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'Honestly thought this was satire': Experts scoff at new Trump filing 'full of puffery'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.FAI CEO DAVID Courell has defended the Association’s price hike in season tickets for the senior men’s international team. Price increases for home games across 2025 have been criticised by supporters’ groups, who have also hit out against the FAI’s policy of asking for 50% of the price of the ticket up front, before Ireland even know their opponents in next year’s World Cup qualifiers. Season tickets for home games across 2024 ranged from €150 to €320: these included friendly matches against Belgium, Switzerland, and Hungary along with Nations League games against England, Greece, and Finland. Season tickets currently on sale range from €180.50 to €405.50. The price for renewals, meanwhile, increased on average of €25 per person. Next year’s season ticket includes Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, though it will feature only three home games as Ireland will be drawn in a four-team group. Ireland will learn most of their opponents at the draw on 13 December, though the final line-up of opponents may not be known until the end of the Nations League play-offs next March. Next year’s season ticket will also include access to the second leg of the Nations League play-off against Bulgaria, along with at least one friendly international in June. Fan groups have also criticised a new loyalty system under the new season ticket, whereby fans are rewarded with twice as many loyalty points for attending home games as they are for away games. This is in turn will give fans priority access to 2026 World Cup tickets along with the six Euro 2028 games to be hosted at the Aviva Stadium, a tournament for which Ireland are highly likely to qualify as co-hosts. “It would be remiss of me not to praise our fans who have been fantastic, probably the most loyal fans in the world”, said Courell. “We haven’t always performed in recent years but they have stayed with us. We have the highest season ticket membership of any federation in Europe, at 24,500 last year. We don’t take that for granted but equally there are costs associated with hosting games in this fantastic facility. We have only increased ticket prices once in the last decade. It was merited that we had to increase our season ticket prices but we wanted to reward the loyalty of those fans so if they’re renewing there’s still amazing value there, even for non-renewing. You can still get an adult ticket for an average of €30 per game which I think we’d all recognise in this day and age in this country represents good value for money. “While no fan group anywhere in the world would ever countenance any price increases, I am happy to see the interest in season tickets is in rude health. We’re now at over 20,000 sold already. While I understand there may be some disappointment hopefully they can understand our cost base is increasing.” While a glamour qualifier draw would be a commercial benefit to the FAI, Courell would prefer a lower-profile set of opponents if it meant an easier path to the World Cup. “I think that we have been unfortunate, particularly in the men’s team, but also recently in the women’s team, to be drawn in very difficult groups”, he said. “I would be very welcoming to taking a slightly easier path to the main tournament.” Courell spoke warmly of Heimir Hallgrimsson’s tenure thus far, and said his future will be discussed at the end of Ireland’s World Cup campaign, which may be as soon as November next year if Ireland fail to qualify. “Heimir has landed really well”, said Courell. “I think his engagement with the team has been really positive. He’s got a young crop of players but he is proven at developing young teams, moving them up the rankings and evolving their style of play. “I think we’re starting to signs of that, really positive signs. Whilst maybe not the most convincing wins against Finland, they were wins we wouldn’t have secured otherwise in years gone by. I’m very happy with how Heimir has landed. This was not an overnight project, it was one where we identified Heimir as the perfect candidate to bring this forward and he’s well-positioned now to take us into the play-off against Bulgaria and then all eyes on the World Cup, ”Leaving the second half in Wembley aside, we recognise that as an Irish footballing nation, we’ve a rich history but we’ve been underperforming in recent years so it wasn’t going to be a flick the switch and move on. I think what we’ve seen is really positive development – putting a bit more shape on the team, trying out different approaches, and I think he’s getting a really good response and reaction from the players. I believe we’ll see 2025 in a very positive light.” Courell also defended Hallgrimsson’s decision to delegate much of the September window – which featured home defeats to England and Greece – to assistant John O’Shea. Hallgrimsson leaned heavily on O’Shea as he said he did not have a deep knowledge of the players at his disposal, despite the fact the FAI said he was identified as the number one candidate as early as March of this year. “Heimir obviously is a professional”, said Courell. “While he knew he was going to come and join us and had done his research, there are limitations on what you can do when you are in gainful employment with somebody else. “He had another major tournament [Copa America] that he was delivering with Jamaica and understandably as a professional he was delivering on his commitment to the Jamaican Federation, that he supported them as best he could to come through that tournament so, while you might say there were six months there for him to prepare etc, unfortunately it wasn’t dedicated time to give 100 percent time to the Irish job.” Meanwhile, the FAI will sit down with Eileen Gleeson to discuss her position as WNT head coach after the upcoming Euro 2025 play-off against Switzerland. Gleeson’s contract expires at the end of the campaign and is keen to remain in the job, but talks with the FAI have yet to begin.

The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by January 19 while the government emphasised its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Mr Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case. The filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for January 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute, leading TikTok to appeal to the Supreme Court. The brief from Mr Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office”.Live at 6 p.m.: NDSU wrestling vs. the Minnesota Golden Gophers on WDAY+Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78

Malique Ewin finished with team highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Florida State Seminoles to a 92-59 victory over the Massachusetts Minutemen in each team's final game of the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Sunday afternoon in Uncasville, Conn. The Seminoles (6-1) won their third consecutive game and went 2-0 in the event as they pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 36 points. It's Florida State's best start since the 2019-20 season when it went 7-1. UMass (1-5) dropped its fifth in a row following a season-opening win over New Hampshire despite a strong game on Sunday from Jaylen Curry, who scored 17 points. Curry, with six free throws, helped propel the Minutemen on a 10-0 run over a four-plus minute span in the first half to take a 24-23 lead with 4:22 left. FSU closed the half on a 13-3 run to lead 37-27 at halftime. A 15-4 surge to open the second half helped the Seminoles break the game open. Florida State's defense frustrated UMass shooters throughout the contest, especially on the perimeter, limiting the Minutemen to 3-for-24 shooting (12.5 percent) from 3-point range and 18-for-58 (31 percent) overall. The Seminoles finished with 22 points off 17 UMass turnovers. On the flipside, Florida State had one of its best shooting games of the season. The Seminoles moved the ball well throughout the game and finished with 25 assists while only turning the ball over 10 times. The Seminoles shot 33 for 58 (57 percent) from the field and made 9 of 18 three-pointers to put together a season-high scoring output. Once again, Florida State shined thanks to its depth as 10 players scored and four scored in double figures. The Seminoles were able to have 16 players participate in the game as well. Jamir Watkins finished with 14 points while Jerry Deng and Justin Thomas each had 10 points. For UMass, Daniel Rivera finished with 12 points and six rebounds while Nate Guerengomba had 10 points. Daniel Hankins-Sanford collected a game-high 13 rebounds. --Field Level Media