UK Awaits Brexit Vote | Trump's AG Pick Faces Confirmation

Following British Prime Minister Theresa May’s last-ditch campaign to promote her divorce deal with the European Union, lawmakers will vote on the unpopular plan today. But even by Monday evening, her effort appeared unsuccessful: Many of her fellow Conservative Party members are reportedly poised to join opposition parties in scuttling the deal, with some allies even predicting she’ll lose by more than 200 votes. If she does, May would have three days — during which she’d likely seek further concessions from Brussels — to return with a “Plan B.”

While William Barr will likely be confirmed as President Donald Trump’s new attorney general, he’ll have to field tough questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee today on subjects including the limits of executive power and whether Barr would interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Barr is expected to tell lawmakers he offered Trump no guarantees in exchange for his nomination, and that it’s “vitally important” Mueller’s investigation proceeds. Meanwhile, OZY asks what Barr learned from dealing with independent investigations during his first stint as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush.

Robert Schellenberg was sentenced to death by a Chinese court after being found guilty of trafficking nearly 500 pounds of methamphetamines. In November 2016, Schellenberg — who maintains his innocence — was sentenced to 15 years, but a provincial court recently ordered a retrial as prosecutors argued the penalty was “too lenient.” In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the sentence as arbitrary, while others have linked it to last month’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Meanwhile, Canadians have been warned to exercise caution in China.

As the partial government shutdown enters its 25th day, airports and airlines are reeling from its effects. Federal approval for new aircraft and routes has been put on hold — leading to delays in commercial operations — while long lines snake through major travel hubs as unpaid security screeners stop showing up for duty. According to the Transportation Security Administration, unscheduled absences by employees more than doubled yesterday from the year before, to 7.6 percent. “It’s chaos out here,” said one passenger at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest.

Know This: U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa has been removed from the House Judiciary and Agriculture Committees over recent comments questioning why white supremacy is offensive. Iran has claimed it launched a satellite today that failed to reach orbit. And Serena and Venus Williams have both advanced to the second round of the Australian Open.

#OZYfact: Second children double parents’ time pressure, further widening the gap between mothers and fathers. Read more on OZY.

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They’re over the moon. Yesterday the China National Space Administration revealed plans to build a base on the lunar surface using 3D printing, and to venture as far as Mars. Earlier this month, China’s Chang’e 4 probe landed on the dark side of the moon in a global first. Now Beijing’s space agency is following up on that success, announcing a new series of Chang’e missions and a Mars voyage by 2020. It’s all part of an intensifying space race against the U.S. to reach the Red Planet — and beyond.

Once known as Colombia’s New York City for its history of immigration and commerce, Barranquilla has emerged from bankruptcy to become a beacon for the country. New infrastructure is helping stave off flooding, which was predicted to worsen with rising sea levels, while other projects — like a huge new city center near the Magdalena River — may lure tourists and residents. Better policing and public programs, meanwhile, have cut crime and poverty. Thanks to its position on the Atlantic coast, Barranquilla hopes to compete against bigger cities like Medellín and Bogotá.

The head of Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth has been targeted by employees who told a local newspaper that she’d killed more than 230 rescued dogs to free up shelter space. While CARE has a no-kill policy, charity leader Park So-yeon has admitted that a small number of exterminations had been “inevitable” since 2015, due to a growing number of rescue requests. Many of CARE’s canines are saved from dog-meat farms, while younger Koreans — embracing pooches as pets — increasingly consider the traditional delicacy taboo.

There’s no business like show business. The Screen Actors Guild claims the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been exerting “extraordinary and unwarranted pressure” to block stars scheduled to present at the Feb. 24 Oscars ceremony from doing the same a month earlier at the SAG Awards. While the actors’ union called the move “utterly outrageous and unacceptable,” the tactic apparently isn’t new: A similar dispute is brewing between the Golden Globes and the Academy after Globes recruiters were reportedly told celebrities could only choose one of the events.

Following their 44-16 win over Alabama last week, the national college football champs were met with silver trays of burgers, fries and pizza during their trip to Washington yesterday to meet President Trump. According to Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump picked up the catering bill because the partial government shutdown has left many White House staff members furloughed. The undefeated Tigers — who also visited the president in 2017 after their championship win that year — spent some time at local landmarks, including the Lincoln Memorial.