TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been at the center of controversy in the U.S. for four years now due to concerns about user data potentially being accessed by the Chinese government. Just this past month, the app experienced a temporary outage in the U.S. that left millions of users in suspense before it was quickly restored.TikTok returned to the App Store and Google Play Store in February.Nonetheless, TikToks future remains uncertain, and a number of investors are competing for the opportunity to purchase the app. The platforms U.S. business could have its valuation soar to upward of $60 billion, as estimated by CFRA Researchs senior vice president, Angelo Zino.TikTok ban: Whats happened so farTo fully understand this high-stakes drama, well first revisit the timeline of TikToks tumultuous relationship with the U.S. government, which resulted in various legal battles and negotiations.The drama first began in August 2020, when Trump signed an executive order to ban transactions with parent company ByteDance.A month later, Trumps administration sought to force a sale of TikToks U.S. operations to a U.S.-based company. The leading contenders included Microsoft, Oracle, and Walmart. However, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked Trumps executive order, allowing TikTok to continue operating while the legal battle unfolded.Things began to progress even more last year following the transition to the Biden administration. The U.S. House of Representatives, in an overwhelming 360-58 vote, passed the legislation against TikTok. On April 23, 2024, the Senate passed the bill.Shortly after, President Joe Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to be sold or banned. In response, TikTok sued the U.S. government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and arguing the app and its American users were having their First Amendment rights violated. The company has consistently denied that it poses a security threat, asserting that its data stored in the U.S. complies with all local laws.Trump has a change of heartImage Credits:Mandel Ngan (opens in a new window) / Getty ImagesOn December 27, 2024, Trump opposed the potential ban of TikTok in a court filing, stating he could find a way to keep the app in the U.S. This stance was a stark contrast to his approach during his first presidency and presented a surprising turn of events for TikTok.In January, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), commonly referred to as the TikTok ban. TikTok made a formal announcement that it would likely have to go dark on January 19.TikTok shuts down then comes back onlineAlthough TikTok indeed shut itself down in the U.S. when the act came into effect, it didnt last long. The app came back online less than 12 hours later. The platform noted, As a result of President Trumps efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.Where we are todayOn January 20, Trump signed an executive order that postponed the TikTok ban for 75 days. This extension provides the app with additional time to either sell a stake in the platform or reach an agreement with Trump. His goal is to achieve a 50-50 ownership arrangement between ByteDance and a U.S. company.More recently, in early March, Trump told reporters that his administration was in talks with four different groups that are interested in buying the platform, per Reuters.No definitive deal has been reached yet for the sale of the platform, but we could find out very soon. Below is a list of the investor groups and companies rumored to be potential buyers of TikToks U.S. operations. (Surprisingly, Elon Musk is not among them.)U.S. real estate billionaire Frank McCourt.Image Credits:COLE BURSTON / Contributor (opens in a new window) / Getty ImagesThe Peoples Bid for TikTokThe Peoples Bid for TikTok is a consortium organized by Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt, who is also the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Investment firm Guggenheim Securities and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis are helping to assemble the bid. The main mission of The Peoples Bid to acquire TikTok is to prioritize privacy and data control, taking an open source approach.Supporters involved include: Alexis Ohanian: The Reddit co-founder is the most recent tech entrepreneur to join The Peoples Bid, taking on the role of strategic advisor. He joined on March 3. Kevin OLeary: A well-known investor and television personality who previously told Fox he was willing to buy TikTok for $20 billion. OLeary joined The Peoples Bid on January 6.Tim Berners-Lee: The inventor of the World Wide Web supports the proposal because users should have an ability to control their own data, Berners-Lee said in a statement.David Clark: A senior research scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Clark has also been named a participant.Image Credits:Dave Kotinsky / Getty ImagesAmerican Investor ConsortiumJesse Tinsley, the CEO and founder of Employer.com, is leading a consortium of American investors. Last month, Tinsley announced a $30 billion all-cash offer to acquire TikToks U.S. operations.David Baszucki: Tinsley told Bloomberg that the Roblox co-founder and CEO is a participant.Nathan McCauley: The co-founder and CEO of crypto platform Anchorage Digital has been confirmed to be participating in the consortium, Bloomberg reported.Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast): The popular YouTube creator is also a reported member of the investor group.The Oracle headquarters.Image Credits:Paul Sakuma / APOther interested partiesBobby Kotick: The former CEO of Activision is reportedly interested in buying TikTok. With his experience managing a major gaming company, his interest in the app could be driven by the potential to integrate gaming and social media.Steven Mnuchin: The former U.S. Treasury Secretary who served during President Trumps first term has reentered discussions about the potential purchase of TikTok.Oracle: The company previously made a bid for TikTok back in 2020. In front of the White House in January, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said to Trump that 50% ownership seemed like a good deal.The Information reported in March that Oracle is the top choice to serve as the cloud technology partner for helping TikTok run in the U.S.Walmart: The retail giant could also be eyeing TikTok to enhance its reach in e-commerce, especially considering the platforms influence on consumer shopping behavior. Walmart first expressed interest back in 2020.Microsoft: The tech giant has previously shown interest in acquiring TikTok, and Trump mentioned that the company has recently reentered the bidding to buy the app.Rumble: The YouTube alternative announced on X that it wants to acquire TikTok and serve as its cloud technology partner.Perplexity AI: The AI search engine startup submitted a bid last month, according to CNBC.The story has been updated after publication to include new interested parties.

Breakdown & ShowreelsBelgravia The Next Chapter: VFX Breakdown by BlueBoltBy Vincent Frei - 14/03/2025 How do you bring Victorian London to life without building entire cityscapes? The invisible VFX magic by BlueBolt extends Belgrave Square, enhances Rotherhithes foundry exteriors, and even blankets the city in snow for the series final shot of the second season of Belgravia!WANT TO KNOW MORE?BlueBolt: Dedicated page about Belgravia: The Next Chapter on BlueBolt website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

The late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid was famously known for her love of architectural curves and the rejection of right angles in her designs. Thus, the last place one might expect to see her work is inside a 16th-century Italian palazzo, where linear symmetry is a most valued attribute. However surprising, it is now a reality on Romes intimate Via di Ripetta, one of the radial streets originating at the Piazza del Popolo. Having begun design phases before Hadids untimely 2016 death, but with construction completed in December 2024, the 74-room Romeo Roma hotel is Zaha Hadid Architectss (ZHA) first-ever adaptive reuse design and one of her last projects. Inside its orderly landmarked facade is a sweeping interior of the architects signature space-age arcs, rendered in wood, stone, brass, and Hadid signature white solid surface and set in playful conversation with the historic shell. Hadid was commissioned specifically for her ability to provide this stark design contrast to the formal building, once the home of the noble Serroberti-Capponi family, then headquarters for the Jesuit magazine Civilt Cattolica, and since 1951, housing the Italian governments Istituto Nazionale Assistenza Infortuni sul Lavoro (National Institute for Assistance of Accidents at Work). Zaha Hadid, with her unique vision, was the ideal person to reinterpret a historic building, transforming it into a contemporary work that honored the past while maintaining a forward-looking perspective, said Alfredo Romeo, the Neapolitan owner of the boutique Romeo Collection hotel group, which acquired the palazzo in 2012. The first design meeting with Hadid was in 2015.Prior its conversion to a hotel, the building was the home of the noble Serroberti-Capponi family, s headquarters for a Jesuit magazine, and government offices. (Jacopo Spilimbergo)After many iterations, thinking about the structural elements of buildings of every age in Rome, we came up with this very simple idea: vaults, said ZHA project director and Rome native Paola Cattarin, who led in her former bosss posthumous stead. We started to geometrically transform vaults with 3D digital tools, intersecting them and deforming them from a Euclidean geometry to a more complex one. In a barrel-vaulted hallway, a stream of stainless-steel filigree overhead give a hint of architectural change. (Jacopo Spilimbergo)The reception space was clad in golden brass scales. (Chris Dalton)Not only did this conceit help create the curvilinear forms with integrated lighting that flow throughout the hotels lobby, spa, gym, and restaurant by Michelin-starred French chef Alain Ducasse, but it also enabled us to create this kind of second skin within the guest rooms that allows us to give a clear identity to each space but also hide all the mechanical and electrical systems without touching the existing building, preserving as much of it as possible, Cattarin added. In the accommodations, custom furnishings are rendered in lacquered American walnut or Makassar ebony and solid surface Krion by Porcelenosa, including jacuzzi-style bathtubs, water vapor fireplaces, and large, plush beds. Building bespoke shapes with these exotic materials presented a learning curve not only for the architects but also for the contractors, she noted, and required rigorous testing and mockups to assure