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Premier League ref David Coote WON’T appeal sacking after videos emerged of anti-Klopp rant and snorting white powder

SAN DIEGO , Dec. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. announced that a lawsuit was filed for certain investors in DMC Global Inc. ( NASDAQ : BOOM) shares Investors who purchased more than $100,000 in shares of DMC Global Inc. (NASDAQ: BOOM) between May and November 2024 have certain options and there are short and strict deadlines running. Deadline: February 04, 2025 . Those DMC Global Inc. (NASDAQ: BOOM investors should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 - 1554. On October 21, 2024 , DMC Global Inc. disclosed that it was "revising its guidance" for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 , stating that the Company's adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be approximately $5 million , down from prior guidance for $15 -18 million, and that the third quarter financial results "will include inventory and bad debt charges at DynaEnergetics totaling approximately $5 million , as well as lower fixed overhead absorption on reduced sales at both Arcadia and DynaEnergetics." The Company also revealed that the financial results will include an approximate $142 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge "associated with DMC's December 2021 acquisition of a controlling interest in Arcadia ." On November 4, 2024 , DMC Global Inc released its third-quarter financial results for the period ending September 30, 2024 . Among other results, the Company reported third quarter sales of $152.4 million , down 11% sequentially and year-over-year, as well as the previously disclosed non-cash goodwill impairment charge. Shares of DMC Global Inc. (NASDAQ: BOOM) declined from $15.98 per share on May 3, 2024 , to as low as $7.16 per share on November 21 , 2024. On December 06, 2024 , an investor in NASDAQ: BOOM shares filed a lawsuit against DMC Global Inc. The plaintiff alleges that between May 3, 2024 and November 4, 2024 , the defendants made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose the following adverse facts about DMC Global's business, operations, and prospects which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (i) the goodwill associated with the company's principal business segment, Acadia Products, was overstated due to the adverse events and circumstances affecting that reporting segment; (ii) DMC Global's materially inadequate internal systems and processes were adversely affecting its operations; (iii) the company's inadequate systems and processes prevented it from ensuring reasonably accurate guidance and that its public disclosures were timely, accurate, and complete; (iv) as a result, defendants misrepresented DMC Global's operations and financial results; and/or (v) as a result, the company's public statements were materially false, misleading, or lacked a reasonable basis when made. Those who purchased shares of DMC Global Inc. (NASDAQ: BOOM) should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc. CONTACT: Shareholders Foundation, Inc. Michael Daniels +1 (858) 779-1554 mail@shareholdersfoundation.com 3111 Camino Del Rio North Suite 423 San Diego, CA 92108 The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. is a professional portfolio legal monitoring and a settlement claim filing service, which does research related to shareholder issues and informs investors of securities class actions, settlements, judgments, and other legal related news to the stock/financial market. The Shareholders Foundation, Inc. is not a law firm. Any referenced cases, investigations, and/or settlements are not filed/initiated/reached and/or are not related to Shareholders Foundation. The information is only provided as a public service. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lawsuit-for-investors-who-lost-over-100-000-in-shares-of-dmc-global-inc-nasdaq-boom-between-may-and-nov-2024-announced-by-shareholders-foundation-302325435.html SOURCE Shareholders Foundation, Inc.Huge Australian crocodile made famous by cameo role in Crocodile Dundee dies

Governor Henry Oaminal receives Gawad Parangal for peace and development in MisOccEthereum has recently vaulted over the $4,000 threshold, sparking excitement about a potential major upswing, reminiscent of Bitcoin's legendary ascents. Meanwhile, Sui is making waves with a groundbreaking partnership that merges real-world renewable assets with the blockchain, captivating those keen on sustainable initiatives. However, it's BlockDAG (BDAG) that's stealing the show with its strategic partnership with the globally celebrated Inter Milan football club. This move has catapulted BlockDAG into the market spotlight, significantly boosting BDAG's demand. With the presale already amassing over $171.5 million and swiftly approaching the $600 million milestone, the buzz around BlockDAG is palpable, and it's clear that this crypto is on a meteoric rise. Let's delve into how these three cryptocurrencies are positioning themselves to spearhead the next crypto revolution. Sui Pioneers Eco-Friendly Blockchain Solutions Sui has teamed up with Ant Digital Technologies and its Web3 affiliate, ZAN, to transform the renewable energy investment domain. This pivotal partnership enables the tokenization of ESG assets, injecting dynamics into the Web3 space. By incorporating tangible, eco-friendly assets into the blockchain, Sui is opening up new, accessible investment avenues for a global audience. This alliance has propelled Sui to become the ninth most notable blockchain, with a total value locked at $1.9 billion. The surge in growth