The company and its Chinese parent invoked the First Amendment in urging the justices to step in before a deadline to sell or be shut down.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether a controversial ban on the social media app TikTok violates the First Amendment, adding a major case to its docket this term just before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

TikTok, ByteDance and Americans who use the app sued to block the law in May, saying it would suppress free speech for more than half the U.S. population. A lower court upheld the law as constitutional earlier this month, siding with lawmakers and the Justice Department that had said the app poses a national security threat.

The trailing Republican in a tight North Carolina Supreme Court race has suffered legal setbacks in his bid to overtake his Democratic rival.

The Republican candidate narrowly trailing in the North Carolina Supreme Court race has asked that same court to throw out 60,000 ballots from last month's election.

A Republican candidate for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court who is trailing Democratic incumbent Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes has asked the same court he hopes to join to intervene and prevent 60,