TikTok is preparing to release a new app in the U.S. as it awaits a potential sale that would maintain its presence for millions of users in the country, according to media reports.
The popular video app, owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, is under pressure to sell its U.S. operations by Sept. 17 or face a nationwide ban, due to security concerns raised by U.S. government officials over the firm’s ties to China.
TikTok is planning to make the new app available on Sept. 5, according to tech news site The Information. The existing app could stop working in March 2026 and when that happens, American users would need to download the new app in order to continue to use TikTok, the publication said.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
Analysts expect that the new app will attempt to address the government’s security concerns. Officials have raised the specter of TikTok sharing user data with the Chinese government, which the company denies.
Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, said he believes TikTok will remain popular in the U.S. even after a sale. TikTok is used by more than 170 million Americans as a way to entertain and educate themselves by watching videos on the app. Small businesses, influencers and major corporations also post content on TikTok to market products.
“There will be a transition period from the old app to the new app,” Wang said. “The question is how will data be migrated, and I’m sure they will have a solution for that.”
President Trump last month gave a 90-day extension until Sept. 17 to ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations. The original deadline was Jan. 19, after a law was signed by Trump’s predecessor, President Biden, last year, but the deadline has since been extended by Trump several times. TikTok has said that the law “offers no support for the idea” that its Chinese ownership poses national security risks.
Potential buyers of ByteDance’s TikTok U.S. operations include Oracle Corp. (co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison), Amazon and an investment group led by Frank McCourt, a former Dodgers owner whose bid includes “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, analysts said. San Francisco artificial intelligence company Perplexity said in March that it wants to “rebuild the TikTok algorithm.”
Any deal would need the approval of the Chinese government. Analysts said it is unlikely a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations would include its algorithm — seen as one of the most valuable parts of TikTok — which surfaces videos of interest to its users.
Trump on Friday told reporters that he planned to discuss a TikTok deal with China this week, but declined to name the potential buyer, according to the New York Times.
“I think the deal is good for China, and it’s good for us,” Trump said. “It’s money, it’s a lot of money.”
Trump’s first administration pushed for a TikTok ban, but the president since had a change of heart. He has met with TikTok executives at Mar-a-Lago, mused about TikTok’s popularity with young people and bragged online about his significant following on the platform.
During his campaign for a second term, Trump positioned himself as a TikTok advocate, saying “those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump.”
Several TikTok creators told The Times that they have diversified where they post their content and believe their fans will follow them to other platforms if TikTok were to be banned.
GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. government would initiate deportation proceedings against Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he’s released from jail before he stands trial on human smuggling charges in Tennessee, a Justice Department attorney told a federal judge in Maryland on Monday.
The disclosure by U.S. lawyer Jonathan Guynn contradicts statements by spokespeople for the Justice Department and the White House, who said last month that Abrego Garcia would stand trial and possibly spend time in an American prison before the government moves to deport him.
Guynn made the revelation during a federal court hearing in Maryland, where Abrego Garcia’s American wife is suing the Trump administration over his mistaken deportation in March and trying to prevent him being expelled again.
Guynn said that U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement would detain Abrego Garcia once he’s released from jail and send him to a “third country” that isn’t his native El Salvador. Guynn said he didn’t know which country that would be.
Abrego Garcia became a flash point over President Trump’s immigration policies when he was deported in March to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador. The Trump administration violated a U.S. immigration judge’s 2019 order that shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to his native country because he likely faced persecution there by local gangs that terrorized his family.
Facing increasing pressure and a Supreme Court order, the Trump administration returned Abrego Garcia last month to face federal human smuggling charges. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have characterized the case as “preposterous” and an attempt to justify his erroneous deportation.
A federal judge in Nashville was preparing to release Abrego Garcia to await trial. But she agreed last week to keep Abrego Garcia behind bars at the request of his own attorneys. They had raised concerns that the U.S. would try to immediately deport him, while citing what they say were “contradictory statements” by the Trump administration.
For example, Guynn had told U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland on June 26 that the U.S. government planned to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador. But he said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.
Later that day, Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told the Associated Press that the department intends to try Abrego Garcia on the smuggling charges before it moves to deport him.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X that day that Abrego Garcia “will face the full force of the American justice system — including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed.”
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have asked Xinis to order the government to take Abrego Garcia to Maryland upon release from jail in Tennessee, an arrangement that would prevent his deportation before trial. Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland for more than a decade, working in construction and raising a family with his wife.
Xinis is still considering Abrego Garcia’s lawyers’ request to send him to Maryland if he’s released. Meanwhile, Xinis ruled Monday that the lawsuit against the Trump administration over Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation can continue.
Kunzelman and Finley write for the Associated Press. Finley reported from Norfolk, Va.
MILWAUKEE — His breaths were heavy. His answers were interrupted by deep inhales. And beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead.
Tired? Perhaps.
But personally invigorated? There seemed little doubt.
For the newly turned 31-year-old Shohei Ohtani, the deep breaths and sweat drips were just a sign of another day’s work in his return to full-time two-way duties, coming as he spoke to reporters following his latest game as both starting pitcher and designated hitter for the Dodgers on Saturday.
“As long as I can play the way I want to play,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton as he celebrated his birthday, “I usually spend my birthday just like any other day.”
