The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, it's also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republicans and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder, or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators — for which the company is covering legal costs — as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm — the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan — would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.

The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on the founder of Georgia’s ruling political party, which has steered the country away from a pro-Western stance and towards Russia, US officials said. The US State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili with penalties “for undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”, according to a statement. The designation of Mr Ivanishvili is the latest in a series of sanctions the US has placed on Georgian politicians and others this year. Those sanctions include freezes on assets and properties those targeted may have in US jurisdictions or that might enter US jurisdictions as well as travel bans on the targets and members of their families. “We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.” Mr Ivanishvili is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister. In 2012, he founded Georgian Dream, Georgia’s longtime ruling party. Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted towards Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBT+ rights, prompting the European Union to suspend Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely. In October, Georgian Dream won another term in a divisive parliamentary election that has led to more mass protests. Last month, the country’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a four-year suspension of talks on Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, fuelling further public outrage.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 6, 2024-- Liberty Media Corporation (“Liberty Media”) (Nasdaq: FWONA, FWONK, LLYVA, LLYVK) today announced the appointment of Chase Carey to the board of directors of Liberty Media (the “Board”) effective January 1, 2025. Mr. Carey most recently served as Chairman of Formula 1 from 2016 to 2022 and as its Chief Executive Officer from 2017 to 2021. He will serve on the Executive Committee of the Liberty Media Board. “Chase has been an excellent partner to Liberty for many years, from our investment in DIRECTV in 2008 to Liberty’s purchase of Formula 1 in 2017 where his role as CEO was key to securing the acquisition. He was instrumental in building a successful foundation at F1 from which the business has grown materially,” said John Malone, Liberty Media Chairman. “Chase’s knowledge and expertise across media, entertainment, sports, business and more will be valuable to the board as our companies execute on their next chapters of growth and value creation.” “Liberty is at an exciting point in its storied evolution, with a more focused asset base centered around high-quality, premium sporting assets that I know well. I look forward to contributing to Liberty as a director in partnership with John, Liberty management and the portfolio company leadership teams,” said Mr. Carey. Prior to joining Formula 1, Mr. Carey served in a number of roles at 21st Century Fox, including as President and Chief Operating Officer from 2009 to 2015 and as a Director since 1996. Mr. Carey served as a Director, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of DIRECTV, Inc. from 2003 to 2009, where he led the operations and strategic direction of the DIRECTV, Inc. companies, including DIRECTV, Inc. in the United States and DIRECTV Latin America. Mr. Carey is a graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Business School. He is also a Trustee Emeritus at Colgate University. About Liberty Media Corporation Liberty Media Corporation operates and owns interests in a broad range of media, communications, sports and entertainment businesses. Those businesses are attributed to two tracking stock groups: the Formula One Group and the Liberty Live Group. The businesses and assets attributed to the Formula One Group (NASDAQ: FWONA, FWONK) include Liberty Media’s subsidiaries Formula 1 and Quint, and other minority investments. The businesses and assets attributed to the Liberty Live Group (NASDAQ: LLYVA, LLYVK) include Liberty Media’s interest in Live Nation and other minority investments. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241205627234/en/ CONTACT: Liberty Media Corporation Shane Kleinstein, 720-875-5432 KEYWORD: COLORADO UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SPORTS OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TV AND RADIO MUSIC COMMUNICATIONS GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT MOTOR SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT SOURCE: Liberty Media Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/06/2024 05:10 PM/DISC: 12/06/2024 05:08 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241205627234/enCracks emerge in Trump's MAGA coalitionThe US State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili with penalties “for undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”, according to a statement. The designation of Mr Ivanishvili is the latest in a series of sanctions the US has placed on Georgian politicians and others this year. Those sanctions include freezes on assets and properties those targeted may have in US jurisdictions or that might enter US jurisdictions as well as travel bans on the targets and members of their families. “We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.” Mr Ivanishvili is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister. In 2012, he founded Georgian Dream, Georgia’s longtime ruling party. Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted towards Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBT+ rights, prompting the European Union to suspend Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely. In October, Georgian Dream won another term in a divisive parliamentary election that has led to more mass protests. Last month, the country’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a four-year suspension of talks on Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, fuelling further public outrage.

