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🔵 TikTok Is Saved
Citizen Frank
January 17, 2025
Good evening. It’s Thursday, January 16.
Important note: cf.org is rebranding to thefrank.com. Soon you’ll find us under our new name.
President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a U.S. official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.
The deal between Israel and Hamas to release hostages being held in Gaza and begin a ceasefire was officially signed by negotiators in Doha on Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the issue. But the Israeli government isn’t expected to vote on it until Saturday night.
The delay in the vote will postpone the start of the ceasefire and the release of the first three hostages from Sunday to at least Monday, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was updated by the negotiations team that an agreement was reached, his office said in a statement on Friday morning local time.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to announce Sean Curran as his pick for director of the Secret Service, CNN reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the plan.
Curran has served as the special agent in charge of Trump’s security detail and was with him at the time of an assassination attempt on the Republican during an appearance in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Curran has a close personal relationship with Trump, CNN said, and supervises about 85 people in his current role.
The House on Jan. 16 passed legislation that will deport illegal immigrants convicted of domestic violence or sexual assault. All Republicans were joined by 61 Democrats to push the bill through with a vote of 274–145.
The legislation, known as the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act and introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), also renders these individuals inadmissible for immigration to the United States.
Similar legislation passed the House 266–158 in the last Congress but languished in committee in the Senate.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday selected Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) to chair the House Intelligence Committee, elevating the veteran panel member to the role after he removed Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) from the top job.
The shift was a surprise on Capitol Hill, where Turner’s ouster sparked an outcry from Democrats and some Republicans who were given no advance warning of the move — and suspected the “America First” wing of the party helped push Turner out.
But Johnson’s selection of Crawford, the most senior GOP lawmaker on the panel, could help calm concerns from national-security focused Republicans.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is appointing multiple legendary Hollywood actors as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood.
Those special ambassadors will be Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, Trump said.
All three actors are conservative and have appeared publicly with Trump or praised him publicly in the past. Stallone, for example, praised Trump as “the second George Washington” while introducing him at the America First Policy Gala in Palm Beach in November.
Pope Francis fell Thursday and hurt his right arm, the Vatican said, just weeks after another apparent fall resulted in a bad bruise on his chin.
Francis didn’t break his arm, but a sling was put on as a precaution, the Vatican spokesman said in a statement.
On Dec. 7, the pope whacked his chin on his nightstand in an apparent fall that resulted in a bad bruise.
David Lynch, who co-created “Twin Peaks” and directed films such as “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive,” has died. He was 78.
Lynch’s family revealed his passing via social media on Thursday.
“It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch,” their statement read. “We would appreciate some privacy at this time.”
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