The way Ohtani wants to play, of course, is exactly how he’s been doing it for the last month. After being unable to pitch for the first year and a half of his Dodgers tenure — limited only to hitting while recovering from a second career Tommy John surgery — he is finally back to being a fully healthy two-way star, taking the mound once per week in addition to leading off the lineup every day.
Four weeks into his return to pitching, the results have been (mostly) positive for the reigning National League MVP.
In six innings as a pitcher, he has given up just one run, four hits and four walks while striking out six batters (a quality start by any definition of the term, if considered as one pitching outing).
And as a hitter, he is still posting MVP-caliber numbers, entering Monday leading the National League with 30 home runs and a .610 slugging percentage, while ranking second in OPS (.990, behind only teammate Will Smith), 13th in RBIs (56) and 23rd in batting average (.278).
“He’s just handling it the right way,” manager Dave Roberts said a few weeks ago, personally amazed at watching Ohtani’s two-way talents up close for the first time. “He’s just unflappable.”
The most encouraging signs over the last month have been with Ohtani’s progression on the mound.
Even after a second major elbow surgery, he is still routinely eclipsing 100 mph with his fastball, while commanding it in different parts of the strike zone. He has quickly rediscovered the feel for his breaking stuff, generating whiffs with his sweeper and traditional slider. He’s also doing it with a new, slightly lowered arm angle, one that Roberts said he didn’t develop by accident.
“He understands his delivery and what he’s trying to do,” Roberts said. “So obviously coming off the second Tommy John, I think this probably puts his arm in the best position, [where he] feels best. I like where he’s at.”
The only missing piece to Ohtani’s pitching remains the length of his outings.
So far, he has yet to pitch past the second inning. And while Roberts called it “feasible” for him to get stretched out to five or six innings, the team still doesn’t “know what that’s going to be,” he said.
“In a rehab progression, it’s really important to just take one step at a time,” Ohtani echoed. “There are times when I may be able to go another inning, but it’s really important not to take unnecessary risks and make sure that I can progress consistently. It’s always been this way in terms of my rehab progression. So I’m following what the team is also asking me as well.”
The big question, to this point, is how much Ohtani’s return to pitching has impacted his potency with the bat.
At various points since June 10, when Ohtani ramped up to three innings in his final simulated live session before returning to game action as a pitcher, Roberts has noted some normal instances of fatigue that Ohtani has felt.
The slugger’s hitting numbers have ticked down in that span as well, with Ohtani batting only .239 since that day — albeit with seven home runs in 24 games and a robust .919 OPS.
On days he pitches, Ohtani has still gone 5 for 16 with a double, triple and home run. On the days immediately after a pitching outing, however, he is 0 for 12 with less hard contact than his thunderous swing usually produces.
There have also been incremental drops in some of Ohtani’s underlying numbers, including exit velocity (95.5 mph average before May 10; 93.3 mph average since) and swing speed (76.3 mph before; 75.8 mph since) according to data from Baseball Savant.
The decline hasn’t been lost on Ohtani.
On Saturday, he said he doesn’t “feel too bad at the plate” physically, but acknowledged he hasn’t punished mistakes as well as he typically does.
“Usually, it’s a matter of just a little bit of a difference in the way that I’m swinging,” he said. “So just have to find it in the cage work, and hopefully be able to apply that on the field.”
Roberts also downplayed the notion as the product of a small sample size, insisting he hasn’t seen “much of a difference” in Ohtani at the plate since he resumed his two-way duties.
“I think he’s still taking good at-bats,” Roberts said. “I still don’t mind where he’s at right now.”
It will, nonetheless, be a dynamic the Dodgers closely monitor as Ohtani continues to try and maximize his dual talents. The longer his offensive numbers drag down, the more caution the club could exercise in his long-term pitching plan.
His bat, after all, remains the single most valuable tool on the team’s entire roster — with the Dodgers wanting to ensure, above all else, he can be a force at the plate as they try to defend their World Series title.
But, on the whole, his pitching progress has been stark during his first month back as a two-way player, and his overall production is still among the best in baseball; with his 4.4 total wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, trailing only breakout Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong for the best mark in the NL.
“[I’ve been] really, really impressed,” Roberts said Saturday, after getting his latest look at two-way Ohtani, “how he’s continuing to get better and better each time out.”
July 7 (UPI) — A new regional report highlights sharp disparities in student achievement across Latin America, driven by socioeconomic status and gender. Brazil and Peru top the list for inequality, while Chile and Uruguay show higher levels of equity.
Education inequality remains one of the primary challenges in Latin America, according to a report by the School of Education at Universidad Austral, a private university in Argentina. The study is based on the 2022 PISA results — the latest test administered by the OECD — across seven countries in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.
The report evaluates how many 15-year-olds reach basic proficiency in math and reading, comparing outcomes by socioeconomic background and gender. Researchers assessed the performance gap between the bottom 20% and the top 20% of students in each country.
The inequality indicator shows that, in reading comprehension, the countries with the highest disparities are Peru, Colombia and Argentina. For every three students from high-income backgrounds who understand what they read, only one from a low-income background does. Chile showed the lowest disparity, while Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico fell in the middle.
Across all countries, girls outperformed boys in reading comprehension, though the socioeconomic gap remained significant.
