D.C. Under High Alert | Okta’s $6.5 Billion Auth0 Deal | Sands Is Leaving Las Vegas

Plus: The Dr. Seuss Empire Is Only Getting Bigger After Discontinued Books Send Sales Soaring

Good morning.

Authorities warned of a domestic security threat in D.C. that forced the House to cancel a planned session. We also report on the end of an era for Las Vegas Sands, as it plans to leave the Strip, and Okta’s three-comma deal to buy one of its leading competitors.

In The News Today

Meghan Markle accused Buckingham Palace of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Prince Harry in a new clip of the highly anticipated interview with Oprah.

Billionaire Dan Gilbert’s fortune plunged $25.4 billion as his Rocket Companies’ shares tanked 33% after skyrocketing the previous day in a GameStop-like squeeze. 

Top Take-Aways

The House abruptly canceled a session planned for today after authorities warned of a possible plot to breach the Capitol on Thursday. Some followers of the far right QAnon conspiracy theory believe March 4 represents Donald Trump’s inauguration date.

The non-fungible token (NFT) mania is heating up. The blockchain-based digital assets are becoming increasingly popular in the creative industries. DJ 3LAU’s sale of 33 NFTs set new records, while the planned auction of a burnt Banksy NFT is setting the art world alight.

Publicly-traded identity management company Okta is acquiring one of its leading challengers, Seattle area-based startup Auth0, in an all-stock deal valued at $6.5 billion.

Google plans to stop tracking individual users’ web browsing habits or selling ads based on them. The Alphabet-owned search engine said it will phase out tracking users across websites without replacing third-party cookies with a new form of tracking.

2020 was a breakout year for legal cannabis—sales across the U.S. hit a record of $17.5 billion, a 46% increase from 2019, according to a new report.

Nearly two months after the death of its billionaire founder Sheldon Adelson, Las Vegas Sands has come to an agreement to sell its properties on The Strip, including the Venetian Resort and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, for $6.25 billion.

Elon Musk's company SpaceX successfully landed its Starship vehicle from high-altitude for the first time. Slightly more than six minutes after launching, the vehicle was back safely on Earth. A few minutes later, it exploded.

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