The Latest: Trump talks about the future of TikTok; White House to announce autism findings
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Audio By Carbonatix
7:54 AM on Monday, September 22
By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump says billionaires like Rupert Murdoch and Michael Dell could be part of deal in which the U.S. will take control of TikTok.
Trump discussed the deal on Fox News, highlighting the potential involvement of Murdoch and his son Lachlan. He also mentioned Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s involvement, which was previously disclosed.
The deal aims to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. amid concerns about data security and manipulation by Chinese authorities.
Congress has passed legislation for a TikTok ban, but Trump has signed orders allowing it to operate while negotiations continue. Trump credits the social media site for helping him connect with young voters.
The Latest:
Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr is denying that he threatened to revoke ABC’s local station licenses if the broadcasting company did not fire late night host Jimmy Kimmel, despite saying last week that “these companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
“Jimmy Kimmel is in the situation he’s in because of his ratings. Not because of anything that’s happened at the federal government level,” Carr said at the Concordia Annual Summit.
Carr said late night television hosts abandoned their role as “court jesters that make fun of everybody” and became “court clerks, where they were enforcing a very narrow, sort of partisan view.”
“And that’s not for me, ultimately, to judge,” Carr said. “That’s for the ratings and the audience to judge.”
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, appeared before the Security Council for the first time Monday, making his debut after his nomination faced months of delays and procedural hurdles before he was confirmed late last week.
Waltz spoke during the emergency meeting of the U.N.’s most powerful body on the topic of Russia’s recent incursion into Estonian airspace.
“As we said, nine days ago, the United States stands by our NATO allies in the face of these airspace violations,” the former Republican congressman said.
“And I want to take this first opportunity to repeat and to emphasize the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
The event, scheduled for 4 p.m., will be closely watched by scientists and advocates.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised earlier this year to determine the cause of autism by September.
The announcement alarmed experts because Kennedy has promoted discredited theories that routine childhood shots cause the developmental disability.
Speaking at a memorial for Charlie Kirk on Sunday, Trump said “I think we found an answer to autism.”
On the flight back to Washington, he suggested that children receive too many vaccines.
“It’s like you’re shooting up a horse,” he told reporters.
Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives gathered Sunday evening to honor the slain conservative political activist whose work they say they must now advance.
The memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-old firebrand.
“He’s a martyr now for America’s freedom,” Trump said in his tribute. “I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie. And neither now will history.”
Kirk was assassinated at a Sept. 10 appearance on a Utah college campus.
Trump’s long-standing pledge to take on those he perceives as his political enemies has prompted debates over free speech, media censorship and political prosecutions.
From late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s ouster to Pentagon restrictions on reporters and an apparent public appeal to Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue legal cases against his adversaries, Trump has escalated moves to consolidate power in his second administration and root out those who have spoken out against him.
In a post on social media this weekend addressed to Bondi, Trump said “nothing is being done” on investigations into some of his foes.
Ryan Routh texted his three adult children and his fiancee separately to tell them he loved them, according to cellphone records, shortly before authorities say he was spotted by a U.S. Secret Service agent, who identified Routh as the man who tried to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course.
Later that same day, Routh called his fiancee from the Palm Beach County jail to tell her about his arrest, but she already knew. “Everybody knows, it’s been hours,” the woman can be heard saying on a recording of the call. “The whole world knows.”
Routh is r epresenting himself in federal court after being charged with trying kill Trump and is set to present his defense Monday.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida rested their case Friday.