In math, Brazil had the highest inequality in the region. For every five high-income students who met minimum standards, only one low-income student did. Peru and Argentina followed closely. Chile and Uruguay showed smaller, though still notable, gaps.
Among low-income students, boys consistently outperformed girls in math in all seven countries. However, among wealthier students, girls scored higher than boys in most countries — except Mexico and Peru.
The report also found that girls from low-income backgrounds face a “double disadvantage” in math, performing worse than both low-income boys and high-income girls.
The report’s authors, economists Eugenia Orlicki and Cecilia Adrogué, recommend targeted policies to address these disparities. Their proposals include literacy programs, stronger early childhood education, focused math interventions and integrating a gender perspective in the classroom.
Despite broader access to education, inequality in the region has deepened, the report notes. Inclusion, the authors conclude, only matters if all students are truly learning.
Anti-government protests in Kenya again turned deadly with police opening fire and several people killed, as nationwide rallies marked the 35th anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising known as “Saba Saba.”
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid returned to the BBC on Sunday
Susanna Reid has left fans “confused” with her BBC return after 11 years.
The 54-year-old presenter’s career began as a news producer at BBC Radio Bristol, before she transitioned into a reporting role on BBC News 24.
Susanna later secured a presenting position on BBC Breakfast, where she worked alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. In 2010, she left the show to join Sunday Morning Live.
Following appearances on The Andrew Marr Show, Susanna moved to ITV to host Good Morning Britain, which replaced Daybreak.
Susanna currently co-hosts the programme with a rotating line-up of presenters, including Richard Madeley, Ed Balls, and Martin Lewis, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Susanna Reid presents Good Morning Britain(Image: ITV)
At the weekend, Susanna returned to the BBC after 11 years to participate in a panel discussion on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Following her appearance, she took to Instagram to post a photo of herself on set, alongside panellists Daniel Kebede and James Harding.
“SUNDAY! Always fantastic to be on @bbclaurak back at the BBC, this morning with @danielkebede and James Harding,” the caption read.
Susanna went on to reassure her followers that she’d be back on Good Morning Britain on Monday (July 7), saying, “Back @gmb tomorrow!”
Fans were thrilled to see her return to the BBC Studios, with many expressing their shock in the comments section.
“A nice surprise in the morning!” one person wrote.
Susanna appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg(Image: BBC)
Another added: “Nice to see you back on the BBC,” while a third said: “Yes I watched it just because you were back.”
A fourth fan echoed the sentiment, saying: “I was confused this morning thinking it was Monday already when I saw you. Then realised I had BBC One on and there was no Ed.”
The Sunday morning political show delved into voter perspectives a year on from Keir Starmer’s Labour triumph in the general election.
Susanna sparked a lively discussion among the audience when she suggested that the Prime Minister might benefit from a stint on I’m a Celebrity to enhance his public image, much like Nigel Farage did with his 2023 reality TV appearance.
A viewer, clearly exasperated by Susanna’s comments, vented on X (formerly Twitter): “According to Susanna Reid, Starmer should go to I’m a Celebrity. We are doomed.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am
Deadly anti-government protests have been taking place in Kenya for more than a year, but a key event from over 30 years ago is providing crucial inspiration. Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb explains from on the ground in Nairobi.
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a “client list,” the Justice Department acknowledged Monday as it said no more files related to the wealthy financier’s sex trafficking investigation would be made public despite promises from Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists.
The acknowledgment that the well-connected Epstein did not have a list of clients to whom underage girls were trafficked represents a public walk-back of a theory that the Trump administration had helped promote, with Bondi suggesting in a Fox News interview earlier this year that such a document was “sitting on my desk” in preparation for release.
Even as it released video from inside a New York jail meant to definitively prove that Epstein died by suicide, the department also said in a memo that it was refusing to release other evidence investigators had collected. Bondi for weeks had suggested that more material was going to be revealed — “It’s a new administration and everything is going to come out to the public,” she said at one point — after a first document dump she had hyped angered President Trump’s base by failing to deliver revelations.
That episode, in which conservative internet personalities were invited to the White House in February and provided with binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified” that contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain, has spurred far-right influencers to lambast and deride Bondi.
After the first release fell flat, Bondi said officials were pouring over a “truckload” of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI. In a March TV interview, she claimed the Biden administration “sat on these documents, no one did anything with them,” adding: “Sadly these people don’t believe in transparency, but I think more unfortunately, I think a lot of them don’t believe in honesty.”
But after a months-long review of evidence in the government’s possession, the Justice Department determined that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” the memo says. The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims and “only a fraction” of it “would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.”
The two-page memo bore the logos of the Justice Department and the FBI but was not signed by any individual official.
“One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,” the memo says. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”
Conservatives who have sought proof of a government cover-up of Epstein’s activities and death expressed outrage Monday over the department’s position. Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec posted: “We were all told more was coming. That answers were out there and would be provided. Incredible how utterly mismanaged this Epstein mess has been. And it didn’t have to be.”
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wrote that “next the DOJ will say ‘Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,’ calling it “over the top sickening.” Elon Musk shared a series of photos of a clown applying makeup appearing to mock Bondi for saying the client list doesn’t exist after suggesting months ago that it was on her desk.