every detail. The hotel also has four double-height rooms on its historic piano nobile that feature original 17th-century frescoes and painted ceilings, all of which have been restored.The hotel restaurant adopts the signature Zaha Hadid forms and curves. (Chris Dalton)During construction, an ancient Roman wall and the ruins of a likely 2,000-year-old workshop were found underneath the garden courtyard, significantly slowing the building process. The ruins are now visible through a glass vitrine in the spas below-grade level and through the glass-bottomed swimming pool above. Other archeological artifacts found, including a well-preserved marble bust of Livia Drusilla, Augustuss wife, are on display throughout the hotel alongside contemporary artworks from Romeos own eclectic collection. The hotel has four rooms that feature original 17th-century frescoes and painted ceilings. (Chris Dalton)Custom furnishings are rendered in lacquered American walnut or Makassar ebony. (Chris Dalton)The hotel encompasses three structurestwo additions were previously added to the family palazzoand each has different proportions and floor heights. We took those as opportunities to create a sense of discovery within the design, said Cattarin. Walking through the front door and into a barrel-vaulted hallway toward the open-air cortile of the oldest building (now covered by a retractable roof), a stream of stainless-steel filigree overhead gives a hint of architectural change. Once one is whisked to a petal-like check-in desk inside a room clad in golden brass scales, it is clear contemporary design has won over history. Although, ascending the processional staircase to the left, it might again be the 1500s.Ancient ruins were found underneath the garden courtyard and are now visible through a glass vitrine in the spas below-grade level and through the glass-bottomed swimming pool above. (Chris Dalton)Hadids use of free forms and innovative lines, in contrast to the rigidity and symmetry of the historic building, gave rise to a design that links the past and the present in a way that few projects could achieve, described Romeo Collection project manager Ivan Russo. If you ever get lost within this avant-garde mishmash, look down: Lava stone and ebony floors are inlaid with undulating strips of Carrara marble to guide you from old to new.Elizabeth Fazzare is a New Yorkbased editor and journalist who covers architecture, design, culture, and travel for publications includingArchitectural Digest,Dwell, andInterior Design. She was previously the senior architecture and design editor atCulturedmagazine, and an editor atArchitectural Digest.

The Henrik F Obel Foundation has announced an open call for two teaching fellowships each worth 75,000 (Deadline: 1 August)Now in its third edition, the OBEL Award Teaching Fellowships support universities to incorporate new voices into their institutions and develop impactful courses which promote innovation.This years open call invites prospective academics and their host institutions to respond to the theme of Ready Made with proposals which promote deeper exploration, development, and dissemination of knowledge on this topic.OBEL Award Teaching Fellowships 2025Executive director of the OBEL Award Jesper Eis said: Supporting influential ideas and approaches that can drive architectural discourse is a key focus for the foundation.We are excited to welcome applications from around the world to gain diverse perspectives on the Ready Made agenda. Ultimately, we seek fellows who explore how new value and new values can be discovered through the materials and mechanisms of what already exists.Just like the Ready Made agenda, education works in a similar way: the essence of a fellowship is to take an existing body of knowledge and build upon it with new ideas and contributions.The fellowships are part of the annual Obel Award which is supported by the Henrik F Obel Foundation. The foundation was created by the Danish businessman Henrik Frode Obel and is based in Copenhagen. The first Obel Award of 100,000 was granted to Japanese architect Jun'ya Ishigami in 2019.The latest open call invites academics and universities to put forward proposals for new courses starting in 2026 or soon after. Two winning applicants will each receive 75,000 to cover the fellows salary, travel and teaching materials.Last years winners included Dele Adeyemo and the Department of Architecture & the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at The University of Lagos. Adeyemos course focuses on indigenous settlement practices in contemporary Nigerian cities.How to applyDeadline: 3pm, 4 AprilCompetition funding source: The Henrik F Obel FoundationProject funding source: The Henrik F Obel FoundationOwner of site(s): Not applicableContact details: hana.lassova@trencin2026.euVisit the competition website for more information

Nathaniel B. Perkins (1813-1885) was born in Salem the son of Captain Joseph Perkins (born 1785) and Elizabeth Hunt. Perkins was a wealthy ship owner in Salem and served on the Salem School Committee and was Treasurer of the Essex Marine Railway. He married Susan Breed in 1836 and built this house on Oliver Street in Salem soon-after. The high-style Greek Revival house is notable for its prominent recessed center entry with engaged, fluted Ionic columns and a modillioned entablature. Perkins likely had one of his ship carpenters work on the carvings as they are so unique.

