The Daily Money: Are they really banning TikTok?

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Are they really banning TikTok?

The House voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to approve a measure that would ban the social media site from operating in the United States or force a sale, posing the most serious threat yet to the popular short-form video platform.

At issue is TikTok’s Chinese ownership, Jessica Guynn reports. U.S. officials say parent company ByteDance could hand over the personal information of the 170 million Americans who use the app to Beijing.

What happens next?

Read the story.

Nearly 1,000 Family Dollar stores are closing

What does it say about the US economy when dollar stores start shutting down?

Dollar Tree announced it will close nearly 1,000 of its Family Dollar stores for underperformance in 2023.

How many Family Dollar stores are there? Which ones will close? What will happen to other dollar store brands?

Read the story.

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Say what you want about chewing gum: It's cheaper than therapy.

Mars Wrigley is moving away from promoting its chewing gum products as breath deodorizers, and leaning in to a new selling point: stress relief for the young.

For over a century, gum has been synonymous with freshening breath, the company reasons. But now, Mars Wrigley is rebranding its product in "the biggest consumer engagement operations" in its history, it said.

"We found that people, particularly (25 and under), were intuitively integrating our chewing gum into their wider toolkit of well-being solutions," the company said in an e-mail. "And that they were chewing gum to support their emotional needs."

We wonder what the nation's dentists will say.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.