*By Michael Teich*
The World Cup will take over a large part of the Twitter universe this summer when the quadrennial international soccer championship begins June 14 in Russia, and the social network aims to reach fans far and wide with its live video platform.
About 80 percent of Twitter's 330 million monthly active users are outside the United States, said Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser. The World Cup represents an opportunity for Twitter to grow that reach.
Four years ago, the tournament in Brazil reached 3.2 billion viewers around the world, and fans around the world are expected to be at least as excited this year.
Consumers are ditching cable at a rapid clip and opting to stream video content from services such as Netflix and Hulu. Disney's ESPN has been slow to adapt and retain subscribers, social media companies including Twitter are capitalizing by loading up on live and on-demand sports content.
The social media company's investments to become a premier destination for video appear to be paying off: Twitter revealed in its latest quarterly report that video ads made up more than 50 percent of total ad revenue.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/twitter-looking-forward-to-world-cup-boost-2).
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
Hear from Gabino & Stephen Roche on Saphyre’s institutional AI platform that centralizes pre‑ and post‑trade data, redefining settlement speed and accuracy.
Elon Musk’s X has reached a tentative settlement with former employees of the company then known as Twitter who’d sued for $500 million in severance pay.
