Daily news Discovery

Pakistan’s Imran Khan sentenced to three years in prison, arrested

Former prime minister calls for protests after court finds him guilty of selling state gifts received during visits abroad.

Police have arrested Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan in the eastern city of Lahore after a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts.

The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pakistani rupees ($497,500).

“His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” judge Humayun Dilawar wrote in the ruling. “He has been found guilty of corrupt practices by hiding the benefits he accrued from national exchequer wilfully and intentionally.”

🔴Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022

Russia has denied appeals for complete demilitarisation near the area around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. The move would make the plant more weak, a Russian official said. To read more>>https://bit.ly/3pAt3fG

Inside the Ukraine power plant raising the specter of nuclear disaster in Europe
Read more: https://cnn.it/3w37MPA

🔴Mass fish die-off in German-Polish river blamed on unknown toxic substance
🟡Read more:

Mass fish die-off in German-Polish river blamed on unknown toxic substance An unknown, highly toxic substance in the Oder river, which runs through Poland and Germany, appears to be the cause of a mass die-off of fish, the German state of Brandenburg's environment ministry said.

New research on Antarctica doubles the previous estimates of loss from ice shelves. One study shows that the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet has been shedding icebergs faster than the ice can be replaced, doubling previous estimates. Learn more:

NASA Studies Find Previously Unknown Loss of Antarctic Ice New research on Antarctica, including the first map of iceberg calving, doubles the previous estimates of loss from ice shelves and details how the continent is changing.

Forests are important because they...
✅ Reduce emissions
✅ Provide drinking water
✅ Buffer the impacts of storms and floods

Conserving and restoring forests should be a universal priority ⤵️
https://bit.ly/3vN5GTD

the Artemis I mission will launch on a 4-6 week mission to the Moon and back. Artemis I will be the first flight test of the integrated Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket to lay the foundation for NASA’s goal of landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establishing long-term lunar exploration!

The Bank of England is predicting a recession later this year, with the size of the economy expected to shrink every quarter into 2023.

Read more on:

Bank of England predicts recession at the end of the year The bank's forecasters say inflation will hit its highest point for more than 42 years amid the doubling of wholesale natural gas prices tied to the war. Those energy prices will push the economy into a five-quarter recession - with gross domestic product shrinking each quarter in 2023.

🔴China fires missiles near Taiwan in live-fire drills as PLA encircles island

🟡Read on: https://bit.ly/3zZ0gHZ

Princess Charlotte joined her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Full story: https://bbc.in/3BBNuQA

In what is likely to become a common occurrence, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope beams back a new spellbinding image of the cosmos. This view of the Cartwheel Galaxy reveals new details about star formation as well as the galaxy’s central black hole. Read on: https://go.nasa.gov/3JmQlPe

Did you know NASA has games?

NEW on NASA Climate Kids: Want to explore space? First, you have to get into the clean room and build some CubeSats to launch!

🎮 Play CubeSat Builder here: go.nasa.gov/3a5ooxX

🛑3 steps you can take to quit smoking and live a healthier life.♥️

⭕1.Focus on how to 'stay quit'

Finding it hard to permanently quit the cigs? Break down your goal into smaller, more manageable steps.
The goal should not be to quit smoking; rather, it should be on how to "stay quit," Galiatsatos said. He said he's had patients who say they've quit many times, but that they've not been able to permanently stop.
He recommends people break up their larger goal of quitting into smaller goals.
For example, learn your different triggers that could make you want to smoke. That way, you can be mindful and find solutions for those actions.

⭕⭕2. Make each time you quit a learning experience

Most people who smoke quit eight to 12 times, because of the addictiveness of ci******es, before they successfully quit for good, Bricker said.
Because relapse is so common, Bricker tells his patients to find a lesson they can take from each experience.

People will say things like, 'I learned how powerful these cravings are, or I learned how seeing my friend smoke was a big trigger for me, or I learned that stress in my life was a big trigger,' " Bricker said.
Patients should approach quitting from the viewpoint that the more things they learn from their relapses, the greater their chance is of quitting permanently, he said.

