 |
Is TikTok going to be banned? Legal battles are still looming. Reggie Bush is getting his Heisman Trophy back. And the anticipated Israeli invasion of Rafah could be imminent. |
👋 Hi! Laura Davis here, and it's time for Wednesday's news. |
Potential TikTok ban is officially law |
President Joe Biden signed into law Wednesday legislation that could potentially ban the video app TikTok, a historic development in government regulation of social media. |
What to know: The legislation gives TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, up to a year to sell the app. If they don't, it would be banned from U.S. app stores and web hosting companies. TikTok has pledged to mount a legal challenge. |
What they're saying: Proponents of the policy have raised concerns about the Chinese government spying on Americans, although there is no public evidence that's happened and TikTok says it would not hand over Americans' user data if asked. TikTok also argues the legislation violates free speech rights and a ban would harm small businesses that rely on the app. 📱 A look at what's ahead for the law. |
Israel poised to invade Rafah |
More than 1 million Palestinians have taken shelter in Rafah in southern Gaza – which Israel says is the last remaining bastion of Hamas. Now, Israel's military appears poised to launch an attack on Rafah, the timing of which now awaits approval by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, Israeli and Western media reported. |
Has President Joe Biden's opposition to an attack softened? In March, Biden warned that an invasion of Rafah would be a "mistake," but last week the White House said the U.S. and Israel have a "shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah." 👉 Everything we know. | A Palestinian man wait for news of his daughter as rescue workers search for survivors under the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli bombing in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 21. MOHAMMED ABED, AFP via Getty Images |
Reggie Bush is getting his Heisman back |
Reggie Bush better clear off a spot on the mantle. The Heisman Trophy he won in 2005 as college football's most outstanding player will be officially reinstated and returned to him, it was announced Wednesday. Bush was stripped of the award over a pay-for-play scandal during his time at Southern Cal. |
What changed? The Heisman Trust, which administers the award, cited "fundamental changes in college athletics," including the ability for athletes to now profit off their name, image and likeness. 🏈 Here's everything we know. | USC's Reggie Bush lifts the Heisman Trophy in New York in 2005. The trophy will be returned to Bush, who was previously stripped of the award. Julie Jacobson, Pool for Reuters |
250-year-old cherries found buried at George Washington's house |
So that's where he left those! Archaeologists made an incredibly rare discovery in the cellar of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon: Two intact jars of cherries. It's been common to find wine bottles and glasses at the site about 15 miles south of Washington, D.C., archaeologists said, but intact jars like these don't come along very often. "They're plump, they have flesh, they have pits and stems," archaeologist Jason Boroughs said. "They don't look as if they've been sitting in a bottle for 250 years, although they have." 🍒 See more pictures of the discovery. | Archeologists work to uncover jars of cherries in the cellar of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon Ladies' Association | | | | Kyle Rittenhouse, acquitted after fatally shooting two men at a 2020 protest, is telling college students they need to arm themselves on campus. | | | |  | Natasha Alexander Carter was just 10 years old when she disappeared, along with her mother Susan Carter. The pair was last seen on Aug. 8, 2000. | | | | It's just so Trumpy that the first witness in Donald Trump's first criminal trial would be David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher. | | | | The results do not indicate that the virus found in milk is currently infectious, as the pasteurization process works to inactivate viruses. | | | | Five spooked British military horses, one of which appeared to be covered in blood, escaped their handlers Wednesday and galloped through London. | | | | Ashley Judd made an appearance at the White House in support of new suicide prevention initiatives nearly 2 years after mother Naomi Judd's death. | | | | The 2024 NFL draft order looks destined for a shake-up, with several teams in position to move up or down in the first round. | | | | A dolphin was shot to death at a Louisiana beach and was found with multiple gunshot wounds. NOAA is offering a reward to find who is responsible. | | | | Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer reunited over Zoom to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their classic romantic comedy "13 Going on 30." | | | | Mississippi resident Eddie Templeton recently discovered a bone that once belonged to a saber-tooth tiger. Now he wants to find one of its teeth. | | | | | Brighten your day with one of our games. | | | | | |
