Oracle and a group of investors that includes Microsoft are in talks to take over TikTok’s global operations, reports NPR. The deal, which the White House is reportedly negotiating, would see ByteDance keeping a minority stake in TikTok while “the app’s algorithm, data collection and software updates will be overseen by Oracle.”
Oracle’s server network already provides the bulk of TikTok’s backbone, and under the deal, the company would “effectively monitor and provide oversight with what is going on with TikTok,” according to one of NPR’s anonymous sources, who added that the agreement’s goal is to “minimize Chinese ownership.”
Microsoft’s reported involvement isn’t clear beyond that it is “engaged in the talks.” The company was also in the mix with Oracle and Walmart in a 2020 bid to take over TikTok that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had called “a poison[ed] chalice.” Walmart reportedly isn’t involved this time around “after balking at the estimated price” of the app.
News of the talks comes after President Trump issued an executive order giving TikTok and others a 75-day reprieve from any enforcement action related to the United States’ requirement that ByteDance divest from TikTok. Trump had previously floated the possibility of a “joint venture” in which the US owns 50 percent of the company.
We’ve reached out to Oracle, Microsoft, TikTok, and the White House for comment.
The Trump administration is negotiating a deal that would see Oracle take over TikTok alongside new U.S. investors, according to a report in NPR. Lawmakers passed a bill last year forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to either sell TikTok or see it banned in the U.S. The app briefly went dark before the law took […]
The newly-sworn in president was feeding off of the Las Vegas crowd’s energy, cracking jokes like he was holding his own improv show, as the backdrop of uncertainty following his stack of controversial executive orders this week plagues many Americans, Kelly Rissman reports
The latest WhatsApp beta update for iOS gives users the ability to add and switch between multiple accounts on a single device, according to WABetaInfo. It comes over a year after the feature became available for Android. With version 25.2.10.70 for iOS, users are given a choice when adding a second account to the app, WABetaInfo reports: they can set it up as a standalone primary account or “scan a QR code to link the new account as a companion.” The update is available now for beta testers through Apple’s TestFlight program.
On Android, running two accounts simultaneously on WhatsApp requires a dual-SIM situation, as each account must have its own phone number. WhatsApp does offer another app, WhatsApp Business, that users can set up a second account on using a different phone number, but that still means jumping between two apps. The Android update and what’s currently being tested for iOS allow users with two phone numbers to keep all their conversations in one app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/whatsapp-could-soon-let-ios-users-have-multiple-accounts-on-one-device-224908618.html?src=rss
Terrorist material viewed by Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana could inspire another atrocity unless tech companies take action, the home secretary has warned.
Donald Trump's going from wildfires to wild winnings ... 'cause he's already traded in L.A. for L.V. -- stopping for a speech at a popular Las Vegas casino. The POTUS hit up Circa in downtown Vegas Saturday for a speaking engagement ... and, he…
After it was announced that he had been transferred to Smackdown, WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley penned an emotional tribute saying goodbye to Damian Priest.
Day one of rapper ASAP Rocky’s assault trial served as a reminder of just how small Hollywood can be.
Thomas Zizzo Jr., a Los Angeles police officer and son of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, took the stand on Friday, January 14, during day one of the Grammy award-winning rapper’s trial, TMZreported.
Rocky, 36, faces two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm related to a 2021 shooting incident in Hollywood. He is accused of firing two or three shots at Terell Ephron, a childhood friend. According to the Associated Press, Ephron claims the alleged shots “grazed his knuckles. The rapper has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted.
Zizzo was one of the first LAPD officers to respond to the scene of the alleged 2021 incident, TMZ reports. While on the stand, the officer reportedly “testified about what he saw at the scene when he arrived.”
GENARO MOLINA – Pool/Getty Images
Zizzo has remained out of the public spotlight despite his mother’s reality television fame — he has never appeared on RHOBH and is not featured on his mom Jayne’s social media pages. As TMZ notes, his absence from her social media accounts deliberate — she says she does not post about her son “out of respect for his privacy as a police officer.”