For 16 days this spring, an international kite festival will soar above the beaches of Cervia. Artenvento returns to northern Italy from April 19 to May 4 with more than 200 participants from 50 countries and five continents. In its 45th year, the 2025 festival welcomes artist Kadek Armika, whos known for incorporating Balinese kite-making traditions into his modern, flying sculptures. This iteration also marks the 80th anniversary of the citys liberation in WWII and revolves around a theme of solidarity and peace.Find more about the festival and its broad programming, including workshops, music, and acrobatic performances, on its website.Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article This April, Thousands of Kites will Paint the Sky for an International Festival of Flight appeared first on Colossal.

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Maserati MC20 in Modena, Italy. Maserati is a Stellantis brand.gettyLeaderless conglomerate Stellantis is treading water as it tries to fend off automotive industry turmoil in Europe, restore profitability and decide what to do with all those brands.A new leader is expected to be appointed by the end of June.Former CEO Carlos Tavares shocked shareholders by quitting in December, about a year before the end of his contract. Chairman John Elkann has taken over as interim CEO. Tavares orchestrated the massive merger between Fiat Chrysler and Frances Groupe PSA in 2021 and the 14 brands. Many of the brands compete in the same market, including Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat, Vauxhall, and Opel in the European mass market. Lancia, DS, Alfa Romeo and Abarth sit in the wannabe premium sector, and Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler in the U.S. Storied Italian sportscar maker Maserati sits atop of the list.Investors praised Tavares for his success in bringing together the brands, which often appeared to fight against each other for sales. His methods made impressive profits quickly, as overlapping technologies were dropped and economies of scale exploited. But his credibility was undermined by the collapse of profitability in North America. This set off a profit warning last September which included a forecast of a cash burn of up to 10 billion ($10.9 billion) in 2024, and that was the beginning of the end for Tavares.Fiat 500 Abarth. Abarth sells souped up versions of Fiat sedans. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty ... [+] Images)Getty ImagesIn the event, Stellantiss operating profit margin in 2024 was 5.5%, down sharply from 2023s 12.8%. Adjusted operating income was 8.6 billion ($9.4 billion), towards the bottom of the warning issued in September. Stellantis expects little improvement in 2025.Sales in Europe fell 7.3% to about 2 million in 2024, in an overall market that rose 0.8%. according to ACEA. Market share was 15.2% behind the leader Volkswagen and its multi-brands at 26.3%.We are firmly focussed on gaining market share and improving financial performance as 2025 progresses, acting CEO Elkann said in a statement last month.Investment researcher Jefferies said Stellantis was looking for stabilization in 2025 rather than recovery, in a report headlined Stellantis-just heaving-to for now.Our positive bias comes from the conviction that Stellantis's many self-inflicted problems are fixable while we expect new management, probably external, will be tasked to completely rethink what it should be in terms of scale, brands and technology content, the report said.And what about all those brands? In Europe the obvious weaklings are Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and DS.Felipe Munoz, global analyst at JATO Dynamics had expected plenty of rationalization from the merger.Stellantis, like many other legacy carmakers, is in a tough situation. Honestly, when I heard about its creation 4 years ago, I thought that they would get rid of brands and focus on the strong ones. At the end, the goal of a merger is to join forces, save costs, and accelerate the transformation of the companies involved, Munoz said in an email exchange.DS7 E Tense 4x4. DS is Peugeot's upmarket subsidiary. (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images)Getty ImagesTo manage (all those brands) requires not only a lot of resources but wisdom to position them. Although Stellantis might have the resources, over the last 4 years it has shown that it struggles to position each of its brands correctly. They have not been able to differentiate most of its brands. (Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat) were quite similar. They were both European focused with little complement between them, Munoz said.Stellantis decided to