The New York Times:

President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that would help clear the way for a coalition of investors to run an American version of TikTok, one that is separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, so that it can keep operating in the United States.

The administration has been working for months to find non-Chinese investors for a U.S. TikTok company, which Vice President JD Vance said would be valued at $14 billion. [...]

The White House hasn’t said exactly who would own the U.S. version of TikTok, but the list of potential investors includes several powerful allies of Mr. Trump. The software giant Oracle, whose co-founder is the billionaire Larry Ellison, will take a stake in U.S. TikTok. Mr. Trump has also said that the media mogul Rupert Murdoch is involved. A person familiar with the talks said the Murdoch investments would come through Fox Corporation.

$14 billion is a ridiculous valuation. The whole thing is ridiculous, of course, but a fair valuation on the open market would surely be at least 10× that value. They’re not even pretending this is on the up-and-up. And it doesn’t answer the core problem at the heart of the PAFACA Act:

Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who is focused on U.S.-China relations, said the White House’s executive order would stoke those questions only because it says “the divestiture includes intense monitoring of software updates, algorithms and data flows.”

“If you control it, why would you need intense monitoring to know what’s happening with it?” Mr. Sobolik said. “Monitoring the algorithm is not the same as controlling it. That’s the head fake the administration appears to be trying to pull here.”

Ryan Gould and Liana Baker, reporting for Bloomberg:

Intel Corp. has approached Apple Inc. about securing an investment in the ailing chipmaker, according to people familiar with the matter, part of efforts to bolster a business that’s now partially owned by the US government.

Apple and Intel also have discussed how to work more closely together, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The talks have been early-stage and may not lead to an agreement, the people said.

Juicy notion, for sure, but I really don’t see what Intel could offer Apple. There’s zero chance Apple is going to go back to x86 CPUs. Apple already bought Intel’s cellular modem business six years ago (and has used that purchase to produce the excellent C1 and C1X modems now used in the iPhone 16e and iPhone Air, respectively). Intel can’t come close to TSMC for fabricating Apple’s own chip designs.

So what’s left? Palm-rest stickers for laptops?

John Koblin, reporting for The New York Times (gift link):

Jimmy Kimmel’s broadcast return scored big in the ratings.

Tuesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaged 6.2 million viewers, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen. That is nearly four times bigger than his usual audience, even though more than 20 percent of ABC affiliates boycotted the show.

The preliminary Nielsen figures are expected to grow in the coming days as more data comes in. It does not include streaming viewership.

Kimmel’s monologue last night was a masterpiece. Watch it, I implore you.

Donald Trump, jackass, a week ago:

“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else [...]”

Donald Trump, today, on his blog:

I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his “talent” was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.

Doesn’t sound like a mob boss at all. And remember, the Republicans were the party that spent all of last year’s election cycle proclaiming to be the party of “free speech”, and opposed to “cancel culture”. Just sheer projection.

The way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them. Give them your lunch money once, they’ll keep coming back for more.

George Kelly, The Standard:

Joe Betz, the owner of San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib, who transformed the Van Ness Avenue restaurant into an institution beloved by locals and visitors, has died. He was 86. […]

Joe Betz purchased House of Prime Rib in 1985 from Lou Balaski, who founded it in 1949, and over four decades preserved its old-world charm while building it into one of the city’s most enduring dining destinations.

My favorite restaurant in San Francisco, and one of my favorite restaurants anywhere in the world. Incredibly consistent excellent food, impeccable service, and a one-of-a-kind atmosphere.

Taegan Goddard, a few days ago at Political Wire:

The sudden suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show after threats from FCC chair Brendan Carr was a jolt. It looked like the next step in Donald Trump’s campaign to silence dissent.

But there’s another way to see it: an opportunity.

It’s been clear since the last election that conservatives dominate the independent media space. Trump rode the reach of right-wing podcasts to victory while Kamala Harris stuck to traditional television.

But those old outlets are collapsing — and they’re never coming back.

That means the stars of late-night TV — Kimmel, Colbert and others — could thrive outside corporate networks. They can build their own platforms, reach bigger audiences, and escape the grip of billionaires and timid executives.

While Goddard didn’t say it in this piece, the subtext should be that building the alternative on Substack or social media is not the answer, either. The Internet is decentralized and built exactly to counter these forces our country is facing under Trump 2.0.

The big problem is YouTube. With YouTube, Google has a centralized chokehold on video. We need a way that’s as easy and scalable to host video content, independently, as it is for written content. I don’t know what the answer to that is, technically, but we ought to start working on it with urgency.