“Gladiator II” asks the question: Are you not moderately entertained for roughly 60% of this sequel? Truly, this is a movie dependent on managed expectations and a forgiving attitude toward its tendency to overserve. More of a thrash-and-burn schlock epic than the comparatively restrained 2000 “Gladiator,” also directed by Ridley Scott, the new one recycles a fair bit of the old one’s narrative cries for freedom while tossing in some digital sharks for the flooded Colosseum and a bout of deadly sea-battle theatrics. They really did flood the Colosseum in those days, though no historical evidence suggests shark deployment, real or digital. On the other hand (checks notes), “Gladiator II” is fiction. Screenwriter David Scarpa picks things up 16 years after “Gladiator,” which gave us the noble death of the noble warrior Maximus, shortly after slaying the ignoble emperor and returning Rome to the control of the Senate. Our new hero, Lucius (Paul Mescal), has fled Rome for Numidia, on the North African coast. The time is 200 A.D., and for the corrupt, party-time twins running the empire (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), that means invasion time. Pedro Pascal takes the role of Acacius, the deeply conflicted general, sick of war and tired of taking orders from a pair of depraved ferrets. The new film winds around the old one this way: Acacius is married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, in a welcome return), daughter of the now-deceased emperor Aurelius and the love of the late Maximus’s life. Enslaved and dragged to Rome to gladiate, the widower Lucius vows revenge on the general whose armies killed his wife. But there are things this angry young phenom must learn, about his ancestry and his destiny. It’s the movie’s worst-kept secret, but there’s a reason he keeps seeing footage of Russell Crowe from the first movie in his fever dreams. Battle follows battle, on the field, in the arena, in the nearest river, wherever, and usually with endless splurches of computer-generated blood. “Gladiator II” essentially bumper-cars its way through the mayhem, pausing for long periods of expository scheming about overthrowing the current regime. The prince of all fixers, a wily operative with interests in both managing gladiators and stocking munitions, goes by the name Macrinus. He’s played by Denzel Washington, who at one point makes a full meal out of pronouncing the word “politics” like it’s a poisoned fig. Also, if you want a masterclass in letting your robes do a lot of your acting for you, watch what Washington does here. He’s more fun than the movie but you can’t have everything. The movie tries everything, all right, and twice. Ridley Scott marshals the chaotic action sequences well enough, though he’s undercut by frenetic cutting rhythms, with that now-familiar, slightly sped-up visual acceleration in frequent use. (Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo are the editors.) Mescal acquits himself well in his first big-budget commercial walloper of an assignment, confined though he is to a narrower range of seething resentments than Crowe’s in the first film. I left thinking about two things: the word “politics” as savored/spit out by Washington, and the innate paradox of how Scott, whose best work over the decades has been wonderful, delivers spectacle. The director and his lavishly talented design team built all the rough-hewn sets with actual tangible materials the massive budget allowed. They took care to find the right locations in Morocco and Malta. Yet when combined in post-production with scads of medium-grade digital effects work in crowd scenes and the like, never mind the sharks, the movie’s a somewhat frustrating amalgam. With an uneven script on top of it, the visual texture of “Gladiator II” grows increasingly less enveloping and atmospherically persuasive, not more. But I hung there, for some of the acting, for some of the callbacks, and for the many individual moments, or single shots, that could only have come from Ridley Scott. And in the end, yes, you too may be moderately entertained. Related Articles MPA rating: R (for strong bloody violence) Running time: 2:28 How to watch: Premieres in theaters Nov. 21.I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! favourite Barry McGuigan revealed he has a plastic nose following a nasty boxing injury. He shared the story with his campmates on Friday (November 22). Barry, 63, revealed on the ITV show: "When I had it broken it was flat, so they just took the bone out and replaced it with plastic." He added that it was just part of the risks of boxing. Barry won both the British and European featherweight championships between 1983 and 1985, and his contributions to the sport earned him a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2005. He showed off his boxing skills as he sparred with McFly singer Danny Jones on the show. Read more Tulisa Contostavlos' ex speaks out on her changing face amid heath battles Asking for Barry's tips on how to take a body punch, Barry told him to tense his stomach muscles. But after he delivered a 'soft' blow, Danny was left exclaiming 'oh god'. Barry then challenged Danny to hit him back, telling him to go harder each time without even so much of a flicker of recognition on his face. Danny later told the Bush Telegraph: "Today my life was made because Barry McGuigan let me hit him in the stomach. I hit him really hard and it was solid, it was like hitting a brick wall." Viewers were thrilled by the surprise friendship and took to X to react. One fan wrote: "Barry McGuigan is still solid. Danny nearly broke his hand just jabbing his body #ImACeleb # imacelebrity. " A second said: "Berry don't give a f*** he just hurt Danny with that punch #ImACeleb." A third commented: "I want someone who looks at me the same way that Danny looks at Barry." A fourth added: "I love Danny and Barry’s friendship #ImACeleb." And a fifth shared: "Barry can barely feel Danny’s punches." "Danny and Barry are such a cute duo. Barry ain’t even phased by the punches but Danny bless him," another fan said. And another added: "Barry keep saying no hit it when Danny was punching him," adding crying with laughter emojis.