keep all the brands, without foreseeing the storm currently rocking the global industry, he said.The European market is still about 25% smaller than it was before the Covid pandemic.Now, from all the brands, at least 10 are in dire need of fresh products. Two of them count on only one model. The positioning is not clear either: Opel is very similar to Peugeot. Fiat is very similar to Citroen. Lancia wants to enter the premium segment, where DS and Alfa Romeo are already struggling. Maserati hasnt been able to find its identity and is stuck somewhere between the premium and luxury segments, Munoz said.Investment researcher Bernstein said Tavares tried to cut costs in North America while raising prices and model specifications to levels beyond the means of its typical customers. This is still being corrected. The lack of investment in the product range will take longer to fix.Europe too is not short of issues. Now that three months have passed since the ousting of Tavares, we look at the dysfunction that led to the disastrous second half 2024 results and look for the route back, Bernstein said in a report.HSBC Global Research expects some North American improvement, but recovery in Europe is less clear, where weakness poses longer-term questions. Berenberg Bank says Europe has recurring quality issues, and sales in January were down 16% in a market which fell about 3%.Lancia Fulvia in the rally Mille Miglia 2010 edition on a busy street in Florence.gettyJATO Dynamics Munoz said the European market is stagnating and manufacturers face problems meeting EU CO2 standards, a possible tariff crisis with the U.S., and increasing pressure from Chinese manufacturers in Europe and weakening sales in China.I see no option but the further consolidation of the industry and further collaboration with the Chinese makers, Munoz said.The next Stellantis CEO will have to fix the profit problem and decide what to do with all those brands. Selling some off them off might well meet willing buyers from China eager to raise their profile in Europe and avoid recently erected high EU tariffs.

AdolescenceNetflixNetflix has a new series, Adolescence, that has debuted at #1 instantly, which is a touch surprising given its lack of promotion or big stars. But it does arrive with a perfect 100% critic score, one that may have been boosted if word of those stellar reviews spread around (and I personally did quite a bit of that).Now I have seen the series in full, which is only four episodes, but you will soon understand why as you watch. Its a crime drama about a teenager accused of killing his classmate, a concept perhaps weve seen before, but the hook here is that each episode is filmed in entirely one take. And we are talking about full 50-60 minute episodes here, and watching the series, I am wondering how this was remotely possible from a camerawork, staging and acting perspective.Each episode focuses on a different point in this story, starting with the first day and ending months later, focusing on how the arrest affects the teen and his family. In terms of the way this is shot, for instance, the first episode opens with the SWAT team capture of the teen, films through the ride to the police station and goes through the entire booking and interview process in the course of an hour, all in real time, all in one continuous shot weaving back and forth between three or four characters, never breaking.AdolescenceNetflixThe director of Adolescence, Philip Barantini, has experience with this concept, his one-take movie Boiling Point doing the same thing, and with the same actor, and now Adolescence co-creator Stephen Graham, who plays the boys father. But this is four separate hours in four very different kinds of locations. I have absolutely no idea how some of these shots were filmed, or what it might have taken to time out the events of these episodes. Furthermore, in one episode that is effectively a lengthy interview focused on two characters alone, they memorized an hour-long scene with no breaks or cuts at all, while acting the living hell out of it at the same time. Its incredible work.The show is hard to watch. Not because of the one-take concept, but because of the subject matter. As the father of a (young) son, this being every parents worst nightmare is gut-wrenching, and the emotional stages this family goes through is nothing short of absolutely brutal. But the end result is so compelling that its a must-watch for any fan of crime dramas, or really any fan of cinema, as this is something Ive never seen to this extent before. Everyone involved should be applauded, and I cannot wait to see what Graham and Barantini do next.Follow me , and .Pick up my sci-fi novels the and