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With the ban on TikTok just days away, U.S. politicians in both major parties are seeking ways to keep the Chinese-owned video-sharing app accessible for Americans. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, has sought to delay the prohibition so he can “save” the app he pushed to ban during his previous administration. He is considering an executive order that would give him between 60 to 90 days to find a solution, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified sources. The app, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., faces a deadline of Jan. 19 to find a U.S. buyer in order to continue operating in the country. Although TikTok has contested the impending ban in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, justices indicated during arguments on Jan. 10 that they are likely to uphold the law that President Joe Biden signed last year. “We’re going to find a way to preserve it but protect people’s data,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, told Fox News on Wednesday. Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive officer, plans to attend Trump’s inauguration after being invited to sit “in a position of honor” at the event, the New York Times reported. Democrats are also looking for ways to give TikTok a reprieve. NBC News reported on Wednesday night that the Biden administration is seeking a pathway for the app to remain available. The network quoted an unnamed administration official as saying TikTok wouldn’t suddenly go dark. A group of Democratic lawmakers, including three senators — Edward Markey, Ron Wyden and Cory Booker — this week introduced the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act, which would give another 270 days for the company to reach a deal. “Tens of millions of Americans use TikTok for entertainment, business, and social networking, including myself,” Booker said. “Americans should not be shut off from freely expressing themselves on the platforms they choose. I do believe that ByteDance should divest from TikTok, but it should be given sufficient time to carry out a sale. Although ByteDance has refused to sell, earlier this week people familiar with the matter said that Chinese officials were evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the U.S. operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off the ban. Musk and his representatives did not respond to a request for comment. A ByteDance representative said the company “can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.” Source link

Public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet inched up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month to 28.2% in January, a Jiji Press opinion poll showed Thursday. The approval rate for the Ishiba Cabinet was still below 30%, remaining in the so-called danger zone. The disapproval rate fell 1.0 point to 40.3%. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party for the People led the opposition camp in public support for the first time in the January poll. Source link

Yokohama – A district court Thursday found a former worker of a nursery school not guilty of assaulting and killing a 1-year-old girl in 2017. Judge Takeshi Okuyama, who presided over the lay-judge trial at Yokohama District Court in Kanagawa Prefecture, issued the ruling, rejecting the prosecution’s demand for a 10-year prison term for the former worker, Ayako Kaetsu, 49. The indictment had claimed that Kaetsu caused the girl’s death in April 2017 by hitting the back of her head more than once against something hard at the nursery school in the Kanagawa city of Hiratsuka. Source link

The idea of Elon Musk as a potential buyer for TikTok may seem like the craziest development yet in the saga of the U.S. government’s determination to ban the app. But it’s not as out-of-left-field as it sounds and would carry its own potential harms. The world’s wealthiest man has long said he hopes to create an “everything app,” and incorporating TikTok into X, formerly Twitter, would take him a step toward that goal. It could also offer a potential goldmine of training content for his artificial intelligence startup, xAI. And as a close ally of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned to save the app, it’s less surprising that his name came up as part of potential deal-making with Beijing. TikTok has all but exhausted its legal avenues to overturn the law that would ban the platform in the U.S. if it isn’t sold by it’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance. Source link

Blue Origin’s new flagship rocket lifted off for the first time in a crucial test of the Jeff Bezos-backed firm’s ability to challenge SpaceX’s ironclad grip on the launch market. New Glenn thundered off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:03 a.m. local time on Thursday. The mission, which is expected to last several hours, aims to put the company’s Blue Ring Pathfinder test satellite into orbit as well as land New Glenn’s lower portion, known as a booster, on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. A few minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s lower portion successfully separated from its upper stage, which continued on its journey to space. Then, roughly 13 minutes into the mission, Blue Origin said the upper portion of New Glenn reached orbit — with cheers erupting inside mission control. Source link

Ichiro Suzuki, the iconic outfielder who starred for the Orix BlueWave before embarking on a career in the major leagues, led the Class of 2025 into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday. Ichiro was voted into the Hall in his first year of eligibility and will be inducted alongside former players Hitoki Iwase and Masayuki Kakefu and former Central League umpire Hiroya Tomizawa. Ichiro is widely expected to hear his name again when the results of the voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the United States are revealed next week. He amassed 3,089 hits during his MLB career. While many have wondered if Ichiro will be a unanimous selection in the U.S. Hall of Fame, he fell short of the mark in Japan, receiving 323 out of 349 votes. Ichiro garnered 92.6% of the vote to easily clear the 75% threshold. Before his move to MLB, Ichiro spent nine seasons with the BlueWave, who merged with the Kintetsu Buffaloes after the 2004 season to become the Orix Buffaloes, recording 1,278 hits and leaving the team with a .353 average in 3,619 at-bats. The superstar player finished his pro career with 4,367 hits between his time in NPB and MLB. Ichiro won three straight Pacific League MVP awards (1994 to 1996) and was seven-time batting champion. In 1995, the year of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, he helped lead the BlueWave, who were based in Kobe, where the quake struck, to the Pacific League pennant. The team won the crown again in 1996 and went on to defeat the Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series. Ichiro was Orix’s fourth pick in the 1991 draft. He was used sparingly in his first two seasons, with just 83 games played. He became a star in 1994, the same year BlueWave manager Akira Ogi suggested he wear “Ichiro” on the back of his uniform instead of “Suzuki.” Ichiro became the first Japanese player to eclipse 200 hits that season with 210, which stood as the single-season record until it was broken by the Hanshin Tigers’ Matt Murton, who finished with 214 hits in 2010. Source link

Melbourne – Melbourne prides itself on serving up the world’s best coffee, but finding a hot brew at the Australian Open has proved a challenge for some of the tens of thousands of fans attending this year’s Grand Slam event. Organizers have worked hard over the last decade to improve options for refreshment, and an array of outlets at the Melbourne Park precinct now offer everything from gourmet food to cocktails. Yet long lines face fans looking to indulge their passion for the city’s favorite beverage at the 15 coffee stores Tennis Australia says dot the 40-hectare site. Source link

The first-round bye that came with earning the top seed in the AFC playoffs helped the Kansas City Chiefs recharge. As for their mindset, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions hit the reset button before training camp. “Every year is a new challenge,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “Every year is a new opportunity to go and achieve the ultimate goal, and that’s to win a championship.” Source link

Washington – The U.S. government said Wednesday that it has notified Congress of its approval of the $39 million sale of air-to-surface standoff missiles and related equipment to Japan. The move comes in response to the Japanese government’s request to purchase up to 16 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range. The missiles have a range of about 900 kilometers, enabling strikes from beyond enemy firing ranges. The missiles are expected to be mounted on Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific region,” the U.S. government said in a statement. Source link

Toyota unit Hino Motors has agreed to a $1.6 billion settlement with U.S. agencies and will plead guilty over excess diesel engine emissions in more than 105,000 U.S. vehicles, the company and U.S. government said on Wednesday. The Japanese truck and engine manufacturer was charged with fraud in the U.S. District Court in Detroit for unlawfully selling 105,000 heavy-duty diesel engines in the United States from 2010 through 2022 that did not meet emissions standards. The settlement, which still must be approved by a U.S. judge, includes a criminal penalty of $521.76 million, $442.5 million in civil penalties to U.S. authorities and $236.5 million to California. Source link