Among the evidence that the Justice Department says it has in its possession are photographs and more than 10,000 videos and images that officials said depicted child sex abuse material or “other pornography.” Bondi had earlier suggested that part of the reason for the delay in releasing additional Epstein materials was because the FBI needed to review “tens of thousands” of recordings that she said showed Epstein “with children or child porn.”
The Associated Press published an article last week about the unanswered questions surrounding those videos.
Multiple people who participated in the criminal cases of Epstein and former British socialite girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell told AP that they had not seen and did not know of a trove of recordings along the lines of what Bondi had referenced. Indictments and detention memos also don’t allege the existence of video recordings and neither Epstein nor Maxwell were charged with possession of child sex abuse material even though that would have been easier for prosecutors to prove than the sex trafficking counts they faced.
The AP did find reference in a filing in a civil lawsuit to the discovery by the Epstein estate of videos and pictures that could constitute child sex abuse material, but lawyers involved in that case said a protective order prevents them from discovering the specifics of that evidence.
The Justice Department did not respond to a detailed list of questions from AP about the videos Bondi was referencing.
Monday’s memo does not explain when or where they were located, what they depict and whether they were newly found as investigators scoured their collection of evidence or were known for some time to have been in the government’s possession.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, in a suicide that foreclosed the possibility of a trial.
The department’s disclosure that Epstein took his own life is hardly a revelation even though conspiracy theorists have continued to challenge that conclusion.
In 2019, for instance, then-Atty. Gen. William Barr told the AP in an interview that he had personally reviewed security video that revealed that no one entered the area where Epstein was housed on the night he died and Barr had concluded that Epstein’s suicide was the result of “a perfect storm of screw-ups.”
More recently, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have insisted in television and podcast interviews that the evidence was clear that Epstein had killed himself.
Alexia Putellas scores twice and assists two more goals as Spain underline their credentials as Euro 2025 favourites with a convincing 6-2 victory over Belgium at Stockhorn Arena.
Brazil is turning to AI data centers to boost its economy, but critics say they put our ecological future at risk.
When AI data centers come to town, companies promise jobs and opportunities. In one drought-stricken community in Brazil, residents are weighing the choices. How do communities balance the economic boost and environmental cost of hosting water-reliant data centers?
Author Raynor Winn has been accused of fabricating or giving misleading information about some elements of her best-selling book The Salt Path.
The 2018 book, and recent film adaptation, told the story of a couple who decide to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path after their home is repossessed.
An investigation by the Observer suggested some of Winn’s claims about her husband’s illness and the events that led to the couple losing their home were misrepresented.
Winn has described the Observer’s article as “highly misleading” and said the couple are taking legal advice, adding that the book was “the true story of our journey”.
Here’s what we know so far:
What is The Salt Path about?
Getty Images
Gillian Anderson played Winn in the film adaptation of The Salt Path, released in May
The Salt Path has sold more than two million copies since its publication in March 2018, and a film adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs was released earlier this year.
In the book, Winn said she and her husband Moth lost a substantial sum of money after making a bad investment in a friend’s business, which left them liable for his debts when the company failed. She said it ultimately led to the couple losing their home.
Around the same time, Winn wrote, Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which usually has a life expectancy of around six to eight years.
Winn said after she and Moth became homeless and Moth was diagnosed with CBD, the couple decided in 2013 to set off on the South West Coast Path.
The book documents the pair eventually walking the full 630-mile route, living off a small amount of money in weekly tax credits each week, and wild camping every night.
It describes the physical exhaustion but also rewarding nature of the walk, as well as their interactions with members of the public along the way.
The book ends with the couple getting a fresh start with the offer of new accommodation. As a result of the walk, Winn says her husband’s health improved, and he has now lived for 12 years since the diagnosis.
Winn has written two further books since The Salt Path – both of which also focus on themes of walking, nature, homelessness and wild camping – and has a fourth due to be published later this year.
What does the Observer’s investigation allege?
Getty Images
Moth Winn (left), pictured with actor Jason Isaacs, who portrayed him in the film
The investigation claims the couple lost their home in North Wales after Winn defrauded her employer of £64,000, and not in a bad business deal as she originally suggested.
The couple reportedly borrowed £100,000 with 18% interest, secured against their house, from a distant relative, in order to repay the money she had been accused of stealing.
The Observer said the couple also had a £230,000 mortgage on the same property, meaning that their combined debts exceeded the value of the house.
The couple’s home was then reportedly repossessed after they were sued to recover the money they had borrowed.
The Observer added the couple owned a house in France. However, it also said the property had been in an uninhabitable state for some time, and that villagers said the couple never stayed in the house but would stay in caravans on the land.
The newspaper also said it had spoken to medical experts who were sceptical about Moth having CBD, given his long survival after diagnosis, lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them.
It also reports that Raynor and Moth Winn are not the couple’s real names.
Winn has also withdrawn from the forthcoming Saltlines tour, which would have seen her perform readings alongside Gigspanner Big Band during a string of UK dates.
A statement from Winn’s legal team said the author was “deeply sorry to let down those who were planning to attend the Saltlines tour, but while this process is ongoing, she will be unable to take part”.
How has Raynor Winn responded?
In a statement released via literary agents Graham Maw Christie, Winn said: “Today’s Observer article is highly misleading.
“We are taking legal advice and won’t be making any further comment at this time.”