Mississippi Court Upholds Ban on Medical Marijuana Advertising

Mexico City-based Prima has raised $23 million in funding to expand its offerings as a manufacturing and supply chain integrator across North America. The latest funding brings Prima’s total funding, including previously undisclosed rounds, to $42.5 million, the company said in a Friday (Dec. 6) press release . Prima uses a technology-first model to manage every step of the process of manufacturing custom parts and goods, operating complex industrial projects and sourcing goods from Mexico — including design, engineering, raw material procurement, factory floor operations, quality control and delivery, according to the release. The company does so by orchestrating its ecosystem of vetted service providers, with Prima serving as a one-stop shop and seller of record, the release said. The company serves 150 North American companies and aims to expand its foothold in the United States, per the release. “We are powering Mexico’s industrial renaissance with every partnership we forge, every engineer we train and every project we successfully complete,” Daniel Autrique , co-founder of Prima, said in the release. “With a team of nearly 80 people operating across six countries, robust funding and a track record of serving North America’s largest companies, we are off to a running start.” One of Prima’s customers, Rudy Bambic, CEO of Electrotech, said in the release that Prima has enabled the Illinois-based OEM to streamline its operations. “Its systems give us complete visibility and control for a level of efficiency we didn’t believe was possible,” Bambic said. “As a result, we will be able to make and shop products faster than ever to fulfill market demands while cutting our own costs. This in turn enables us to keep our prices low without compromising quality.” Over half of retailers and manufacturers are investing to modernize their procurement processes, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence and Corcentric collaboration, “ Digital Payments: A Changing Economy Sparks New Priorities for Systems Spending .” The report found that 57% of manufacturers and 54% of retailers said the most important reason for their investments in digital procurement systems is to modernize their procurement processes, while 37% of manufacturers and 20% of retailers said the most important reason for investing in working capital and credit systems is to modernize them. For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter .Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?BERLIN (AP) — Harry Kane scored a hat trick including two penalties for Bayern Munich to beat Augsburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday. The win stretched Bayern’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round, and Kane took his goals tally to a league-leading 14.

Mixed reviews for the sequel to Netflix’s smash series “Squid Game” tanked shares of the South Korean companies tied to the show Friday. Marketing firm Artist United, in which “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae is the largest shareholder, plunged 30%, the daily limit on the Korean exchange KOSDAQ. Wysiwyg Studios, another Artist United investor, plummeted 25.3%. Dexter Studios, a Korean production company and Netflix partner, saw its shares drop 24%. The Korean thriller was a surprise hit in 2021, leading Netflix’s most-watched titles list on every continent and becoming the first foreign-language series ever nominated for best drama at the Emmy Awards. The second season was released by the streaming giant Thursday. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave the second season an 86% approval rating, but fans rated it 62%. The first season earned 95% approval from critics and 84% from viewers. “Squid Game broke records and became our most popular show ever, proving that great stories can come from anywhere,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, said during the US premiere of the second season this month. “The cultural impact was massive globally.” The survival horror series follows a secret contest in which penniless contestants compete in a series of deadly children’s games to win a multi-million dollar prize. “This season of Squid Game hints at larger-scale ambitions but does little to pursue them,” New York Times chief TV critic James Poniewozik wrote in his review. It is unclear whether the second season is a repeat of the first blockbuster storyline, or attempting to advance the storyline elsewhere, he said. “It continues a story but does little over its seven hours to expand it,” Poniewozik wrote. The show’s third season is reportedly set for release in 2025.