spurred by this partnership is drawing more institutional attention, streamlining the investment process for many, and reducing the traditional hurdles of crypto wallet management. Ethereum Climbs Past $4K: Predicting the Next Surge Ethereum has recently broken the $4,000 mark, signaling a promising trend that may herald a prolonged bullish phase, akin to previous crypto cycles. Market analysts are hinting that Ethereum might emulate historical trends seen in Bitcoin's market behavior. The mood in the market is decidedly upbeat, with the recent rise in Ethereum's price reinforcing this optimism. Key indicators are bolstering confidence among long-standing participants, suggesting that Ethereum's price trajectory could soar even higher in the near future. Inter Milan Boosts BlockDAG Towards a $600M Milestone BlockDAG, a standout in the cryptocurrency world, is stirring excitement with its partnerships with major global entities. Its ongoing alliance with the Italian football legends, Inter Milan, demonstrates that this emerging Layer 1 powerhouse is capturing the interest of premier teams and brands worldwide. Aligning with Inter Milan has solidified BlockDAG's status as a cryptocurrency player ready for the major league. This collaboration is enhancing the network’s ability to forge significant ties across various sectors. Thanks to Inter Milan’s vast global fanbase, BDAG is gaining unprecedented exposure, drawing attention from potential buyers and collaborators around the globe. As BDAG broadens its connections, it's easy to envision it attracting even more renowned brands. There's buzzing speculation that BDAG might soon team up with larger forces, from top tech firms to other major league sports franchises. For those eager to get in on the action before BlockDAG locks in more multimillion-dollar deals and hits the mainstream, the time is now. Priced at just $0.0234 in its 26th presale batch, BDAG is a hot commodity, and with rising demand, this price point won’t last. The presale tally has already soared past $171.5 million and is increasing by the moment. Considering the massive potential at play, BlockDAG’s presale is on track to potentially rocket to a $600 million market value, fueled by its expanding community and engagement. With such dynamic growth, BlockDAG is poised to be a standout choice for the upcoming crypto bull run, promising an electrifying future for this digital currency. Key Takeaways from the Latest Crypto Updates The surge in Ethereum's price past $4,000 signals robust market enthusiasm, potentially prefacing a significant crypto bull run. Concurrently, Sui's new partnership focuses on renewable assets, which positions it as an appealing choice for those dedicated to sustainability. However, the spotlight is firmly on BlockDAG, courtesy of its significant deal with Inter Milan. This partnership underscores BlockDAG’s potential to break into the mainstream. As the presale rockets past $171.5 million, the goal of $600 million seems within grasp. For anyone scouting for a cost-effective top crypto coin with massive upside potential, BlockDAG represents an unmissable opportunity, setting the stage for tremendous growth in the upcoming crypto wave. Website: https://blockdag.network Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has staggered from scandal to crisis but he surprised everyone this week by declaring martial law -- only then to survive an impeachment vote. The plunge back to South Korea's dark days of military rule only lasted a few hours, and after a night of protests and high drama Yoon was forced into a U-turn in the early hours of Wednesday. But polls show a huge majority of citizens want him out and lawmakers voted Saturday on an impeachment motion brought by the opposition, who control parliament. But even though only eight of them needed to support the motion for it to pass, all but three MPs from Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote and it failed. This is despite the PPP's leader Han Dong-hoon -- allegedly on an arrest list the night of the martial law declaration -- saying Yoon's resignation was "inevitable". On Saturday before the vote, Yoon spoke publicly for the first time in days, apologising for the "anxiety and inconvenience" he caused, but stopping short of throwing in the towel. Instead the 63-year-old said he would "entrust the party with measures to stabilise the political situation, including my term in office". Born in Seoul in 1960 months before a military coup, Yoon studied law and went on to become a star public prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader. He played an instrumental role in Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president, being convicted of abuse of power, imprisoned and impeached in 2016. As the country's top prosecutor in 2019, he also indicted a top aide of Park's successor, Moon Jae-in, in a fraud and bribery case. The conservative PPP, in opposition at the time, liked what they saw and convinced Yoon to become their presidential candidate. He duly won in March 2022, beating Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, but by the narrowest margin in South Korean history. Yoon was never much loved by the public, especially by women -- he vowed on the campaign trail to abolish the ministry of gender equality -- and scandals have come thick and fast. This included his administration's handling of a 2022 crowd crush during Halloween festivities that killed more than 150 people. Voters have also blamed Yoon's administration for food inflation, a lagging economy and increasing constraints on freedom of speech. He was accused of abusing presidential vetoes, notably to strike