Jayne shares her son with ex-husband Thomas Zizzo. The pair divorced shortly after their son was born in 1992. In 2022, Jayne spoke out about her close bond with her son and ex-husband following the legal and financial struggles she faced in the wake of her separation from Tom Girardi in November 2020.
“People don’t understand this, but we’re actually pretty tight,” Jayne said of her ex-husband, Thomas, and her son at the time. “They have been very supportive of me, and I’m very grateful.
She went on to say that the “silver lining” of her separation from Girardi was how it strengthened her relationship with her son.
“My son and I, we’ve really come together,” she explained. “He’ll be 30 in June. Jesus. I just remember walking around here in New York being pregnant with him, but he’ll be 30. And so asking him what he thinks about things, you know, you get this adult perspective, and it’s really nice.”
While Jayne’s son was present in court on Friday, Rocky’s partner, Rihanna, was notably absent on Thursday, January 23, during jury selection. According to the Associated Press, however, she was the topic of multiple questions.
“What if Rihanna comes here to court, is it going to be hard for you to look over there and see the defendant’s family and deliver a guilty verdict?” Deputy District Attorney John Lewin asked one prospective juror.
“Yes,” the woman reportedly answered.
Rocky and Rihanna have been together since 2019 and share two sons: RZA and Riot Rose.
WWE superstar Nia Jax admitted things aren’t always hunky dory with every member of the women’s locker room.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, the reigning WWE Queen of the Ring, 40, hesitated when asked if all the wrestlers on the roster got along backstage.
“Is this the politically right answer?” Jax asked Us with a smile. “Should I tell you the real tea?”
After a moment of hesitation, Jax hinted at some tense relationships with a handful of other wrestlers on the roster.
“There might be a couple that we’re like, ‘Yo, sit outside. We don’t really want you in here,’” Jax revealed. “I’m not gonna say any names. We’ll keep it quiet.”
WWE/Getty Images)
Despite a bad egg or two, Jax said things are usually quite pleasant amongst herself and her fellow superstars.
“For the most part in our women’s locker room, we all get along,” she explained. “We’re willing to help each other out … If one of us is like, ‘Hey, I’m about to do a promo, a match and a brawl, I need food,’ the girls are like, ‘Hey, whatever you need.’ We do really support each other.”
Due to the hectic schedule of life in WWE — where wrestlers are sometimes on the road 300 days of the year — Jax said members of the locker room become more than friends.
“There’s times where we are each other’s family,” she explained. “At the end of the time, I’m with them 90 percent of the time. We have to turn to each other and really have a bond.”
She added, “If I could ever expose some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, it would be the best reality show ever.”
Jax will go one-on-one with WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley at Saturday Night’s Main Event on Saturday, January 25, which is a match that Jax promoted as a feast for all the senses.
“I’m not gonna be shy, we’re beautiful women,” Jax said of her and Ripley, 28. “We’re bold, beautiful women, and we are also athletes. So going out there and showing, ‘Yeah, the guys are doing an amazing job, but we’re doing just as good.’ We’re bringing a whole different kind of audience.”
She added, “Young women see us out there and they’re like, ‘Holy crap, I could do something like that.’ Every time we’ve been given this opportunity, we’ve been killing it.”
Watch Jax and Ripley battle when WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event airs live on NBC Saturday, January 25, at 8 p.m. ET.
Hannah Brown and her fiancé, Adam Woolard, are no longer living in the same house after re-examining their relationship goals.
“We, kind of, went on a journey together,” Brown, 30, said in a Thursday, January 23, Instagram Story video. “I’ve been a believer, but I think I was really questioning a lot about my faith and in God and my direction. Adam had been searching for a while but didn’t have that.”
Woolard, who proposed to the former Bachelorette in August 2023, ultimately decided to get baptized before they both decided to “get so involved in [their] church and really go all-in.”
