion.
Beijing separately announced on Monday that a preliminary investigation of Nvidia had found the U.S. chip giant had violated its anti-monopoly law. Bessent said the announcement on Nvidia was poor timing.
The probe is widely seen as a retaliatory shot against Washington&#8217;s curbs on the Chinese chip sector.
(Reporting by David Lawder, Pietro Lombardi and Ethan Wang,; Additional reporting by Brendan O&#8217;Brien and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Clarence Fernandez and Susan Fenton)

U.S. and China delegations visit Spain

Trump, Xi To Speak Friday After U.S.–China Reach Framework On TikTok

Social Issues

Leftists are losing their minds over social media influencer Jeffree Star having a compassionate, human response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. 
The makeup brand founder, who has more than 13 million followers on Instagram and close to 8 million on TikTok, clapped back at those who accused him of being a Republican because of his reaction. 
“Am I Republican? No, I’m a person,” Star said during his livestream, which included footage of him reacting to the news that Kirk had been shot at a college event in Utah. “Because I’m standing up for someone that passed away, I’m now being called names in the chat.”
“He encouraged everyone to speak about their beliefs, whether he believed them or not,” the pink-haired influencer and makeup enthusiast said in the TikTok clip, which has been widely circulated on X. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Jeffree Star gets the news of Charlie Kirk’s passing while livestreaming #shorts" width="422" height="750" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Qwwd_PPpo0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Credit: @jeffreestar via TikTok)
“So a grown man that goes around the country, debating people, spitting facts, was just taken out. And I’m not over it… So no, I’m not a Republican. No, I’m not a Democrat. I’m Jeffree Star. Stop trying to label me.”
“Charlie Kirk fought … for the truth,” he added. “He debated everybody. And you guys cannot argue that.” Star mentioned Kirk’s young daughter and started tearing up, saying the tragedy makes him “so sick.” 
At another point, reacting to the comments being posted, Star said people who identify as transgender are in the wrong.
“This is what’s wrong with a lot of you people. You will never get far in life. You are sick in the head,” Star said as angry comments from viewers continued to come in. “Someone just said they’re unsubscribing from me … Thank God. Please! If you believe in they/thems, you are part of the problem. If you’re stupid enough to go against science, please unfollow me.”
The social media influencer said you can “be whoever you want to be,” but that doesn’t override physical reality. “The truth hurts a lot of you, I see,” he added.
“Yes, I am a grown ass man that wears makeup,” he said. “I will always be a male. My name is Jeffrey … I am a male that likes cosmetics.” 
“All these grown men going into women’s bathrooms and wearing wigs, you should all be in prison forever. You are the problem.”
“Politics aside, biology will never change,” Star said. “Why is that up for debate?”

Pink-Haired Makeup Artist Jeffree Star Has Unlikely Reaction To Charlie Kirk’s Murder

Pink-Haired Makeup Artist Jeffree Star Has Unlikely Reaction To Charlie Kirk's Murder

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