AP-Newswatch

Federal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US

A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law – which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January – is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform. TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.

IAEA chief: Iran is poised to ‘quite dramatically’ increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Iran is poised to “quite dramatically” increase its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium. That’s according to comments by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday. Rafael Mariano Grossi spoke in Bahrain, on the sidelines of the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue. He says Iran had begun preparing advanced centrifuge cascades to spin at nuclear facilities to increase its supply of 60% enriched uranium. That kind of material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Grossi says this is “very concerning.” Iran did not immediately acknowledge the preparations, which Grossi said had begun on Friday. Inspectors hope to examine what’s going on.

US added a strong 227,000 jobs in November in bounce-back from October slowdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls. Last month’s hiring growth was up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October. The government also revised up its estimate of job growth in September and October by a combined 56,000. Friday’s report also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% in October to a still-low 4.2%. The November data provided the latest evidence that the U.S. job market remains durable even though it has lost significant momentum from the 2021-2023 hiring boom, when the economy was rebounding from the pandemic recession.

Hunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO reveals new clues about movements in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Surveillance footage is providing more clues about the gunman who killed the head of the largest U.S. health insurer. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed Wednesday as he walked from his midtown hotel to the company’s annual investor conference across the street. On Friday, the gunman’s whereabouts and identity is still unknown as is the reason for the killing. Investigators are working to piece together more of the timeline of the gunman’s movements before the shooting. Police have obtained new surveillance images of the suspect, including from the city’s subway system, a law enforcement official says. The official who was not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Trump offers a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee to lead the Pentagon

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is offering a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Pentagon. Hegseth’s ability to win confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat. Trump posted on social media that Hegseth is a winner “and there is nothing that can be done to change that.” Hegseth spent much of the week on Capitol Hill trying to salvage his Cabinet nomination and reassure Republican senators that he is fit to lead the Pentagon.

Thousands flee as Syrian insurgents advance to the doorstep of the country’s third-largest city

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people have fled the central Syrian city of Homs, the country’s third largest, as insurgents seized two towns on the outskirts Friday. The fighters are positioning themselves for an assault on a potentially major prize in their march against President Bashar Assad. The move was reported by pro-government media and an opposition war monitor. It was the latest in the stunning advances by opposition fighters over the past week that have so far met little resistance from Assad’s forces. A day earlier, fighters captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest, after the army said it withdrew to avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians.

Judge urges NYC subway chokehold jury to keep deliberating after it struggles to reach verdict

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Daniel Penny’s subway chokehold manslaughter trial has urged jurors to continue their deliberations after they told him they couldn’t reach a unanimous vote on the top charge. The jurors sent Judge Maxwell Wiley a note on Friday stating they were “unable to come to a unanimous vote on count 1.” Penny is facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, who Penny held in a chokehold for about six minutes on a New York City subway in 2023. Penny’s lawyers say he was protecting himself and others. Prosecutors say Penny reacted too forcefully to someone he perceived as a peril, not a person.

Biden is considering preemptive pardons for officials and allies before Trump takes office

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is weighing whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. The preemptive move would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power. The deliberations so far are largely at the level of White House lawyers. But according to two people familiar with the matter, Biden himself has discussed the topic with some senior aides. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. They said no decisions have been made, and it is possible Biden opts to do nothing at all.

Romania’s top court annuls first round of presidential vote won by far-right candidate

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court has annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, days after declassified intelligence alleged Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. Friday’s unprecedented and final decision by the Constitutional Court came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms like TikTok and Telegram. Despite being a huge outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner on Nov. 24. He was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a runoff on Sunday.

Will Juan Soto top Shohei Ohtani’s deal? In the era of deferred money, it might depend on the math

NEW YORK (AP) — Deciding whether Juan Soto tops Shohei Ohtani for baseball’s largest contract could be in the eye of the beholder because of all the deferred money in Ohtani’s deal. Ohtani agreed last December to a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, easily exceeding the previous high set when Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels struck a $426.5 million, 12-year agreement through 2030. Ohtani’s deal includes $680 million in deferred money payable from 2034-43. There are several interpretations for how to value that deal in current dollars.