Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday said teams are looking for the cylindrical object a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Yukon territory on his orders a day ago so that they can analyze it and learn more about its purpose.
"Recovery teams are on the ground, looking to find and analyze the object," Trudeau told reporters before departing for a previously scheduled fund-raising event in Yukon.
"There's still much to know about it. That's why the analysis of this object is going to be very important."
U.S. national security officials believe the flying objects shot down over Alaska and Canada were balloons, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in an interview on ABC on Sunday.
"You can be sure that if any American interests where people are at risk, they'll take appropriate action," he said, adding that the objects shot down on Friday and Saturday were much smaller than the first balloon that drifted over U.S. airspace and was shot down over South Carolina last Saturday.
Michigan Gov.Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Sunday defended her use of the video-sharing app TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, as a “communication tool” amid concerns about Beijing’s influence on the app.
“We use TikTok on one device that has nothing else on it. It is a communication tool. We don’t do it because it’s fun, although some people think what I put out there can be fun on occasion. My kids disagree,” Whitmer told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union,” prompting Tapper to quip, “I don’t buy that you don’t have fun doing TikToks.”
“We have it on one device that has no access to anything else because so many people get their information that way. Whether we like it or not, that is a tool for disseminating important information. And that’s how we use it,” Whitmer said.
Researchers and lawmakers have long debated the health risks of social media use, but TikTok has come under particular scrutiny due to the concerns about its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The app was banned from congressional lawmakers’ phones because of perceived security risks, but Whitmer remains active on the platform.
The Michigan governor on Sunday acknowledged privacy concerns about TikTok and worries about social media more broadly.
“I’m concerned about a lot of ways that social media is curated and drags people down rabbit holes in this country,” Whitmer said.
“We need to have some congressional measures taken to ensure that there is some integrity in it. But also we got to teach our kids that this is not a real robust offering of information for you to distill and make your own decisions. This is biased and it can be incredibly taxing.”
Whitmer, who had been a rumored 2024 potential presidential contender, said Sunday that she’s focused on her term as Michigan governor — though she didn’t specifically rule out making a run in races further into the future.
Now, before we dive in, know that there are plenty of allegations the companies below have government ties, but it’s up for debate how much the Chinese government is genuinely involved in operations. I’m sharing this to help you make more informed decisions on what you purchase and use daily.
Apps reporting back to China
TikTok is a dominant force. More than 138 million Americans use the video-sharing app owned by a company called ByteDance.
FBI director Chris Wray says that TikTok could be used for “influence operations.”Getty Images
That’s not just conjecture. Late last year, TikTok was forced to admit that it used this same data to spy on individual Americans, including journalists. Without question, TikTok is a Trojan Horse.
At least 27 states and the federal government have banned the use of the app on government devices. My advice: If you or someone in your family insists on using TikTok, install it on a separate device, like an old smartphone. Don’t connect that device to your home network. Use a cellular connection to get online.
Think about how much data your smartphone collects. For most of us, it’s the digital hub of our lives. It knows who you talk to, when you send messages, where you’re located, everywhere you go, and much more.
That’s why the United States and a handful of other countries are wary of telecommunications company Huawei. You may consider it a smartphone manufacturer, but the company also designs and sells telecommunications equipment.
Many countries have banned tech products manufactured in China.REUTERS
The FCC banned sales and imports of Huawei devices in November, citing national security concerns.
Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Oppo have faced similar accusations. A recent report found Chinese-made Android phones include “an alarming number” of preinstalled apps that grant dangerous privileges.
Beware of Drones
Shenzhen-based DJI released its first ready-to-fly drone in 2013, and now it’s by far the biggest drone seller.
Its models are popular for everything from filmmaking to farming operations. Though you can still buy their drones here in America, the U.S. has blocked DJI, prohibiting military use and investments.
In October, the drone maker made the Department of Defense’s list of “Chinese military companies” operating in the U.S. DJI denies being a military company.
Say No to Lenovo
The Department of Defense isn’t the only one with a list. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List is designed to restrict the sale of sensitive goods and technologies to entities that pose a national security concern; 25 Chinese companies and organizations were added in the most recent update.
As Forbes notes, one company that didn’t make the list is Lenovo. The computer giant was founded in Beijing, and Forbes reports around 900 U.S. municipalities and states use Lenovo products. Think of the staggering amount of information those systems must contain.
The military isn’t taking chances. In 2008, Marines stationed in Iraq stopped using Lenovo tech after discovering data was being transmitted back to China. The U.S. Air Force replaced $378 million worth of servers purchased by Lenovo.
Have a Lenovo machine at home or work? I suggest you replace it.
Now China is jumping in onthe trend, apparently, as authorities in China say they have spotted and are tracking an unidentified object over waters near the port city of Qingdao.
Scant details have been given, but the claim was briefly detailed in Bloomberg on Sunday, with the publication saying authorities are preparing to down the object.
Area fisherman and boats in the port waters have been alerted and told to follow safety precautions due to the object, which is hovering at an unknown altitude.
An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdao’s Jimo district said “relevant authorities” are preparing to bring down the object, the report said. The employee was not informed what the object was.
