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TikTok, the video sharing app that bowed in 2016, filled the hole left by Vine, and it’s only gotten more popular during the pandemic, with hordes of bored quarantiners creating inventive and often amusing content that’s helped distract us from what’s going on. But that may come to an end, at least in America. A few weeks ago it was reported that the U.S. government was considering banning it. And now the president is ramping that up.

As per CNBC, Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he was seeking to ban the Chinese-owned app, which had 2 billion downloads in April alone. On the same day it was reported that Microsoft was in talks to buy the app from its owner, ByteDance. Trump said he didn’t support that deal, in part because of claims the service has been sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government.

“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump told journalists. He didn’t specify exactly how he’d do that, saying, “Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that.”

It may happen quickly, too. According to Axios, the a source close to the president says the ban is “on his desk.” That said, it’s not clear if by “ban” he means banning the app, as India has already done, or banning the Microsoft deal.

On Saturday, TikTok representatives released a statement, attacking the president’s threat. “These are the facts: 100 million Americans come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, especially during the pandemic. We’ve hired nearly 1,000 people to our US team this year alone, and are proud to be hiring another 10,000 employees into great paying jobs across the US,” it read. It continued:

“Our $1 billion creator fund supports US creators who are building livelihoods from our platform. TikTok US user data is stored in the US, with strict controls on employee access. TikTok’s biggest investors come from the US. We are committed to protecting our users’ privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform.”

Whatever happens, time to make your TikTok masterpiece before it’s (possibly) too late.

(Via CNBC and Axios)

The Denver Nuggets kind of seem to get glossed over in the discourse about the Western Conference, no? The Los Angeles teams are the Los Angeles teams. The Rockets have a pair of MVPs, the Mavericks have a future MVP, the Thunder are the feel-good story in the conference, the Jazz saw one of their players kickstart the American response — to whatever meager extent there has been one, mind you — to a global pandemic.

And then there’s Denver, which sit in third place in the Western Conference as of this writing and coming off of a campaign where they won 54 games. They’re just a really solid basketball team, with a bunch of good players around one of the most uniquely-skilled big men that we’ve seen. The question — and the thing that could define their stint in the bubble — is what their ceiling is.

ROSTER

Will Barton
Keita Bates-Diop
Bol Bol
Vlatko Cancar
Tyler Cook
Torrey Craig
Troy Daniels
PJ Dozier
Jerami Grant
Gary Harris
Nikola Jokic
Paul Millsap
Monte Morris
Jamal Murray
Mason Plumlee
Michael Porter Jr.
Noah Vonleh

STANDINGS

1. Los Angeles Lakers: 49-14
2. Los Angeles Clippers: 44-20 (5.5)
3. Denver Nuggets: 43-22 (7.0)
4. Utah Jazz: 41-23 (8.5)
5. OKC Thunder: 40-24 (9.5)
6. Houston Rockets: 40-24 (9.5)
7. Dallas Mavericks: 40-27 (11.0)
8. Memphis Grizzlies: 32-33 (18.0)
9. Portland Trail Blazers: 29-37 (21.5)
10. New Orleans Pelicans: 28-36 (21.5)
11. Sacramento Kings: 28-36 (21.5)
12. San Antonio Spurs: 27-36 (22.0)
13. Phoenix Suns: 26-39 (24.0)

SCHEDULE

Saturday, August 1 — 1 p.m. ET — Miami Heat
Monday, August 3 — 4 p.m. ET — Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, August 5 — 4 p.m. ET — San Antonio Spurs
Thursday, August 6 — 8 p.m. ET — Portland Trail Blazers
Saturday, August 8 — 3:30 p.m. ET — Utah Jazz
Monday, August 10 — 9 p.m. ET — Los Angeles Lakers
Wednesday, August 12 — 9 p.m. ET — Los Angeles Clippers
Friday, August 14 — TBD — Toronto Raptors

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

Make it farther than they did last season. During the 2019 postseason, the Nuggets had the 2-seed, battled against the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals. It was a tight series, but during a Game 7 in Denver, the Blazers were able to come out on top and Denver started golfing a little earlier than they planned.

Now, this year might be more difficult for the Nuggets to make the conference finals due to the emergence of both Los Angeles teams, and barring something unforeseen, they’d have to beat one of them to make it farther than they did last year. Still, Denver wants to be among the conference’s elite, and with that comes with high expectations. They are 1-1 against the Clippers and 1-2 against the Lakers, but have back-to-back seeding games against both squads in the bubble.

