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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nine early signs of how Facebook ads are being used in Ontario’s election
Even before the Ontario election campaign officially begins, Facebook’s micro-targeting advertising is already an issue. Conservative Leader Doug Ford has been using Facebook advertising to target Ontarians who are “interested” in U.S. President Donald Trump and local candidates for Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals have been highlighting exactly how much their government’s last-ditch spending spree will bring to their ridings.
Online messaging is going to help shape Ontario’s spring election and elections in Quebec and New Brunswick later this year.
But unlike traditional advertising such as radio, television and print, Facebook ads can target specific users (say, people aged 18 to 24 who work in agriculture in Ontario) and only be seen by certain subsets of users, making the ads almost impossible to track.
Here’s where you come in. The Globe and Mail has partnered with the U.S. investigative journalism non-profit ProPublica to monitor as many of those Facebook ads as possible, to give readers the fullest available picture. The more Ontarians who install a Web-browser extension designed by ProPublica to capture the Facebook ads in their feeds – available here, along with a full explanation of privacy protections – the more complete the picture will be.
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U.S. students walk out of classes in call for gun control on Columbine anniversary
Students from across the United States streamed out of their schools today in the latest round of gun-control activism following the February shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. The protests were chosen to coincide with the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which left 13 people dead in Littleton, Colo. At 10 a.m. in each time zone, students at dozens of schools left class to take moments of silence honouring the victims at Columbine and other shootings.
Hundreds of Washington-area students gathered at a park near the White House, taking 19 minutes of silence for each year that has passed since the Columbine massacre. In New York, crowds of students gathered in Washington Square Park and lay down in a “die-in.”
Shortly before the walkouts, another school shooting in Florida left one student injured. Authorities said one student shot another in the ankle at Forest High School in Ocala. A suspect was taken into custody.
Rogers e-mail users raise concerns over data monitoring
Rogers Internet customers who use @rogers.com email service have been receiving pop-up messages recently that outline new terms of service, one of which specifies their “content and information,” including e-mails, photos and attachments may be analyzed to “...allows us to deliver, personalize and develop relevant features, content, advertising and services.”
The new terms of service stems from an e-mail partnership Rogers has with Verizon Communications Inc. Rogers has outsourced their e-mail service for years to Yahoo, but when Verizon acquired Yahoo last year, the telecom company merged Yahoo e-mail with its own AOL service.
Many customers posting on a Rogers community forum online raised fears related to Cambridge Analytica and also argued that since they pay for their internet service, they should not have to share their personal information in order for the e-mail provider to make money off the service.
Comey memos sent to Congress
The United States Justice Department handed over former FBI Director James Comey’s highly-anticipated memos to Congress late yesterday, which captured phone conversations and encounters with U.S. President Donald Trump before Mr. Comey was fired.
The 15 pages of documents contain new details about a series of interactions between the two that Mr. Comey says he found so unnerving that he chose to document them in writing. The encounters include Mr. Trump allegedly expressing serious concerns about the judgment of his Nation Security Adviser Michael Flynn, asking about the possibility of jailing journalists and describing a boast from Vladimir Putin about Russian prostitutes.
The memos cover the first three months of the Trump administration, a period of upheaval marked by staff turnover, a cascade of damaging headlines and revelations of an FBI investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
MARKET WATCH
The close: Dow drops more than 200 points as tech stocks tumble
World stocks dipped today as worries about a global slowdown in smartphone demand dented the technology sector, while oil prices dipped and then recovered after U.S. President Donald Trump sent them lower with a tweet criticizing OPEC.
Brent crude futures settled at $74.06 per barrel, up 0.38 per cent. U.S. crude oil futures settled 0.13 per cent higher at $68.38.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 202.09 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 24,462.8, the S&P 500 lost 22.98 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 2,670.15 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 91.93 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 7,146.13.
Canada’s main stock index rose on Friday as higher bond yields boosted financials, while shares of Rogers Communications jumped after the telecommunications company reported profits that beat estimates.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed up 29.9 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 15,484.32. Six of the index’s 10 main groups ended higher.
