Daily Briefing: To sell or ban

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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TikTok’s days may be numbered after the House approved legislation that would ban the popular social media app nationwide unless its Chinese owners sell. Also in the news: Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial moves into opening arguments and witness testimony on Monday. A doping scandal has engulfed swimming ahead of the Olympic trials.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Here's how to go green this Earth Day 🌍

Here's the news to know on Monday.

The House approved an anti-TikTok measure

Under a new measure passed by the House over the weekend, TikTok's parent company ByteDance has up to a year to divest before the prohibition begins.

President Joe Biden has already expressed support for the effort, which House Speaker Mike Johnson attached to a larger foreign aid package that includes three bills that separately provide billions for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region.

  • The TikTok measure will be hard for the Senate to ignore given that it is attached to a crucial foreign aid package.

  • More on the aid package: The House approved a set of long-awaited foreign aid bills, along with a fourth bill that includes various GOP-backed foreign policy priorities.

  • The speaker on the chopping block? Johnson’s position may be in peril after angering hardline Republicans over his championing of the multi-billion dollar package.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., at the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., at the U.S. Capitol on April 20, 2024 in Washington, DC.

What is happening at Columbia University?

Some Jewish students fear for their safety as tensions over the Israel-Hamas war at the Ivy League school in New York City continue to rise. One well-known rabbi urged Jewish students to leave Columbia University's campus following pro-Palestinian protests on campus he says have endangered their safety. Near-violent confrontations between Jewish students and pro-Palestinian demonstrators have prompted condemnation from the White House and come on the heels of the school's president testifying in Congress last week about the campus' record on anti-discrimination policies. Read more

Student activists set up a protest encampment in support of Palestine inside the New School on April 21, 2024 in New York City.
Student activists set up a protest encampment in support of Palestine inside the New School on April 21, 2024 in New York City.

More news to know now

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

It's going to be a big week at the Supreme Court

With cases involving Donald Trump, abortion, battling baristas, the rights of homeless people and scary tattoos, the Supreme Court is entering a packed week. Most notably, the high court will weigh if and when a former president can claim criminal immunity for acts committed while in office as Trump, who is currently on trial for allegedly concealing hush money payments to an adult film actress, fights three additional indictments on attempts to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding of classified documents. Read USA TODAY's full analysis of this week in SCOTUS news.

What do Biden's new Title IX rules mean?

The Biden administration released a new set of rules overhauling the Trump administration's Title IX rules – which gave more rights to alleged perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment. The new rules expand the definition of sexual assault and harassment. That means schools could investigate more cases of discrimination, abuse or harassment filed by people on school campuses under the scope of the law. The update that will impact American public schools in the fall also stipulates further protections for LGBTQ+ students as well as parenting and pregnant students. Read more

Keep scrolling

Chinese swimmers test positive before 2024 Games

A scandal in swimming looms just weeks before the Olympic trials and less than 100 days until the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Media reported that 23 Chinese swimmers all tested positive for the exact same banned substance — trimetazidine (TMZ), which is the drug Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was found to have taken — but were allowed to continue to compete and in some cases win medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. This revelation begs the question how this was possible, especially when authorities have fought for months to bring Valieva to justice when she went had a strikingly similar case. Read more

Photo of the day: Passover begins

The eight-day celebration of Passover, or Pesach, starts before sundown this Monday. The holiday known as a "festival of freedom" is observed with seders among families, friends and communities, as well as other sacred traditions. Read more

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TikTok bill, Columbia, Israel-Hamas war, Trump trial, Earth Day, Olympics, passover, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing