| | | Police attend a ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of Britain handing Hong Kong over to China. Source: Getty |
| | IMPORTANT | | 01 | President Donald Trump’s surprise tête-à-tête with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea is seen as a diplomatic coup. Arranged within two days, it yielded a historic first for a sitting U.S. president setting foot in the Hermit Kingdom. It also provided a dramatic stage for the two leaders to revive talks aimed at dismantling the pariah state’s nuclear arsenal. What else happened at the meeting? New White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham cleared a space for journalists to witness the meeting — emerging bruised after a scuffle with North Korean guards. | |
| | 02 | Protesters have returned to block roads in the financial district as Hong Kong marks 22 years since the handover from British to Chinese rule. While protests are common each July 1, they’ve taken on renewed importance this year following weeks of demonstrations against legislation allowing extradition to mainland China. Protesters said riot police deployed pepper spray against them, while police reported 13 officers had been hospitalized after being splashed with an unidentified liquid. Did it put a damper on anniversary festivities? For the first time, government commemorations of the handover were held indoors, although authorities blamed it on rain. Read about Hong Kong’s capital flight on OZY. | |
| | 03 | The twin-engined Beechcraft BE-350 King Air apparently lost an engine on takeoff, causing it to veer sideways and crash into a hangar at the Addison Municipal Airport, about 20 miles north of Dallas. Both crew members and all eight passengers perished in the fiery accident Sunday morning. Another airplane and a helicopter inside the hangar were damaged when the plane, headed for St. Petersburg, Florida, hit the structure. How did this happen? Officials haven’t said, but the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. Read OZY’s look at how a Grand Canyon plane crash changed history. | |
| | 04 | Securities on Asian markets rallied today, encouraging later-opening European markets, buoyed by Saturday’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump at the G-20 summit in Japan, where they agreed to restart trade talks. Trump said he’d delay higher tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods, as well as lift some restrictions on Chinese phonemaker Huawei. Xi said China would buy more U.S. farm products. What difficulties do negotiators face? Hard-liners on both sides are likely to present obstacles: Americans want China’s markets opened, while Chinese officials are reluctant to dismantle state economic controls. OZY’s Donald Dossier looks at the impact of resuming trade talks. | |
| | 05 | Japan has resumed commercial whale hunting for the first time in 31 years. A Canadian publishing company has fired cartoonist Michael de Adder, who tweeted a cartoon of President Trump playing golf past a man and his daughter who drowned crossing the Rio Grande into the United States. And European Union heads of state in Brussels are continuing to struggle over naming the bloc’s top leaders. #OZYfact: Back in the 1980s, one of the pioneering nations for cell phone use was Zaire. Read more on OZY. OZY Fest is back! Join OZY in New York’s Central Park July 20-21, where some of the biggest names and boldest thinkers — from John Legend and Trevor Noah to Stacey Abrams and Malcolm Gladwell — will help make this year’s OZY Fest the most memorable yet. Click here for tickets. |
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| | | | INTRIGUING | | 01 | Defendants in New York state who commit assault or murder can no longer mitigate their crimes by claiming they were suddenly enraged or delirious upon learning that, for example, a person they were attracted to turned out to be gay or transgender. Amid Manhattan’s Pride celebrations yesterday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill prohibiting use of the psychological defense, which has been debunked as scientifically unsupported. Are there objections to the new law? Defense lawyers have complained it limits defendants’ options, calling it “yet another tool to incarcerate more people.” Read this OZY feature of forbidden love behind bars. | |
| | 02 | The Daily Show host’s rise to become the “busiest man in comedy” hasn’t been easy. As he wrote in his best-selling memoir, Born a Crime — which is set to be adapted for the big screen — his early life in South Africa was tense. But, OZY reports, that background is responsible for his immense success: In the very White, U.S.-centric world of late night TV, Noah’s global perspective has changed the conversation around politics and comedy. What will Noah do next? Catch him alongside some of the world’s top writers, chefs, celebrities and other changemakers at OZY Fest this month in NYC. | |
| | 03 | Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the narcotic pain reliever, is expected to report revenue under $1 billion for the first time in over a decade and is reportedly considering bankruptcy. The company, controlled by the wealthy Sackler family, is besieged by legal challenges over its role in the opioid crisis and mounting probes into fraud allegations. Meanwhile, employees are heading for the door in droves amid widespread corporate restructuring. Is Purdue to blame for the crisis? While OxyContin has fallen out of favor with doctors in recent years, the firm is accused of aggressively marketing the medication despite deadly consequences. OZY takes a look at Trump’s pharma policies. | |
| | 04 | Shortly after Italian police arrested Carola Rackete, the German captain of the Sea-Watch 3, for forcing the vessel into port Saturday to unload dozens of rescued migrants, two German TV hosts launched a crowdfunding campaign to pay her legal fees. By mid-Sunday, more than $550,000 had been raised, with pro-immigration activists calling Rackete a hero. The ship had been blocked for two weeks off the island of Lampedusa waiting for permission to dock. How are European governments reacting? Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Rackete ramming a police boat was an “act of war,” while German officials argued that rescuing migrants shouldn’t be “criminalized.” | |
| | 05 | Kevin Durant landed a $164 million, four-year deal. But he’s just beginning the arduous rehab of a torn Achilles tendon, so the Nets may not know for more than a year whether the two-time NBA Finals MVP is worth it. The upward-minded Nets also signed point guard Kyrie Irving away from Boston, and snagged veteran center DeAndre Jordan coming off a brief Knicks stint. What does this mean for Brooklyn? After floundering into a short playoffs appearance last season, the team may now have the experience to vault into elite status. See how OZY’s free agent crystal ball held up to reality. | |
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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. | | | Provocateurs Late night is becoming a launching pad for the South African comedian’s global empire. Catch him at OZY Fest. READ NOW | |
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