The social media app TikTok was unavailable on app stores in the United States early Sunday morning, as a U.S. ban was expected to take effect. “TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps are no longer available in the United States, and visitors to the United States might have limited access to features,” Apple said in a support update. Results for the app were also unavailable on the Samsung Galaxy Store and Google Play Store, where users were given a message saying, “Downloads of this app are paused due to current US legal requirements.” The platform had become unavailable for some users Saturday evening, just ahead of a U.S. ban, with a popup message saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately
Author Archives: The Esbec Team
Jan
In 1997, Nokia designed a kids’ phone that was shaped like Winnie the Pooh. Some 12 years later, the company dreamed up a phone that could stretch over your wrist and even change its appearance. These concepts never made it into people’s hands, but they are now available for your viewing pleasure at the Nokia Design Archive. Launching today, the Nokia Design Archive was developed by Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. The online portal hosts about 700 exhibits. The full scope of the archive, however, amounts to 20,000 exhibits, so what is currently available now on the website is “just the tip of the iceberg,” says Anna Valtonen, lead researcher on the Nokia Design Archive. Valtonen previously spent 12 years at Nokia, including holding a position as the head of
![Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump's appointee for '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''border czar', speaks before a visit by Trump during the AmericaFest 2024 conference sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Arizona, December 22, 2024 [Cheney Orr/Reuters]](https://esbecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Trump-admin-to-launch-immigration-raids-on-day-one-amid-deportation-push.jpg)
Several large cities are reportedly expected to be hit by Trump’s immigration authorities shortly after inauguration. Donald Trump’s top border official has said the new Republican administration will launch large operations to detain and deport undocumented immigrants beginning on the day of the United States President-elect’s inauguration on Tuesday. The incoming administration’s so-called “border czar”, Tom Homan, told Fox News on Saturday that he would not categorise the expected actions as “raids”. “There are going to be targeted enforcement operations,” he said, adding that Chicago would be among cities that will see raids shortly after Trump takes office for a second four-year term. Homan also suggested the Trump administration would target city jails in so-called sanctuary cities that house a large number of migrants. He said the government wants to
Jan
Two senior Iranian judges have been shot dead in an apparent assassination in the country’s supreme court. Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh were killed after an armed man entered the court, in the capital Tehran, on Saturday morning. The attacker is said to have then killed themselves while fleeing the scene, according to the judiciary’s news website, Mizan. A bodyguard was also injured in the attack. The motive for the attack is unclear, but both judges are said to have played a role in the persecution and killing of opponents of the Islamic regime throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In a statement to state news agency IRNA, the judiciary’s media office described the attack as premeditated assassination. It also said that, according to initial findings, the attacker had not been
Jan
Canoo files for bankruptcy after dismissing the remainder of its workforce in the last two months. It was founded in 2017 and, at its peak, employed 800 people, but it lived off loans and never turned a profit. The company will liquidate all its assets to pay off its debts and creditors. Canoo was one of those EV startups that seemed to have a future with a cool product that showed plenty of promise. However, after failing to secure the necessary capital to stay afloat, the company announced yesterday that it’s filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. We knew Canoo, founded in 2017 and initially called Evelozcity, was in serious trouble when, in November, it cut almost a quarter of its workforce (around 30 employees)—it employed around 800 people in 2021
Jan
Family members have begun to identify the residents who were killed in the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area. At least 27 people have been killed. Tune into “Good Morning America” on Friday, Jan. 17, as ABC News and ABC owned stations kick off “SoCal Strong” (#SoCalStrong) coverage in support of Los Angeles-area communities amid the devastating wildfires. Coverage continues across ABC News programs and platforms. Here is what we know about the victims: Randall Miod Randall “Randy” Miod, 55, was killed in the Palisades Fire in Malibu, according to his mother, Carol Smith. In his 20s, Miod bought his beloved apartment in Malibu that became known as the “Crab Shack,” she said. “It was beyond rustic! He loved that place,” she said. “There was always a party. …
The incorporation of meat into the diet was a milestone for the human evolutionary lineage, a potential catalyst for advances such as increased brain size. But scientists have struggled to determine when meat consumption began and who did it. New research provides the first direct evidence that Australopithecus, an important early human ancestor that displayed a mix of ape-like and human-like traits, consumed very little or no meat, relying on a plant-based diet. The study determined the diet of seven Australopithecus individuals from South Africa dating to between 3.7- and 3.3-million years ago based on the chemistry of their tooth enamel. “Meat likely played a significant role in the expansion of cranial capacity — larger brain development — during human evolution. Animal resources provide a highly concentrated source of calories
Jan