⭕⭕⭕3. Use phone lines and apps for support
Your smartphone can be of assistance -- whether you use it to call a help line or download a stop smoking app.
Support groups for people who want to quit smoking are dwindling, so Bricker recommended calling a quitting help line to get outside assistance.
The CDC funds a to***co cessation hotline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669), which is free to US residents in all states, plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Your call goes automatically the quit line in your state or territory.
Callers are connected to coaches who help smokers create a plan to quit and give them advice when facing withdrawals and cravings.
Currently, state cessation hotlines only reach about 1% of people who smoke, which the CDC largely attributes to the lack of funding to promote the service.
Bricker's team at Fred Hutch helped to create the app iCanQuit, which was supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health.
The app focuses on acceptance and commitment therapy, which encourages people to accept their emotions and thoughts instead of pushing them away. The tool also offers resources for quitting and handling cravings when they arise, Bricker said.

Best phones under $500: iPhone SE, Pixel 4A, Galaxy A51 and more

⚡Apple iPhone SE (2020)

⚡Google Pixel 4A

⚡Samsung Galaxy A51

⚡Samsung Galaxy A50

⚡Motorola Moto G Stylus

2021 Audi Q5 Sportback is yet another coupe-inspired crossover

Audi is expanding the growing coupe-inspired crossover segment, what we at Roadshow call the coupeover. Late Friday, Audi unveiled its new Q5 Sportback, a versatile utility vehicle with an extra dose of style.

The biggest change between this model and the standard Q5 is, quite obviously, that roofline. The Sportback variant's top gently slopes toward the back, with the aftmost side windows tapering sharply at the rear. This modification gives the vehicle a dramatic profile. Likewise, the backlight is steeply raked to match the lid's downward angle.

Up front, this new variant of the Q5 features a familiar octagonal single-frame grille, one filled with a unique rhomboid texture. Naturally, expect minor exterior changes to the front air inlets and bumpers based on trim level and options packages. Giving drivers plenty of choice, Audi will offer 12 different paint colors on the Sportback, plus a whole bunch of different wheel designs, spanning 18 to 21 inches. At the vehicle's rear, digital OLED taillights are an option and should provide some interesting functionality. Each lamp contains three OLED panels consisting of six illuminable segments that can be controlled individually. This enables the driver to change the lighting signature or even let the vehicle warn other motorists of danger. For instance, if another driver gets within 6.5 feet of its rear bumper, the vehicle can flash its taillights, a more proactive notice than a pair of Yosemite Sam mud flaps.

The Q5 Sportback is 7 millimeters longer than its sibling, though the machine's overall height and width are the same. As for aerodynamic efficiency, the Sportback model will be slightly slipperier, with a drag coefficient of 0.30.

But what about luggage capacity? Well, the Q5 Sportback looks to be quite versatile despite that fashionable roofline. It offers 18 cubic feet of luggage space behind the second row seat, however, the optional Rear Bench Plus, which slides and offers an adjustable backrest, can be moved forward to increase luggage space by an additional 2.1 cubes for a total of 20.1. Fold that backrest down and the Q5 Sportback gives you 52.3 cubic feet of junk-hauling room. Optional roof rails allow you to carry even more stuff. Making it just a little easier to load cargo, this Audi comes standard with a power tailgate, though for extra money you can also open it with a wave of your foot.
Q5 Sportbacks will come standard with a more taut sport suspension, which should make them crisper and more engaging to drive than the regular Q5. Adjustable dampers are also available, as is an air suspension system, which offers 2.4 inches of total adjustment range. This allows the Sportback to increase its ground clearance by up to 1.8 inches for better off-road capability, though it's still probably inadvisable to attempt the Rubicon Trail in one of these. Like other air suspension-equipped crossovers, this Audi can lower its body at speed for enhanced aerodynamics and you can drop the rear of the vehicle by pushing a button in the cargo hold so it's easier to load or unload cumbersome cargo.
A dynamic steering system will also be offered. This adjusts the Q5 Sportback's steering ratio and power assist based on driving conditions. Basically, it makes the tiller quicker and lighter at low speeds for enhanced maneuverability and slower and heavier on the highway for better stability.

American drivers will have two powertrain options: A 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 261 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque in the standard model, and a 3.0-liter V6 that's good for 349 hp and 369 lb-ft in the high-performance SQ5. If these engines sound familiar, they should. The automaker is offering the same ones in the 2021 Q5.

