Thursday, February 1, 2024

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2024

Good Morning! On this day in 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time. Chief Justice John Jay presided over a Court of six judges with nothing to do because there were no appeals to hear. (Who Were The First Justices?)

We’re happy to report in our Sports section today that Budweiser is bringing its Clydesdale horses back for a warm-hearted Super Bowl ad. Yes, it’s clearly an effort to move past the Bud Light fiasco, but who doesn’t like the Clydesdales? You can see the new ad here.

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Congress Hammers Social Media Moguls

A Senate panel told the CEOs of five major social media companies that they have “blood” on their hands for risking children’s safety on their platforms.

At one point, Sen. Josh Hawley asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg if he wanted to apologize to families for the harm Facebook has caused. Zuckerberg stood and faced the packed audience to apologize. The video is here.

The four-hour hearing covered a lot of ground, veering at one point into questions about TikTok’s relationship with China. A roundup of the high points from a tech viewpoint can be found here, and for a political overview, check here.

DeSantis Beats Disney in Court

A federal judge dismissed Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a major setback for the media giant’s legal battle over control of the Reedy Creek board.

Disney sued after DeSantis dismissed the board and created a new one to oversee the property around Disney World. The company claimed it was the victim of political retaliation, violating its free speech rights.

The court tossed out the case, ruling that Disney had no standing to sue because it showed no injury from the board change. The judge also ruled that DeSantis’ motivations were irrelevant since the takeover complied with state law.

PGA Gets $3 Billion Investment

The PGA Tour received a $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group, an investment firm featuring American executives and owners of professional sports franchises.

The partnership between the two is separate from the commercial venture framework the PGA Tour signed eight months ago with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

The deal calls for a new entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, to be set up as a for-profit venture that will offer players more than $1.5 billion in equity ownership to compete with the high bonuses paid to star golfers who joined the LIV tour.

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➤ A House committee advanced impeachment charges against Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas for not protecting the border. A vote in the full House could come as early as next week. (More)

➤ Fani Willis, the district attorney in Donald Trump’s Georgia case, has been subpoenaed to testify at a Feb. 15 hearing about allegations that she hired her romantic partner as lead prosecutor and financially benefited from it. (More)

➤ The militia group accused of killing U.S. troops said it was suspending military operations in Iraq and would no longer target American soldiers. The move comes as President Biden weighs retaliatory measures. (More)

➤ The Georgia House voted almost unanimously to require watermarks on election ballots to help convince voters of the upcoming election’s integrity. It must still pass the state Senate. (More)

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Hello Flyover Reader!

We’ve officially survived January.

Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like the first two months of the year? Christmas is over, the weather stinks, and it’s generally gray and drab outside. However…

Retreating indoors has its benefits. It’s a great time to work on new projects, and we’ve been busy.

In January, we jumped to 550,000 readers, hired two new employees, and launched a brand new newsletter: The Texas Flyover.

It was a jam-packed month, but we’re just getting started for 2024. We want to reach another half a million people, and we’d love to create a second state-specific newsletter.

All of that work requires people, of course. We need to hire a few more smart, hardworking Americans to meet our goals this year.

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We count it as a privilege to bring you the news (and a few laughs; I can hear our head writer cracking up as I type this. Something good must be coming).

Thanks for being a part of The Flyover family.

– Cole, CEO

➤ The Seattle Seahawks hired former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as the team’s new head coach. The Ravens’ defense ranked first in sacks and points allowed. (More)

➤ Baltimore native David Rubenstein has agreed to buy the Baltimore Orioles from its current owners for $1.725 billion. The other MLB owners still have to approve the deal. (More)

➤ The Budweiser Clydesdales are returning to the Super Bowl with a new ad as Anheuser-Busch looks to win back customers. The Clydesdale ad, “Old-School Delivery,” harkens back to horse-drawn beer deliveries. (See Video)

Market Report 1/31/24

▼	NASDAQ Natl. Assoc. of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	15,164.01	–2.23%
▼	SPX S&P 500	4,848.87	–1.55%
▼	DJI Dow Jones Industrial Average	38,150.30	–0.82%
▼	BTC Bitcoin	$42,167.0	–1.00%
▲	PARA Paramount Global	$23.33	+21.57%

➤ Big Stock Move: Paramount Global stock rose 22% after media mogul Byron Allen made a $14.3 billion bid for the company, his second attempt to buy it. (More)

➤ eBay agreed to a $59 million settlement with the Justice Department for selling pill presses that could be used to make counterfeit drugs. The company said it would also increase security in the future. (More)

➤ Boeing beat 4th quarter expectations by cutting losses to $30 million and increasing aircraft production. The results came before the FAA grounded 170 of its planes for safety issues. (More)

➤ The Federal Reserve signaled they were still hesitant to begin cutting interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he wants to see more “good data” before lowering them. (More)

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➤ A new device called “WEHEAD” connects to ChatGPT via a screen that displays a human face with expressions and a voice for conversations with the AI, like a disembodied concierge. (See Video)

➤ An astrophotographer in Iceland captured a rare northern lights phenomenon where the Earth’s magnetic field causes the lights to visibly ripple, like a vibrating guitar string. (See Video)

➤ Neanderthals and humans lived side by side for thousands of years in Northern Europe before Neanderthals went extinct, according to a new genetic analysis of bone fragments in Germany. (See Photos)

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➤ The world’s first wireless charging hearing aids cost less than $100. (Video)

➤ President Biden’s approval rating dropped to 38% in January as border worries rose, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll. Immigration rose six points to become the No. 1 concern of 17% of Americans. (See Poll)

➤ A WalletHub survey found that 34% of Gen Zers don’t think their parents set a good financial example for them, a larger share than in any other generation. (See Survey)

➤ Most Americans feel they pay too much in taxes and get too little in return, a new AP-NORC survey shows. That goes for federal taxes, local property taxes, and state sales taxes. (See Results)

➤ A Gustav Klimt painting worth $54 million was found after being lost for nearly 100 years. The painting will go up for auction, where Klimt’s art has fetched huge sums. (See Painting)

➤ A record number of people won a South Carolina lottery, with 3,351 ticket buyers all choosing the same number, 4-4-4-4, in the state’s “Pick 4” lottery. Each winner got either $2,500 or $5,000 per play. (More)

➤ A Washington D.C. man spent months building a large model of Dulles Airport using 50,000 Lego pieces. The finished Lego model will go on display at the real-life airport. (See Video)