Britons Break Brexit Deadlock | Impeachment Heads to Full House

www.ozy.com [ozy.com]( [VIEW ONLINE]( YOUR PRESIDENTIAL DAILY BRIEF [sponsor][sponsor]( Saturday Dec 14, 2019 [LISTEN FROM 8:00AM EST]( A victorious U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Arrives at No. 10 Downing St. Friday. Source: Getty IMPORTANT 01 [Britons Break the Brexit Deadlock]( “Brexit is going to happen and we have to live with it.” That was how a staunch anti-Brexit former minister summed up Thursday’s U.K. election. Today Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to tour areas where his Conservative Party snatched longtime Labour Party seats among its 47 gained. The opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has said he will resign after Labour lost 59 seats its worst defeat since 1935. Whither Brexit? Johnson vows that Britain will leave the European Union next month, but he’ll have the rest of 2020 to negotiate future trade and other ties, minimizing the chance of [a feared “hard Brexit.”]( SOURCES: [Daily Mail]( / [CNBC]( / [NBC]( / [The Guardian]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 02 [Next Week's Showdown on the Hill]( In two 23-17 party-line votes with Republicans dissenting, the House panel [approved articles of impeachment]( Friday against President Donald Trump. One alleges abuse of power by trying to coerce political favors from Ukraine. The other, the committee’s Democrats charged, is for obstructing Congress’s investigation with a stonewalling campaign “unlike any other in the history of the republic.” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called it the “shameful end” of a “desperate charade.” What happens next? Democrats in the full house will likely approve the articles next week, making Trump the fourth president to be impeached. The GOP-run Senate then is expected to try and acquit the president. SOURCES: [NYT]( / [WSJ (sub)]( / [Fox News]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 03 [Why Some Jews Fear U.S. Anti-Semitism Order]( President Trump signed an executive order this week allowing anti-Semitism to be targeted as “national origin” discrimination. The Civil Rights Act’s Title VI guards against discrimination at federally funded institutions but does not cover religious bias. Many interpreted it as a way to muzzle pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel expression on college campuses, while helping bigots question Jewish Americans’ loyalty. Is it that simple? No, writes legal scholar David Schraub, who notes that the “national” identity standard was used by the Obama administration and is a necessary anti-discrimination tool, even if Trump’s motives are suspect. OZY meets [Iceland’s only rabbi](. SOURCES: [The Atlantic]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 04 [MBS Finally Gets His $2 Trillion Oil Company]( Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was convinced his [state oil company Aramco]( was worth $2 trillion when he announced plans to sell a small portion of its ownership in 2015. Wall Street bankers joined the effort, hid their doubts about that lofty amount and failed to woo skeptical global investors. The reportedly angry Saudis scrapped plans to sell stock on a major exchange, pressuring wealthy Gulf potentates to invest in a domestic IPO, with a $1.7 trillion Aramco valuation. How did it go? After a week of trading, the prince got the last laugh, as Aramco’s valuation reached $2 trillion. SOURCES: [Bloomberg]( / [Forbes]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 05 [Also Important...]( North Korea says it has [conducted a “crucial test”]( linked to its nuclear program. Southern Australia is expected to experience its [hottest day ever]( today. And before leaving office, unpopular Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin [pardoned a murderer]( and 427 others. In the week ahead: On Tuesday, the U.S. House may vote on a $1.3 trillion budget [bill to avert a government shutdown](. On Thursday, seven Democratic presidential hopefuls are [scheduled for their sixth debate]( in Los Angeles, but a labor dispute could keep candidates away. And [Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker comes out]( Friday The PDB is changing! In a few days, you will see improvements in your daily news briefing from OZY. The same great summary of headlines from around the globe is getting a sleeker design. Let us know what you think at any time by replying to your email. [Sponsored by: CARIUMA]( [The Sustainable Gift for Smart Gifters]( We get it. Gifting is tough. But there's an across-the-board solution that your loved ones want and need. Oh yeah, it's good for the planet too. CARIUMA sneakers are old-school cool with new-school ethics: ridiculously comfy and good-looking, made of fair trade cotton, ethically harvested raw rubber and other natural premium materials. Low- and high-top styles are perfect for kicking back or climbing the ladder. And unlike those scented pine candles, they last beyond the holiday season. After all, your friends and family know you're smart. Give them the smart gift they deserve and [save $15 by using the OZY code here.]