Elsewhere, the Q5 Sportback will launch in Europe with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine delivering 201 hp and 295 lb-ft. A seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and Quattro Ultra all-wheel drive are also part of its powertrain equation, as is a mild-hybrid system with a small lithium-ion battery, which can recuperate energy while braking to improve vehicle efficiency. With a twin-dosing selective catalyst reduction system, this diesel engine should meet the latest European emissions standards. After launch, a range of other engines, including gasoline, diesel and even a plug-in hybrid will be offered in this Sportback.

Not surprisingly, there's nothing shocking to report about the vehicle's interior. Proudly on display is the automaker's MIB 3 infotainment system. Audi's ever-useful Virtual Cockpit is available, while the MMI infotainment system with navigation is displayed on a 10.1-inch touchscreen. Like its luxury German rivals, the Q5 Sportback's multimedia array responds to voice commands, in this case, "Hey, Audi." For extra cash, you can also opt for a Bang & Olufsen 3D premium sound system. As for driver-assistance tech, this coupeover comes standard with Audi Pre Sense City, which can help avoid or lessen the severity of low-speed collisions. Features like turn assist, swerve assist, cross-traffic assist and exit warning systems are all offered.

The 2021 Audi Q5 Sportback is scheduled to go on sale in various international markets in the first half of next year. The vehicle will be built in Mexico, though examples sold in China will be assembled from complete knock-down kits in Audi's Changchun factory. What about pricing? Well, you guessed it. That's not available just yet, so stay tuned.

Apple's battle with Epic Games could lead to big changes in iPhone apps

Apple's iPhone is already one of the world's most litigated devices. Apple fought its No. 1 rival, Samsung, and others over the iPhone's design. It's fought phone giant Nokia and chipmaker Qualcomm over patent royalties. Before the smartphone first went on sale in 2007, Apple even fought networking giant Cisco over the iPhone name.

On Monday, Apple meets a new combatant in court. This time, it's fighting Epic Games, maker of the online gaming phenomenon Fortnite, which has more than 350 million players. Epic sued on Aug. 13, alleging that the iPhone maker's rules for how big a cut of app sales developers need to pay Apple, and how they can even make money on the popular App Store, are anticompetitive. The suit effectively forces Apple to defend the way it operates its App Store, the only gateway for developers who want to have their apps made available for download on the iPhone.

By letting users pay Epic directly, and avoiding Apple's payment service, Epic also circumvented the up to 30% commission on each sale that Apple charges developers for the privilege of their wares being available to iPhone users on the App Store.

Apple quickly banned Fortnite from its App Store and Epic sued in response, kicking off a legal battle that's grabbed the attention of both the game industry and millions of app developers, all of whose businesses could change as a result of whatever happens. The App Store, launched in June 2008, has grown to more than 1.85 million apps, according to September data from research firm Statista. It's attracted more than 27 million app developers, whose programs have been downloaded by about 1 billion people across 175 countries. Apple is estimated to have paid out $37 billion to developers last year, according to industry watcher Sensor Tower. Assuming Apple took a 30 percent cut, that puts App Store sales at about $55.5 billion.

"There's good arguments on both sides," said David Olson, a professor at Boston College Law School who closely tracks antitrust, intellectual property and patent law. What makes this case in particular stand out, he said, is it raises thorny questions around how much Apple is allowed to control its platform, an issue that's been debated online for years but not so much in the courts. "This could be huge."

Apple and Epic didn't respond to requests for comment.

What's at stake for Apple is how apps are distributed and monetized across mobile devices. Apple, in particular, has demanded it approve every app that's offered for sale for its iPhone since the beginning, with its App Store serving as the only distribution platform for iPhone app developers. Apple also touts that control as a feature in its marketing, promising iPhone users they can trust any app they download from the App Store because it's already been vetted.

Aside from charging an up to 30% fee for in-app purchases, Apple requires app developers to follow policies against what it deems objectionable content, such as po*******hy, encouraging drug use, or realistic portrayals of death and violence. Apple also scans for security issues, spam and apps that could be used to take data from people's phones without their consent.

"Apple's requirement that every iOS app undergo rigorous, human-assisted review -- with reviewers representing 81 languages vetting on average 100,000 submissions per week -- is critical to its ability to maintain the App Store as a secure and trusted platform for consumers to discover and download software," the company said in one of its filings.