“We really had to get honest with like, ‘OK, we say we want to go all in with our relationship, like be completely on fire for God, but what are areas that we’re kind of just like holding back?’” Brown said. “There were a few. I mean, finances were hard for me and our just relationship in general could be tough when it comes to believing and honoring what God has for marriage — and that being living together.”
She continued, “We have lived together [since] eight months into our relationship and we decided to just trust God and we are not living in this house together until we get married this summer. It was obviously a big decision and very different and new, but we both separately were having these thoughts in our prayer and just feeling the Lord to call us to do this.”
According to Brown, their relationship has been “really great” since the pair relocated to separate residences.
“I felt the most connected to Adam that I ever had because we are so intentional about the time that we have together,” she gushed. “[I’m] excited for what God has for our marriage. I really am.”
Brown and Woolard started dating in 2021, three years before getting engaged. Prior to their engagement, they moved from Los Angeles to Nashville. The duo purchased their first home together in October 2024.
“We’re officially homeowners! Having a house to make a home has been a life dream of mine,” Brown wrote via Instagram at the time. “I am so honored to be able to create spaces that will hold precious memories and to live the big and small life moments between the walls. This house is so sweet already, but to make this OUR family home will be the greatest privilege.”
Just before buying their dream property, Brown told Us Weeklythat wedding planning was “on the back burner for a while.”
“There’s been a lot going on,” she exclusively told Us in July 2024. “Right now [I’m] trying to work on wedding planning. I’m excited.”
Now that Brown and Woolard have presumably started preparing for their special day, they are also figuring out what their marriage will look like after walking down the aisle.
“A lot of you guys were asking about the little value session that Adam and I did. Our therapist kind of created this for us and also with her other clients,” Brown added on Thursday. “It’s something that can definitely be a pain point at sometimes. … One thing that [our therapist] Jordan said to us, ‘If you don’t declare your values, your values will still choose you.’ We’re all living a certain way and sometimes there are values we say we want to live, but don’t align with the ones we are living out. And so, I wanted to get really honest with that with ourselves.”
Brown and Woolard were then able to get “clarity on what it is that [they] care about” and figure out how to adapt their lives around those perspectives.
“It was really impactful for us and it’s still something that we’re learning more about,” she added. “I really am just, like, so proud of Adam and I because people that started dating almost four years ago are not the same people now.”
There are some celebrities who give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, like Jennifer Garner. You can just tell she’s an angelic being! I try to emulate her aura every day, from her sweet disposition all the way down to her outfits. And let me tell you, the actress has stellar taste when it comes to winter fashion.
On numerous occasions, Garner has been spotted rocking a classic cable-knit sweater. There’s something so timeless about this chunky style — the design spans generations and genders, and anyone can and will look amazing while wearing it! Plus, a cable-knit sweater is one of those items that you’ll keep reaching for for decades. If you don’t own any, I recommend starting with the Lillusory Cable Knit Sweater on Amazon.
This affordable pick has all of the elements you want in a cable-knit: The design is clean and succinct, it comes in a variety of colors and offers plenty of versatility. Similar to one of Garner’s more recent looks, it’s also form-fitting enough that it will accentuate your figure, but loose enough that it makes for a wonderful layering piece, too.
Shoppers who have purchased it say they’ve found their new favorite sweater. “I was hesitant because I was afraid the fabric on this would be cheap but it’s deliciously soft and of excellent quality,” one reviewer wrote.“This is so soft and fits perfectly. I live in the Southwest so sweaters are usually too hot for me, but during cooler temps this is perfect. I got the cream so I can also wear this in the summer when we travel to the Northeast and the nights are cool. You can dress it down or up or layer a heavier turtle neck underneath if you need more warmth. It’s lightweight but warm and it looks very pretty. I’ll definitely be buying more.”
