The Buckeyes are the champions of college football once again.

State of play: OSU defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship.

• It was a largely one-sided title game, though Notre Dame nearly pulled off a late comeback.

Context: The Buckeyes' championship is their ninth of all time and third since 2002, trailing only five other FBS programs overall.

The star: Junior running back Quinshon Judkins spent most of his night in the end zone, with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in addition to a huge 70-yard third quarter run.

• But senior quarterback Will Howard deserves a mention for playing a nearly perfect game, capping off a four-game playoff run likely to improve his NFL Draft stock.

What we're watching: The Buckeyes will be absolutely loaded next season.

• Superstar freshman Jeremiah Smith and sophomore Caleb Downs will return, along with key contributors like Carnell Tate, Arvell Reese and Luke Montgomery.

More photos from the title game:

• A commander in Ukraine's 14th UAV regiment said combat drone tech can change in a month.
• One example is the evolving need for new hardware to counter jamming techniques, he said.
• Military contracts like a three-year agreement wouldn't be able to fulfill those demands in time, he said.

A Ukrainian commander overseeing a drone battalion said the speed at which his decentralized manufacturers can alter their battlefield tech gives them an edge over traditional defense production lines.

"We say to them: 'Here, after three months, this antenna no longer works, this GPS module no longer works.' We tell them: 'This and this needs to be changed,'" said a battalion commander for the 14th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle regiment to the Ukrainian military channel ARMY TV.

"They say: 'No problem.' And in one month, on the dot, they implement it," added the commander, referring to drone producers in Ukraine. He was identified by his call sign, Kasper, in an interview published on Sunday.

"We can plan all according to the rules and try to aim where we are going to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years," Kasper said.

But he said the "realities of war" mean his unit must continuously give feedback to manufacturers, who in turn roll out changes quickly.

Kasper compared that to production lines for drones like the Iranian-designed Shahed, which Russia has been manufacturing at scale for the war.

"Let us say you are creating a production line and planning to make one Shahed. There is a three-year contract for it planned in advance, it already has pre-written technical specifications, pre-written set of components," Kasper said.

Installing new components or tweaking designs would, therefore, be difficult, he said.

"They already received the money. 'I gave you the Shahed according to the specifications, so what do you want from me? I don't really care!'" Kasper said.

He cited an example of Ukraine's evolving battlefield needs: GPS-jamming countermeasures for larger drones. These require special hardware like receivers or antennae that allow operators to switch between frequencies.

If those measures don't work, the drones need an inertial navigation system so they can fly blindly out of jamming range, or perhaps a camera that lets the pilot navigate the drone through visuals, he added.

"So if the drone sees that it is being jammed, it transitions to the visual navigation and is moving forward, or transitions to the inertial navigation and is moving forward, or it has a multiband antenna that jumps from channel to channel. And it is impossible to jam it," Kasper said.

That's not to say that Russia is limited to traditional military contracts. Both sides have active volunteer organizations that donate thousands of civilian drones for combat, though Ukrainian units believe they're maintaining a lead in innovation over Russian forces.

One way that Russia has brought new tech to the front lines is through fiber-optic drones, which allow them to bypass electronic jamming. Ukrainian developers, meanwhile, are scrambling to adopt the same technology for first-person loitering munitions.

All of this is happening as militaries worldwide watch the war closely for lessons to glean from what's become a yearslong open conflict between two major modern forces.

Seeing how much of the battlefield now hinges on drones, some countries have begun prioritizing uncrewed aerial vehicles or novel anti-drone defenses.

The US, for example, is awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to firms such as Teledyne and Anduril to make loitering munitions. In October, Anduril also announced that it secured a $249 million Defense Department contract to produce 500 Roadrunner drones and an electronic warfare system.

President Trump took the first step toward rolling back protections for transgender people on Monday, signing an executive order that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female.

Why it matters: Trump made attacks on transgender individuals central to his 2024 campaign, and by issuing the executive order on his first day in office, signaled the importance of the issue in his second term.

