important | 1 | | The contagion that’s locked down travel for tens of millions of Chinese has claimed 41 lives, with 15 new deaths announced today, among them a doctor in Wuhan who’d been treating Coronavirus patients. Outside of China, cases have been reported in seven Asian nations, Australia, America and France. Hong Kong declared a health emergency and cancelled Lunar New Year celebrations, while Taiwan has banned tour groups from China’s Hubei province, where the virus originated in Wuhan. What’s the international response? While the World Health Organization hasn’t declared an emergency, nations like Britain, investigating suspected cases and tracing 2,000 recent arrivals from Hubei, are on alert. | |
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| 2 | | It goes back to Russia. As House impeachment managers ended their case against President Donald Trump Friday, they linked his pressuring Ukraine’s president for political favors to his “dangerous” affinity for Moscow. The president, they argued, has dealt “grave harm” to his nation’s foreign alliances to suit a “Trump first” agenda. Meanwhile, tapes of the president discussing Ukraine have reportedly been supplied to House Democrats. What’s next? The defense begins its arguments Monday, and Trump says his team needs to “just tell the truth” to counter “so many lies” told against him. OZY profiles a breakout Impeachment star. | |
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| 3 | | After 46 years, the United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on Jan. 31. Queen Elizabeth II has approved Britain’s Brexit bill, and on Friday, the heads of the European Commission and Council signed the withdrawal agreement. On Wednesday, the European Parliament is expected to add its stamp to the divorce. Is that the end? No. Relations will continue as though Britain remained in the bloc until the two parties work out their future trading and other relationships, with what EU leaders consider an exceedingly tight deadline of the end of the year. OZY looks at how Poles are fleeing Britain.
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| 4 | | As an investment, you couldn’t beat the 1-for-1 returns. But German authorities, having lost $30 billion, are prosecuting investment managers who masterminded the cum-ex (“with-without” in Latin) investment vehicle. The carefully timed transactions involved buying and selling stocks, then collecting two refunds for taxes withheld only once. Other European countries, including France, Spain and Italy, were also hit by the scheme that some contend isn’t technically illegal. Who’s implicated? Centered in London, cum-exers included German banks fresh off government bailouts, along with British and U.S. institutions, all of whom may have to surrender gains if prosecutors prevail. | |
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| intriguing | 1 | | When fossil fuels are pumped out of the ground, liquid waste from the bowels of the Earth comes with them. Innocuously named “brine,” it’s often radioactive, says a new investigative report. U.S. haulers are told their loads aren’t harmful, but one suspicious handler had samples tested, to find that they were contaminated with radium in quantities 140 times the limits set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. What happens to it? The waste leaks into waterways, is stored in dumps, used in commercial products and even spread on roads as a de-icer. OZY remembers when X-rays were used for hair removal. | |
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| 2 | | Democrats hope the Senate impeachment trial will be the undoing of President Trump, but they could also be the beginning of Florida Rep. Val Demings’ rise. The congresswoman was unopposed for a second term in 2018 and last year became one to watch in the House, OZY writes. With Democratic presidential hopefuls eyeing the finish line, Demings is emerging as a top-notch potential running mate. How will a short list look? With a candidate almost certainly set to be White — and a man, at that — Democrats will be on the lookout for a savvy woman of color. | |
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| 3 | | Her sister was murdered by immigrants; her brother praises her bravery and fears for her safety. Facebook posts record an emotional family reunion. The problem? Alice Bergman of eastern Germany, along with Facebook personae from 30 nations, was shown in a recent investigative report to be fake. The problem is so enormous that the social network says it has deleted billions of fakes — in 2019 alone. What are they doing? Many of the bogus “friends” promulgate political propaganda, as in the case of the families and friends of immigrant “murder” victims. They’re also used to send malware via private messages. | |
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| 4 | | It’s become the unrivaled arbiter of what’s good, and as such, haters abound, many of whom complain about the site’s “algorithm.” But it doesn’t have one, its editors maintain. The humans who curate reviews are faced with a binary choice: “fresh” or “rotten,” which distresses those whose write-ups are nuanced. And critics wonder how a corporate-owned review site can remain unbiased. Is it changing? Rotten Tomatoes has tweaked its numerical user ratings to mitigate trolls’ influence, and it’s going back to the birth of cinema to rate old films. OZY takes a look at the future of film. | |
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| 5 | | Within just four months in 2015, Raheem Mostert was cut by three NFL teams. Last Sunday, he rushed for a record 220 yards to vault the San Francisco 49ers into the Feb. 2 Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. And Mostert isn’t the only one: Niners coach Kyle Shanahan continues the tradition established by his father, Mike, of transforming unheralded running backs into championship-worthy contenders. How does Shanahan do it? Zone blocking, which works for both running and passing plays, and with the help of an informal adviser: His dad. Read OZY’s Immodest Proposal to do away with America’s worst all-star game. | |
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