Closing summary
Today was thought to be the day that a Manhattan grand jury would decide whether to make Donald Trump the first American president to be indicted. But the jurors were told not to come in today, possibly because there is still one last witness to hear from. An indictment could come on Thursday, or next week – either way, check back in with us tomorrow for the latest on this ongoing story.
Here’s what else happened today:
The candidates for a Wisconsin supreme court seat – which some believe is the most important election of this year – went head to head in a debate yesterday.
The House GOP’s zeal to defend Trump may backfire, Democrats warn.
Ron DeSantis should use his power as governor of Florida to prevent Trump’s arrest if he is indicted, rightwing lawmaker Matt Gaetz said. It’s worth noting that the former president is reportedly willing to travel to New York to answer any charges filed.
Bernie Sanders grilled the CEO of Moderna in a Senate hearing called to address the pharmaceutical firm’s plans to quadruple the price of its Covid-19 vaccine.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again despite concerns about the fragility of the US financial system after the collapse of Silicon Valley and other banks.
Tomorrow may or may not be the day a Manhattan grand jury indicts Donald Trump, but one thing that’s happening for sure is the appearance of TikTok’s CEO before a House committee. The video-sharing app has been in Washington’s crosshairs over security concerns and alleged links to the Chinese communist party. Here’s the Guardian’s Dan Milmo with an idea of what we can expect from the hearing:
TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, will be questioned by lawmakers in Washington on Thursday with the app’s US future in severe doubt. The Biden administration wants TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the business or face a complete ban in the US. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance.
TikTok says such a move would not “solve the problem”. Under a plan dubbed Project Texas, which the White House now appears to have rejected, TikTok is moving its US user data to third party servers and is allowing its source code to be scrutinised by Oracle, a US tech firm which will also vet its app updates.
For the White House and many US lawmakers, this does not go far enough to answer concerns about whether TikTok’s data, from more than 1 billion users, can be accessed by the Chinese state and whether TikTok’s recommendation algorithm could be manipulated by the security services in order to influence what users see.
Here are some the questions that Chew, a Singaporean former Goldman Sachs banker, could be asked at the House energy and commerce committee hearing, which starts at 10am ET on Thursday.
Updated