• The executive order could have wide-reaching implications for gender-affirming care and recognition of trans people in a variety of spaces.
• It could also signal a first step toward banning transgender athletes from taking part in women's sports. The move would amount to "removing protections from some of our most vulnerable students," Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, told Axios ahead of the decision.

Driving the news: Trump's executive order states that only two sexes will be recognized by the federal government, "male and female."

• As such, only those two sexes will be recognized for official documents such as passports and visas.
• "'Sex' is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of 'gender identity,'" the order states.
• The executive order aims to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for gender-affirming care and to prevent transgender women from being held in women's prisons or detention centers.

State of play: An incoming White House official previewed the executive order on a call with reporters Monday ahead of Trump's inauguration, saying it was part of Trump's aim of "restoring sanity" in the U.S.

• The executive order is about "defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government," the official said.

Zoom out: Even before he took office, trans rights advocates vowed to fight Trump's rollback of trans rights.

• Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the biggest LGBTQ political lobbying in the U.S., said in a statement the HRC refused to back down or be intimidated.
• "We are not going anywhere, and we will fight back against these harmful provisions with everything we've got," Robinson added.
• Ash Orr, a spokesperson for Advocates for Trans Equality, told AP the group would persevere and "continue in our work and we're going to continue to protect trans rights throughout the country."

State of play: Trump has repeatedly railed about trans athletes competing in women's and girls' sports while on the campaign trail.

• At a Fox News town hall in October, Trump said, "We're not going to let it happen ... we absolutely stop it. You can't have it," when asked about how he would handle "the transgender issue" in women's sports.

Zoom out: LGBTQ+ advocates long warned that the new Trump administration would attempt to undo the Biden administration's efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students under Title IX.

• Those efforts faced legal hurdles even before Trump re-entered office.
• In December, the Education Department withdrew a proposal to expand Title IX protections for trans student-athletes in the face of multiple lawsuit threats.
• In early January, a federal judge rejected rules to broaden the definition of sex discrimination under Title IX in order to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Go deeper: Trump closing out campaign cycle with anti-trans attacks

The Senate voted 99-0 on Monday to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) as President Trump's secretary of state.

Why it matters: Rubio will be instrumental in making good on many of Trump's grandest campaign promises — from ending the war in Ukraine to countering China's growing influence to implementing a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously earlier Monday to recommend Rubio's confirmation, and Democrats cleared the way for an expedited process.
• It's a resounding show of Senate bipartisanship for one of their own.

Zoom in: The 53-year-old Floridian has served in the Senate since 2011. He ran for president in 2016 before dropping out and endorsing Trump. He was on Trump's 2024 vice presidential shortlist.

• Rubio, who would be the first Latino secretary of state, opposes normalizing relations with Cuba and is a noted China hawk.
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped the state's attorney general, Ashley Moody, to replace Rubio in the Senate, as Axios first reported.

Zoom out: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which will enter into its fourth year next month, will be one of the Trump administration's greatest foreign policy challenges.

• Trump and his allies have criticized how the Biden administration has handled the conflict. The GOP has been fractured in the past year over whether the U.S. should continue sending aid to Ukraine.
• Rubio testified last week that both Russia and Ukraine need to make concessions to end the conflict.
• Rubio voted against $95 billion in Ukraine aid in April, and has called for Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war with Russia — even if that means Russia keeps some of the territory from the invasion.

• President Trump spoke about his plans for the US military on his first day back in office.
• He promised to reinstate and give back pay to service members dismissed for refusing COVID-19 vaccines.
• He also wants to use the military in mass deportation operations and has referenced culture war issues.

President Donald Trump outlined several key US military policies on his first day back in office.

Many of his pledges, such as reinstating service members who were dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine and engaging in controversial culture war issues in the Pentagon, tie into the Commander-in-Chief's goal of a major US Armed Forces overhaul.

Trump was officially sworn into office on Monday and began signing a flurry of executive orders, including reversing former president Joe Biden's policies on oil and gas drilling in Alaska, keeping TikTok open while it finds a potential buyer, and declaring emergencies on national energy and immigration at the US-Mexico border.