The statement continued: “The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives.
“This is the true story of our journey.”
The BBC has also contacted Penguin, who published the book, for comment.
A spokeswoman for Number 9 Films and Shadowplay Features, who made the screen adaptation, said in a statement to Hollywood trade publication Deadline: “There were no known claims against the book at the time of optioning it or producing and distributing the film.”
Their statement called the movie “a faithful adaptation of the book that we optioned”, adding, “we undertook all necessary due diligence before acquiring the book”.
“The allegations made in The Observer relate to the book and are a matter for the author Raynor Winn,” it concluded. “We have passed any correspondence relating to the article to Raynor and her agent.”
The film’s stars Anderson and Isaacs, have also been contacted for a response. BBC Film, which also helped finance and executive produce the movie, declined to comment.
The film adaptation has taken around $16m (£11.7m) at the box office worldwide. The movie is yet to launch in Germany and France, while a deal is reportedly still pending in the US, according to Deadline.
A SHOPPING fan has claimed to have discovered the Shein “secret of the century.”
So if you are fed up with long delivery times when you order clothes from the online retailer, then fear not, you’ve come to the right place.
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A fashion fan has claimed to have found the ‘Shein secret of the century’Credit: tiktok.com/@nat_albarudi_southern
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So before you place your next order, you’ll need to listen up and take notesCredit: tiktok.com/@nat_albarudi_southern
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Thanks to Shein Quickship, items will be delivered to your door much faster than normalCredit: AFP
Natalie Southern, a fashionista from the UK, has found a very simple way that will enable Shein shoppers to get their affordable hauls delivered to their doors in less than a week.
Posting on social media, the fashion fan revealed her “life hack for the girlies” as she got candid on Shein’s Quickship feature.
Stunned by her findings after browsing Shein’s website, she said: “Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s just realised this on Shein – Quickship.”
Natalie then added: “Who knew that if you wanted your goods from Shein, there was a section where you can order from Quickship, where your goods come in a number of days rather than a number of weeks.”
Following this, the content creator simply confirmed: “I didn’t.”
Thanks to Shein Quickship, shoppers will see items be delivered to their door in as little as three to five working days.
Shoppers will find a variety of items available under Quickship, including epic clearance deals, with clothes that have been reduced by up to 70%.
Quickship comes at no extra cost to Shein shoppers – but of course, standard shipping fees apply – and there are thousands of great buys to browse and choose from.
So if you’ve got an event coming up soon and don’t have time to wait for a new frock, you’ll need to check this out – and fast.
Natalie’s TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @nat_albarudi_southern, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 157,900 views.
Ugly side of fashion giant Shein revealed as retailer slammed by rivals for ‘unfair tactics’ to keep prices low
It’s also amassed 2,926 likes, 188 comments, 596 shares and 4,947 shares.
Social media users were stunned by the little-known Shein feature and many eagerly raced to the comments to express this.
One person said: “Thank you for this video! God send.”
I will be using that from now on as I order off Shein all the time
TikTok user
Another added: “Literally about to make an order!! Thank you, I had no clue this was a thing.”
A third commented: “Wish I knew this 15mins ago.”
Meanwhile, one Shein shopper wrote: “I’ll be shopping even more now! I never knew this!”
What is Shein and is it legit?
Shein is an online-only fast-fashion retailer, based out of China, that has become a number one shopping destination for many around the world.
The company was valued at $66billion in 2023, dwarfing that of popular high street brands Zara and H&M.
The fashion retailer was founded in late 2008, by entrepreneur and marketing specialist Xu Yangtian, also known as Chris Xu.
Shein is a legitimate selling website and is not a phishing scam.
But you may receive a disappointing order or run into shipping issues if you order from the site, according to reviews.
There have been swathes of quality complaints, which makes sense when looking at the price tag.
At the same time, another Shein lover beamed: “I will be using that from now on as I order off Shein all the time.”
However, one user claimed: “Just had a look. Items are so much dearer.”
But to this, Natalie wrote back and confirmed: “But still cheaper than high street shops and I have to be honest, Shein’s options are so much better than what I have on my local high street.”
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club
Israel attacked Iran just days before Tehran and Washington were to meet for a new round of nuclear talks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said he believes Tehran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country.
“I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks,” Pezeshkian told US right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday and released on Monday.
His remarks came less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
The Israeli attacks took place two days before Tehran and Washington were set to meet for a new round of nuclear talks, stalling negotiations that were aimed at reaching a deal over Iran’s atomic programme.
A week later, in separate attacks on June 21, the US also bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iranian state media said on Monday that the death toll from the 12-day war had risen to at least 1,060.
Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran’s archenemy, for the collapse of talks with the US.
“How are we going to trust the United States again?” he asked.
“How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks, the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?”
Iran’s president also accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him during the June attacks.
“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian told Carlson in response to a question on whether he believed Israel had tried to kill him.
“It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting … they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks from Persian into English.
On June 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict” after reports emerged at the time that US President Donald Trump had vetoed the move.
While a ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24, during the interview with Carlson, Pezeshkian accused Netanyahu of pursuing his “own agenda” of “forever wars” in the Middle East and urged Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.
“The United States’ president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp,” Pezeshkian said.
“So it is up to the United States president to choose which path.”
Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success.
On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran’s nuclear programme had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere.
