ESPN cuts the cord

Cable TV isn’t dead yet, but ESPN’s departure might be the last nail in the coffin. 

What happened: Disney-owned ESPN plans to start offering its channel as a subscription streaming service, giving people access to the biggest live sports channel without needing to pay for a cable bundle, per The Wall Street Journal.
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Montana bans TikTok

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No such thing as a free TV

A startup called Telly dominated the news headlines this week after offering 500,000 people a smart TV with a market value of $1,000 for free. The catch? The screen includes a small display in the bottom corner that will run ads as you watch.
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Who’s paying for the EV transition?

Everyone wants to be the next big EV player… as long as someone else pays for it.
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Canadian trucking has a tax dodging problem

A group representing Canadian truckers is sounding the alarm about a scam it thinks has reached a “crisis level.” And unlike a novelty mudflap, it’s no laughing matter.
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Finding a spot at kids’ summer camp is getting competitive

Camps can be a saving grace for working parents during those eight weeks of summer break—but if you were hoping to get a “hello muddah, hello fadduh” type letter from your kids at Camp Grenada this summer, you better get a head start on registration and budget a few more bucks. 
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WestJet pilots threaten to walk, not fly

If you thought long weekend travel couldn’t possibly get any more chaotic, think again. 
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Inflation is going the wrong way

Some surprises are good, like a b-day party or finding a $20 bill in your coat. Others are less good, like a cancelled reservation or a blister. Recent inflation data is one of those surprises.
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America explores AI regulation

If anything can bring two sides of the aisle together, it's regulating artificial intelligence. 

What happened: Sam Altman—who one could argue is the guy responsible for opening the AI floodgates by releasing ChatGPT to the public—appeared before Congress yesterday to call on US regulators to create licensing and safety standards for advanced AI systems. 
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Is education still the best way to increase your earnings?

If you could go back to your 20s, would you do anything differently? Maybe you’d make better dating choices or listen to your mom when she said you shouldn’t try to bleach your hair at home. The carefree (and sometimes careless) choices we make in our youth can impact our later years, especially when it comes to education and earning. 
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Hollywood haggles Canada

The Motion Picture Association (MPA)—a trade group made up of major Hollywood studios, including Disney and Netflix—published a report claiming that Canada’s system for defining homegrown content is unusually narrow and out of step with the rest of the world. 
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A worrying start to wildfire season

Western Canada has seen more than 600 wildfires so far this year, but officials say the season is just getting started
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Vice throws in the towel

For sale: One gently used iconic Canadian-founded media brand.
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What used cars tell us about the future of the economy

The Bank of Canada is determined to crush inflation, but that doesn’t mean prices are going back to pre-pandemic levels. For proof, look no further than the used car market.

Driving the news: Prices in the used car market aren’t going up anymore, but they aren’t coming down much from pandemic-era heights, according to the latest data from Canadian Black Book.
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Ex-ByteDance exec says CCP has TikTok backdoor

A new lawsuit against TikTok owner ByteDance could discredit the company’s primary defence against efforts by some Western lawmakers to ban the app.

What happened: Yintao Yu, a former engineering lead for ByteDance in the US, claims that TikTok’s code included a “backdoor” to give Chinese government officials “supreme access” to user data, regardless of where it was hosted. 
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Adam Seaborn on how streaming has changed sports

We sat down with Adam Seaborn on Free Lunch By The Peak to dive into what’s going on in the business of sports, including the emergence of challenger leagues and streaming deals. 
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The link between Walmart and Tiffany

The last year has been tough if you’re a middle-of-the-pack consumer or retailer. 
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Inside Europe’s biggest TV event

In Liverpool, UK, at 3 p.m. EST, 26 nations will compete to win the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest… which is a really big deal, in case you didn’t know. 
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Space… the final (commercial) frontier

Space startup Vast has partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch a school bus-sized space station into orbit by 2025, as private companies race to capture low-orbit real estate.
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Softbank is still losing money

You wouldn’t think a company losing billions would be giving itself a little pat on the back, but here we are. 
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