What a busy media news day! Don Lemon's partnership with Elon Musk goes down in flames, Jeff Zucker's Telegraph takeover appears doomed, Michael Kassan wars with UTA, Ron DeSantis blasts "Libs of TikTok," OpenAI readies Sora for a public launch this year, Olivia Munn reveals a breast cancer diagnosis, HBO renews "Real Time," Sydney Sweeney talks "Madame Web" disaster, and so much more. But first, the A1.

TikTok's Last Dance

CNN Photo Illustration/House TV

TikTok is in trouble — more trouble than it has ever found itself in before.

The popular short-form video platform's future in the U.S. is uncertain after the House overwhelmingly passed legislation that could ultimately ban it from operating in the country, an extraordinary move that would have an enormous impact on millions of Americans who rely on the app for their information, entertainment, and business needs.

The rare bipartisan move by lawmakers reflects growing anxiety about the influence wielded by Beijing, particularly over the far-reaching information and entertainment sector that has enormous influence over the public discourse and can ultimately work to shape U.S. policy.

The legislation that was passed Wednesday, by a margin of 352 to 65, would give TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance six months to spin off its U.S. operation. But China has said in the past that it "firmly opposes" such a sale and it is unclear whether Beijing would allow a deal to take place. It's also not clear who would purchase the platform, given the likely antitrust concerns that could emerge if another Big Tech company were to show interest. TikTok has repeatedly argued that the legislation is an outright ban, only one that is disguised like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

In recent years, ByteDance has come under heavy scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its handling of user data, including the admission its employees spied on American journalists who had reported on the company. But that has not allayed concerns that Beijing could still pressure the company to tweak its powerful algorithm to influence U.S. users on anything from the Israel-Hamas war to high-stakes elections.

"This legislation has a predetermined outcome: a total ban of TikTok in the United States," the company reiterated Wednesday. "The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression. This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country."

TikTok has for years been trying to quell concerns about foreign influence. In 2022, as part of "Project Texas" it agreed to move all U.S. personal data to Oracle servers, with the cloud computing giant also auditing the source code to ensure that it wasn't being manipulated by outsiders. The company has actually started already implementing Project Texas. But CFIUS, which was conducting a review, has been MIA (I'm told that CFIUS and TikTok have not talked for months), frustrating Congress and causing it to shift into action.

The House legislation will now head to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that the upper chamber of Congress will "review the legislation," but has been noncommittal about whether to put it on the floor for a vote. President Joe Biden, whose campaign recently launched its own TikTok account just last month, has said he will sign the bill into law, should it arrive on his desk.

Not only has Biden's campaign recently showed support for the platform by posting on it as recently as Wednesday, but the tough-on-China Donald Trump, who targeted the platform while he was in office, has entirely reversed his position in recent days and vocally opposed a ban on TikTok. In other words, the leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have, in their own ways, shown some support for the app.

But in Congress, cracking down on TikTok has become one of the rare issues in which legislators have agreed upon on a bipartisan basis. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, issued a statement affirming just as much after Wednesday's House vote. 

“We are united," the duo said in a joint statement, "in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok – a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party."

It will now be up to TikTok to persuade the Senate to allow it to operate in the country — and the company is not wasting any time getting started. I'm told that TikTok chief Shou Zi Chew will be on Capitol Hill Thursday meeting with Senate lawmakers. 

CNN Photo Illustration/Matt Baron/Shutterstock

Telegraph Takeover Trouble: Jeff Zucker's ambitious bid to acquire the Telegraph and Spectator is hanging by a thread. The former CNN chief turned Redbird IMI investor hoped to add to his string of media acquisitions and purchase the storied U.K. outlets with his UAE-backed billion-dollar war chest. But after concerns were raised over the last few months about the Emirati funding, the U.K. government on Wednesday moved to prohibit foreign ownership of news publications, an all but fatal blow to Zucker's efforts. "We are extremely disappointed by today’s development," a Redbird IMI spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson went on to say that the deal had always "been a fully commercial undertaking," adding, "We remain committed to developing powerful and commercially sustainable global media assets. We will now evaluate our next steps, with commercial interests continuing to be the sole priority." The NYT's Michael M. Grynbaum and Mark Landler have more here.

🔎 Zooming in: Between the U.S. House passing a bill to force China's ByteDance to spin off TikTok and the U.K. moving to prohibit foreign ownership of news publications, Wednesday was, as Semafor's Ben Smith put it on that social media platform we do not link to, a "big day for Western governments intervening on issues of media ownership." 

