Good morning readers. It's the classic he-said-Ye-said situation. Adidas CEO, Bjorn Gulden, hinted some regrets over ending the Yeezy collaboration after Ye's (you might know him as Kanye) controversial remarks. But did Ye really mean those comments? Gulden thinks not. Yet, after a tweet-storm that'd make even birds blush, Adidas yanked Yeezy off its shelves. Foot Locker and Gap didn't skip a beat, following suit. Appointed as CEO amid this sneaker scandal, Gulden lamented losing one of history's most lucrative partnerships. But here's the kicker: Adidas' official stance? "No change."

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• The new game in sports journalism

• Headline Hustle: Tensions rise between Canada & India, Bloomberg’s $500M bet, UAW strike ripples through auto industry

• NASA takes on UFO’s

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending

SPORTS

Betting big on insider baseball

Joel Sherman, famed sportswriter for the New York Post, probably didn't see this curveball coming. A text popped up on his phone from an anonymous number inquiring about his MVP choice for the National League. Curveball revealed: the mysterious texter was a writer for a gambling website.

Enter the new grey zone

…where sports journalism tangles with the thriving US sports betting scene. With sports betting's allure on the rise, journalists, with their VIP pass to the inside scoop, are suddenly more enticing than a cold beer on a hot game day.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) isn't turning a blind eye. President Shi Davidi issued a warning—chatting about votes and winking at sports betting might just be the strikeout for their award integrity. But here’s the thing: unlike athletes, who get a clear "NO" on betting, journalists walk a fuzzier line. Just rewind to the NBA's Shams Charania's playbook. His association with sportsbook, FanDuel, had eyebrows raising faster than betting odds.

Spotting the potential foul, the BBWAA is now bringing in the big guns, crafting guidelines for navigating this slippery diamond. Shi Davidi's advice? Think twice, bat smart. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News urges self-governing; ethics shouldn’t need an umpire.

The bottom line? It’s a game of ethics now. As sports betting and journalism get cozier, stakeholders are stepping up to bat, aiming to keep journalism’s integrity from striking out.

Headline Hustle

🌎 Tensions rise between India and Canada: In light of allegations surrounding the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India and Canada are facing a diplomatic rift. Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau has insinuated a potential involvement of Indian agents in the murder, leading India to issue a travel advisory for its nationals in Canada. The U.S. has also expressed its concerns, urging cooperation by all parties throughout the process.

🏭 Bloomberg's $500M power play. Michael Bloomberg is making waves again with a cool $500 million to retire every coal plant in the U.S. and halve gas-fired capacity by 2030. Doubling down on his earlier "Beyond Coal" campaign, which already outpaced its goals, Bloomberg is teaming up with grassroots groups for this "power" move. And with support for taking on utilities and aiding coal community transitions, he's not just blowing smoke.

🚗 UAW strike ripples through auto industry. The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike is causing a domino effect in the car world. General Motors halted its Kansas plant, impacting 2,000 workers due to parts shortages linked to a Missouri factory strike. Meanwhile, Stellantis is laying off 370 staff in Ohio and Indiana as their Jeep parts pile up, unused because of a strike at the Toledo Assembly. The three big automakers – GM, Ford, and Stellantis – are feeling the pinch as roughly 13,000 workers strike after contract negotiations flopped. GM says it's a lose-lose situation, but UAW hints at more strikes if talks don't speed up.

SCIENCE

NASA’s eyes to the skies

"Is there someone out there?" That age-old question got a fresh injection of scientific intrigue as NASA recently pulled back the curtain on its plan to explore unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Armed with artificial intelligence and smartphone-snapping citizens, the space agency is gearing up to chase those elusive streaks across our skies.

NASA’s new blueprint

Rewind to when a NASA-appointed panel delivered its verdict: current UFO data-collection methods? Patchy at best. Their suggestions: leverage Earth-observing satellites, collaborate with commercial satellite experts, and let commercial pilots in on the reporting action.

This isn't just a stargazer's whim. The U.S. defense's reel of UFO footage from 2022 not only trended but also raised brows over national security. Mark McInerney, the newly minted UAP research director at NASA, has his task cut out - streamlining communications, buddying up with the Pentagon, and setting up a UFO database that doesn't just hinge on shaky camcorder footage.

What's lighting NASA's fire now? Think released defense videos, congressional UFO sit-downs, and a public fascination that's meteoric. Toss in potential security snags and you get why the space bigwigs are keen on a data revamp.

So, what's the plan, Stan? More AI, crowd-sourced intel, and a pinch of open-mindedness. As Bill Nelson, NASA's head honcho, put it, the aim is understanding, transparency, and no stone unturned - whether Earth-bound or intergalactic.

In a nutshell? UFOs, with a side of AI and public involvement. The truth? Still out there. But with NASA on the case, perhaps not for long.

SNIPPETS

Pulse Points

Air Canada revealed that an unauthorized group temporarily gained limited access to an internal system containing personal data of some employees and specific records.

Airbnb is leveraging AI to tackle the growing issue of fake listings. This year, the company has eliminated 59,000 fraudulent listings and stopped another 157,000 from being added to the platform.

WhatsApp is enhancing its shopping experience with a new feature called Flows, enabling users to perform actions like selecting a flight seat or scheduling an appointment without exiting the app.

Facebook updated its logo—can you spot the difference?

Amazon’s hardware event—everything you need to know about Alexa, Echo, Fire TV and more.

OpenAI introduced an enhanced version of its text-to-image tool, DALL-E, which now integrates ChatGPT, OpenAI's popular AI chatbot, to simplify the prompting process.

Uber Eats will introduce a chatbot feature in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada this year, initially assisting users in locating restaurant deals and reordering favorites. In subsequent updates, the AI assistant will aid in meal planning, identifying grocery sales, and ordering recipe ingredients.

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