down a bill paving the way for a special investigation into alleged stock manipulation by his wife Kim Keon Hee. Yoon suffered further reputational damage last year when his wife was secretly filmed accepting a designer handbag worth $2,000 as a gift. Yoon insisted it would have been rude to refuse. His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, was sentenced to one year in prison for forging financial documents in a real estate deal. She was released in May 2024. Yoon himself was the subject of a petition calling for his impeachment earlier this year, which proved so popular the parliamentary website hosting it experienced delays and crashes. As president, Yoon has maintained a tough stance against nuclear-armed North Korea and bolstered ties with Seoul's traditional ally, the United States. Last year, he sang Don McLean's "American Pie" at the White House, prompting US President Joe Biden to respond: "I had no damn idea you could sing." But his efforts to restore ties with South Korea's former colonial ruler, Japan, did not sit well with many at home. Yoon has been a lame duck president since the opposition Democratic Party won a majority in parliamentary elections this year. They recently slashed Yoon's budget. In his Tuesday night televised address to the nation, Yoon railed against "anti-state elements plundering people's freedom and happiness" and his office has subsequently cast his imposition of martial law as a bid to break through legislative gridlock. But to use his political difficulties as justification for imposing martial law for the first time in South Korea since the 1980s is absurd, an analyst said. "Yoon invoked Article 77 of the South Korean constitution, which allows for proclaiming martial law but is reserved for 'time of war, armed conflict or similar national emergency', none of which appears evident," Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told AFP. "Yoon's action is a damning reversal to decades of South Korean efforts to put its authoritarian past behind it," he said. burs-stu/ceb/mtp

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari , for Reuters Syrian rebels battled government forces for control of the key city of Homs on Saturday and advanced towards the capital Damascus, as front lines collapsed across the country, throwing President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule into the balance. Since the rebels' sweep into Aleppo a week ago , government defences have crumbled at dizzying speed as insurgents seized a string of major cities and rose up in places where the rebellion had long seemed over. The twin threats to strategically vital Homs and the capital Damascus now pose an existential threat to Assad's decades of rule in Syria and the continued influence there of his main regional backer, Iran. A Homs resident, and army and rebel sources said the insurgents had breached government defences from the north and east of the city. A rebel commander said they had taken control of an army camp and villages outside the city. State television reported that the insurgents had not penetrated into Homs, although it said they were on the city outskirts, where it said the military was striking them with artillery and drones. Insurgents have seized almost the entire southwest within 24 hours, and they have advanced to within 30km of Damascus, as government forces fell back, rebels said. Underscoring the possibility of an uprising in the capital, protesters took to the streets in several Damascus suburbs, ripping up Assad posters and tearing down a statue of his father, former President Hafez al-Assad, uncontested by army or police. Some were joined by soldiers who had changed into civilian clothes and deserted, residents said. However, the state news agency reported that Assad remains in Damascus and the military said it was reinforcing around the capital and south. The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability. Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad's rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for jihadist militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states. Assad had long relied on allies to subdue the rebels, with bombing by Russian warplanes, while Iran sent allied forces - including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iraqi militia - to bolster the Syrian military and storm insurgent strongholds. But Russia has been focused on the war in Ukraine since 2022, and Hezbollah has suffered big losses in its own gruelling war with Israel, significantly limiting its ability or that of Iran to bolster Assad. US President-elect Donald Trump said the US should not be involved in the conflict and should "let it play out". Russia, Iran, Turkey The foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and the main rebels' backer Turkey met on Saturday and agreed on the importance of Syria's territorial integrity and on restarting a political process, they said. But there was no indication they agreed on any concrete steps, with the situation inside Syria changing by the hour. Russia has a naval base and airbase in Syria that have not only been important for its support of Assad, but also for its ability to project influence in the Mediterranean and Africa. Moscow has been supporting government forces with intense air strikes, but it was not clear if it could easily step up this campaign. Iran has said it would consider sending forces to Syria, but any immediate extra assistance would likely depend on Hezbollah and Iraqi militias. The Lebanese group sent some "supervising forces" to Homs on Friday but any significant deployment would risk exposure to Israeli airstrikes, Western