The Lillusory Cable Knit Sweater is definitely worth every penny, but if this specific option isn’t your vibe, don’t fret — we compiled plenty of alternatives below. Now you can find a cable knit sweater that speaks to you!
Justin Baldoni’s mother, Sharon Baldoni, reflected on the importance and perseverance of “justice and truth” on her son’s birthday in light of his ongoing legal drama with actress and It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively.
“Happy Birthday Justin ~ remembering a wonderful moment after the final ending of Jane The Virgin,” Sharon wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 24, sharing set photos from Justin’s tenure on The CW telenovela. “[It was] a moment where joy and love permeated the set, where friendships and family were born and kindness and integrity permeated the hearts of all the actors and crew, where sadness only entered because it was the final scene of a wonderful journey ~ and the beginning of the rest of our lives.”
According to Sharon, the 2019 series finale of Jane The Virginwas marked by a “happy, loving and generous memory with hearts exploding with possibilities.”
“Life has its moments and also its surprises — as you keep your integrity through it all justice and truth will shine today and into eternity,” Sharon concluded. “I love you more than you will ever know! Happy Birthday, my beautiful boy! May God continue to bless you in truth.”
Justin, who turned 41 on Friday, is currently in the middle of a contentious and very public legal battle against It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively. After the film was released in August 2024, Lively, 37, sued Justin for alleged sexual harassment, claiming the actor-director fostered a “hostile work environment.” She also claimed that Justin attempted to launch a concentrated PR campaign to ruin her reputation.
Justin vehemently denied the accusations before filing a $400 million suit of his own against Lively. In the court documents obtained by Us Weekly earlier this month, Justin’s legal team claimed that Lively was “determined to make [Justin] the real-life villain in her story” to mask her alleged “tone-deaf” promotion of the film. (The two actors played a couple in an abusive marriage in It Ends With Us, which Justin also directed.)
Lively rebuked the accusations via a spokesperson.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,” Lively’s lawyers told Us in a statement earlier this month. “This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender. Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”
Justin, meanwhile, is focusing on his family in light of the scandal.
“We’re grateful to be with the family, man,” he told photographers on January 17 in footage obtained by TMZ. “We have amazing friends and family and faith.”
President Donald Trump shocked gamblers in Las Vegas when he unexpectedly dropped by a casino floor on Saturday.
Prior to the surprise visit, Trump had addressed thousands of supporters at the Circa Resort and Casino in Sin City on Saturday afternoon. Photos and video show Trump strolling around the casino floor after the speech, while surrounded by security.
The crowd began chanting "USA! USA!" as Trump walked past the slot machines. The president was also seen briefly interacting with enthused gamblers.
The president also naturally walked up to a craps table where a game was in progress, telling a player to "throw the dice."
When journalists shouted questions at Trump, a craps player scolded the press pool and told them, "I'm rolling here." Trump told a gambler that he was "doing a good job" before leaving.
Trump also said thank you to staff workers holding water trays, shortly after his speech focused on reducing federal taxes for hospitality workers with his "no tax on tips" campaign promise.
"Any worker who relies on tips [as] income, your tips will be 100% yours," Trump said to a cheering audience during the speech.
"Nationwide, over four million workers depend on tip income, including an estimated 700,000 single moms…here in Nevada…think of it, a quarter of the typical restaurant workers' pay comes from tips. I didn't know that," he added.
Fox News' Sarah Tobianski and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
WNBA player DiJonai Carrington invited a flurry of backlash for wearing a shirt that said "The F--- Donald Trump Tour," and conservative influencer Riley Gaines was quick to jump in.
Carrington showed off the shirt Friday, while walking into Wayfair Arena in Miami, Florida. Carrington is most known for her interactions with women's basketball phenom Caitlin Clark during Clark's rookie WNBA season in 2024.
Carrington infamously gave Clark a black eye by poking her with her fingernails during a game between Clark's Indiana Fever and Carrington's Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs in September. Carrington laughed with Fever teammate Marina Mabrey after the incident.