That trust, and the App Store brand, is so important to Apple that it even fought Amazon and Microsoft over the use of the name "App Store." (Apple ultimately backed down.)

Epic v. Apple
Epic suing Apple and Google over Fortnite bans: Everything you need to know
Fortnite maker Epic's battle with Apple and Google is about making them into villains
Updating to iOS 14 may remove Fortnite from your iPhone, Epic warns
Nab an iPhone with Fortnite installed -- for, um, $5,000
The App Store's policies have almost always been at the center of controversy for Apple too. Apple's tight control is an instinct that came from its co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, who micromanaged the look and feel of the company's software and hardware, sometimes down to the smallest dot on the screen, the angle of the curves on its devices and the satisfying click-feeling you get when you plug in a cord.

That obsessively controlling approach has ticked off developers over the years. They say Apple's inflexible rules over everything from content (Apple once banned an app from a Pulitzer-winning cartoonist) to the ways programs talk to the internet, give the iPhone maker too much control over other companies. And in July, legislators on Capitol Hill called in Apple CEO Tim Cook, alongside leaders of Facebook, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet, to defend those and other policies.

Cook said Apple's approach helps attract more people and developers to its platform, not less. "Clearly, if Apple is a gatekeeper, what we have done is open the gate wider," he said. "We want to get every app we can on the store, not keep them off."

Epic isn't the only developer that disagrees with Apple. More than a dozen companies, including music service Spotify and dating app maker Match Group, joined with Epic to found a group called the Coalition for App Fairness to take on Apple's rules.

"As enforcers, regulators, and legislators around the world investigate Apple for its anti-competitive behavior, The Coalition for App Fairness will be the voice of app and game developers in the effort to protect consumer choice and create a level playing field for all," Horacio Gutierrez, head of global affairs at Spotify, said in a statement on Thursday. Spotify also helped kick off EU investigations of Apple this summer after the music service complained to European regulators about the company's policies.

On Monday, Apple and Epic Games are set to meet in an online version of what would've been an Oakland, California, court room, a reminder that despite the coronavirus pandemic that's infected more than 32 million people and killed at least 990,000 patients around the world, big fights between big tech companies still go on.

Epic argues that Apple's strict control of its App Store is anticompetitive and that the court should force the company to allow alternative app stores and payment processors on its phones, remaking the way people get and pay for iPhone apps. "Apple is bigger, more powerful, more entrenched and more pernicious than monopolies of yesteryear," Epic said in an August legal filing. "Apple's size and reach far exceeds that of any technology monopolist in history."

Apple responded, saying Epic's lawsuit is just a disagreement over money. "Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood," Apple wrote in its legal response, "In reality it is a multibillion-dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store."

Epic battle
Apple and Epic Games used to be friends. A decade ago, Apple invited the software developer on stage at one of its events to show off Project Sword, a game later called Infinity Blade, designed to show off how Epic's Unreal Engine tools could be used to create beautiful and intricately designed games.

"We're using the same lighting and motion-captured animation techniques you see in top films," Mike Capps, then president of Epic Games, said while demonstrating a fantasy game battle between a knight and a massive brute on the then-newly announced iPhone 4 in 2010.

Apple brought Epic back on stage in 2011 to show off its sequel, Infinity Blade 2. And then again in 2013 for the second sequel, Infinity Blade 3. Each game was considered a success, and largely well received.

"Of all the many thousands of games to hit iOS over the years, Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade II were among the few that aspired to be something greater than mere mobile games," CNET sister site GameSpot's Mark Walton wrote in his 2013 review of the games. "Their visuals were -- and indeed still are -- some of the most impressive to grace the platform, and both offered a surprising amount of depth behind their flashy touchscreen swordplay."

As Epic grew into a multibillion dollar company, it began using its size to push for change within the game industry. In 2015, Epic began offering its Unreal Engine game development tools for free, taking a 5% royalty fee on games sold. This year, it said it would charge game royalties only after a developer's first $1 million in revenue.

"They want to be a company that empowers creators," said Ben Wiley, program director of game production at, who formerly worked at Warner Bros.

