“My one focus now is getting the president re-elected. I’ll make up my mind on that later. We’ll find out, you know.” —Vice-President Joe Biden, two-time presidential candidate, speaking on CNN. [Caucus/NYT]
Trump endorses the Oracle-TikTok deal
President Trump said he has agreed in concept to a deal under which Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok will partner with Oracle and Walmart to become a U.S.-based company, capping negotiations that have stirred debate over national security and the future of the internet.
“I have given the deal my blessing, if they get it done that’s OK too, if they don’t that’s fine too,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday.
Under the terms of the deal, Walmart and Oracle would share a 20% stake in a new U.S.-based entity that will operate TikTok, with Oracle likely getting a somewhat larger piece between those two, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person said that under the deal, U.S. companies and investors would have a 53% ownership—satisfying U.S. demands for the new company to be under American control. Chinese investors would have a 36% stake, with other investors largely from Europe having 11%, this person said.
The president said the agreement will result in the creation of 25,000 jobs, mostly in Texas, adding that the new company will still be called TikTok and “will have nothing to do with China.”
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The USPS had planned to send millions of masks to Americans, but the White House killed the plan
Some top administration officials even hoped to tap the mail service’s vast network — and its unrivaled ability to reach every U.S. Zip code — to help Americans obtain personal protective equipment. The idea originated out of the Department of Health and Human Services, which suggested a pack of five reusable masks be sent to every residential address in the country, with the first shipments going to the hardest-hit areas.
At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been working on coronavirus guidance that recommended face coverings, a reversal of its previous position, in the face of mounting evidence that people could spread the coronavirus without experiencing symptoms. The Postal Service prepared for the possibility it might be deputized in the effort, drawing up a news release touting that it was “uniquely suited” to help. The service specifically identified Orleans and Jefferson parishes in Louisiana as the first areas to receive face coverings, with deliveries shortly thereafter to King County, Wash.; Wayne County, Mich.; and New York, according to the newly unearthed document, which is labeled a draft.
Before the news release was sent, however, the White House nixed the plan, according to senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations. Instead, HHS created Project America Strong, a $675 million effort to distribute “reusable cotton face masks to critical infrastructure sectors, companies, healthcare facilities, and faith-based and community organizations across the country.” About 600 million of the 650 million masks ordered have been distributed, according to an HHS spokesperson, including 125 million set aside for schools.
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