He also signed an executive order declaring Mexican cartels to be foreign terrorist organizations and suggested he could send US Special Forces to Mexico to take them out. "Could happen," he said. "Stranger things have happened."

During his inauguration speech, Trump presented attendees, including former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, with his vision of the US military.

"America will soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before," he said. "We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into," Trump said.

The statement echoes comments the President made on the campaign trail and after the election, as well as those made by his Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, who vowed to restore the military's "warrior ethos," readiness, and lethality during his confirmation hearing last week.

Here's everything Trump said about the US military during his first day back in office — and what to expect next.

Trump promised to reinstate service members who refused the COVID-19 vaccine — with back pay

The President said he'd reinstate the more than 8,000 troops dismissed from military service for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

The mandate was originally issued in August 2021 by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and lasted until January 2023, with limited exceptions for medical or religious reasons. It was repealed when Biden signed a defense spending bill in December 2022.

Congressional Republicans have previously argued the rule hurt the US military's readiness amid a recruitment crisis. Pentagon officials have denied this and said only a small number of dismissed personnel reapplied for military service after the mandate was lifted. Around 99% of the active-duty Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force had been vaccinated, as well as 98% of the Army.

In his inauguration speech, Trump also promised full back pay to the reinstated service members. Hegseth also suggested this last week.

Trump plans to use the military in his crackdown on illegal immigration

On Monday night, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, as well as an executive order to send US Northern Command to "seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities."

Throughout his campaign, Trump heavily focused on illegal immigration and indicated plans to launch a mass deportation campaign. After the election, he suggested he could use the US military to do so.

Legal experts have said using the military to control immigration and deportation is complicated due to different rules governing military forces, state defense forces, and civilian law enforcement, Cassandra Burke Robertson, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University, and Irina D. Manta, a professor of law at Hofstra University, wrote in The Conversation on Monday.

Deploying National Guard units to the southern border has precedent — Trump did it himself in April 2018, as did Obama and Bush — but the military is generally forbidden from enforcing domestic laws. Trump could use the military in a support role, though.

Trump said he'd end "radical political theories" and other culture war issues in the military

During his inauguration speech, Trump said he'd sign an executive order "to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty," referencing his larger ideological fight.

Trump and the Republican Party made so-called "woke" policies, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, top platform issues, arguing they hurt military readiness. Hegseth has made varied statements on this issue, many of which — such as his flip-flopping comments against women serving in the military — were the center point of his confirmation hearing.

It remains unclear which of these issues will become concrete policies and how the President will implement them, although they align with other plans to cut spending in the Pentagon, gut top ranks, and roll back federal DEI efforts.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order revoking Biden's policy allowing transgender people to serve in the military, clearing the way for a ban on trans service members similar to the ban in his first term.

• President Trump took aim at federal DEI policies in his inaugural address on Monday.
• He pledged to reverse executive orders from Biden, in favor of a "merit-based" society.
• Trump indicated he plans to largely freeze federal hiring and roll back pro-LGBTQ+ initiatives.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government.

Federal agencies and departments have 60 days from the signing of the order to end DEI-related practices.

The executive order will be carried out by the US Office of Personnel Management and the Attorney General, who will review all existing federal employment practices, union contracts, and training policies to ensure compliance with the DEI termination order.

"Federal employment practices, including Federal employee performance reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and shall not under any circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements," the order read.

Trump also used his inaugural address Monday to target DEI initiatives in the federal government.

"This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life," he said Monday. "We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based."

He also said it will be official US policy that "there are only two genders: male and female."

The remarks echoed his statements during a rally a day earlier when he pledged to end DEI mandates in government and the private sector.

Like many orders Trump is signing on his first day, the move aims to undo several orders issued by Joe Biden during his presidency.

In one executive action from June 2021, Biden said the federal government is the largest employer in the nation and, thus, "must be a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, where all employees are treated with dignity and respect."

In response, the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Talent Sourcing for America initiative was launched in September of 2022.