ARSENAL are close to securing the long-awaited signing of Viktor Gyokeres.
The Gunners have been desperate for a centre-forward and now appear set to get their man.
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Arsenal are close to securing the signing of Viktor GyokeresCredit: Getty
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Andrea Berta reportedly flew to Portugal for face-to-face talks with SportingCredit: Getty
Gunners’ sporting director Andrea Berta flew to Portugal for talks at the end of last week to push the deal through, according to CNN Portugal.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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BEIRUT — A U.S. envoy said Monday he was satisfied with the Lebanese government’s response to a proposal to disarm the militant Hezbollah group, adding that Washington is ready to help the small nation emerge from its long-running political and economic crisis.
The U.S. envoy to Lebanon, Tom Barrack, spoke to journalists after meeting President Joseph Aoun, saying he will study the government’s seven-page response. Barrack said the American and Lebanese sides are committed “to get a resolution.”
“What the government gave us was something spectacular in a very short period of time and a very complicated manner,” Barrack said during his 20-minute news conference at the presidential palace southeast of Beirut.
His meetings in Lebanon came amid fears that Hezbollah’s refusal to immediately disarm would renew war with Israel after a shaky ceasefire agreement went into effect in November.
Last month, Barrack gave Lebanese officials a proposal that aims to disarm Hezbollah and move on with some economic reforms to try get Lebanon out of its nearly six-year economic crisis, the worst in its modern history. The economic meltdown is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon’s political class.
Barrack said Lebanon should change in the same way Syria has following the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar Assad,who was replaced by a new leadership that is moving ahead with major economic reforms.
Barrack said President Trump and the U.S. are ready to help Lebanon change and “if you don’t want change, it’s no problem. The rest of the region is moving at high speed,” he said.
Hezbollah’s weapons have been one of the principal sticking points since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation. The two sides fought a destructive war in 2006 that ended in a draw.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began a day after the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel and intensified in September, leaving the Iran-backed group badly bruised and much of its political and military leadership dead.
Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire went into effect in November, Hezbollah has almost ended all its military presence along the border with Israel, which is insisting that the group disarms all over Lebanon. Aoun said Sunday that the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel will increase to 10,000, adding that only Lebanese soldiers and U.N. peacekeepers will be armed on the Lebanese side of the border.
On Sunday night, hours before Barrack arrived in Beirut, Israel’s air force carried out strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, wounding nine people, according to state media. The Israeli army said the airstrikes hit Hezbollah’s infrastructure, arms depots and missile launchers.
Earlier Sunday, Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem reiterated the militant group’s refusal to lay down its weapons before Israel withdraws from all of southern Lebanon and stops its airstrikes.
The Hezbollah-Israel war left over 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused destruction estimated at $11 billion. In Israel, 127 people, including 80 soldiers, were killed during the war.
Since the November ceasefire, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on different parts of Lebanon, killing about 250 people and injuring over 600. Israel is also still holding five strategic posts inside Lebanon that it refused to withdraw from earlier this year.
Chehayeb and Mroue write for the Associated Press.
Welcome back to another edition of the Times of Troy newsletter, fresh off a pretty consequential week at USC, one you might have missed while eating ungodly amounts of potato salad or sipping margaritas by the pool. But I’m here to catch you up.
July 1, in particular, marked a major turning point for the University of Southern California. Not only was it Carol Folt’s final day as university president, but it was also the first day of a new era for all of college sports, as USC and other schools are now officially permitted to make direct payments to their athletes.
Both changes will have a profound impact on USC’s athletic department and how it operates going forward.
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But let’s focus on Folt’s exit. I wrote in November about the imprint her six years as president would leave on USC athletics. She made investing in athletics one of her “moonshot” goals and, by most accounts, followed through on that promise. She signed off on the hire of Lincoln Riley, which cost the university over $20 million in the first year and more than $10 million per year since, and ushered forth the school’s move to the Big Ten, which will help its bottom line. Then last November, Folt was there with ceremonial shovel in hand to break ground on the Bloom Football Performance Center, the gleaming centerpiece of a $225-million fundraising initiative that will forever be part of her legacy. She announced her exit soon after.
Say what you will about Folt — and I have said plenty in this space — but she saw the value in investing in athletics. She understood that the football program was the front porch of the university.
There’s no guarantee that USC’s next president will have the same approach.
Whoever that is will have plenty more pressing problems to deal with first. He or she will inherit a university that reported a staggering $158-million budget deficit for 2023-24 and could now face even more dire financial straits courtesy of the Trump administration, with the potential for major cuts to federal research funding, among other things, in near the future.
No matter what happens, USC’s next president will have a serious financial crisis to solve, a furious faculty to calm and a tense political climate to navigate. Athletics, in the grand scheme, probably shouldn’t be front-of-mind. But the new president’s perspective on college athletics — and their plans for the university as a whole — will have wide-reaching implications for USC’s athletic department going forward.
Take the last two presidents at USC. Folt arrived in 2019 in the aftermath of the Varsity Blues scandal — as well as several other scandals — with an edict to clean up the university. Right away, she set out to reshape athletics, forcing out athletic director Lynn Swann two months after taking the job. She fired three other senior officials a few months after that.