officials said. Iran-backed Iraqi militias are on high alert, with thousands of heavily armed fighters ready to deploy to Syria, many of them amassed near the border. Iraq does not seek military intervention in Syria, a government spokesman said on Friday. Britain warned Assad that any chemical weapons use was a red line and would be met with "appropriate action". Battle for Homs The Homs resident said he had seen the rebels advance past a Syrian Air Force base in the north of the city that was considered a major defensive area. The resident later said fighting was audible in the city outskirts. An opposition figure in touch with rebel command and a Syrian army source both also said the insurgents were inside the city. Seizing Homs, an important crossroads between the capital and the Mediterranean, would cut off Damascus from the coastal stronghold of Assad's minority Alawite sect, and from Russia's air and naval base. In the south, the rapid collapse of government control could allow a concerted assault on the capital, the seat of Assad's power. The Syrian military pulled back as far as Saasa 30km from Damascus to regroup, a Syrian army officer said. Jarmana, where protesters pulled down a statue of Hafez al-Assad, is in the city's southern suburbs. Soldiers were deserting in the former rebel stronghold of Daraya and in Mezzeh, near a major airbase, residents said. The main rebel group, the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, said it had a duty to protect governmental, international and UN offices in Syria. In a sign of government forces' collapse in the east, around 2000 Syrian soldiers crossed the border into Iraq to seek sanctuary, the mayor of Iraqi border town al-Qaem said. Syrian Kurdish fighters had captured eastern Deir el-Zor on Friday, jeopardising Assad's land connection to allies in Iraq. - ReutersTexas GOP Rep. Kay Granger set back by health challenges in last months in Congress, office says

BLOOMINGTON — Residents of the City of Bloomington Township at risk of eviction or disconnection who may not be eligible for the township's general assistance programs may have another lifeline. On Monday, Bloomington Township's Board of Trustees voted to reinstate the Housing Eviction Relief Efforts program, which would offer up to $150,000 for rent, mortgage or utility assistance through the end of the township's fiscal year. Under the Illinois Township Code, a township is authorized to expend funds for matters related to public safety, health and social services for those in need . And Bloomington Township has existing reserves in its general fund for such matters. Bloomington Township Supervisor Deb Skillrud and the township's board determined inflation and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic have created significant and unintended consequences for township residents who may not qualify for existing assistance programs. Skillrud Skillrud said in the wake of the pandemic, her office saw a number of clients with a large amount of overdue payments even after receiving emergency assistance. This prompted the township to create the COVID Emergency Relief Program in 2021, which has now become known as the Housing Emergency Relief Efforts program, or HERE. The township had been setting aside $150,000 for the program and had provided about half of that amount in fiscal 2023. But when it was made available from December 2023 to March 2024, the entire budget was used. "The need was there, and it showed because we maxed out the amounts," Skillrud said. However, the program was paused this fiscal year once Community Service Block Grant funding became available for these at-risk individuals through Mid Central Community Action. But once that funding ran dry, the township decided to reintroduce the HERE program using reserves from its general fund. Eligible township residents must have a minimum 30 days of documented income at the date of submission of their application, be at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, hold a government-issued ID card for valid driver's license, be financially unable to alleviate a life-threatening circumstance which places the individual or family at risk of homelessness. Selected applicants may see relief funding of up to $3,000 through the end of the 2025 fiscal year on March 31. However, these funds would not go directly to an applicant. Payments would be made by the township directly to a vendor such as a landlord or utility company. For more information on how to apply for the HERE program, visit the Bloomington Township website . Inflation has hurt Americans financially in different ways, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting that up to 45.8% of some households are having difficulty paying for essentials. In particular, inflation has put some Americans at higher risk for financial instability. With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked U.S. states according to where residents are struggling most financially. Data measures poverty rates, food insecurity, housing insecurity and elements of unemployment and unemployment benefits. To find the states where residents are financially hurting most, SmartAsset analyzed six metrics for U.S. states. The following metrics were half-weighted: unemployment rate and two-year change in the unemployment rate. This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Contact Drew Zimmerman at 309-820-3276. Follow Drew on Twitter: @DZimmermanLee Family of 1: $30,120 annually, $2,510 monthly Family of 2: $40,880 annually, $3,407 monthly Family of 3: $51,640 annually, $4,303 monthly Family of 4: $62,400 annually, $5,200 monthly Family of 5: $73,160 annually, $6,097 monthly Family of 6: $83,920 annually, $6,993 monthly Family of 7: $94,680 annually, $7,890 monthly Family of 8: $105,440 annually, $8,787 monthly Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Government Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Gas Detection Equipment Market in 2024: Integration Of IOT And AI Technologies Driving Advancements Of MarketPhillies have no plans to start pitching prospect Andrew Painter in spring training following injury