By the vague description, it could be a balloon of some type, or alternately perhaps the Chinese are attempting to hype their own "foreign threat" news story as a counter following the Pentagon shooting down the Chinese 'spy' balloon, which Beijing has maintained all along was just a weather research platform.
As for the now recovered balloon which was shot down over a week ago Saturday off the US east coast, it is undergoing FBI analysis. However, the undercarriage, which US officials say contained surveillance gear, has yet to be lifted from the ocean, and is said to be large - at least 30 feet across.
And then there's the bizarre couple of incidents over far northern parts of the American continent...
According to the latest this weekend, the US has said it shot down a third high-altitude object over northern Canada, just a day following a similar intercept of a mysterious object over far northeast Alaska.
This year, though, an industry that’s been known for giving away the most free money to attract new customers is suddenly focused on how to make the most out of customers they already have.
“We've got to transition from this insane customer acquisition strategy,” Joel Simkins, managing director of investment banking at Houlihan Lokey focusing on gaming, told Yahoo Finance. “I think everyone gets that joke, 'we're in 2023, just going out Willy Nilly and acquiring customers,' [but] you've got to do more with who've you got now.”
Wall Street analyst Chad Beynon noted that most sports betting companies "are done with playing games after the first six months."
“The first six months is that huge acquisition period," Beynon told Yahoo Finance, "but now they're kind of operating by a similar type of playbook where the best product and the best loyalty and branding really should win after that first six- or 12-month trial period."
Why sports betting operators are turning inward
The American Gaming Association is estimating that Americans will gamble roughly $16 billion on the big game through both legal and illegal means.
Industry market share leader FanDuel is predicting it will handle over 17 million Super Bowl bets this year, a more than 400% increase from 2021.
Three more states have legalized sports gambling since last year's Super Bowl, bringing the total to 33 states and the District of Columbia. Eight other states currently have active legislation or ballot initiatives aimed at legalization, according to AGA. However, California’s most recent shot at sports gambling flopped, and legislation in Florida fell flat.
On top of that, the race toward the top of the sports gambling hierarchy has proven pricey.
Profitability concerns have consumed earnings calls for American-based mobile sportsbook operators like DraftKings (DKNG), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN), and Wynn (WYNN).
DraftKings, which is set to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 17, has already reported a $671.8 million adjusted EBITDA loss through the first three quarters of 2022.
Philadelphia Eagles fans gathered on the steps of Montgomery County Courthouse for a pep rally in advance of Super Bowl LVI on February 10, 2023. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Its competitor Caesars Digital unit, which includes Caesars Sportsbook, reported a $661 million loss in the same category for its first three quarters of the year.
Most of those losses for Caesars trace back to the first quarter of 2022 when the company lost $554 million. Caesars promoted heavily leading up to last year’s Super Bowl, offering system credit match up to a deposit of $3,000. The operator also added a $300 bonus, meaning if a user deposited $3,000 into their account, they would have $3,300 of free play money courtesy of the sportsbook.
This helped Caesars gain early market share, but it didn’t translate to sustained success. The company started the year ahead in monthly gross gaming revenue, per the New York State Commission, but finished 2022 handily in third place.
"We're going to target our promotional spending at our profitable customers, which is going to be a much smaller subset of that larger group," Caesars CEO Reeg told investors after the first quarter.
'It's going to continue to grow'
Since adding customers at any cost hasn’t proven to be a sustainable model, industry leaders are steering customers toward areas where their sportsbook stands to profit more handsomely.
Sportsbooks are heavily promoting their live betting offerings. Throughout the NFL playoffs, multiple sportsbooks offered boosted live betting odds, meaning the customer stands to make more than normal. PointsBet took its live betting promotion as far as to fake strike former NFL quarterback Drew Brees with lightning to promote its live betting arm known as “Lightning Bets.”
"I think it's as you go through that experience, as a bettor or someone who's engaging in the betting experience, you become more accustomed to that and you just change your behaviors because you know you want to be in the action all the time from an instant perspective," PointsBet COO Jake Williams told Yahoo Finance.
The average hold rate, or percent of money sportsbooks keep money on bets, is just over 7%, according to sportshandle.com. That increases to 10-15% with in-game bets and same-game parlays.
According to PointsBet, more than half of its NFL betting handle during the regular season came from in-game bets. The operator is anticipating 40% of its Super Bowl handle to come from in-game betting on Sunday.
Many industry experts are projecting the live market could grow as large as 75% of the total money spent gambling in the U.S. That would match Europe's numbers where sports gambling has been legal for decades.
"Live betting continues to increase," DraftKings CEO Jason Robins told Yahoo Finance. "Whether we get [to 75%] or higher or lower, I don't know, but I think it's going to continue to grow. I think more and more people are starting to see that you can make that during the game."
Menopause is about to have a big moment — at the Super Bowl. Astellas is taking its hot flashes and night sweats awareness campaign to Sunday’s broadcast.
The 30-second Astellas commercial running during the game centers on the technical term, vasomotor symptoms or VMS, for those common menopause signals. In the ad, actress Carmella Riley is a reporter on the street stopping women to ask them “one burning question,” which is: “What is VMS?”