Before her, Max Nikias took the helm in 2010 and immediately announced a $6-billion fundraising initiative, the largest in the history of higher education at the time. In six years, the university raised as much as it had in the previous six decades combined, $760 million of which came from athletics. That directive would shape how every department functioned. In athletics, I’d argue that it set the tone for Varsity Blues.
The new president now takes over at a time when college athletics have never been more expensive. Not only will USC use the full allotted revenue-sharing cap of $20.5 million — $2.5 of which will likely be counted for scholarships — but the expectation is it will spend much more in additional scholarships beyond that. That’s no small expenditure.
Already, no one else was reaching as deeply into their pockets for athletics as USC. According to the most recent Department of Education data, USC reported over $242 million in total athletics expenses between July 2023 and July 2024, more than every other Big Ten or Southeastern Conference school by a considerable margin. (USC also reported $242 million in revenue.)
That number is almost certainly higher this year, too. And from 2025 to 2026, we know at least $20.5 million — and likely much more — will be added to the total.
But the bigger question, in this time of great uncertainty and unexplored gray area, may be what the new president’s tolerance for pushing the envelope will be. At the advent of NIL, when third-party collectives were first coming to the forefront, multiple officials within the department told me that Folt had no interest in wading into the gray area of boosters directly paying football players. She was, after all, the president hired to clean up the school’s image. It wasn’t until a federal judge opened the floodgates on NIL that USC even stepped in with both feet.
It’s going to take more innovative thinking than that to “win the new era” of college athletics. Will the new president have the stomach for working outside the rev-share cap? What about collective bargaining with college football players? Or a Big Ten-SEC super league?
USC has the right leaders in place at the top of its athletic department, and I’ve only heard positive feedback around the department about interim university president Beong-Soo Kim.
But whomever is hired for the permanent job will take the reins at an especially critical time for college athletics. And wherever they stand could change everything about the direction in which USC is headed.
USC and Texas A&M track and field athletes and coaches pose with NCAA trophies after being crowned co-champions. USC has already sent at least one track athlete through the NIL clearinghouse to get their compensation approved.
(C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
— USC has already had deals approved by the NIL clearinghouse. All third-party NIL deals over $600 must now be approved by NIL Go, the clearinghouse run by Deloitte that’s set up to determine whether deals have a legitimate business purpose and fall within a reasonable range of compensation. There will be ways to get around that, of course. For one, schools all over the country front-loaded as many NIL deals as they could before the July 1 deadline, so as to not have to use the clearinghouse. But USC has successfully used the clearinghouse already, and it wasn’t for football like you might assume. The first of those deals, an official said, came from USC’s track and water polo programs.
— USC continues to be an unstoppable force on the recruiting trail. The latest addition to the Trojans’ No. 1 class comes at receiver, as Ethan “Boobie” Feaster committed last week, giving USC three four-star wideouts and eight top-100 prospects in 2026. Feaster, who reclassified from the 2027 class, looks like he could be the best of the bunch. USC now has the No. 1 tight end, the No. 2 offensive tackle, the 7th- and 10th-ranked receivers and the 5th- and 9th-ranked running backs committed — and its class on defense might still be better!
—USC’s women’s basketball program has a new general manager. Selena Castillo spent the last two years as director of external affairs for Duke’s women’s basketball team. She replaces Amy Broadhead, whose hire last September was hailed at the time as a groundbreaking move for the program. Broadhead ultimately chose to leave college athletics of her own accord just nine months later, for a job at the streaming service Crunchyroll. Now Castillo steps into a key role, at a key time. It’ll be up to her to maximize the rare window that USC has now with young, marketable stars like JuJu Watkins and Jazzy Davidson in the fold.
—What’s up with the transfer exodus out of USC baseball? When I spoke with Andy Stankiewicz ahead of our last edition of this newsletter, he singled out outfielder Brayden Dowd as a player he was excited about heading into next season. Well, Dowd has since entered the transfer portal, along with 16 of his teammates. That’s a significant portion of last year’s NCAA tournament roster. Dowd, who hit .324 with 52 runs, 10 home runs and 36 RBI last season, is the only major loss in the batting order. But the Trojans will have a ton of talent to replace on the mound, with its two top starters out (Caden Aoki, via transfer, Caden Hunter, via the draft) and its two top relievers, by ERA, transferring (Brodie Purcell and Jude Favela).
—There’s a new one-time transfer window from July 7-Aug. 5, but don’t expect the usual chaos. The only athletes permitted to transfer in that window will be those listed as “Designated Student-Athletes” by their respective schools, and the only athletes listed as DSAs are those who would have been removed from a roster in 2025-26 because of new roster limits from the House settlement. In other words, this would only really affect athletes on the back-end of rosters, many of which would have previously been viewed as walk-ons. So, for now, no need for any more transfer panic.
—Should college athletes and staff be allowed to bet on other sports? That’s a question that was recently asked by the NCAA Division 1 Council to its membership. Whether you agree morally or not, the reality is the NCAA simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to police all forms of sports betting on campus. Betting on college sports will obviously still be against the rules — and punishable by a lifetime ban — and the Council was clear that it doesn’t “endorse” gambling. But betting on other sports could be an option moving forward.
Food for thought
Joey Chestnut wins the Nathan’s Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 in New York City.
