| | | Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks at a rally against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas yesterday. Source: Getty |
| | IMPORTANT | | 01 | National Assembly President Juan Guaido made the announcement before anti-government protesters yesterday, challenging embattled President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Guaido was immediately recognized as the country’s leader by the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. President Donald Trump promised the “full weight” of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to oust Maduro — who responded by ordering American diplomats to leave the country.
What do broken diplomatic relations mean? It’s unclear: The White House says it’ll ignore Maduro’s order, which stands at odds with Gauido’s own insistence that American diplomats stay.
Check out OZY’s take on a previous attack on Maduro’s presidency. | |
| | 02 | Following a public back-and-forth with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump said yesterday that he won’t deliver his speech until the government fully reopens. Pelosi refused Trump the House floor for the annual address — citing shutdown-related security concerns — prompting Trump to seek alternative locations. He ultimately decided no other venue could compete with the “history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber.”
Will this end the shutdown? Probably not, but while two rival spending bills are unlikely to pass in the Senate today, many are hoping they’ll inspire a bipartisan compromise. | |
| | 03 | According to his legal team, President Trump’s former attorney will not appear before Congress as planned due to “ongoing threats against his family” from the president and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Trump recently said Cohen should instead provide information about Cohen’s father-in-law, who was convicted of tax fraud in the ’90s. Some Democrats suggested the remark amounted to witness intimidation.
Will Cohen ever go before Congress? He hasn’t been subpoenaed, but Cohen’s lawyer claims his client will testify later — while Democratic committee heads say not showing up “was never an option.”
Read OZY’s explanation of why Trump’s legal precipice is also a political one. | |
| | 04 | The last major foreign search engine operating in the country was reportedly banned by the government Wednesday. Bing, which only accounted for 2 percent of China’s search traffic, was previously allowed to operate there because it censored its results. Microsoft’s call platform Skype was pulled from Chinese app stores in 2017.
Is Beijing getting stricter with internet controls? It seems like it: The Cyberspace Administration of China says it closed 733 websites and 9,382 apps in what experts see as a widening web crackdown. | |
| | 05 | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “great satisfaction” yesterday with a letter from President Trump ahead of a potential second nuclear summit. A 21-year-old suspect is in custody after a gunman killed five people at a Florida bank. And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants the legal age of criminal responsibility to be lowered to 12 amid a deadly drug war.
#OZYfact: The Netherlands is the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world after the U.S., which has 221 times more agricultural area. Read more on OZY.
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| | | | INTRIGUING | | 01 | They found a smoking gun. A Guardian investigation published Wednesday revealed at least 106 of the groups — including prestigious and well-connected ones like the Cato Institute — accepted donations from tobacco companies, argued against smoking-related regulations, or both. Many of the think tanks reportedly opposed plain cigarette packaging, pushed industry-funded research and fought tobacco taxes.
Are they supporting a new market? As smoking continues to decline in the West, experts think Big Tobacco is focusing resources on Africa and Asia.
Read this OZY feature about why Libya is a haven for cigarette smuggling. | |
| | 02 | The macaques were duplicated from a parent with DNA edited to induce mental illness, researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced Wednesday. Using CRISPR/Cas9, scientists removed a gene that affects the animals’ biological clocks and could bring on a host of diseases, including schizophrenia.
Can the benefits outweigh the ethical concerns? Scientists say the identical creatures would be better subjects for testing drugs to help human disorders from cancer to diabetes to neurodegenerative diseases.
Don’t miss OZY’s Special Briefing on China’s rogue gene editors. | |
| | 03 | Once considered a cultural desert compared to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth has turned its image around with revitalization projects attracting artists and businesses, OZY reports. Generous tax rebate programs have encouraged innovative entrepreneurs to skip higher-priced cities to settle in the up-and-coming seaside locale. The rating agency Moody’s upgraded the city last year as coworking spaces and artisanal incubators flourish.
Will others follow Port Elizabeth’s blueprint? With tax breaks as high as 25 percent for nonspeculative property developments and restoration projects, cities elsewhere could find lessons in resuscitating struggling industrial areas. | |
| | 04 | Bryan Singer is facing new accusations of sexual misconduct — from seducing underage boys to rape — in a report published in The Atlantic Wednesday. The piece, initially set to run in Esquire but reportedly axed by Hearst executives, details allegations made throughout the director’s two-decade Hollywood career. Singer most recently directed Golden Globe-winning Bohemian Rhapsody before being fired near the end of filming.
Will he face any repercussions? Authorities haven’t charged Singer — who was recently tapped to direct another comic book adaption, Red Sonja, for a reported $10 million. | |
| | 05 | That’s a red card. Crystal Palace’s Wayne Hennessey was spotted in the background of an Instagram post making a possible “sieg heil” gesture, with his right arm raised and his left hand under his nose. The 31-year-old faces a minimum five-match ban after the Football Association charged him with damaging the reputation of the game and breaching rules relating to ethnic origin or religious beliefs.
What does Hennessey have to say? He maintains any similarity with the Nazi salute was “absolutely coincidental” as he waved to get the photographer’s attention. Hennessey has until Jan. 31 to appeal the charge. | |
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| | Caught Up? Now Vault Ahead ... | | To get more fresh stories and bold ideas in your inbox, check out The Daily Dose. | | | Acumen The U.S. is still the world’s biggest agricultural exporter. But in second place is the little country that could. READ NOW | |
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