A 2022 report from the Office of Personnel Management said the government-wide DEIA initiative included a plan to prioritize equity for LGBTQI+ employees by "expanding the usage of gender markers and pronouns that respect transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary employees; and working to create a more inclusive workplace."

The report showed minimal changes in the federal workforce's demographics between fiscal years 2017 and 2021, which encompassed most of Trump's first term. This included "minor" changes in the shares of the federal workforce by race and gender.

A 2024 report from OPM found minor increases in federal staffing diversity under the Biden administration after the DEIA objectives were announced, but indicated the office's targets for diversity and equity initiatives were not met.

Though there had been only slight workforce demographic changes under the Biden administration, the Trump administration's first official statement released Monday reiterated his plans to "freeze bureaucrat hiring except in essential areas to end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce," and "establish male and female as biological reality and protect women from radical gender ideology."

Meanwhile, several companies — including the nation's largest private employer, Walmart — have been reversing course on DEI initiatives in the weeks following Trump's election in November.

President Trump signed a blitz of first-day energy-related executive orders on Monday, establishing a national "energy emergency" and setting in motion actions that heavily favor expanding fossil fuel production and generation.

Why it matters: The moves amount to policy whiplash for the energy industry, segments of which had chafed under former President Biden's policies aimed at igniting the renewable sector.

Zoom in: The executive orders include a declaration of a "national energy emergency" aimed at increasing domestic energy production and lowering costs to the consumer.

• This is partly in response to the rapid AI-related growth of data centers and their energy needs, which the administration views through a national security lens.
• U.S. power demand is rising quickly after staying largely flat for the last 15 years.
• One of Trump's initial orders formally rescinds a series of Biden moves that stitched climate and environmental justice throughout federal agency decision-making, going well beyond energy and resource agencies.

This includes a repeal of the Biden administration's Justice 40 Initiative and a 2021 order that set aggressive federal procurement targets for EVs, clean power, low-carbon buildings and more.

• Trump also moved ahead with rolling back EPA tailpipe emissions rules that Republicans have characterized as an effective requirement for consumers to buy electric vehicles.
• The same order also seeks to restart liquified natural gas terminal approvals, which the Biden administration had paused for climate change and energy security grounds.

The intrigue: Other energy-related orders that Trump signed include steps to halt leasing of large wind farms, and boost oil and gas production.

• The administration also signed an executive order to boost Alaska's energy production, including by rescinding Biden's 2023 protection of major Alaskan coastal areas from drilling.
• He also signed an order that attempts to rescind Biden's formal withdrawal of East Coast, West Coast and major offshore Alaskan Arctic areas from drilling.
• But there's no guarantee producers have much appetite for exploring these regions, and formally selling drilling rights and enabling development would be a complicated bureaucratic and litigious process.

Other actions include seeking to pause funds from being spent under the Biden climate law, and shifting appliance energy efficiency standards back to Trump's first term, before Biden made them more stringent.

Threat level: Trump's attempted reversal of Biden-era policies could boost U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — or at least slow down projected reductions.

• This could worsen the severity and frequency of some extreme weather events as well as sea level rise, harming national security in other ways over time.

Reality check: Trump's "dominance" agenda will also confront market and process barriers — and plenty of litigation.

• U.S. oil output is already at record levels. Tepid global demand growth makes producers in Texas and elsewhere unlikely to flood the market.
• Gasoline and diesel costs are tethered to oil prices set on global markets, while electricity costs tend to be highly regional and dependent on weather and other forces.
• Executive orders can make some instant policy. Often they're a symbolic opening of the long, legally fraught bureaucratic slog of formally unwinding agency rules and policies.

Between the lines: Presidents can use emergency authorities to redirect resources and push the private sector to boost or maintain critical supplies.

• However, it's likely that the declaration itself will be challenged in court. And its provisions are likely to run into thorny legal issues given that state and regional authorities typically oversee power plant planning and permitting.

Between the lines: The oil and gas industry cheered Trump's opening moves.

• The good news for those companies extends beyond the energy orders.
• Trump's holding off for now on sweeping new tariffs that execs fear could raise project costs — and spur retaliation from buyers of U.S. exports.
• But it may be a temporary reprieve, with Trump instead ordering reviews of trade and currency imbalances.

What they're saying: "By fully harnessing our nation's abundant oil and natural gas resources, we can restore American energy dominance, drive economic prosperity and secure U.S. leadership on the global stage," Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement.

• But Tiernan Sittenfeld of the League of Conservation Voters said in a separate statement: "It is crystal clear that his administration is all in to pad Big Oil Billionaire profits at the expense of our air, water, lands, climate, health, pocketbooks, and jobs."

The bottom line: The energy-related executive orders will yield some short-term actions on the ground.

• But it's their longer, topsy-turvy road to implementation that will be crucial to accomplishing the administration's goals.

President Trump has signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. — a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court more than 125 years ago.

Why it matters: Trump is acting on a once-fringe belief that U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants have no right to U.S. citizenship and are part of a conspiracy (rooted in racism) to replace white Americans.

The big picture: The executive order is expected to face immediate legal challenges from state attorneys general since it conflicts with decades of Supreme Court precedent and the 14th Amendment — with the AGs of California and New York among those indicating they would do so.

• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced late Monday plans to sue the Trump administration to block president's attempt to end birthright citizenship.

Context: Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment was passed to give nearly emancipated and formerly enslaved Black Americans U.S. citizenship.

• "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside," it reads.

Zoom in: Trump signed the order on Monday, just hours after taking office.

Reality check: Thanks to the landmark Wong Kim Ark case, the U.S. has since 1898 recognized that anyone born on United States soil is a citizen.

• The case established the Birthright Citizenship clause and led to the dramatic demographic transformation of the U.S.

What they're saying: California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Axios the state will immediately challenge the executive order in federal court.

• "[Trump] can't do it," Bonta said. "He can't undermine it with executive authority. That is not how the law works. It's a constitutional right."
• New York Attorney General Letitia James said in an emailed statement the executive order "is nothing but an attempt to sow division and fear, but we are prepared to fight back with the full force of the law to uphold the integrity of our Constitution."
• ACLU said in a Facebook post: "An executive order does not have the power to override the Constitution."

Flashback: San Francisco-born Wong Kim Ark returned to the city of his birth in 1895 after visiting family in China but was refused re-entry.

• John Wise, an openly anti-Chinese bigot and the collector of customs in San Francisco who controlled immigration into the port, wanted a test case that would deny U.S. citizenship to ethnic Chinese residents.
• But Wong fought his case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled on March 28, 1898, that the 14th Amendment guaranteed U.S. citizenship to Wong and any other person born on U.S. soil.

Zoom out: Birthright Citizenship has resulted in major racial and ethnic shifts in the nation's demographic as more immigrants from Latin America and Asia came to the U.S. following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

• The U.S. was around 85% white in 1965, according to various estimates.
• The nation is expected to be a "majority-minority" by the 2040s.

Yes, but: That demographic changed has fueled a decades-old conspiracy theory, once only held by racists, called "white replacement theory."

• "White replacement theory" posits the existence of a plot to change America's racial composition by methodically enacting policies that reduce white Americans' political power.
• The conspiracy theories encompass strains of anti-Semitism as well as racism and anti-immigrant sentiment.

Trump has repeated the theory and said that immigrants today are "poisoning the blood of our country," language echoing the rhetoric of white supremacists and Adolf Hitler.

Of note: Military bases are not considered "U.S. soil" for citizenship purposes, but a child is a U.S. citizen if born abroad and both parents are U.S. citizens.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from New York Attorney General Letitia James and ACLU.

The Senate on Monday passed the Laken Riley Act, setting the immigration crackdown bill for a vote in the House later this week.

Why it matters: The legislation could be on President Trump's desk by the end of this week, handing him an early win on a core campaign promise.

• The bill passed the chamber 64-35, with 12 Democrats voting for it.
• The Laken Riley Act would require the detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for certain crimes.
• The bill is named for a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed on the University of Georgia campus.