(Adam Gray / Getty Images)
Growing up in the Kartje household, it was tradition that every July 4 we would watch the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. This year, after a few years off, I got to share those 10 gloriously gluttonous minutes with my son.
We’re still working on his hot-dog eating fundamentals. (According to my wife, toddlers are not supposed to competitively eat. Ugh. Lame.) But the whole experience got me ruminating on a question I’d seen asked before on social media: How many hot dogs have I actually eaten in my lifetime?
I’ll spare you the methodology here, but let’s just say I’m looking at between 600-700 hot dogs, conservatively, in my lifetime. Gulp.
Matthew Goode, right, stars in the Netflix series “Dept. Q.”
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
I’m a sucker for a British crime drama, so it’s no surprise that I’ve enjoyed Netflix’s “Dept. Q.” Set in Scotland, the show follows an ornery police detective begrudgingly leading a misfit cold-case unit. It reminds me of Sherlock, another fantastic entry in the genre featuring a prickly lead. Matthew Goode, the star of Dept. Q, is particularly good at playing prickly.
Until next time….
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack speaks during a news conference after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday. Barrack is on an official visit to Lebanon to meet with Lebanese leaders. Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office/EPA
BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 7 (UPI) — U.S. special envoy Thomas Barrack said Monday he was “unbelievably satisfied” with Lebanon’s response to Washington’s proposals to disarm Hezbollah, saying Israel seeks peace with its neighbor and Hezbollah needs to see that there is a path forward for them.
Barrack, however, warned that war-ravaged Lebanon risks being left behind if it fails to seize the current opportunities with the region changing at high speed.
The envoy, who was speaking after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shortly after his arrival in Beirut, praised the Lebanese officials for presenting “a thoughtful and considered” seven-page response to his June 19 roadmap.
His initial proposals include a phased approach to disarm Hezbollah and other militant groups, the implementation of necessary reforms to unlock funds for reconstruction and help solve its acute financial crisis as well as the need to improve ties with neighboring Syria.
According to a statement released by the Presidential Palace, Barrack was handed over Lebanon’s reply with “ideas for a comprehensive solution.”
“We are creating a go-forward plan. To create that, we need dialogue. What the government gave us was something spectacular,” Barrack said. “We are both committed to get to the details and get a resolution. So, I am very, very hopeful.”
He said the mechanism set up to monitor the Nov. 27 cease-fire accord that ended 14 months of a devastating Israel-Hezbollah war “wasn’t sufficient” and “had no ability to correct a default,” referring to the mistrust between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel has continued striking southern Lebanon and other areas of the country since the cease-fire accord, which was brokered by the United States and France, went into effect Feb. 18. It has also refused to fully withdraw and retained five strategic positions inside south Lebanon to force the full disarmament of Hezbollah.
More than 200 Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah field commanders were killed in the ongoing strikes, which Israel claims to target suspected Hezbollah positions and foil the group’s attempts to reorganize its ranks and rearm in violations of the cease-fire accord. Lebanon and Hezbollah on their part recorded more than 3,700 Israeli violations.
In line with the cease-fire agreement, the Lebanese Army has taken control of most of Hezbollah’s positions and military facilities, pushing the militant group away from the border with Israel and preventing it from having a military presence south of the Litani River. The Army could not complete its deployment because of Israel’s continued occupation of the five points inside south Lebanon.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam explained after a meeting with the U.S. envoy that Barrack “wouldn’t have come with new ideas” if the mechanism to monitor the ceasefire succeeded in ending the ongoing hostilities.
“These are ideas for implementing the cessation of hostilities arrangements … based on the principle of parallel and reciprocal steps — not that Israel withdraws first and then we start talking about the issue of exclusive arms control, or that if there is no exclusivity of arms, Israel doesn’t withdraw,” Salam said.
“That’s not how this process works. There are interlinked steps that unfold over time.”
He said Lebanon’s demands include the necessity of a full Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory, a comprehensive and complete cessation of hostile activities, the immediate start of reconstruction efforts and the release of the remaining Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.
“The exclusivity of weapons must be in the hands of the Lebanese state, and it alone must reclaim the decision over war and peace,” Salam said. “This authority must lie solely with the Lebanese state, without any partnership with any other party.”
On Sunday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said his group, which has repeatedly refused to lay down arms, was ready for both choices: peace and building Lebanon, but also for defending it and confronting Israel until it ends its air strikes and pulls out from south Lebanon.
The U.S. envoy said there is “an opportunity in the air,” calling on Lebanon not to miss it as the region is changing and “everything is moving at warp speed.”
Barrack said that he believes Israel wants peace, not war, with Lebanon while Hezbollah needs to see that “there is a future for them … that there is an intersection of peace and prosperity for them.”
“It has been a nightmare on both sides, for both countries and everybody is tired of it,” he said. “I think both countries are trying to give the same thing: the notion of a stand down agreement of the cessation of hostilities and a road to peace… but everybody will have to give up something.”
Barrack said while Syria “went from absolute chaos to hope of the world standing behind it” and started a dialogue with Israel, Lebanon “can’t be left behind.”
He warned Lebanon that the region “the region is moving at mach speed,” and will be “left behind sadly” if it refuses to change.
But if it does change, Barrack said Washington will support it, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump “for some reason, believes that Lebanon still is the key to the region and can be the Pearl of the Mediterranean.”
