Haiti's President Assassinated | There's a Snake in the Drain

President Jovenel Moïse was shot dead in his home overnight, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced Wednesday, while the first lady was wounded in the attack. Since February, Haiti has been embroiled in political turmoil with anti-government protests in the streets of capital Port-au-Prince. The demonstrations were spurred by questions about whether Moïse’s term in office had expired and he was ruling unconstitutionally. Earlier this year he claimed there was an attempt on his life. Joseph has called an emergency meeting and asked the public to remain calm.

Sources: The Telegraph, Miami Herald, DW

2. Eric Adams Wins NYC Mayoral Primary

He’s the great Dem hope. Bridging a divide between progressives and moderates, the retired NYPD captain seems a shoo-in to become New York City mayor after declaring victory in the June 22 primary. The Brooklyn borough president leads nearest rival Kathryn Garcia by 1% after yesterday’s preliminary absentee ballot count. Heavily favored to beat GOP nominee and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa in November, Adams would become the Big Apple’s second Black mayor. Once impoverished himself, Adams vowed to serve “those who are struggling” with a “safe, fair, affordable future.”

Sources: NY Daily News, NYT, AP

3. Elsa Inundates Florida, Surfside Efforts

Tropical Storm Elsa may have been downgraded from a hurricane, but as it skirts Florida’s west coast it’s still complicating rescue efforts in the collapsed Champlain Towers South near Miami. Four more bodies were recovered Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 36, with 109 people still missing when the search through the rubble was paused because of lightning. Meanwhile, local authorities expressed “significant concerns” about the fallen structure’s sibling, Champlain Towers North. It’s “essentially the same building,” said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett, probably built with the same design and materials, so a thorough safety review is underway.

Sources: NBC, CNN, The Guardian

4. Pentagon Nixes $10B Cloud Contract

Were they too soft? Venerable tech titan Microsoft yesterday lost its $10 billion cloud computing JEDI, or Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, contract with the Pentagon, which said the deal “no longer meets its needs.” That’s in light of new industry capabilities, not to mention rival Amazon’s lawsuit charging that Jeff Bezos-hating former President Donald Trump spiked its bid. Now Amazon, the world’s leading cloud provider, will get another crack at the less dramatically named Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability. Microsoft will also get to bid, but sources say competitors Oracle and IBM may not be up to the challenge.

Sources: Ars Technica, The Hill

5. Also Important …

Iran has notified global nuclear regulators that it’s enriching uranium metal, which could be used for an atomic weapon, prompting the U.S. and European powers to warn that it’s endangering talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement. European climate monitors report that North America had its hottest June ever. And Italy has beaten Spain 4-2 in a penalty shootout, breaking a 1-1 tie after extra time, to advance to the Euro 2020 soccer finals.

Coronavirus Update: Study results show that Pfizer’s vaccine is 88% effective against COVID-19’s Delta variant, which is now America’s dominant strain. With lackluster vaccination progress, President Joe Biden yesterday announced a new push that will include “literally knocking on doors” to encourage participation.

Today on The Carlos Watson Show legendary performer Steve Harvey stops by to share his secrets for great comedy. The Family Feud host explains what made his version of the game show stick out and gives his insight on comedy’s GOATs — while teasing a possible no-holds-barred comeback that would shock us all. Now an iconic success, hear how he lifted himself out of homelessness and the epic love story with his wife, who helped him find himself. And what does he say about the Black Lives Matter movement? Watch now.

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He didn’t need to know what lurked below. A 65-year-old man in Austria got a terrifying surprise when he sat on his toilet and felt a “tweak” in his nether region Monday. The jolt led to the discovery that a 5-foot-long albino reticulated python had slithered up through his plumbing. The animal, which can grow to 29 feet, turned out to be a neighbor’s pet. The mercifully unnamed victim was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, while a reptile wrangler was retained to remove the python, give it a bath and return it home.

Sources: NY Post, Newsweek

2. Open Records: Hospitals Gouging the Uninsured

You’re going to feel a pinch. Patients may not need The Wall Street Journal to tell them, but a new open records law has let the paper verify that hospitals are charging uninsured patients more than they do insurance companies for the same procedures. One horror story featured a man with a torn artery who in three days ran up a $59,800 tab, with some procedures triple what insurers had negotiated with the South Dakota facility. The effect of the disclosure law, which began Jan. 1, has been remarkable: Many facilities, when confronted with publicity, immediately lowered their fees.

What’s happened to you? Share your medical billing experiences at [email protected].

Sources: WSJ (sub)

3. Inuit Leader Will Be QEII’s Rep in Canada

Can she bridge a colonial divide? Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has approved Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s appointment of Canada’s first Indigenous governor general. That means Inuit leader Mary Simon will represent the monarch, who is the country’s symbolic head of state. It comes as Canada agonizes over discoveries of the remains of Indigenous children in hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of residential schools where students were separated from parents and forcibly assimilated. Trudeau said Simon could “meet the moment,” while the longtime advocate of Indigenous rights called it “an important step” toward reconciliation.

Sources: CBC, France 24, Axios

4. Britney Spears’ Lawyer Wants Off Her Case

Didn’t he know he was toxic? That’s how fans must see the court-appointed lawyer who represented Spears through 13 years of conservatorship — but allegedly didn’t tell her how to end it. Sam Ingham III yesterday asked a probate judge to resign as the distressed pop star’s lawyer. This came a day after her longtime manager Larry Rudolph resigned, saying he hadn’t heard from Spears in 2 1/2 years and was told she wanted to retire. If the court approves Ingham’s request, it must assign Spears another attorney, although she’s asked to name her own.

Sources: People, Deadline

5. Phoenix Rises to Take NBA Finals Game 1

There’s life after 30. We know that because at the ripe old age of 36, Chris Paul led the Phoenix Suns with 32 points to take Game 1 from the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals last night, 118-105. That means he joins basketball greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan as players aged 36+ to score 30+ in the finals. Not announcing that feat was ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, who was removed from courtside after a recording surfaced of her attributing Black colleague Maria Taylor’s success to her race. Nichols has kept her job, but outraged colleagues want her out.

Sources: SI, NYT, USA Today

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