| | | U.S. Veteran Kirt Robbins pays his respects to D-Day's fallen in Normandy today. Source: Getty |
| | IMPORTANT | | 01 | “They didn’t boast. They didn’t fuss. They served.” That’s how nearly 160,000 Allied troops approached the beach on June 6, 1944, said outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May at today’s dedication of a British memorial to the Normandy invasion that began the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron also praised veterans’ sacrifice, and later expressed pride in working with May, who is resigning effective tomorrow. What about the United States? President Donald Trump is visiting an American cemetery in Normandy today to pay tribute to the 73,000 U.S. troops who took part. Read this OZY Flashback about a ballplayer who fought on D-Day. | |
| | 02 | As talks between the two countries continue, President Trump tweeted that progress has been made — “but not nearly enough.” He’s threatened a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods starting Monday if migration across America’s southern border is not tightened. The idea is opposed even by Republican lawmakers for its economic cost, including the loss of an estimated 400,000 American jobs, 117,000 of them in Texas. What’s Mexico doing to satisfy Trump’s demand? Yesterday it sent soldiers, police and immigration agents to block a group of about 1,000 Central American migrants near the Guatemalan border. OZY investigates how Mexico is dealing with immigration. | |
| | 03 | Chinese President Xi Jinping called Russian President Vladimir Putin his “best friend” during the three-day visit in Moscow. Planned trade discussions took on fresh importance with China confronting U.S. tariffs while Russia’s hobbled by American sanctions. One expected deal would allow Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to develop its 5G mobile network in Russia amid Washington’s effort to isolate the firm. Is it a new day in Moscow? An announcement of a formal alliance and strategic partnership is expected, with Russia and China on the same side of some of the world’s most divisive issues, such as Iran’s nuclear deal. OZY looks ahead to Trump’s emerging crises. | |
| | 04 | Citing a lack of support from major investor Nissan, the French government — Renault’s biggest shareholder — has reportedly stopped a bid by Fiat Chrysler to acquire the Paris-based automaker. The decision came out of a daylong Wednesday board meeting about the $40 billion offer, which was subsequently withdrawn by Fiat. One source connected to the Italian-American company called France’s involvement “intrusive in the extreme” creating “uncertainty that finally became intolerable.” What’s the market’s reaction? Fiat’s shares dropped 3.1 percent on the news, while Renault plummeted nearly 7 percent. Read this OZY story about how odd partnerships are changing the auto industry. | |
| | 05 | Sudan’s military government disputes reports that 100 people were killed in this week’s protest crackdown, acknowledging only 46 deaths. Australian journalists are worried about press freedoms following government raids on a national broadcaster and a prominent reporter. And rescue efforts are underway for four hikers stranded in high winds 13,500 feet up Mount Rainier in Washington State. #OZYfact: Baseball legend Yogi Berra was 19 years old when he served on a “rocket boat” during the Normandy invasion. 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 | The White House confirmed it was President Trump’s decision to stop funding medical research that uses human fetal tissue from elective abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services said the move was aimed at “promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.” Millions in funding was immediately cut from the University of California, San Francisco, which had been using fetal tissue to develop HIV therapies. How is this being received? While widely praised in anti-abortion circles, scientists called it “a terrible, nonsensical policy” and a threat to HIV research, as well as other critical medical advancements. Read OZY’s story on how politics is affecting fertility research. | |
| | 02 | Spotify and Apple may dominate in the West, but elsewhere fans are singing a different tune — they’re loyal listeners of local services like Africa’s Boomplay Music and India’s JioSaavn. While Spotify picked up 1 million users in its first week in India, another 100 million are already listening on JioSaavn, so keeping that momentum will be hard. East Asian and African markets are looking similarly hard to crack. How are smaller players doing it? Not only are they carefully targeting their home markets, securing popular artists’ licensing deals, but OZY reports they’re going on offense, offering Westerners competitively priced subscriptions. | |
| | 03 | One might not expect to find a democratic socialist at a shareholder meeting, but the opportunity must have proven irresistible for the presidential hopeful. Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke at Walmart’s annual meeting in Arkansas, presenting a proposal on behalf of employee Cat Davis to adopt a minimum wage of $15 an hour and create employee seats on the company’s board. Sanders criticized the company for paying “starvation wages” while giving investors $10 billion in stock buybacks. Does the proposal have a chance? Amazon and Disney recently boosted their hourly wages to $15, and Walmart’s CEO told shareholders that the federal minimum of $7.25 isn’t enough. | |
| | 04 | Sources suggest WarnerMedia looks like the front-runner, but Apple, Disney, Universal and Netflix are all in the race to find a home for filmmaker J.J. Abrams’ production company. Over the years, Bad Robot has produced TV hits like Alias, Lost and Westworld as well as films in the Star Trek, Mission Impossible and Star Wars franchises. The deal would be a historic one, spanning film, television, digital content, games and merchandise — and even theme park tie-ins. What will Abrams get out of it? Apart from being at the center of one of Hollywood’s biggest-ever deals, he could be a factor in the imminent streaming war. | |
| | 05 | Without injured Golden State superstars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, Steph Curry at his best couldn’t hold off Toronto last night. Leading comfortably just minutes into the first quarter, the Raptors cruised to a 123-109 Game 3 win. Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, while Curry pounded out 47, his best ever playoff outing. Where do things stand? Toronto leads the series 2-1 going into Friday’s Game 4 in Oakland, when Warriors coach Steve Kerr expects Thompson, sidelined with a hamstring injury, to return — though Durant’s recovery from a calf strain remains uncertain. Check out OZY’s look at NBA superteams’ future. | |
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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. | | | Fast Forward As Spotify continues to expand globally, smaller music streaming platforms in Africa, Asia and Russia are ready to fight back. READ NOW | |
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