No profits for YouTube
YouTube will lose $470 million this year, even though visitors to the site will download about 75 billion videos, according to an estimate by Credit Suisse. YouTube has to pay for a massive broadband connection and expensive licensing fees, while few advertisers want to be associated with goofy, lewd, or bizarre videos.
Slate.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Canceled raids boost medical marijuana dispensaries
Applications to open medical marijuana dispensaries in California have soared since the Obama administration said federal agents would no longer raid operations that are allowed under California law. In Los Angeles and Oakland alone, pot is now sold openly in thousands of storefronts.
Los Angeles Times
Sales of alcohol to rise by 4.8 percent
Sales of wine, beer, and other alcoholic products are on pace to rise 4.8 percent this year, to $79 billion. Many drinkers are doing their drinking at home, to save money on bars and restaurants.
Associated Press
“Mixed status” families number 8.8 million
Illegal immigrants have given birth to about 4 million children on U.S. soil, a Pew study found. These children are U.S. citizens by right of birth, making about 8.8 million people members of “mixed status” families, in which some members are citizens and some face potential deportation.
San Jose Mercury News
Legal firearm sales soar by 27 percent
Legal firearm sales have soared 27 percent in the first three months of 2009, with nearly 4 million background checks made by the FBI. Many gun owners fear that the Obama administration will impose new restrictions, so they’re buying now.
The Wall Street Journal
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.