TikTok vs. The U.S., NATO vs. Underwater Cables, & The NYT vs. OpenAI
January 15, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’ll be talking about TikTok, a ceasefire deal, Ukraine & Russia, NATO & the internet, the ERS (we’ll explain, don’t worry), who’s going to Trump’s inauguration, and the New York Times vs. OpenAI.
Here’s some good news: in her State of the State address, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced plans to cut taxes for middle-class earners, expand the child tax credit, offer free tuition at state and city colleges, give students free meals at schools, and make it harder for hedge funds to buy homes. Also, Apple has asked shareholders to vote against a proposal to scrap its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
Do The Post-TikTok Shuffle

It appears that the Great TikTok Exodus is here, even though we kind of assumed that the app would figure out a way to stick around. With the guillotine hanging over its head, TikTok owner ByteDance is ushering users to another one of its apps: an Instagram/TikTok/Pinterest amalgamation named Lemon8. However, it’s not clear whether that move will work out for ByteDance. “So long as ByteDance is owned by a ‘foreign adversary’ as defined in the statute, then its subsidiaries will be equally governed by the rules,” said one lawyer.
Meanwhile, some TikTok refugees are also making their way to an app similar to Lemon8 named Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. While xiǎohóngshū literally translates to “little red book” in Chinese, it’s probably unlikely that the app – which focuses on e-commerce – is named after the collection of quotations by CCP leader Mao Zedong. In China, that book is officially titled Quotations from Chairman Mao and nicknamed hóng bǎoshū, or “Treasured Red Book.” This app isn’t owned by ByteDance (so it might stick around for a while longer), but the U.S. government could simply ban it using the same pretense it used for its TikTok ban. We can see the Communism fear tactic headlines now…
A Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Since October 2023, the Israel-Hamas conflict has seen multiple temporary ceasefires and has nearly been resolved with a peace deal multiple times. Now, it seems that we’re closer than ever to a lasting ceasefire deal. Yesterday, Hamas leaders accepted a draft ceasefire agreement put forth by a group of mediating countries, including the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt. Israel, however, has yet to greenlight the peace deal, and both sides say there are still details to iron out.
At a high level, the ceasefire deal is broken up into three parts. In the first part, Hamas will release multiple hostages in exchange for the Israelis releasing large numbers of Palestinian prisoners. Fighting in Gaza will stop and some Gazans will be allowed to return to their homes, or what’s left of them. The two sides will then hash out the details of the next two stages. In the second stage, Hamas will release its male hostages, while the IDF will fully withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip. In the third stage, any deceased hostages will be returned to Israel, Gaza will begin its massive reconstruction effort, and border crossings into the blockaded enclave will be reopened.
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A Missile-y Monday Night

- On Monday night, Ukraine launched a surprise attack against targets in Russia, using a combination of drone and missile strikes to damage military infrastructure deep within Moscow’s territory. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the attacks involved over 140 drones as well as U.S.-made ATACMS and U.K.-made Storm Shadow missiles.
- The Ukrainian military’s General Staff claimed its strikes targeted buildings in three separate regions of Russia, causing explosions almost 700 miles away from the Russia-Ukraine border. Six cities reportedly restricted their airspace in response to the wave of strikes, and the list of damaged infrastructure included an oil storage base, multiple military production facilities, and two industrial plants.
Bolstering The Baltic
- People used to call the internet an “information superhighway.” To build on that outdated metaphor, NATO is launching a mission to protect the concrete pillars that support that superhighway…or something like that. Yesterday, the Western military alliance announced a new mission to defend internet cables running beneath the Baltic Sea – those cables belong to a wider network of undersea cables that keep the entire world online.
- NATO seems to believe that the biggest threat to the cables is Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a group of aging tankers that leverage shady practices to dodge Western sanctions on Russian oil. Leaders of Baltic States promised “to begin deploying innovative solutions, developing new technologies for surveillance and tracking of suspicious vessels and undersea monitoring” in light of that threat.
More Mixed Nuts
- US to ban Russian, Chinese software and hardware in vehicles (ABC)
- Rachel Reeves blames global volatility for borrowing rates spike amid Tory criticism (Guardian)
- Why is Spain considering a 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents? (ABC)
- Trinidad and Tobago extends state of emergency amid escalating violence (Guardian)
- Kate Middleton says her cancer is in remission (ABC)
- More than 100 feared dead as videos show bodies and trapped miners in South Africa (NBC)
Errr, Do We Really Need An ERS?
- At this point, I assume we all know that President-elect Trump plans to implement sweeping tariffs on most goods imported into the U.S. (and if you didn’t know, now you know). In the past, the Commerce Department, the U.S. Trade Representative, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be in charge of collecting tariffs, duties, and all other foreign revenue, but Trump has a plan to change that.
- Trump announced yesterday that he will create an “external revenue system” to take over this role. Considering Trump’s commitment to doing away with government spending, it’s interesting that he would opt to create an entirely new federal agency rather than simply using the system that already exists.
Making A Guest List, Checking It Twice
- Former Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Bush will all attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration next week, and both Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton will also be in attendance, but there will be a notable absence – Michelle Obama will not be attending. No explanation was given for why Michelle is skipping the event, though she also did not attend former President Carter’s funeral last week.
- Michelle’s absence is certainly notable, but the list of people who will be there is also rather interesting. Carrie Underwood and the Village People were confirmed earlier this week as performers, and Big Tech will show out as well. Elon Musk will attend (no surprise there), as will Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. They’ll be seated together on the platform with Trump’s Cabinet nominees – a fitting metaphor, really.
More Nuts In America
- Biden signs executive order aimed at growing AI infrastructure in the US (AP)
- Flags to fly at full-staff at Capitol for Trump’s inauguration (USA Today)
- Lawsuits allege power company involvement in LA wildfires (NPR)
- Democrats boycott start of Minnesota legislative session (CBS)
- Special counsel Jack Smith says evidence against Trump was enough to convict him (NPR)
The Times They Are A-Suing
- It’s time. The New York Times – representing a wider group of publishers – is suing ChatGPT owner OpenAI for copyright infringement in a lawsuit that could change the course of the current AI juggernaut. According to the Times (which had its case against OpenAI combined with other suits from The New York Daily News and the Center for Investigative Reporting), OpenAI illegally fed its AI models millions of articles from publishers across the internet, which the organizations claim amounts to a massive pile of copyright infringement.
- According to Times attorney Ian Crosby, OpenAI’s “unlawful use of The Times’s work to create artificial intelligence products that compete with it threatens The Times’s ability to provide that service… Using the valuable intellectual property of others in these ways without paying for it has been extremely lucrative.”
- Lawyers for OpenAI (which is valued at over $150 billion) and its financial backer Microsoft (over $3 trillion) argue that ChatGPT isn’t simply an article regurgitation system, though the Times has displayed its habit of sometimes making paywalled articles available for free. For now, we’ll have to wait for the judge’s decision on OpenAI’s move to dismiss the case before the suit can move forward.
More Loose Nuts
- MI5 files suggest queen was not briefed on spy in royal household for nine years (Guardian)
- Scientists find hundreds more genetic risk factors for depression (Guardian)
- James Webb Space Telescope’s “little red dots” come into focus (NPR)
- ChatGPT now lets you schedule reminders and recurring tasks (TechCrunch)
- Allstate sued for allegedly tracking drivers’ behavior through third-party apps (Ars Technica)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – The New York Times/OpenAI suit is definitely something I’ll be watching closely.
Marcus – Guys, I don’t think they’re joking about the ceasefire this time. Hopefully.