( SOURCES: [CARIUMA]( [facebook]( [twitter]( INTRIGUING 01 [With US Ex-Officials' Help, Big Emir Is Watching]( They came to fight terror. But a Reuters exposé alleges former White House officials and NSA operatives did something else for the United Arab Emirates: spying on everyone from women’s rights campaigners to U.N. diplomats. What came to be known as Project Raven was launched by Richard Clarke, the 9/11-era counterterrorism czar who worked for Democratic and Republican administrations. Its subsequent incarnations hacked targets as diverse as Arab Spring protesters and international soccer officials. Does it still exist? Yes, and Congress and federal authorities suspect its former D.C. denizens of sharing the nation’s spycraft. [OZY explores]( Arab states’ “war on terror.” SOURCES: [Reuters Investigates]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 02 [The Temple That Demands Human (Hair) Sacrifices]( The Tirupati Balaji temple is the world’s richest and most visited, all for Lord Balaji, a form of the Hindu god Maha Vishnu. Struck by a stone, he had a bald spot and a woman offered her hair to cover it. The story launched a lucrative tradition, [OZY reports](. Temple barbers daily shave up to 80 heads of hair, offered to Balaji. The temple then auctions it, and in February alone made $1.6 million selling 157 tons to make wigs and weaves worldwide. Are women allowed? Yes, and to accommodate those uncomfortable being shorn by men, in 2006 women barbers were permitted to work among the 1,320 haircutters on duty. SOURCES: [OZY]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 03 [The Lessons of Neolithic Cave Painters]( Presumably, our ancestors going back 10,000-plus generations decorated the [famous caves in Lascaux, France](, and similar ones around the world. But unlike selfie-obsessed modern hominids, they left only crude depictions of themselves amid the richly detailed images of megafauna such as lions and aurochs, a giant paleo-cow, observes author Barbara Ehrenreich. They were not, she writes, masters of their environment, and may have even found that funny. What can we learn from paleolithic art? We are still at the mercy of our planet, Ehrenreich posits, and may not survive unless we can see ourselves in that context. SOURCES: [The Guardian]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 04 [Why Journalists Are Battling Clint Eastwood’s ‘Jewell’]( In his latest film Richard Jewell, Hollywood director Clint Eastwood has been heavily scrutinized for portraying reporter Kathy Scruggs as offering sex for FBI leaks. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist wrote that Jewell was a prime FBI suspect in the 1996 Olympic bombing. But Jewell, a security guard who heroically aided attack victims, was eventually exonerated by investigators. Is the portrayal accurate? Scruggs’ colleagues insist she was ethical and diligent, regretting her “scoop” until the day she died from a 2001 painkiller overdose. Don’t miss [OZY’s feature]( about teenage Kyrgyz muckrakers. SOURCES: [Los Angeles Times]( [facebook]( [twitter]( 05 [When Winning the Heisman Becomes Too Much]( University of Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam had the world at his feet in 1994 when he won the coveted [Heisman Trophy, which will be announced again today](. But a string of injuries and disappointments left him searching for a spot in the NFL and, having peaked at 21, he became deeply discouraged. Despite plans to break into the marijuana business, Salaam killed himself inside his car in December 2016, the burden of college football’s top award weighing heavily. What can we learn from his story? That the tremendous expectations of early-career stardom are something few 20-somethings are equipped to handle. SOURCES: [ESPN]( [facebook]( [twitter]( Caught Up? Now Vault Ahead ... To get more fresh stories and bold ideas in your inbox, [check out The Daily Dose.]( Opinion [The Future of Gaming]( Win or lose, these games could shape societies and drive tech. Check out OZY’s original series on the future of gaming. [READ NOW]( [facebook]( [twitter]( OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Read Online](