The small French town where Newfoundlanders were heroes
It was a battle ripped from the pages of a storybook: Ten soldiers held off hundreds of German troops to save a small French village in the First World War.
Billionaire businessman and real estate mogul Frank McCourt said he’s putting together a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business, adding to the number of investors hoping to benefit from a new federal law that requires TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the popular platform or face a ban.
The announcement, made Wednesday, said the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers was organizing the bid in consultation with the investment bank Guggenheim Securities and “with the goal of placing people and data empowerment at the center of the platform’s design and purpose.”
If a sale occurs, McCourt said he would plan to restructure TikTok and give more agency to people “over their digital identities and data” by migrating the platform to an open-source protocol that allows for more transparency.
Other investors, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, have expressed a desire to purchase TikTok. However, parent company ByteDance has already said it does not plan to sell the platform. The Chinese government is also unlikely to approve a sale – especially not one that includes the recommendation engine that powers the videos that populates users’ feeds.
Last week, ByteDance and TikTok filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government to block the law from going into effect. On Tuesday, eight TikTok creators filed their own challenge, arguing the law violates their First Amendment rights to free speech.
The company also has been waging a legal battle in Montana to block a state law that would ban the video-sharing platform.
On Tuesday, TikTok, Montana users and the state of Montana agreed to put a stay on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Montana's first-in-the-nation ban while the federal lawsuits are decided.
Montana's law, which was temporarily blocked before it could take effect on Jan. 1, would be nullified if a company that is not based in a country designated as a foreign adversary acquires TikTok.
McCourt is worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. He sold the Dodgers for $2 billion in 2012 to Guggenheim Baseball Management. In 2016, he bought the French soccer club Marseille.
___
Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, contributed reporting.
It was a battle ripped from the pages of a storybook: Ten soldiers held off hundreds of German troops to save a small French village in the First World War.
A sitting Liberal MP has written to the federal caucus to say he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign. 'For the future of our party and for the good of our country we need new leadership and a new direction,' said New Brunswick MP Wayne Long in the brief note.
WestJet says it is 'outraged' after its airline maintenance engineers went ahead with their previously threatened strike on Friday evening.
A minivan slammed into a Long Island nail salon Friday, killing four people and injuring 9, a Suffolk County fire official said.
Premier Doug Ford has removed a member of his caucus due to what he’s describing as 'serious lapses in judgment.' In a statement released Friday morning, the premier’s office said MPP Goldie Ghamari had been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus 'effective immediately.'
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will be named Canada's new Chief of the Defence Staff, CTV News has learned, making her the first woman to lead the Canadian Armed Forces.
Millions of people who take multivitamins everyday may not be reaping the perceived health benefits, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Marriage might be the oldest institution in the world, but it's struggling to adapt to the pressures of modern life. Registered psychologist Adisa Azubuike explains why it's more difficult today.
Martin Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including 'Roseanne' and 'Arrested Development,' has died, his daughter said Friday.
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
The world's largest hockey stick could soon become the world's most in-pieces hockey stick as a Vancouver Island community prepares to tear down and carve up the Canadian landmark.
For half a decade, a Saskatoon family has been trying to bring their orphaned niece to Canada, they say now it’s a matter of life or death.
The Winnipeg Art Gallery- Qaumajuq recently discovered that one piece in its collection is a fake and part of a massive art forgery ring that included more than 1,500 pieces.
Six-year-old Bruce Arthur Chang is the new grand champion of Canada in the UCMAS math competition, and says he is hoping to make a mark on the international stage.
Harold Brenton Anderson, who wore high heels for decades in Halifax and loved to travel, has died.
An Ottawa cat has morphed into a TikTok star, as he's slimming down from weighing 43 pounds.
Bill Neald is still living out his passion of playing baseball at the age of 90 in Regina’s Senior Mixed Slo-Pitch League.