Top Stories
TOP STORY
TOP STORY
Sports betting ballot highlights tax debate
A Missouri ballot on whether to legalize sports betting highlights an emerging debate among policymakers over taxation.
Legalized sports betting has spread from one state — Nevada — to 38 states and Washington, D.C., since the Supreme Court opened the door in 2018.
Many promotional costs — in which sportsbooks provide cash-like credits for customers to place bets — are exempt from state taxes, limiting the revenue for governments and schools.. Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., have all restructured their tax rates. Colorado and Virginia have pared back the deductions.
Tax rates range from a low of 6.75% in states like Iowa to 51% in New York. That tax gap is even wider because Iowa allows promotional bets to be deducted from taxable revenue while New York does not.
About half the states allow tax deductions for promotional costs. This is a standard way of enticing people to start — or continue making bets. But in the short term, it can also decrease the tax revenue available for governments and schools.
Missouri's proposed 10% tax rate on sports betting revenue is below the national average of 19% that sportsbooks paid to states last year. Because of deductions for "free play," there could be some months in which sportsbooks owe nothing to the state.
Running Stories
US POLITICS
US POLITICS
Final full week of the presidential campaign
What happens in the coming days will be pivotal in deciding the winner in the final full week of the 2024 presidential campaign.
The wars in the Middle East are escalating at the very moment that millions of voters are preparing to cast ballots. Iran’s response to Israel’s unusually public airstrikes across Iran on Friday could determine the extent to which the Middle East conflict shapes the US election.
The Democratic vice president continues to face intense pressure from her party’s progressive base, which has been highly critical of Israel. Former president Trump has been unapologetically supportive of Israel, although some Arab American leaders — especially in swing-state Michigan — have been supportive.
Harris and Trump are aggressively competing in seven swing states that will ultimately decide the election. Harris is scheduled to go to Michigan, make a “closing speech” in D.C., and head to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Wednesday alone. She heads to Nevada and Arizona on Thursday.
Trump is booked to host at least one rally daily: Monday in Georgia, Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Wednesday in Wisconsin, Thursday in Nevada, Friday in Wisconsin again and Saturday in Virginia.
Bubbling Under
China
Industrial profits plunge at fastest pace since the pandemic.'Russian special operation’
Georgian president won’t recognize election result, calls for protest.Few laughs for comedian
Speaker at Trump rally compares Puerto Rico to ‘island of garbage.’Subscribe to our newsletter
Everything you need to know about today's news — in your inbox each morning.
It’s free
WORLD
WORLD
Russia's economy grows despite sanctions
Despite thousands of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, its economy is growing.
The International Monetary Fund estimated Russia's economy will grow over 3% this year — more than the US and Europe. Daleep Singh, the deputy national security adviser for international economics at the White House, said Russian President Vladimir Putin has also turbo-charged spending to fuel the war machine.
Singh said Putin’s plan has come with a cost of sky-high inflation of around 9% and interest rates of nearly 19%. “On the surface, Russia's economy may appear to be a fortress, but underneath, the foundations are fragile.”
Western nations agreed to cap Russia’s oil exports at $60 a barrel. But the price of most Russian oil exceeds that due to a “dark fleet” that eludes tracking of ships en route to destinations, mainly in India and China. Russia’s oil and gas revenues are expected to increase by 2.6% to nearly $240 billion.
Small and medium businesses in Russia are at an all-time high. Its economy has grown at the fastest pace in over a decade, and banned Western goods still enter Russia. Prices are higher because of the roundabout import route via third parties such as Kazakhstan and China, but wealthy Russians are willing to pay.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Google AI could operate your web browser
A report says Google may be close to unveiling an AI agent that can operate a web browser to help users automate everyday tasks.
Google is working on a “computer-using agent” under the codename Project Jarvis that “responds to a person’s commands by capturing frequent screenshots of what’s on their computer screen, and interprets the shots before taking actions like clicking on a button or typing into a text field,” the report says.
Jarvis is reportedly made to work only with web browsers — particularly Chrome — to assist with common tasks like research, shopping and booking flights. This comes as Google continues to expand the capabilities of its Gemini AI, the next-gen model of which is expected to be revealed in December.
The news of Jarvis comes days after Anthropic introduced a similar but seemingly more expansive feature for its Claude AI, which it says has been equipped with computer skills so it can “use a wide range of standard tools and software programs designed for people.”
HEALTH
HEALTH
When will the next Covid, flu surge start?
A surge in flu and Covid cases is likely on the way, but the timing of the winter wave may be different this year.
The summer of 2024 saw a significant increase in Covid cases that stretched well into September. A health official said the summer cases may mean the winter wave will be smaller because their immunity will last until December and January.
How big the wave ends up being depends in part on vaccine uptake. Last year, few people got the updated booster shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating against influenza before the end of October, so it has time to take effect before peak flu season from Dec. to Feb.
CDC Director Mandy Cohen said that if vaccine uptake is similar to last year, we could see 800,000 hospitalizations of flu, Covid and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). “We know vaccines can cut the risk of hospitalization in half.”
OTHER NEWS
OTHER NEWS
14 shots fired at Bolivia’s Morales in car
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales said gunmen tried to kill him in a hail of bullets, an attack he blamed on the president.
Morales said his driver was wounded as assailants with their faces covered shot at him while he was en route to a radio station for an interview in the city of Cochabamba on Sunday. “The car in which I arrived has 14 bullet holes,” said Morales, adding: “This was planned. The idea was to kill Evo.”
Morales blamed President Luis Arce, a former ally and cabinet minister with whom he has fallen out. Morales filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, based in Costa Rica, formally accusing “government agents” of trying to assassinate him, Morales said on X.
Arce also responded on X, saying he had ordered “an immediate and thorough investigation to clarify the facts” surrounding what he called “the alleged attack” on Morales.
Morales, 65, served as president from 2006 to 2019 and was popular until he tried to bypass the constitution to seek a fourth term. He was forced to resign after losing the support of the military following an election marked by allegations of fraud and fled to Mexico. He returned to Bolivia in 2020.
OFFBEAT
OFFBEAT
Pizza shop infuses dough with cannabis oil
Regular readers of Offbeat may exercise vigilance when ordering their next pizza after reading about this accidental mix-up.
Last week, we relayed news about a German pizzeria intentionally providing a side of cocaine for select customers under their pizza.
This week, a Wisconsin pizzeria apologized after its chef accidentally drizzled cannabis-infused oil onto a batch served to unwitting consumers. Five diners required medical treatment.
Health officials identified the cause of the customers' health complaints after investigating for carbon monoxide exposure. The truth emerged when one particularly observant diner described the experience as similar to consuming a cannabis edible.
Tests for THC were then conducted in the kitchen, which came back positive. Public Health Madison & Dane County found that a chef had run out of oil and used a batch from the shared kitchen. The chef hadn’t noticed the warning label indicating it contained Delta-9 cannabis.
Otherweb Editorial Staff
Alex FinkTechie in Chief
David WilliamsEditor in Chief
Angela PalmerContent Manager
Dan KriegerTechnical Director