


Time could be running out for TikTok
After a Supreme Court hearing, the app could be banned soon—unless it finds a new owner
THE MEMBERS of America’s Supreme Court, as Justice Elena Kagan acknowledged in an oral argument two years ago, “are not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet”. The justices’ lack of digital savvy was apparent when, on January 10th, they weighed the fate of TikTok, the video app scrolled by nearly half of Americans. The hearing evinced little concern for how the demise of TikTok (which two justices called a “website”) would affect its 170m regular users. By the end of the nearly two-and-a-half hour oral argument, a majority seemed reluctant to interfere with a law that will ban TikTok in America on January 19th unless ByteDance, its parent company, divests itself of the platform’s American operations.
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America’s bet on industrial policy starts to pay off for semiconductors
Trump will not reverse the chip subsidies, but will he reinforce them?

Most Americans think moderate drinking is fine
They are unaware of the cancer risk

Mike Johnson has his old job back, for now
But the GOP has the tightest House majority in nearly a century
When treating snakebites, American hospitals turn to zoos
The zookeeper will see you now
Los Angeles against the flames
Always vulnerable, the city is increasingly susceptible to fire
The US Army needs less good, cheaper drones to compete
It seems obvious. So what is stopping it from happening?

What would Donald Trump gain from seizing the Panama Canal?
The president-elect claims the crossing is controlled by China and rips off American consumers

A pay rise for government workers sparks anger and envy in China
The effort to improve morale has not had the intended effect

A big earthquake causes destruction in Tibet
Dozens are dead, thousands of buildings have been destroyed
Militant Uyghurs in Syria threaten the Chinese government
How much does China have to fear?
Does China have the fiscal firepower to rescue its economy?
There is a fierce debate over whether it can afford to keep spending
Drum Tower
Inside the mind of Xi Jinping
Our weekly podcast on China. This week, the ideologies and anxieties that shape the leader’s decisions