Introduction
Is the U.S. about to completely ban TikTok? A new bill in Congress would give the President authority to do just that.
Angie is here with the latest.
Plus… Are the Oscars finally getting more diverse?
Those stories and more today on… Notice News.
TikTok is One Step Closer to Being Banned in the U.S.
Hey guys, Jonathan here at Notice H-Q in Brooklyn. Our top story today:
A bill backed by both Democrats and Republicans may mean the end of TikTok here in the United States.
Our Washington correspondent Angie has more.
Sound: Gavel banging
Angie: It’s rare that Democrats and Republicans can agree on anything these days – but one issue is bringing them together: the possibility of banning TikTok.
This week, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill that would give the President authority to ban TikTok – and any other apps he deems a threat to national security.
This is all because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company.
The Chinese government has much more control over companies based there – and more access to their data.
Sound: “100 million Americans, 90 minutes a day…”
Democratic Senator Mark Warner is chair of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee.
Sound: “I absolutely believe that China, with its authoritarian values dominating those technologies, is not in the national security interest of our country, or for that matter, people across the world who don’t live in authoritarian regimes.”
TikTok said a ban would stifle free speech and hurt the export of American culture worldwide.
The White House said yesterday it supports the bill—but even if it passes, that doesn’t mean TikTok is banned.
In fact, experts say a complete ban would be unprecedented – and unlikely.
Sound: “It’s extremely difficult to imagine TikTok or any app of this scale being banned across the United States. There are a number of problems that are associated with the government doing that, not the least of which is, it’s sort of unprecedented in terms of there’s been no other app like this that has reached this level of popularity that has suddenly become banned in the United States. So I think practically, it’s extremely difficult and probably unlikely.
The issue isn’t going away though – and TikTok’s CEO is scheduled to testify before Congress on March 22.
Headlines
The U.S. Department of Justice says it will investigate the Memphis Police Department after the death of Tyre Nichols. Nichols, an unarmed black man, was beat to death by police in early January after a traffic stop.
A new poll from Reuters found that only 40 percent of American adults approve of the job President Joe Biden is doing. That’s actually up from a low of 36 percent approval last May.
And… a new study found that long-distance running actually doesn’t hurt your knees as much as once thought. Contrary to common belief, researchers say runners are actually not more likely to develop arthritis through wear and tear.
Oscars Getting More Diverse
The biggest awards show in Hollywood will be held this coming Sunday where history is likely to be made.
Sound: “Across the multiverse I’ve seen thousands of Evelyns…”
Everything Everywhere All At Once has 11 nominations and is considered the frontrunner in several major categories.
This year, more Asian creatives are nominated for Oscars than any other year in history, 10 of them for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
It’s a huge shift since 2015 when all 20 acting nominees were white actors, sparking the “Oscars So White” controversy.
While this represents a major milestone for diversity in Hollywood, many feel that there is still much more progress to be made.
Black-led films like Till and The Woman King were completely shut out this year.
Sound: Certainly there’s a consistent lack of recognition for certainly Black female directors. There’s never been a Black female director nominated in the history of the Academy Awards, so that says everything.”
Only 6% of all nominees in history have been from underrepresented ethnicities, and only 2% of all winners have been women of color.
Best Supporting Actress nominee Angela Bassett, who is nominated for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hopes to increase that number.
Sound: “Sometimes some performances, as we know, can be overlooked or they can be seen years and years and years later, you know, they’re ahead of the audience and take some time to be discovered…”
And if Michelle Yeoh wins the Best Leading Actress award, she’ll be only the second woman of color in history to win the award, the first being Halle Berry in 2001.
Sound: “I will always, always want to be here with you.”
Conclusion
That’s it for today – but let’s see how closely you were paying attention. Go take the Notice News quiz on our website noticenews.com.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more from us, Notice News.