X-FACTOR

Gary Harris: The former Michigan State standout is in the second year of a four-year extension that netted him $84 million. He got this deal because he’s a solid player, but the 25-year-old has hit a wall this season, averaging 10.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 31.8 minutes per game while hitting 42 percent of his shots from the field and 33.3 percent of his triples. As Michael Pina of SB Nation noted earlier this year, the Nuggets need Harris to be good for them to compete for titles, and it hurts Harris a ton that he’s dealing with a hip injury that will keep him out of the team’s first game and he was late to make it into the bubble.

The thing with Harris, as has always been the thing with Harris, is that he is still the guy that scored 17.5 points per game, connected on nearly 40 percent of his triples, and is a willing and versatile defender. Him finding that form makes Denver dangerous. Him continuing to languish makes the Nuggets a team that might not be able to make it out of the first round.

BIGGEST ON-COURT QUESTION

How healthy will they be? Bad news for those of us who wants eight games and a playoff run of the gigantic lineup: The Nuggets have all of Harris, Jamal Murray, and Will Barton in the bubble, even if they won’t play (or, in Murray’s case, might not play) in the team’s opener against Miami. A healthy and in-rhythm Denver team is going to be a tough out in the playoffs, but there are questions about how much time they’ll have to get guys healthy and ready to play.

The good news is that Nikola Jokic is an incredible basketball player. The number of guys who are his size with his pure level of skill and basketball IQ is awfully short, and those two things have made it so he’s able to dominate games despite his lack of speed or quickness. This year, he’s been an All-Star and will make a whole lot of All-NBA ballots after going for 20.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game.

The Rockets and Mavs capped off the second night of the NBA restart in Orlando with what might’ve been a thrilling opening-round playoff preview, in a game filled with plenty of scoring and very little defense as Houston eventually outlasted Dallas in overtime, 153-149.

James Harden dropped 49 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists to lead the Rockets, while Russell Westbrook added 30 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, despite shooting 13-of-30 from the field and committing six turnovers. Harden now has two consecutive seasons of 20 or more 40-point games.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Mavs with 39 points and 16 rebounds on the night, and Luka Doncic logged his 15th triple-double of the season with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, but a late-game collapse recalled a troubling trend for Dallas.

The Mavs have had a historically good offense this season, yet have been one of the worst teams in the league in crunch time, as they let the Rockets climb back into it late in the fourth quarter and force overtime after a wild finish in regulation.

With 3.9 seconds remaining, Harden got fouled on the inbounds pass while trying to get into his shooting motion, but the officials ruled it on the floor, giving him two free-throws with the Rockets down three. He made the first, then missed the second, but Robert Covington was able to sneak into the lane and get the tip-in to tie it up at 139-139 to send it to overtime.

LOL MAVS pic.twitter.com/67xml8kFYI

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 1, 2020

Covington also hit a key three-pointer late in the extra period to give Houston a four-point advantage, despite going 0-of-9 from downtown up to that point, and the Rockets were able to hold on from there to get the win.

There wasn’t much defense to speak of in this contest, particularly in the first half as the two teams combined for 160 points before halftime, the highest point total of the season so far for a half. The Mavs’ 85 points also tied a franchise record set back in 1983 against the Nuggets.

Both teams got some key contributions from their role players. Houston had seven players in double-digit scoring on the night, including Danuel House Jr., who knocked down 6-of-12 from three to finish with 20 points, and Ben McLemore, who scored 13 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting from downtown.

Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. both came up big for Dallas on the other end. Burke dropped 31 points off the bench on 8-of-10 from behind the arc, while Hardaway went 5-of-8 from three for 24 points of his own.

We even got a sighting from Dirk.

Virtual Dirk pulled up to the Rockets-Mavs game pic.twitter.com/eA1GpoOEsX

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 1, 2020

With the win, the Rockets moved from sixth to fifth in the West standings.

Expectations have been awfully high for what Sabrina Ionescu, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft, would bring to the league from day one. Her first two games were a pair of losses, but Ionescu still turned heads during the league’s “wubble” at IMG Academy in Florida, averaging 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists through this incredibly early juncture.

Ionescu looked impressive in the first half of her third game, a tilt against the Atlanta Dream, but unfortunately for the New York Liberty’s young star, she went to the locker room a bit before the end of the half. While pushing the ball up the floor, Ionescu’s foot came down on the foot of Atlanta’s Betnijah Laney, and anyone who has ever played basketball can guess what happened next.

Eventually, Ionescu made her way into the back with a little bit of help and was unable to put any weight on her left ankle.

