GOOD DAY FOR: Killing the competition, as Microsoft’s “Halo 3” video game brought in a record $170 million in sales in its first 24 hours on U.S. shelves. That makes the sci-fi shooter’s first day more lucrative than the opening weekend for blockbuster movies like Harry Potter and Spiderman. (MarketWatch)

BAD DAY FOR: Frdm of spch, as Verizon Wireless declined to allow abortion-rights group Naral Pro-Choice America to use its network for a text-messaging program. The other major wireless carriers have accepted Naral’s program, in which cellphone users receive text messages by typing in a five-digit code. Verizon explained that it avoids hosting messages that are potentially “controversial or unsavory.” (The New York Times, free registration required)