Trump invites China's Xi Jinping to inaugurationElon Musk calls Trudeau an ‘insufferable tool’ on his social media platform

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian lawmakers on Monday voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by a top court . Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania’s 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the center-right National Liberal Party, or PNL, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. It caps a monthlong period of turmoil in which far-right nationalists made significant gains in a Dec. 1 parliamentary election, a week after a first-round presidential race saw the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerge as the front-runner. “It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election, said in a statement Monday. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis,” he said. “It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.” Romania’s 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It’s widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. Ciolacu, who came third in the first-round presidential ballot despite polls indicating he would win the most votes, has served as prime minister since June 2023. After parliament’s approval, President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government and warned the new Cabinet that it’s entering a “difficult new period” in which “for many Romanians, there are major concerns.” Romania was plunged into turmoil after Georgescu’s surprise success in the presidential race, after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Days before the Dec. 8 runoff, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race. “We go through complicated times, but I think we all learned from mistakes of the past,” Ciolacu said. “I hope that together with my colleagues in the coalition, we’ll find the best solutions to get past the challenges we have in front of us.” Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organize the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed-upon pro-European candidate. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said that the new government made up of the same political parties will likely embrace “soft populist” rhetoric such as economic patriotism, anti-austerity, and a peace solution in neighboring Ukraine to counter the rise of far-right populism. “This will be a way to answer the concerns of many Romanians who voted for populists ... but will not solve the fundamental problem of trust,” he said. “The only decisive factor now will be who and how convincing the pro-European candidates will be against this popular revolt.” George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which came second in the parliamentary election, said that all lawmakers from his party on Monday would vote against the Ciolacu government. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute. McGrath and Ghirda write for the Associated Press. McGrath reported from Warwick, England.

As TikTok bill steams forward, online influencers put on their lobbying hats to visit Washington WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers, meet your latest lobbyists: online influencers from TikTok. Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press Dec 23, 2024 2:52 PM Dec 23, 2024 3:20 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers, meet your latest lobbyists: online influencers from TikTok. The platform is once again bringing influencers to Washington, this time to lobby members of Congress to reject a fast-moving bill that would force TikTok's Beijing-based parent company to sell or be banned in the United States. On Tuesday, some influencers began a two-day advocacy event in support of TikTok, which arranged their trip ahead of a House floor vote on the legislation on Wednesday. But unlike a similar lobbying event the company put together last March when talks of a TikTok ban reached a fever pitch, this year’s effort appeared more rushed as the company scrambles to counter the legislation, which advanced rapidly on Capitol Hill. Summer Lucille, a TikTok content creator with 1.4 million followers who is visiting Washington this week, said if TikTok is banned, she “don’t know what it will do” to her business, a plus-sized boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It will be devastating,” Lucille said in an interview arranged by the platform. The legislation is drawing unusual support in Congress In an unusual showing of bipartisanship, a House panel unanimously approved the measure last week. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation if lawmakers pass it. But it’s unclear what will happen in the Senate, where several bills aimed at banning TikTok have stalled. The legislation faces other roadblocks. Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, who holds sway over both House and Senate Republicans, has voiced opposition to the bill, saying it would empower Meta-owned Facebook, which he continues to lambast over his 2020 election loss. The bill also faces pushback from some progressive lawmakers in the House as well as civil liberties groups who argue it infringes on the First Amendment. TikTok could be banned if ByteDance, the parent company, doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform and other applications it owns within six months of the bill’s enactment. The fight over the platform takes place as U.S.