While sitting a little more than 100 miles away within his own hoops bubble, LeBron James quickly fired off a tweet wishing the former University of Oregon standout well.

There’s no word on the extent to which Ionescu is injured or if she’ll be able to return to this game, but we’ll let you know when that information is available.

Aside from the health and safety concerns, one of the biggest apprehensions about resuming the NBA season had to do with whether it might distract from the Black Lives Matter movement that had swept across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.

In the end, the NBA opted to return, but with emphasis on using its platform and its influence to bring awareness to the ongoing fight for social reform. Since scrimmages began, several players have used their postgame availability to call for justice for Breonna Taylor, and on opening night Thursday, all four teams, along with coaches, referees, and team personnel, took a knee during the national anthem to advocate for change.

Many players have also ponied up considerable sums of cash to put toward various causes that are geared toward helping minorities and other disenfranchised groups. Kyrie Irving, for instance, has pledged $1.5 million to help provide financial support for WNBA players who are opting out the wubble in order to continue fighting for the cause.

Now, Kings forward Harrison Barnes and his wife Brittany have announced that they will donate $200,000 of their own money to various non-profit initiatives. Here’s more from the official press release:

With the Kings playing 8 games during the official restart to the season, Barnes will dedicate every game to a different organization by contributing $25K to the nonprofit and highlighting their mission on his social media.

Since breaking into the NBA, Barnes has been known for his altruistic efforts in supporting the Black community. As all eyes return to basketball this week, the Barnes’ are utilizing this time to put the spotlight on organizations that are dedicated to helping fight racial injustice and support those who have been victims of police brutality.

These are the eight organizations that the Barnes will donate to: the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Botham Jean Foundation, the Atatiana Project, Mothers Against Police Brutality, the Michael Brown Foundation, the Tamir Rice Foundation, the Jordan Davis Foundation, and the African American Policy Reform (#SayHerName campaign).

Halo is going free-to-play in at least one way this fall. Microsoft’s killer app for the Xbox Series X had a major announcement a week after showing off a first look at the 343 Studios title gracing the next-gen console this holiday season.

The Xbox Series X games event only showed off a demo of the game’s campaign mode, but multiplayer has been an essential element of the game’s appeal from the beginning and Infinite will be no different. Which is why it’s big news that much like other major shooters, Halo Infinite‘s multiplayer will be free-to-play.

Battle royale games have certainly dipped their toes in the free-to-play realm more and more, with Call of Duty Warzone being the best example of a significant factor of a major release’s multiplayer being free to others online. Other games like Rocket League are trending in the free-to-play direction in the coming months, while some titles opt to have free-to-play weekends to attract new gamers and grow the player base.

The move here is an obvious one: it’s incentive for gamers on the fence about buying a new console to find value in the Series X. But it’s also following a trend in gaming that doesn’t appear to be going away. The much-hyped Halo campaign will still cost those who want to continue Master Chief’s story, but others looking for a much bigger fight online will have to pay less to do it this fall.

Those of us who grew up in the Alanis Morissette angst era and followed her through her transformation into a more enlightened version of herself may be thrilled to know she has a new album out. Such Pretty Forks in the Road is her first album in eight years—and the first since two of her three children were born.

Anyone who’s been working from home with kids knows that we’re all in the same frequently interrupted boat. Such is the pandemic life. But we’ve also seen how those very human moments when kids insert themselves into life are some of the most real and precious. And that reality comes shining through in Morissette’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon performance of her new song, “Ablaze,” which is, not so ironically, a song about her children. As she sings, it’s clear that she’s still got the chops that made her famous. It’s also clear that her 4-year-old daughter, Onyx, just sees her mommy as mommy and not as the iconic pop star that she is. The performance is lovely and sweet, and hearing Onyx’s little voice and seeing her put her hand over her mom’s mouth as she sings is just too adorably real.

Enjoy:

Alanis Morissette: Ablaze (TV Debut)

www.youtube.com

As one commenter on Reddit wrote, “Keeping in tune with a baby on your hand while she’s talking to you can’t be easy. She nailed it.” Indeed, she did. Welcome back, Alanis. Thanks for releasing an album right when we need it the most.

Sometimes you have to laugh when you really want to cry.

Rex Chapman shared a TikTok video from Australian creator Blake Pavey, in which he “checks in” with different countries regarding their coronavirus numbers, and it is sadly hilarious—especially if you’re an American.

