Spokojnie, Kielce: Fwd: The Presidential Daily Brief

18 maja 2016

Fwd: The Presidential Daily Brief - 05/18/2016

HOT!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: OZY <Admin@email.ozy.com>
Date: Wed, May 18, 2016 at 1:16 PM
Subject: The Presidential Daily Brief - 05/18/2016
To: pascal.alter@gmail.com


May 18, 2016

Important

Bernie Sanders addresses supporters after a decisive win in last night's Oregon primary. Source: Getty

Clinton Narrowly Wins Kentucky, Sanders Takes Oregon

They're fighting to the finish. Hillary Clinton's Kentucky squeaker may have slowed Bernie Sanders' momentum, but the insurgent won Oregon and shows no signs of bailing. The former secretary of state diverted her attention from Donald Trump to compete hard in the Bluegrass State, and declared victory with a tiny lead - but it's close enough that the Sanders campaign could request a recount. Though the delegate split makes Sanders' chances at the nomination even more remote, he told supporters in California: "We are in until the last ballot is cast."

Sources: Politico, USA Today, AP, NBC

Trump Says He'd 'Negotiate' With North Korea

His plan: Harangue Pyongyang. Neither George W. Bush nor Barack Obama met face-to-face with North Korean leaders as a matter of policy, but Donald Trump says that's exactly how he'd proceed as president. He'd also put economic pressure on China to handle the neighboring nuclear threat with "one phone call." Meanwhile, the mogul struck a fundraising deal with the RNC to allow individual donors to give up to $449,400 - a key move as he shifts into a general election campaign that's expected to cost upwards of $1 billion.

Sources: FT (sub), BBC, WSJ (sub)

Venezuelan Politicos Battle Over State of Emergency

Don't have a coup, man. After President Nicolas Maduro ordered a 60-day state of emergency in response to Venezuela's worsening economic crisis, the opposition put the question to the country's military: Do you side with Maduro, or the constitution? They allege that the new orders, which were rejected by the governing National Assembly, give the president unconstitutional powers. Maduro says they're trying to stage a takeover and may be backed by foreign governments looking to sow division. The opposition is now calling for a recall referendum to oust Maduro.

Sources: BBC, Time

Japan's Economy Rebounds, But Cracks Remain

They've got a yen for recovery. Government data released today showed a 1.7 percent GDP increase from the previous quarter, a jump that trumped all expectations. But economists say the positive news isn't likely to continue: Recent earthquakes and a slowdown in China's economy will likely pull the numbers back next quarter, meaning Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be forced to go ahead with a dreaded sales tax increase planned for 2017. He's also expected to roll out a fiscal stimulus package, hoping to keep the nation from a second recession.

Sources: WSJ (sub)

Briefly

Hundreds feared buried in Sri Lankan mudslides. (CBS)
White House extends overtime eligibility to millions more workers. (NYT)
Ecuador reports magnitude-6.7 quake, but no damage. (Reuters)
Senate confirms first openly gay Army secretary. (NBC)
J.K. Rowling: Don't ban Trump from the U.K. (CNN)

INTRIGUING

Magic Mushrooms Could Be Used to Treat Depression

Will this cause a morel panic? A small but unprecedented U.K. trial of psychedelic fungi to treat depression has turned up promising results: More than half of subjects using psilocybin saw their symptoms improve. The drug is the active compound in magic mushrooms, which have been used for centuries for their hallucinogenic properties. While researchers say this is encouraging when it comes to treatment-resistant depression, they caution that much larger, more controlled studies are needed before the medical profession can move forward with trippy prescriptions.

Sources: Huffington Post

Hawaii's Coffee Growers Push Back Against Big Business

Wake up and smell the capitalism. Hawaii's mom-and-pop coffee plantations make their living off the famous Kona beans - but they say $40-per-pound bags of the authentic stuff look nearly identical to cheaper blends that include barely any true Hawaiian flavor. They're hoping to level the playing field with a new law that would force blends to be at least 51 percent Hawaiian coffee to call themselves Kona. While some advise more trust in the free market, these farmers are hoping that change is brewing.

Sources: OZY

30 Percent of Female Doctors Have Been Harassed at Work

You can't just write a prescription for this. A new report surveying 1,066 successful mid-career doctors of both genders found that sex discrimination knows no professional boundaries: Nearly a third of the female physicians reported having experienced sexual harassment. For men, that number was 4 percent. Meanwhile, 70 percent of the women said they perceived gender bias at work. Given that nearly half of med students are women, study authors say shining a light on sexism will be key to ensuring the health of the medical profession.

Sources: NY Magazine, Time

Paramedic Charged With Stealing Dead 'Sopranos' Star's Rolex

Italy is not going to fuggedaboutit. Three years after James Gandolfini's death, a health worker in Rome has been put on trial for swiping the actor's $3,000 watch. Best known for his role as mobster Tony Soprano, Gandolfini, 51, suffered a massive heart attack on a 2013 trip to an Italian film festival, and his Rolex Submariner subsequently went missing. The suspected thief, Claudio Bevilacqua, one of the attending paramedics, did not appear at the first hearing, and a judge has postponed the trial until November.

Sources: US Weekly, People

Philly Hits NBA Draft Jackpot After Mysterious Tweet

It was a premature congratulation. Tuesday afternoon, former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo tweeted congratulations to the 76ers for winning the lottery to pick first in next month's draft - hours before Philadelphia actually won the top pick. Mutombo later said the Sixers had recommended he tweet if they won, and he jumped the gun. Now Philly, which has had an abysmal season, must decide whether to bring LSU's Ben Simmons or Duke's Brandon Ingram into its massive rebuilding project. The Los Angeles Lakers get the leftovers with pick No. 2.

Sources: ESPN, Deadspin