The Presidential Daily Brief - 05/24/2016

[The Presidential Daily Brief] [The Presidential Daily Brief] IMPORTANT May 24, 2016 [Children sit waiting to board a bus that will evacuate them from Greece's Idomeni refugee camp. Source: Getty] [Greece Begins Evacuation of Idomeni Refugee Camp] There's no refuge there. Riot police moved in at dawn to clear 8,000 migrants from the camp, which sprang up at the Macedonian border when the Balkan nation barred [refugees] from entering. About 2,500 have already been bused to facilities near Thessaloniki, 50 miles away, and while Greece says it only has housing for 6,000, it's promising to make more available soon. Many migrants have stayed, hoping the border will reopen, but Greek authorities say the camp is a magnet for smugglers - and hope to see it cleared within 10 days. Sources: [BBC], [CNN], [The Guardian], [Time] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Bernie Sanders Aims for Convention Influence] He's got some lefty leverage left. Sanders will have a chance to shape the Democrats' priorities, as party honchos struck a deal Monday to give him five slots on the 15-member convention platform committee. Hillary Clinton will appoint six. The Vermont senator said he wants the platform to address working people's concerns, and warned that things could get "messy" at the [Philadelphia] convention. Clinton, meanwhile, declined to face her rival in a proposed Fox News debate in California ahead of the state's June 7 primary, which could clinch the nomination for her. Sources: [Politico], [AP], [USA Today] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Brazilian President's Close Ally Quits After New Scandal] Loose lips sink ships of state. Romero Juca, Brazil's planning minister (and acting President Michel Temer's right-hand man), has announced that he's stepping aside after a leaked tape emerged in which he allegedly conspired to curb the corruption probe into state oil company Petrobras. The comments, made before Dilma Rousseff's suspension on May 12, call for a [change of government] to clamp down on the investigation. Juca's departure may limit the damage, but this could still threaten Temer's nascent leadership - and his ambitious plans for Brazil's economic recovery. Sources: [BBC], [Al Jazeera], [FT (sub)] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Appeals Court Dismisses $1.3 Billion Bank of America Fine] Turns out it's difficult to break the bank. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed a judgment in a case known as "the Hustle," in which Bank of America allegedly defrauded Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by selling them bad loans approved without adequate quality checks. The court said it couldn't find evidence of "fraudulent intent," dismissing the case and the fine. Many see this as a serious setback for efforts to prosecute [banks] over crisis-era shenanigans, and it could affect ongoing investigations into other institutions. Sources: [WSJ (sub)], [FT (sub)] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] Briefly TSA chief replaced as security lines draw ire. [(NBC)] Reports of EgyptAir flight 804's final moments clash. [(CNN)] American drone strike illustrates chill in U.S.-Pakistan relations. [(NYT)] North Korean workers defect from satellite restaurant. [(BBC)] U.S. Veterans Affairs head compares wait times to Disneyland. [(USA Today)] INTRIGUING [Sicily Toasts a Women's Wine Revolution] These ladies can hold their drink. While they've long helped work the land and crush the grapes, Sicilian women are now grabbing the keys to the wine industry's C-suites. Of 600 Sicilian wine producers, some 30 percent are now women - there were nearly none a few years back - and they're using their promotional skills to sell wine-related tourism and boost exports. Men still dominate the $10.5 billion industry, but women are increasingly helping innovate Sicily's wine production ... and raising their glasses to the grape opportunity. Sources: [OZY] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Ride-Hailing Switches Gears in Austin With Homegrown App] They're driving right into the void. [Uber] and Lyft packed up and left the Texas capital after trying and failing to stop new regulatory policies that would have forced them to do extensive background checks on drivers. Nonprofit RideAustin is a U-turn from its predecessors: It's down with background checks and has a scheme that lets riders avoid surge pricing if they choose to. But many expect it to have problems with high prices and long waits, as other Uber competitors have, when service starts next month. Sources: [TechCrunch], [Austin Chronicle] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Octopuses Multiplying at Astounding Rates] They're eight-armed and dangerous. Australian scientists have revealed that cuttlefish, octopus and [squid] populations have been steadily increasing since the 1950s, while fish species that humans prefer to eat, like cod and haddock, have seen populations halve since 1970. But cephalopods don't just benefit from being less popular as dinner: They expand to fill vacant ecological niches by targeting new prey and displaying flexible reproductive cycles - and warming oceans may be helping them thrive, too. Marine biologists worry this global octo-boom will further deplete the deep-sea food chain. Sources: [Gizmodo], [The Atlantic] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Actresses Lay Claim to James Bond Legacy] It sounds like a spy in the sky dream - and it probably is. But up-and-comer Priyanka Chopra, when asked if she'd play a [Bond] girl, is aiming higher, saying, "I want to be Bond!" Meanwhile  X-Files doyenne Gillian Anderson recently tweeted a fan-made poster of herself as "Jane Bond," garnering thousands of likes. She later told fans online that it's "started an intriguing conversation" but she doubts it'll ever happen in real life. Meanwhile, [current odds] are on Tom Hiddleston to actually win the role. Sources: [EW], [People] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Tony Gwynn's Family Sues Big Tobacco for Wrongful Death] It's not lip service. Two years after his death from salivary gland cancer, the MLB Hall of Famer's family is suing Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris) and other [tobacco] companies, claiming they dished out free samples to Gwynn as he rose to fame in college, using his cachet to get other African-Americans hooked. The San Diego Padres star went through nearly two daily cans of smokeless tobacco for 31 years. "Dipping" is still widespread in baseball, but a growing number of cities are banning it in ballparks. Sources: [NYT], [ESPN] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] Your 8 must reads to get you ahead of the curve 2016 [Why Trump Is Exactly What His Supporters Loathe About Obama] [Read In Full] GOOD SH*T [Could This Voice Make You Care About Geography?] [Read In Full] PROVOCATEURS [Dope Grannies: Seniors Don't Want to Get High, They Want to Get Well] [Read In Full] 20M people love reading OZY every month. Be part of the revolution. [Facebook] [Twitter] [Instagram] [Vimeo] [Youtube] Add us to your Address Book | Having trouble viewing this email? [Read Online] This email was sent to {EMAIL} This email was sent by: OZY Media 800 West El Camino Mountain View, CA 94040 [Manage Subscriptions] | [Unsubscribe from this email] | [Privacy Policy]