Gaines made light of this in her first critique of Carrington Saturday.
"So, you’re telling me the same girl who deliberately gouged Caitlin Clark in the eye then laughed about it also wore a hoodie that said, "The F--- Donald Trump Tour"?! I'm shocked," Gaines wrote in a post on X.
Carrington has said she didn't intentionally poke Clark in the eye and that she wasn't laughing about the incident. But Gaines felt no reservations about implying Carrington's poke at Clark was intentional and that she laughed about it afterward.
Gaines followed up with another critique of the Sun player and even brought LeBron James into the conversation.
"What has Donald Trump done to make your life worse? Keep LeBron off the court," Gaines wrote on X in response to a photo of Carrington wearing the shirt.
Carrington provoked Clark fans prior to the eye-poking incident with multiple statements berating Clark and her fan base.
During a game in June, Carrington fouled Clark after Clark received an inbound pass from teammate Kristy Wallace. Clark caught the pass and started toward the basket. Carrington was late getting to Clark due to a screen by Aliyah Boston, and she bumped into Clark.
Later that month, Carrington posted on X, saying Clark should do more to speak out about people using her name for "racism" and other forms of prejudice. She also called the Fever fans the "nastiest" in the league.
Carrington even made light of the controversy over Clark's black eye in an Instagram Live video in October. In the video, Carrington and her girlfriend, NaLyssa Smith, who plays on the Indiana Fever with Clark, were in their kitchen when Smith poked Carrington in the eye.
"Ow, you poked me in the eye," Carrington said. Smith apologized, and the two laughed.
"Did you do it on purpose?" Carrington asked.
Carrington isn't the first target of Gaines' wrath when it comes to conversations about Clark's presence in the WNBA either.
After Clark made a comment about benefiting from White privilege in the WNBA during her interview for Time magazine Athlete of The Year, Gaines got into a heated back-and-forth with journalist Jemele Hill.
After Gaines posted on X criticizing Clark for making the comments, Hill started the debate and even ended up making it personal.
"You holler all the time about supporting and ‘protecting’ women, and yet the moment that Caitlin Clark expresses appreciation and respect for the Black women in the WNBA (many of whom she grew up watching and idolizing), suddenly you’re acting like a disappointed parent," Hill wrote.
Gaines quickly clapped back, responding to Hill's post by mocking the idea of "White privilege" in the WNBA.
"'White privilege' in the WNBA is literally hilarious. Maybe you're like Sunny Hostin & think CC also has tall privilege, pretty privilege, and straight privilege," Gaines wrote. "Theres lots of Black players in the WNBA I love [and] respect too, but I don't admire them because they're Black. I admire them for their game. That's the difference."
Gaines then doubled down by sharing Hill's initial post with a screenshot of comments the journalist made in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in May. In that article, Hill insisted it was "naive" to say Clark's race and sexuality as a straight woman did not play into her popularity in the WNBA, where the majority of players are Black and many are lesbian.
"Being a long-standing professional race baiter must be SO exhausting," Gaines told Hill in response.
After Gaines' comment about Hill being a professional race baiter, Hill responded with a message mocking the former swimmer for an incident when she tied with trans athlete Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships.
"Girl, you need to thank Lia Thomas every day of your life for helping you get famous, otherwise you would have been just a decent college swimmer that no one knew. You wrote the book on grifting — not me," Hill wrote.
Gaines responded by saying, "How deeply regressive [and] utterly misogynistic for Jemele Hill to tell me to thank a man for the platform I have. Thank him for what? Violating us in the locker room? Stealing a national title from a deserving woman? Indirectly stripping us of our 1A rights? Just say you hate women," Gaines wrote in her response.
That was the last message in the exchange.
Gaines has also picked online fights with other liberal figures, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban.
Each of Gaines' spats with the liberal figures has been met with roaring engagement from her followers.
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