CNN Photo Illustration/Don Lemon/X

Musk Sours on Lemon: Who will win in court? That's where Don Lemon and Elon Musk seem to be headed after the unhinged billionaire canceled X's partnership with the former CNN anchor's new web-based media company. The cancelation occurred hours after Lemon recorded what he described as a "tense" sit-down interview with Musk for the debut episode of "The Don Lemon Show," which publishes online Monday. During the interview, which Lemon said was granted without restrictions, the media personality asked Musk about a wide-range of topics. But it seems Musk did not appreciate being confronted on certain issues, such as his ketamine drug use, the Great Replacement theory, and his government security clearance. In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday night (his first since being ousted from the network last year), Lemon spoke about his exchange with Musk, saying, "He seemed really averse to facts."

Musk is also notoriously averse to paying his bills, so it's hard to imagine that he will pay Lemon without a legal battle. Allison Gollust, a spokesperson for Lemon, told me that the host "has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it" and "if we have to go to court we will." Lemon technically had not inked a contract with X, I'm told. But contracts do not necessarily have to be signed to be legally binding, particularly if it is clear each side had arrived at a mutual understanding. And Lemon’s camp is confident that a deal had effectively been struck, as evidenced by the fact that X had touted the deal in public announcements earlier this year. Moreover, Musk himself appeared to acknowledge that there had been a deal. As Semafor's Max Tani first reported, Musk texted Jay Sures, the UTA power agent who represents Lemon, "contract is canceled." Here's my full story.

🔎 Zooming in: That this partnership went down in flames is one of the least surprising things to happen. Peter Kafka captured that well with a headline that jokingly asked, "Who could have possibly foreseen that Elon Musk would be capricious and erratic except for everyone who has watched him for years?" Indeed, while Musk has claimed to believe in free speech absolutism, he has repeatedly taken steps to limit the speech of critics. Musk has at times suspended journalists from his platform, filed lawsuits against watchdogs for publishing reports critical of X, and even throttled URLs belonging to The NYT. Musk has also frequently launched ugly attacks on journalists and elevated conspiracy theories and right-wing extremists. Which is all to say, it's not too surprising that he soured on 🍋.

CNN Photo Illustration/Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Kassan vs. UTA: Did he resign? Was he fired? UTA and MediaLink boss Michael Kassan are in an exchange of a war of words — and lawsuits. In Kassan's telling, UTA violated the agreement the two entered into when the agency purchased MediaLink in 2021. That, according to Kassan's camp, led to the advertising/consulting guru resigning and filing a lawsuit against UTA. UTA, however, has put out its own version of events. The company, which filed its own suit against Kassan, said that it fired the MediaLink founder after "an exhaustive third-party investigation into misappropriation of company funds." Deadline's Domnic Patten breaks it down here.

► Puck's Dylan Byers nails the value Kassan brought to clients: "In essence, Kassan was an access peddler, the media industry’s archetype of the Gladwellian connector. He had everyone on speed dial and shook hands at every table at the Polo Lounge, and for a price he would provide that access to his clients — a total agent and packager of the highest order." 

Sciutto Sets the Record Straight: Jim Sciutto is working to combat right-wing media lies about Russia. The CNN anchor this week released his latest book, "The Return of Great Powers," which goes into detail about the threat Vladimir Putin poses the Western world. In other words, it runs counter — and frankly dismantles — the absurd propaganda pushed by dishonest right-wing media figures like Tucker Carlson. As Sciutto told me, "There is a fascination among some on the right and in the right wing media about Russia and Putin that is belied by the facts and what he stands for. I spoke to leaders from the left and right, military commanders and intelligence officials all over the world for this book – from the U.S. to Europe to Asia - and one thing they’re clear on is that Russia has no good intentions when it comes to the US. In fact, Putin is all in on bringing the US down." 

CNN Photo Illustration/Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Sora Ready to Soar: Get ready for Sora to hit the public market this year. That's according to OpenAI executive Mira Murati, who told The WSJ's Joanna Stern that she is "hoping" the company's powerful text-to-video generator will "definitely" be out this year. "It could be a few months," Murati said. Stern asked Murati if that would mean the powerful new technology could be available for mass use ahead of the November elections. "That's certainly a consideration, dealing with issues of misinformation and harmful bias," Murati said. "And we would not be releasing anything we don't feel confident on when it comes how it would affect local elections or other issues." Watch the full interview here.

CNN Photo Illustration/Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Munn's Cancer Message: Olivia Munn on Wednesday revealed that she has been battling breast cancer, saying she was going public about her diagnosis hoping it will "help others find comfort, inspiration, and support on their own journey." Munn said in an Instagram post, which included photos of her in the hospital, that she tested negative for "90 different cancer genes" in February 2023, but that she was soon after diagnosed with breast cancer. Moon revealed that over the past 10 months she has had four surgeries, including a double mastectomy. She encouraged others to calculate their Breast Cancer Assessment Score to help them catch the disease early on. "Because of that score I went to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy," she wrote. CNN's Lisa Respers France has more.