U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to talk with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday in a push to finalize a deal to allow the popular social media app TikTok to continue operating in the United States.
It would be the second call with Xi since Trump returned to the White House and , triggering back-and-forth between the two nations. But Trump has expressed willingness to negotiate trade deals with Beijing, notably for TikTok, which unless its Chinese parent company .
Trump, who has credited the app with helping him win another term, has several times for the app to be spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
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Treasury proposes regulations for Trump鈥檚 鈥榥o tax on tips鈥 law
The regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury on Friday detail the occupations covered, who will qualify and what counts as a qualified tip:
1. The tip must be voluntarily given, so mandatory tips or auto-gratuities would not qualify for the 鈥渘o tax on tips鈥 benefit.
2. Tip pools and similar arrangements qualify, so long as they are reported to the IRS and voluntary.
3. The benefit is not available to married individuals who file their taxes separately.
4. The tip must be given in cash, check, debit card, gift card or any item exchangeable for a fixed amount of cash, unlike digital assets.
5. Any amount received for illegal activity, prostitution services, or pornographic activity does not qualify as a tip
A provision in the Republicans鈥 massive tax and spending law allows certain workers to deduct up to $25,000 in 鈥渜ualified tips鈥 from their federal income taxes each year from 2025 through 2028. The deduction phases out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income over $150,000.
Kennedy鈥檚 vaccine advisers weigh COVID-19 shot recommendations
Access to COVID-19 shots is under debate as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 vaccine advisers reconvene Friday.
Many people have reported difficulty proving eligibility for updated shots, which were restricted by the FDA to those over 65 or at higher risk. CDC advisers must now decide who should get them, a move that shapes insurance coverage and pharmacy access.
The composition of Kennedy鈥檚 panel, which includes vaccine critics, has raised fears of further curbs.
On Friday, the group delayed a vote on a newborn vaccine for hepatitis B. They are poised to recommend that hepatitis B shots for newborns be postponed from the day of birth to age 1 month. That idea has drawn criticism from pediatric and infectious disease specialists.
Trump and Xi begin talking, in a push to finalize a TikTok deal
and Xi began their call at around 8 a.m. Friday Washington time, according to a White House official and China鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Topics for discussion included efforts to finalize a deal to keep in the United States.
Readouts from the call may offer clues about whether the two leaders might meet in person to hash out a final agreement to end and provide clarity on where may be headed.
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Colleges face high stakes as Republicans campaign to police what Americans can say
Colleges around the United States are about the . This leaves them with no easy choices:
6. They can defy and defend their , risking the kind of federal attention that has prompted at Harvard and other universities.
7. Or they can bow to the pressure and risk what some scholars see as a historic erosion of , as Clemson University just did, firing three employees after first saying it stands for free speech and was committed to protecting the Constitution.
鈥淭his could very much signal the end of free expression in the United States,鈥 said Lara Schwartz, an American University scholar on constitutional law and campus speech. 鈥淧eople should be reading this not as like a little social media battle, but as a full-on constitutional crisis.鈥
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More details from the AP-NORC poll on the country鈥檚 direction
The AP-NORC poll showing Republicans souring on the country鈥檚 direction shows an even more glaring shift among Republican women and the party鈥檚 under-45 crowd.
8. Among Republicans younger than 45, 61% say it鈥檚 going the wrong way, a spike of 30 percentage points since June.
9. About three-quarters of Republican women say the country is going in the wrong direction, up from 27% in June.
10. By comparison, 56% of Republican men say the country is going the wrong way, up from 30% in June.
11. And overall, only about 1 in 4 Americans say things in the country are headed in the right direction, down from about 4 in 10 in June.
Republicans surveyed cited and social discord, along with worries about jobs, household costs and crime.
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New AP-NORC poll shows who still watches late-night TV
A new poll finds that most Americans don鈥檛 watch late-night talk shows as regularly as they once did, and those who do routinely are more likely to be Democrats.
Only about one-quarter of Americans say they have watched a late-night talk show or variety show at least monthly in the last year, according to the survey from , conducted after the news that but before .
More people say they catch late-night TV segments online, through recirculated clips.
The poll comes as Kimmel鈥檚 suspension and Colbert鈥檚 cancellation while and the head of the Federal Communications Commission has pushed to from networks.
Late night hosts show humor and solidarity with Kimmel
Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon used their late-night shows Thursday to support Jimmy Kimmel after .
12. Stewart satirized the network for indefinitely suspending 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥 after Kimmel said 鈥渕any in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of .鈥
13. Colbert took a more serious approach, calling his suspension 鈥渂latant censorship.鈥
14. Fallon praised Kimmel and vowed to keep doing his show as usual 鈥 before an announcer spoke over him, replacing his critical words with flattery about Trump.
Stewart asked , author of 鈥淗ow to Stand Up to a Dictator,鈥 for tips. 鈥淲e just kept doing our jobs. We just kept putting one foot in front of the other,鈥 Ressa said.
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Republicans sour on the country鈥檚 direction
According to that was conducted shortly after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, only about half in the GOP see the nation on the right course, down from 70% in June.
RFK Jr.鈥檚 CDC advisory panel recommends new restrictions on vaccines
It advised Thursday that for MMR and chickenpox, instead of the combination shot MMRV vaccine.
The panel, whose members were by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year to include anti-vaccine voices, is expected to vote Friday on hepatitis B shots for infants and COVID-19 shots.
The House will vote on funding patch as (another) shutdown looms
The House will take up a bill on Friday to in less than two weeks. The bill would generally continue existing funding levels through Nov. 21.
Democratic leaders say the GOP won’t get their votes if they don’t agree to prevent millions of Americans from losing their health care, by extending the tax credits needed to keep insurance affordable. Some Democratic support will be needed to pass the bill.
