Friday, March 17, 2023

Good morning! Today we’re covering the U.S. crackdown on TikTok, a fiery Senate committee meeting, and the magic of March Madness.

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TikTok Faces Potential Ban

The United States government has threatened to banish TikTok if its Chinese-owned parent company—ByteDance—doesn’t divest its stake in the social media platform.

TikTok has 113 million U.S. users (trailing only Facebook and Instagram) and its Chinese ownership has marked it as a national security concern. American users surrender vast amounts of data while using TikTok’s app, and a Chinese law mandates the company to relinquish data when instructed.

The drumbeat to ban TikTok has been growing louder for months, and it reached a crescendo when CFIUS (The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) contacted the company and demanded a sale of Chinese-owned shares.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is slated to appear before Congress next week, and he will likely mention his proposed plan to have a third party manage U.S. user data— a move he insists is a better solution to American national security concerns than removing China from the equation.

March Madness Delivers Upsets on Opening Day

Furman University has an enrollment of less than 3,000 and hasn’t qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament since 1980, but that didn’t stop it from pulling off the first major upset of this year’s tournament. 4th-seeded Virginia panicked and turned the ball over late in the game, and Furman guard JP Pegues calmly hit the go-ahead three with 2.2 seconds left.

2nd-seeded Arizona entered the tournament with high expectations, and it left with a loss to 15-seeded Princeton. Arizona had superior size, talent, athleticism, and coaching pedigree (adding up to a 16-point advantage in Vegas’s opinion), but Princeton had superior mental toughness.

Mystery Biden Family Member Revealed

President Biden’s daughter-in-law is the newest family member named in the Treasury Department’s records of a $3 million dollar wire transfer from China.

Hallie Biden (widow of deceased Beau Biden) received $35,000 in 2017.

James Comer—Chairman of the House Oversight Committee—had this to say in a committee memo :

“Over the course of several years, members of the Biden family and their companies received over $1.3 million in payments from accounts related to their associate, Rob Walker. Most of this money came as a result of a wire from a Chinese energy company and went not only to Hunter and James Biden but also to Hallie Biden and an unknown ‘Biden.’”

➤ Rand Paul (R-KY) walked out of a Homeland Security Committee meeting after criticizing Gary Peters (D-MI) for blocking multiple amendments. “If this is the way you’re going to run the committee, I would suggest that Republicans leave,” Paul said. “I don’t see why we should stick around if you’re going to make up the rules.” (More)

➤ The city of San Francisco has floated the idea of making 5 million-dollar reparation payments to black residents, citing systemic racism over the last 200 years. (More)

➤ The Conservative Partnership Institute, a group described by some as a “nerve center” for pro-Trump GOP forces, held a training bootcamp designed to help GOP legislative aids investigate the Biden administration more thoroughly. (More)

➤ Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz denied that DHS has operational control of the Mexican border. (Watch)

➤ Ukraine objected to Ron DeSantis’s characterization of its conflict with Russia as a “border dispute” and invited the governor to visit and “get a deeper understanding of Russia’s full-scale invasion.” (More)

➤ Colorado football head coach Deon Sanders is under fire for praying with his team. He received a corrective training from the university as a result. (More)

➤ Eagles cornerback Darius Slay has signed a two-year extension worth $42 million. Slay is a five-time Pro-Bowler who played a pivotal role in the Eagles’ playoff success this year. (More)

➤ Beloved San Francisco Giants reliever Sergio Romo is signing a minor-league contract and will play in at least one spring training game. (More)

Market Report 3/16/2025

▲	NASDAQ Natl. Assoc. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	$11,717.28	+2.48%
▲	S&P S&P Global Rating	$3,960.28	+1.76%
▲	DJI Dow Jones Industrial Average	$32,246.55	+1.17%
▲	BTC Bitcoin	$25,926.00	+6.52%
▲	FRC First Republic Bank	$39.63	+40.80%

➤ Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried received over $2 billion in “payments and loans” from FTX before the company collapsed and filed for bankruptcy. (More)

➤ JPMorgan Chase & Co facilitated a $30 billion dollar rescue of failing First Republic Bank. Eleven additional Wall Street firms contributed to the effort. (More)

➤ Peter Thiel had $50 million of personal funds in Silicon Valley Bank when it failed. He didn’t withdraw his money, despite knowledge of risk, because he believed the bank would stay afloat. (More)

➤ A study from Tel Aviv University found that people with autism have increased pain signals and a less-effective pain inhibition mechanism. (More)

➤ Scientists have published an article in Nature reporting that they created baby mice using all male stem cells: the scientists accomplished this feat by turning male mouse stem cells into female cells. (More)

Daily Quote

“The year of efficiency is kicking off with a bunch of people getting paid to do nothing.”

— Anonymous Facebook employee on Mark Zuckerberg’s restructuring efforts

Today’s Trivia

Which NCAA men’s basketball team made the longest buzzer-beater in March Madness history?

Show me the answer