Humberside Police Officers found £800,000-worth of cannabis plants and £100,000-worth of equipment in the building Two men are in custody after a cannabis grow worth an estimated £800,000 was found in a vacant building. Humberside Police was called to reports of the suspected cannabis grow on Bull Ring Lane, Grimsby, on 14 January. The plants and £100,000-worth of equipment were found. The men, aged 33 and 48, have been charged with production of a Class B drug and illegally abstracting electricity. Following a hearing at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, they were remanded into custody ahead of a pre-trial hearing at Grimsby Crown Court on 17 February. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds , watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas’ Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom have little in common ideologically, but the two have both been vocal supporters of an idea that’s been rapidly gaining bipartisan ground in the states: Students’ cellphones need to be banned during the school day. At least eight states have enacted such bans over the past two years, and proposals are being considered in several more states this year. Here is a look at the push by states for such bans. The push for cellphone bans has been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has called on
![President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in November [Evan Vucci/AP Photo]](https://esbecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/How-will-Trump-approach-—-and-possibly-transform-—-presidential-power.jpg)
Washington, DC – United States President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office in just five days, completing a stunning reversal of fortune that saw him rebound from defeat after his failed 2020 re-election bid. Trump’s second term in the White House, starting Monday, will serve as the latest test to his strong-armed approach to presidential power. How he proceeds could transform an office that has, for decades, grown in potency, despite its constitutional design as a balance to the legislative and judicial branches of the US government. Indeed, Trump’s sweeping claims of presidential authority — both in his norm-breaking first term and in the years since — have caused disquiet among experts who question what may come in the next four years. Marjorie Cohn, a professor emerita at the
Jan
“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will largely be implemented by the incoming administration,” Biden said. By HANNAH SARISOHN JANUARY 16, 2025 03:44 US President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2025. (photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/POOL VIA REUTERS) President Biden began his farewell address on Wednesday night by taking credit for his administration’s “nonstop negotiations” over the past eight months that led to the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas. As of Wednesday morning, it was uncertain that Biden would be able to speak of the finalized deal from behind the Resolute desk in his final address to the nation. “This plan was developed and negotiated by
Jan
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol faced renewed questioning on Thursday, a day after his dramatic arrest over a failed martial law declaration, but his lawyers said he would not take part. The Constitutional Court was also to hold its second hearing in a trial that will decide whether to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, after the dawn raid that made him the country’s first-ever sitting president to be detained. The former star prosecutor – facing charges of insurrection – was questioned for hours on Wednesday but exercised his right to remain silent before being moved to a detention centre. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) were to resume Yoon’s questioning on Thursday at 2pm local time, but his lawyer said he could not for health reasons, the Yonhap news agency
![Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 15 [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]](https://esbecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Key-takeaways-as-Trump-nominees-face-US-Senate-confirmation-hearings.jpg)
For a second day in a row, the United States Senate has weighed nominees for key positions in President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet, grilling candidates on their backgrounds and qualifications. Wednesday was a busy day for the Senate, as it held hearings for six Trump nominees, including heavy-hitters like Senator Marco Rubio — his pick to be secretary of state — and Pam Bondi, tapped for the attorney general’s seat. The hearings come as Republican leaders in Congress hope to give Trump a strong start to his second term, which begins on Monday. High-level cabinet positions need Senate approval, and Republicans hold 53 seats to the Democrats’ 45. Still, controversial nominees will need every vote possible to succeed in their appointment. Wednesday’s hearings, for instance, were preceded by fiery proceedings a day
Jan
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up MiniMax has launched a new series of open-source models, intensifying the competition among mainland technology firms to deliver cost-effective AI systems that can rival top offerings from US competitors. The Shanghai-based company on Tuesday unveiled the MiniMax-01 large language model (LLM) family, which includes a general-purpose foundational model, the MiniMax-Text-01, and the multimodal MiniMax-VL-01 with visual capabilities. LLMs are the tech that powers text-generating AI products such as ChatGPT . In benchmark tests that MiniMax posted to its official WeChat account, the new foundational language model was shown to be on par with the world’s leading AI models in evaluations that included maths problem solving, domain knowledge, the ability to follow instructions, and avoiding hallucinations or factual errors. MiniMax’s release of an industry-leading AI system
Jan
Arsenal came from behind to beat Tottenham 2-1 and reignite their Premier League title challenge on Wednesday as Alexander Isak fired Newcastle into the top four. Elsewhere, David Moyes endured a miserable return to the Everton dugout, watching his toothless side lose 1-0 to Aston Villa at Goodison Park. Arsenal’s victory at the Emirates lifts […] The post Arsenal reignite Premier League title hopes as Isak stars again appeared first on The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News.