The big picture: Senate Democrats helped the Laken Riley Act prevail, with 10 voting to break a filibuster last week.

• The party is still trying to find its footing on immigration and the border after it lost the White House and both chambers of Congress in last year's election.

Between the lines: The Senate passed two amendments to the bill over the past week, including one Monday night before the vote.

• One brought by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) requires ICE to detain undocumented immigrants who attack law enforcement.
• Another brought by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) adds those who commit crimes resulting in death or bodily injury.

Go deeper: ICE warns Laken Riley Act could force it to release detained migrants

Vivek Ramaswamy will leave the Trump administration's new Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, to run for Ohio governor multiple outlets reported on Monday.

Why it matters: Ramaswamy's departure leaves Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been increasingly asserting authority within the GOP, at the helm of the project.

• Ramaswamy plans to launch a gubernatorial bid in Ohio, the reports said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's second term will end in January 2027.
• A spokesperson for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Context: Ramaswamy rose to political prominence with his failed 2024 presidential bid.

• In his business roles, he fought against environmental, social and governance and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Catch up quick: DOGE's mandate is to crack down on government waste and inefficiency.

• In December, Ramaswamy told Axios' Mike Allen he was hopeful that firing federal workers would be good for them.
• DOGE was targeted by court challenges just as Trump took office.

Between the lines: Ramaswamy on Monday posted a photo on X of himself and Musk with the caption "a new dawn."

• Both attended Trump's inaugural events.

Go deeper: Musk's DOGE targeted by union lawsuit ahead of Trump's executive order

Editor's note: This story has been updated with details throughout.

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing the TikTok ban for 75 days.
• "TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don't approve it," Trump said.
• The president added that TikTok could be worth $1 trillion and floated a possible joint venture.

Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump said on Sunday that if he's able to halt the ban on TikTok, the US should own half of it.

"I may not do the deal, or I may do the deal. TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don't approve it," Trump said while signing an executive order that would pause the ban on TikTok for 75 days.

Trump told reporters at the White House that TikTok could be worth $1 trillion and that the US should be entitled to half of the company.

"So I think, like a joint venture, I think we would have a joint venture with the people from TikTok. We'll see what happens," Trump added, though he did not specify who TikTok could partner with.

Several big-name buyers, such as "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary and Trump's former treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, have expressed interest in buying TikTok.

According to the divest-or-ban law that the Senate passed in April, TikTok had to stop operating in the US on January 19 unless it divested itself from its Chinese-based owner, ByteDance.

The platform briefly went dark for US users on Saturday night but resumed its services on Sunday after Trump said he would pause the ban with an executive order.

"We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive," TikTok said in a statement to Business Insider.

Trump made similar comments about a potential TikTok ban during his first term. In August 2020, Trump said he would ban the platform unless it was sold to a US buyer. The US Treasury should "get a very large percentage" from TikTok's sale, Trump added at the time.

Microsoft expressed its interest in acquiring TikTok in 2020, but that sale did not go through after Trump left office.

However, it is unclear if Trump's executive order will keep TikTok going and prevent the ban altogether.

Under the divest-or-ban law, an extension can only be granted if the president certifies to Congress that "a path to executing a qualified divestiture has been identified" and produces "evidence of significant progress toward executing such qualified divestiture."

Representatives for Trump and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

President Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge Monday to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The big picture: The U.S. is the WHO's top donor, contributing about $130 million per year to help cover its global health preparedness and response, along with efforts to address HIV, tuberculosis, and childhood vaccination, per Devex.

• Trump started the process to withdraw from WHO during his first term, claiming the agency failed badly responding to COVID-19 and had not demonstrated its independence from China.
• However, then-President Biden reversed it on his first day in office.

Driving the news: Monday's executive order states that the U.S. issued a notice about its withdrawal in 2020 "due to the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic ... and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states."

• Additionally, "the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries' assessed payments," it continues, noting China pays less despite having a larger population.

Go deeper: Trump's executive order blitz likely to hit health

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.