"I feel like the ends are more than worth the means."
Tim Sweeney, Epic's CEO, in 2019.
Epic's most controversial move came in 2018, when the company opened its Epic Games Store for PCs, a competitor to the industry-leading Valve Steam store. Though the Epic store didn't have the same social networking, reviews and other features Valve's did, it asked for only a 12% commission from game developers, less than half the industry standard 30%.

To win over developers even further, Epic started paying for and securing exclusivity deals for PC games, effectively locking the titles to its Epic Games Store usually for a year. Some of those exclusives were highly anticipated titles like Gearbox Software's sci-fi shooter Borderlands 3, Deep Silver's postapocalyptic thriller Metro: Exodus, and the epic story game Shenmu 3.

As Epic's roster of exclusive titles grew, some gamers bristled at being forced to sign up for yet another game service in order to play games they're excited about.

"I wish there were a more popular way to do this," Tim Sweeney, Epic's CEO, said in a 2019 interview with CNET. But a survey by the Game Developers Conference, released just before our interview, underscored Sweeney's point, finding, among other things, that a majority of game developers weren't sure Valve's Steam justified its 30% cut of revenue. "I feel like the ends are more than worth the means," Sweeney said.

Now Epic is taking its fight to Apple, and fighting a different app store for mobile devices. In emails between the two companies before the lawsuit was filed, Sweeney asked Apple to allow Epic to create its own app store for mobile devices too, and to use its own payment processing service. Apple refused.

Apple fight
Epic isn't just fighting Apple in the courts. It's also devised a PR campaign to bring that fight to the public.

The same day Fortnite was kicked off the App Store, and after Epic sued, the company released an ad parodying Apple's famous Ridley Scott-directed 1984 Macintosh Super Bowl ad. The original positioned Apple as a revolutionary, fighting back against a Big Brother conformist overlord-type figure.

Epic's remaking, called Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite, paints Apple as the domineering Big Brother, and shows a Fortnite character fighting back.

"Epic Games has defied the App Store Monopoly. In retaliation, Apple is blocking Fortnite from a billion devices," Epic wrote at the end of its 48-second video. "Join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming '1984'" In the month since the video's release, it's been watched more than 6 million times.

Apple says the commission it charges pays for the tools, people and computing costs to run its App Store. The company also says its control protects users from potentially bad behavior and fraud, too.

Neither company's arguments appear to have swung the court of public opinion much. Analysts say the whole thing really boils down to a slap-fight over money between a multitrillion-dollar company and a multibillion-dollar company.

"Epic's being self-serving by saying it's protecting the little guy, and Apple's being self-serving by saying it's protecting consumers," said Joost van Dreunen, a professor at NYU Stern School of Business and author of the upcoming book One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games. Regardless of how this lawsuit goes, he said, Apple's continuing challenge will be to convince developers the App Store is worth that 30% fee.

In the game industry, console makers justify their cut of games sold by using the money to help market their products and grow the number of people playing even more, van Dreunen said. Console makers also tend to take less of a cut the larger a company's sales get.

fortnite-thumb
Epic has continued its PR war against Apple, holding a tournament in August.

Epic
"It's baked into the habit of the industry that it's acceptable," he added. But van Dreunen said that now, with more than a decade of Apple being as inflexible as developers have said it is, pushback is inevitable.

Apple isn't the only company Epic targeted in its Fortnite battle. The same day Epic broke Apple's App Store rules, it adding the same with its game on the Google Play Store, for devices powered by Google's Android software. Google kicked Fortnite out of its store too, and Epic sued, arguing that Google has strayed from the Don't Be Evil mantra of its early years.

Google has since reportedly begun plans to tighten its app store rules, in seeming support of Apple. A report in Bloomberg last week said the company is planning to tell developers they need to use Google's payments processing service, which has an up to 30% commission just like Apple's App Store.

In the meantime, the first court skirmishes between Apple and Epic have scored legal wins for both companies. In an emergency hearing in August, a district judge in Northern California agreed that Apple could keep Fortnite off its App Store during the lawsuit. She also ruled that Epic should be able to continue distributing its Unreal game tools to developers without interference from Apple, for now.

The risk that Apple could lose the case and potentially set a precedent that upends how all app stores work across the tech industry will likely drive the company to settle. But it's also why Olson, the law professor, is hoping for the case to drag on a bit. He wants to see how Apple, Epic and the court attempt to apply antitrust laws from decades ago to modern day tech.

