Canada plans to hit NATO spending target early and reduce US defense reliance, Carney says
TORONTO — Canada will meet NATO's military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense spending away from the United States, which he says no longer plays a predominant role on the world stage, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.
Carney said Canada will achieve NATO's spending target of 2% of gross domestic product five years earlier than it had previously planned.
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CNN
34 minutes ago
- CNN
Why these actors and ‘SmartLess' podcast hosts want to help you pay less for cell service
The latest celebrity start-up trend is no longer tequila. It's telecom. Actors Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman — who host the popular 'SmartLess' podcast — are launching a wireless service as an alternative to pricier unlimited data plans from major carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. The decision to start the company, called SmartLess Mobile, came from a simple realization: while industry giants generally push unlimited plans, most people don't actually use that much data. Even if they're glued to their phones. 'Most Americans spend almost 90% of their time under Wi-Fi. Their mobile device very seldom actually uses the actual wireless network,' said SmartLess CEO Paul McAleese, a telecom industry veteran who co-founded the company with the actors. Research published last year by the consultancy group OpenSignal found that most mobile customers spend between 77% and 88% of their on-screen time connected to a Wi-Fi network. SmartLess Mobile offers wireless plans starting at $15 per month for 5 gigabytes of high-speed data, going up to $30 monthly for 30 gigabytes. By contrast, starter unlimited plans from the major carriers range from around $35 to $65 per month. McAleese said he and Arnett started discussing the idea after the actor bought a new phone for his teenage son and was sold an unlimited plan that cost around $70 monthly. (Arnett previously served as a spokesperson for Canadian telecom giant Shaw Communications; McAleese is the company's former president.) 'And (Arnett) goes, 'Geez, it's awfully expensive,'' McAleese said in an interview with CNN. 'And I said, 'Your boy spends almost his entire life under Wi-Fi. He's at home, he's at school … he's never going to be on the network. Why would you buy all that?'' SmartLess Mobile joins a growing slate of celebrity-backed wireless carriers, including Consumer Cellular, with longtime spokesperson Ted Danson, and Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile, which was acquired by T-Mobile in 2023. These providers, known as mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs), lease access to a major telecom provider's spectrum — SmartLess plans will run on T-Mobile's 5G network — and can often charge lower prices because they don't have to manage the physical infrastructure. The services have gained popularity as cell phone technology has advanced. Most phones now have digital SIM cards, making it easier for consumers to switch carriers without having to visit a retail store. And the proliferation of Wi-Fi infrastructure everywhere from subways to restaurants means many people have lesser data needs. If their partner network goes down, MVNOs do risk being the ones customers blame for losing missing service. And limited data plans aren't necessarily for everyone — ride-share drivers and delivery couriers likely use a lot more data than people who work from home or from an office with a Wi-Fi network. But the primary 'uphill battle for any MVNO is to stand out in the space,' said Jeffrey Moore, principal at wireless industry research firm Wave7, because the industry giants have much more name recognition. Major carriers also entice customers with deals on new phones, which they practically give away for free if consumers join their network. Smaller carriers 'have to stand out either in terms of offerings or in terms of marketing,' Moore said. That's where celebrity endorsements come in. SmartLess already has a significant built-in audience; the podcast ranks among the top 20 most popular shows on Apple Podcasts. And Arnett, Hayes and the SmartLess podcast have more than 2 million combined Instagram followers. 'Whether by luck or by design, they also have a brand name that has both 'smart' and 'less' in the name,' McAleese said, 'which, if you're going to be a challenger brand in this day and age, those are two pretty good head starts.' The team plans to start discussing SmartLess Mobile on the podcast in the coming weeks, he said. And the SmartLess hosts' involvement in the new carrier goes beyond typical celebrity endorsements, McAleese said. Hayes, Arnett and Bateman had already turned down the opportunity to lend their names to other types of products, and they've been involved in everything from financing to marketing the new company. 'They rely on the category for what is now one of their primary professional pursuits, which is the podcast, this is how people consume their product,' McAleese said. 'These guys are master storytellers, and they have the brand ethos of sort of an honest broker. I think it's just a perfect marriage.'
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Out-of-town trips continue for Beaver County Housing Authority leaders
After questions were raised last year about how the director of the Beaver County Housing Authority and her board members were spending the public's money, it is unclear if anything has changed. In June 2024, KDKA Investigates exposed some eye-popping and extravagant travel by the executive director and board members of the Beaver County Housing Authority. KDKA reports detailed more than $30,000 was spent over two years on airfare, hotel and meals at some of the most exciting destinations America has to offer. A year later, KDKA Lead Investigator Andy Sheehan went back to the authority to see if anything had changed. Update on Beaver County Housing Authority's out-of-state trips Last year, KDKA Investigates reported on travel to far-flung cities and resorts, airfare, and stays at swanky hotels in exciting destinations. Beaver County Housing Authority Director Kathryn Walter and her board members became frequent flyers in the name of improving life for thousands of their residents. "We documented how tens of thousands of dollars were spent on travel," Sheehan asked. "How did this benefit your tenants?" "We learn how to better improve our scores," Walter said. "And as a group, we learn what we have to do as a public housing authority." KDKA found Walter, her staff and some of her board members rarely missed any professional conferences held in Pennsylvania and around the country. But while Walter and her board say the learning sessions make them better administrators, other housing authorities said those conferences are repetitive and of limited value. "Have you curtailed your traveling over the past year?" Sheehan asked Walter. "I am still a member of the (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) Board of Governors and a PHADA trustee, and I do that traveling for that, yes," she said. Board agendas don't reveal the trips taken over the past 12 months, and Walter declined to list them. But as an officer in these organizations, she says her attendance at many of the conferences is required. In the past year, those organizations held conferences in New Orleans; Seattle; Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C.; and Chicago — with airfare, hotel and meals for her and others coming from maintenance fees paid by housing authority residents who said they don't see the benefits. "You tell me what they learned by going down to Palm Springs? What did they learn about our housing in Beaver County?" resident Wendy Bailey said. Disappointed that not much has changed, though the new board solicitor did say things are under review. "I can tell you that since I've come on as solicitor, we've been working and reviewing various policies, not just travel but all policies," Beaver County Housing Authority Solicitor Joe Askar said. "So, it is a work in progress." And so the trips continue, though it is unknown how many and how often.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
How RFK Jr.'s CDC Ousters Upend the Future of Vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of health and human services, dismissed all 17 members that make up a key committee advising the US government on vaccine safety and policy, saying that removing the entire panel was the only way to restore public confidence in vaccine science. The move, announced in an opinion piece on June 9, added to the confusion about whether Americans would have access to vaccines for diseases from polio and measles to Covid and the flu. Here's what to know about Kennedy's decision and how it might affect future vaccine development and delivery.