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WHAT’S TRENDING ON SOCIAL
Victoria naturopath criticized for treating boy with rabid-dog saliva
British Columbia’s top doctor and an alternative-medicine group are both expressing concern about a Victoria naturopath who treated a four-year-old boy with a rabid-dog saliva remedy called lyssin, a naturopathic product that claims to contain the infected saliva .
Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement that the product could put patients at risk of contracting rabies. She also warns that such treatments are not substitute for vaccines. She said she has seen examples where parents believe homeopathic treatments can replace health measures like immunizations, when that’s clearly not the case and could leave their children at risk of serious infections.
Health Canada said the lyssin/hydrophominum products on the Canadian market that it has approved are safe for consumption and have met high standards to demonstrate the product is safe.
TALKING POINTS
To the oil workers of Alberta: We care about you
In the spring of 2016, [Lliam Hildebrand] co-founded Iron and Earth to advocate for the “thousands of workers” who want a job change, but don’t want it to destroy their livelihoods. Mr. Hildebrand speaks of a “prosperous transition” out of fossil fuels, one that is “beneficial to workers, families, communities, the environment and the economy.” — Denise Balkissoon
The global property boom could help millions. Too bad it’s going untaxed
The greatest source of wealth in the world today, worth far more than oil or gold or equities, is the land beneath our feet. The world’s real estate, its total wealth assessed at almost $275-trillion, is far more valuable than any other commodity or asset. This poses a serious problem. In many of the largest and most troubled countries, that huge increase in wealth is beyond the reach of taxation. Rising property values cannot, in such places, be tapped for the greater public good – even if only to pay for the sidewalks, fire hydrants and garbage-collection services that may make property more valuable. — Doug Saunders
Confessions of a recycling slacker
Am I recycling wrong? No doubt. You probably are, too. How can we help it? The rules are tricky, and they’re always changing. Some kinds of plastic go in the blue bin but others don’t. Plastic food containers with black bottoms and clear tops? Tops, yes; bottoms, no. Or is it the other way around? … I know it is environmental heresy to say so. But there must be better ways to save the planet than wasting time washing empty yogurt tubs. — Margaret Wente
LIVING BETTER
Why kids’ behaviour may be worse than ever − and how to fix it
Raising children is a joy, except when it’s absolutely maddening. And it may be more frustrating today than it’s ever been, says Katherine Reynolds Lewis, author of the new book The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever – And What to Do About It. The Globe and Mail’s Dave McGinn spoke to Lewis about how to avoid yelling matches and the frustrations of trying to discipline kids.
Freaks and Geeks documentary chronicles one of TV’s most infamous cases of ‘cancelled-too-soon’
Way ahead of its time, hugely influential and unjustly short-lived, Freaks and Geeks was a cult favourite that broke traditional TV rules, gained a committed following and kick-started many careers – including Seth Rogen’s and James Franco’s.
But it did not enjoy the support of its network; NBC cancelled the show after a single season. Now, a documentary about the series, with amazing behind-the-scenes footage – including screen tests – is set to have its world premiere. The documentary includes present-day interviews with James Franco, Seth Rogan and then-NBC Entertainment president Garth Ancier, who addresses his controversial decision to kill the show.
LONG READS FOR A LONG COMMUTE
In Tuktoyaktuk, residents battle against the Beaufort Sea’s advance
A northern community built on a foundation of ice is battling a double threat – melting ground and rising seas – that residents are powerless to stop.
NHL and NBA PLAYOFFS
The Raptors visit Washington this weekend for Games 3 and 4 of their Eastern Conference first round against the Wizards. The Raps are up 2-0 and look to put a stranglehold on Washington tonight starting at 8 p.m. EST. Sunday’s Game 4 begins at 6 p.m. EST. If there’s a need for Game 5, that’ll be back in Toronto next Wednesday. If you’re just getting into the Raptors, maybe hedging your bets while that other Toronto team struggles through their first round playoffs, Read Rachel Brady’s take on Raptors’ three-point specialist C.J. Miles.
The Leafs, meanwhile, are on the other end of the spectrum. Last night’s heartbreak has them down 3 games to 1 and they face elimination, in Boston, tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST. David Shoalts’ post-game highlights the success of Boston’s defensive game even without Patrice Bergeron. And Cathal Kelly suggests the Leafs need to stop competing against themselves.
Evening Update was compiled by Michael Snider. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.