-China relations have shifted to that of strategic rivalry, especially in areas such as advanced technologies and data security, seen as essential to each country’s economic prowess and national security. The shift, which started during the Trump years and has continued under Biden, has placed restrictions on export of advanced technologies and outflow of U.S. monies to China, as well as access to the U.S. market by certain Chinese businesses. The Biden administration also has cited human rights concerns in blacklisting a number of Chinese companies accused of assisting the state surveillance campaign against ethnic minorities. TikTok isn’t short on lobbyists. Its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance has a strong lobbying apparatus in Washington that includes dozens of lobbyists from well-known consulting and legal firms as well as influential insiders, such as former members of Congress and ex-aides to powerful lawmakers, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will also be in Washington this week and plans to meet with lawmakers, according to a company spokesperson who said Chew’s visit was previously scheduled. Influencers descend on Washington But influencers, who have big followings on social media and can share personal stories of how the platform boosted their businesses — or simply gave them a voice — are still perhaps one of the most powerful tools the company has in its arsenal. A TikTok spokesperson said dozens of influencers will attend the two-day event, including some who came last year. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how many new people would be attending this year’s lobbying blitz. The company is briefing them ahead of meetings with their representatives and media interviews. Lucille, who runs the boutique in North Carolina, says has seen a substantial surge in revenue because of her TikTok page. The 34-year-old began making TikTok content focusing on plus-sized fashion in March 2022, more than a decade after she started her business. She quickly amassed thousands of followers after posting a nine-second video about her boutique. Because of her popularity on the platform, her business has more online exposure and customers, some of whom have visited from as far as Europe. She says she also routinely hears from followers who are finding support through her content about fashion and confidence. JT Laybourne, an influencer who also came to Washington, said he joined TikTok in early 2019 after getting some negative comments on videos he posted on Instagram while singing in the car with his children. Laybourne, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, said he was attracted to the short-form video platform because it was easy to create videos that contained music. Like Lucille, he quickly gained traction on the app. He says he also received more support from TikTok users, who reacted positively to content he produced on love and positivity. Laybourne says the community he built on the platform rallied around his family when he had to undergo heart surgery in 2020. Following the surgery, he said he used the platform to help raise $1 million for the American Heart Association in less than two years. His family now run an apparel company that gets most of its traffic from TikTok. “I will fight tooth-and-nail for this app,” he said. But whether the opposition the company is mounting through lobbyists or influencers will be enough to derail the bill is yet to be seen. On Tuesday, House lawmakers received a briefing on national security concerns regarding TikTok from the FBI, Justice Department and intelligence officials. ____ AP Journalist Didi Tang contributed to this report. ___ This story was originally published on March 12, 2024. It was updated on December 23, 2024 to clarify a quote by TikTok content creator Summer Lucille. Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More Entertainment News Clarification: TikTok-Bill-Lobbying story Dec 23, 2024 2:49 PM Elaborate holiday light displays are making spirits bright in a big way Dec 23, 2024 2:34 PM Burt, the huge Australian crocodile who had a cameo in ‘Crocodile Dundee,’ dies at 90 Dec 23, 2024 2:00 PM Featured FlyerHTS could not have taken Damascus without their help. We sit down with a Syrian rebel commander S ITTING IN A walled compound near the Syrian city of Daraa, not far from the Jordanian border, a Syrian rebel commander recalls his men’s part in the conquest of the capital, Damascus , a few days earlier. “We were supposed to wait until they took Homs, but when they took Hama, everyone decided to take up arms, we couldn’t stop them,” says the unassuming former trader now known by his nom de guerre , Abu Hamza. Discover more The fall of Bashar al-Assad is a major blow for Iran Will the weakened regime reform, or race for the bomb? Protests have shut down Mozambique The aftermath of a rigged election is threatening a social revolt As Syria’s regime collapses, Erdogan eyes victory over the Kurds They are suddenly isolated and weakened. Worse may be to come As Syria’s new leaders settle in, life in the capital resumes Government employees look ready to take orders from a fresh set of rulers Exploiting disarray in Syria, Israel grabs more of the Golan Heights The incursions are neither justified nor necessary Inside Bashar al-Assad’s dungeons With the dictator gone, Syrians are desperately searching for loved ones lost in his prisons