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Banning TikTok, boosting Trump and justice for gymnasts

 
Today's International story

Congress starts clock on TikTok ban in foreign aid bill

What happened
The Senate on Tuesday night passed a $95 billion bill to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and ban TikTok if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, doesn't sell the social media company within 270 days. The 79-18 vote sends the package to President Joe Biden, who said he will sign it Wednesday.

Who said what
Congress is not "acting to punish ByteDance" or TikTok, but to "prevent foreign adversaries" from spying on and "harming vulnerable Americans," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said. "Just so everyone knows, especially the young people, Crooked Joe Biden is responsible for banning TikTok," said former President Donald Trump, whose 2020 executive order banning TikTok was blocked in court. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) put the TikTok measure "in the big supplemental bill, and we had to get the supplemental bill passed as quickly as possible," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

The commentary
Banning TikTok would "infringe" on "Americans' First Amendment right to access information, ideas and media from abroad," said Nadine Farid Johnson at Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute. "If our data is not safe on TikTok," content creator Tiffany Cianci told The Associated Press, "I would ask why the president is on TikTok."

What next?
Even if the law survives a lengthy court challenge, CNN said, the Chinese government could "block the sale outright" or allow it "but without the lucrative algorithm that forms the basis for its popularity."

 
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Today's POLITICS story

National Enquirer helped Trump in 2016, ex-boss says 

What happened
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified Tuesday that he agreed to use his tabloid to boost and shield former President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and publish articles, often fabricated, to damage his rivals. Pecker is the government's first witness in Trump's Manhattan criminal trial over hush money tied to election fraud.

Who said what
At an August 2015 Trump Tower meeting with Trump and then-fixer Michael Cohen, "I said I would run positive stories about Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponent," Pecker testified. "I said I would also be your eyes and ears" for damaging stories.

The commentary
Trump "famously calls journalists 'enemies of the people,'" but "it turns out the friendly 'journalists' of the scuzzy National Enquirer may have done as much as anyone to get him elected in 2016," Jonathan Alter said at The New York Times. Now, Pecker is "delivering devastating testimony against his old pal." Crucially for prosecutors, NPR said, "Pecker's testimony could corroborate Cohen's, which the defense is already seeking to discredit." 

What next?
Pecker's testimony will resume Thursday.

 
 
Today's SPORTS Story

DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M

What happened
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced a $138.7 million settlement with 139 survivors of abuse by Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics doctor serving decades in prison for sexual assault. The FBI acknowledged it mishandled Nassar sexual abuse complaints in 2015 and 2016.

Who said what
The allegations against Nassar "should have been taken seriously from the outset," said acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer. The settlement hopefully gives his victims "some of the critical support they need to continue healing." 

The commentary
This reparation has been a "long time coming," said Rachael Denhollander, the first person to come forward with accusations against Nassar and not party to this new settlement. Unfortunately, the accountability, justice and restitution "we are seeing today is something that most survivors never see."

What next?
The settlement will "likely put an end to years of efforts by some of the gymnasts including Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney" (pictured above) to hold federal authorities accountable, said NPR. 

 
 

It's not all bad

To protect its "diverse and unique marine ecosystems," Greece is banning bottom trawling in national parks by 2026 and all marine protected areas by 2030, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced. Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method that involves dragging nets across the seabed, and Greece is the first European country to prohibit it. "We hope this creates a domino effect," Nicholas Fournier, the campaign director for marine protection with the conservation group Oceana, told The Guardian.

 
 
Under the radar

Taylor Swift, who just dropped a new high-selling double album on April 19, has established herself as a prominent voice in the music industry. But what started as a public spat over the ownership of her older music has evolved into a major shift in the way intellectual property is considered in artist contract negotiations. 

There have long been tensions between artists and record labels over ownership of their master recordings. But Swift's public beef with Scooter Braun shed new light on artist rights and encouraged more artists to speak out.

Shortly after Swift left her original label, Big Machine, in 2018, the owners sold the company to Braun, including the masters of Swift's first six albums. Braun, in turn, sold Big Machine and Swift's masters to another company for $420 million. Swift then announced she would rerecord the albums so she could own them under her record deal with Universal Music Group. 

So far, Swift has rerecorded four of her original albums, dubbed "Taylor's Versions," forging a new path for artists fighting for ownership of their work. She wasn't allowed to release her first Taylor's Version until three years after she left Big Machine, a no-rerecord time frame typical in record deals, "but now they're going to be asking, 'What's the risk of a Taylor's Version?'" said attorney Gary Greenstein. That concern has pushed labels from "somewhat rational" rerecord prohibitions to asking for 20- to 30-year windows, he said, ensuring "the artist's vocal cords are not in good shape by the time they get around to rerecording."

 
 
On this day

April 24, 2011

WikiLeaks began releasing the Guantánamo Files. The 779 pages of military documents gave details on the inner workings of the U.S. Guantánamo prison camp in Cuba. The files also contained information on detainees held by the U.S. government, many of whom had been imprisoned in the camp for years without formal charges. 

 
 
TODAY’S newspaperS

Wednesday's newspapers have former President Donald Trump's criminal trial on their front pages. The Washington Post says Trump is fighting "on two fronts" — testing a gag order and enduring the testimony of David Pecker, a former ally and National Enquirer boss. Pecker "served as Trump's 'eyes and ears'" during the 2016 election, the Los Angeles Times says, and he testified to "burying stories to shield Trump," The New York Times adds. The Tampa Bay Times distills national politics down to one local resident, who "adored Trump, and then rejected him. How?"

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Glass not full

A Texas man is suing Cinemark for "financial injury" after claiming its movie theaters put only 22 ounces of beer in 24-ounce cups. Shane Waldrop purchased an $8.80 beer at a Cinemark in Grapevine and thought the container "wasn't large enough to hold 24 ounces," KHOU said. Once home, the lawsuit said, he filled the cup, measured the contents and found it could only hold 22 ounces. Waldrop seeks damages and for Cinemark to put the "proper amount of advertised liquid" in its cups.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images; Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images; Graeme Jennings — Pool / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images