"Antitrust needs to catch up with the world some," he said. And cases like this help it to do that.

CDC abruptly removes guidance about airborne coronavirus transmission, says update 'was posted in error'

(CNN)The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday abruptly reverted to its previous guidance about how coronavirus is transmitted, removing language about airborne transmission it had posted just days earlier.

"A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency's official website. CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted," Jason McDonald, a CDC spokesman, said in a response emailed to CNN.

Motorola One 5G costs $445 and will have you saying 'iPhone SE who?'

Available from Verizon and AT&T, it will be one of the most affordable 5G phones you can buy in the US.

The Motorola One 5G does one thing that other 5G phones haven't been able to do: cost less than $500.

Trump administration’s WeChat ban is blocked by U.S. district court

"The TikTok deal solves quite literally nothing"

After debasing the idea of free commerce in the U.S in the name of a misplaced security concern, stringing along several multi-billion dollar companies that embarrassed themselves in the interest of naked greed, and demanding that the U.S. government get a cut of the profits, the TikTok saga we’ve been watching the past few weeks finally appears to be over.

A flurry of announcement late Saturday night indicate that the TikTok deal was actually a politically-oriented shakedown to boost the cloud infrastructure business of key supporters of the President of the United States.

Oracle, whose cloud infrastructure services run a laughable fourth to AWS, Alphabet*, and Microsoft, will be taking a 20 percent stake in TikTok alongside partner Walmart in what will be an investment round before TikTok Global (as the new entity will be called) goes public on an American stock exchange.

According to a statement from TikTok, Oracle will become TikTok’s “trusted technology partner” and will be responsible for hosting all U.S. user data and securing associated computer systems to ensure U.S. national security requirements are fully satisfied. “We are currently working with Walmart on a commercial partnership as well,” according to the statement from TikTok.

Meanwhile, Oracle indicated that all the concerns from the White House, U.S. Treasury, and Congress over TikTok had nothing to do with the service’s selection of Oracle as its cloud provider. In its statement, Oracle said that “This technical decision by TikTok was heavily influenced by Zoom’s recent success in moving a large portion of its video conferencing capacity to the Oracle Public Cloud.”

Here’s how CNBC reporter Alex Sherman has the ownership structure breaking down, per “a person familiar with the matter”. Oracle gets 12.5%, Walmart gets 7.5% and ByteDance gets the remaining 80%. The Trump administration is claiming that US investors will own 53% of TikTok because ByteDance (TikTok’s parent) is backed by venture capital investors that hold a 40% stake in the parent company.

The deal benefits everyone except U.S. consumers and people who have actual security concerns about TikTok’s algorithms and the ways they can be used to influence opinion in the U.S.

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance gets to maintain ownership of the U.S. entity, Oracle gets a huge new cloud customer to boost its ailing business, Walmart gets access to teens to sell stuff, and U.S. customer data is no safer (it’s just now in the hands of U.S. predators instead of foreign ones).

To be clear, data privacy and security is a major concern, but it’s not one that’s a concern when it comes to TikTok necessarily (and besides, the Chinese government has likely already acquired whatever data they want to on U.S. customers).

For many observers, the real concern with TikTok was that the company’s Chinese owners may be pressured by Beijing to manipulate its algorithm to promote or suppress content. Companies in China — including its internet giants — are required to follow the country’s intelligence and cloud security law mandating complete adherence with all government orders for data.

The Commerce Department in its statement said that “In light of recent positive developments, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, at the direction of President Trump, will delay the prohibition of identified transactions pursuant to Executive Order 13942, related to the TikTok mobile application that would have been effective on Sunday, September 20, 2020, until September 27, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.” So that’s a week reprieve.

So all this sound and fury … for what? The best investment return in all of these shenanigans is almost certainly Oracle co-CEO Safra Catz’ investment into Trump, who in addition to being a heavy donor to the Trump administration, also joined the presidential transition committee back in 2016. Thank god the U.S. saved TikTok from the crony capitalism of China. Let’s just hope they enjoy the crony capitalism of Washington DC.

*An earlier version of this article referred to AWS, Amazon and Microsoft. AWS and Amazon are the same company. I was typing fast. I’ve corrected the error.