We all know that we’re in a global pandemic, and that every country has been impacted by the virus in varying degrees. But the U.S. is in a league of our own when it comes to our national response to the outbreak, leading the world in cases. In fact, we account for nearly a quarter of the world’s cases and a quarter of the world’s deaths, despite only being about 5% of the world’s population. So much winning!

Pavey takes us around to various countries in his video, with some cute quips and one-liners. But when he gets to the U.S. and our “2600…an hour” count. Oh my. I mean, it’s hilarious, yet not. Like, it’s so unbelievably absurd that it’s laughable, even though tens of thousands of people per day being diagnosed with a potentially deadly disease with no cure and no vaccine is really no laughing matter.

Like I said, sometimes you have to laugh when you really want to cry.

Other countries must be looking at the United States like we have our heads on backwards. “I have rights. I ain’t wearin’ a mask,” unfortunately sums up far too many Americans’ attitudes about mitigating the biggest public health crisis in a century. Between the anti-maskers, the it’s-a-hoaxers, the Bill Gates conspiracy theorists, the hydroxychloroquine cultists, and the demon semen doctors muddying the waters, the U.S. is a hot freakin’ mess.

HA HA HA. It’s all so hilarious I need a box of tissues for all the tears.

At least a few of the original Scream crew members will get back together for the series reboot. Courteney Cox has reportedly signed on to reprise her role as Gale Weathers for the fifth edition of the Scream franchise. The original thriller directed by the late Wes Craven hit theaters in 1996, and now we know that at least two of the film’s original star-studded cast will return for the upcoming Part 5.

On Friday, Hollywood Reporter confirmed a report from Deadline, which adds Cox to the list of Scream originals that include David Arquette, who signed on to the project back in May:

Courteney Cox is set to reprise her role as the dogged news reporter Gale Weathers for Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures as they relaunch the Scream franchise.

Cox joins the previously announced David Arquette, who also returns as Dewey Riley. Scream as a horror franchise generated four movies, including the original 1996 slasher horror movie, with all directed by the late Wes Craven and together grossing over $600 million in worldwide box office receipts.

The movie, which will be directed by the horror duo Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready Or Not) is slated to film in Wilmington, North Carolina once casting is complete. Whether others from the Scream series will return isn’t clear, but there’s certainly value in honoring the franchise’s past with some very familiar faces.

(Via Deadline & Hollywood Reporter)

Major League Baseball’s bad news got even worse on Friday, as more positive tests lead to more postponements. Now, according to a report, commissioner Rob Manfred admitted that the already belated and brief season may be in jeopardy if MLB cannot get its COVID-19 outbreaks under control.

The St. Louis Cardinals postponed games on Friday after positive coronavirus tests, adding to the growing list of teams that have experienced positive tests while attempting to play the season in home cities without a so-called bubble like the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLS, and NWSL have instituted in recent months. Serious concerns about outbreaks have impacted teams’ abilities to field full MLB rosters, which have seen the Miami Marlins postpone a slate of games and the league institute new rules on the fly, such as the ability to make up games later in the year with 7-inning doubleheaders.

Despite these adjustments, the bad news keeps coming for baseball. More teams are undergoing contact tracing and testing as they hope they have not been exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed more than 150,000 Americans.

On Friday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that even Manfred has admitted to officials that the coming days are crucial to baseball’s future in 2020, and canceling the season altogether is a real possibility.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark on Friday that if the sport doesn’t do a better job of managing the coronavirus, it could shut down for the season, sources familiar with the conversation told ESPN.

The story cited some “bad decisions” being made by players off the field, which would imply that players are exposing themselves to risk of exposure by going into public places. There’s also concern expressed from local health officials about congregating on the field, a lack of mask use, and players spitting and touching hands, which have been shown on camera during games — one rule the league instituted to try and prevent pitchers from doing this was letting them take a wet rag onto the mound with them. As the story notes, with more test results due back in the coming days, it could be a simple numbers game that would require Manfred to pull the plug on the season.

Should another outbreak materialize, Manfred, who has the power to shut down the season, could move in that direction. Multiple players briefed on the call fear the season could be shut down as soon as Monday if positive tests jump or if players continue not to strictly abide by the league’s protocols.

It would be an embarrassing debacle for baseball to struggle with its Players Association to get a season together in the first place, only to have it fall apart in less than a fortnight. But it also speaks to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and its uncontrollable spread in America. MLB clearly didn’t put in place enough safety measures to keep its players from bringing the virus to baseball. And now it seems possible that it will end the season well before a champion is crowned for 2020.