Your Presidential Daily Brief: Aleppo Evacuation Delayed | Trump Remembers Perry for Energy

[The Presidential Daily Brief] [The Presidential Daily Brief] IMPORTANT December 14, 2016 [Buses line up in vain to evacuate civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo. Source: Getty] [Evacuation of Aleppo Delayed as Cease-Fire Broken] It's all over but the fighting. The evacuation of civilians and rebel forces from eastern [Aleppo] has been delayed amid a new round of cease-fire violations, and buses sent to collect evacuees have returned to the government side. Rebels blamed Iranian militias backing President Bashar Assad for breaking the truce, while Russia hailed the end of four years of rebel control and bloodshed and rejected "pointless" U.S. negotiations. Meanwhile, the U.N. reports that scores of civilians have been executed by government forces and tens of thousands remain in danger. Sources: [BBC], [AP], [NYT] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Trump Taps Perry, Zinke; Tillerson Faces Senate Fight] What's the third one again? Donald Trump tapped former Texas Gov. [Rick Perry] for the Department of Energy - an agency Perry famously couldn't remember that he wanted to eliminate in a 2012 presidential debate. For the Department of the Interior, Trump's reportedly picked Montana's Rep. Ryan Zinke, who has partnered with Democrats on conservation issues. But the president-elect may face a confirmation fight over Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, as even GOP senators have expressed worries about his close relationship with Russia. Sources: [Politico], [Washington Post], [Buzzfeed], [NYT] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Rate Hike Expected, Trump Uncertainty Remains] All ears on the chair. Experts predict Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen will announce a rate increase today, now that the economy's chugging along with unemployment at a nine-year low. The real question as the Fed concludes its two-day policy meeting is where do members see the economy [going] under a Donald Trump presidency? Will next year see the two anticipated rate hikes, or more? Global markets are cautious as they await the news, with European stocks, oil and the dollar declining as gold and government bonds climb. Sources: [AP], [Bloomberg], [Reuters] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Man Who Grabbed Gun at Trump Event Gets 12 Months] He's not well. A British man who tried to grab a policeman's [gun] at a Donald Trump rally has been sentenced to a seemingly lenient 12 months because of mental illness. "You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people that we have," Judge James Mahan told defendant Michael Sandford, referring to the act as a "crazy stunt." Sanford faced 20 years after pleading guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, and told the court he felt "awful" about the incident. Sources: [The Guardian], [BBC], [AP] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] Briefly Know This: Police in Bakersfield, California, [killed a 73-year-old] man with dementia who refused to remove his hands from his pockets. ISIS claimed [responsibility] for Sunday's bombing of Cairo's Coptic cathedral that killed 25. And the U.S. has [withheld approval] of a munitions sale to Saudi Arabia over casualties in Yemen's civil war. Wonder at This: The U.N. is [stripping Wonder Woman] of her role as honorary ambassador to promote gender equity after staffers complained the superhero was "overtly sexualized." Read This: A New York Times investigation explores how [Russian election hacks] were met with skepticism by the FBI and reluctance by the Obama administration: "The low-key approach of the FBI meant that Russian hackers could roam freely through the committee's network for nearly seven months before top DNC officials were alerted." [Dirty South, an OZY original video series, explores Atlanta's changing subcultures and how the city's creatives are trying to preserve them.] [SauceLordRich] FKi Rich, aka SauceLordRich, is one half of Atlanta production powerhouse FKi. After starting in his parents' basement in 2007, he's gone on to produce songs for 2 Chainz, Iggy Azalea, Waka Flocka and Young Thug. Now, sitting in his studio, Rich is the king. He's watched talent flock to his city with hopes of being the next to pop off. He talks about the industry, its flaws and its future of lyricism, and he also manifests his love for Atlanta. There are endless reasons for musicians to create in the Deep South, but for Rich, it's the way money stretches like elastic. "Here, you don't have to go to a strip club to live a strip club life," he says, laughing. "I love this place." Watch Now. Sources: [OZY] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] INTRIGUING [Actor, Game Show Host Alan Thicke Dead at 69] The TV dad took his final bow. The Canadian star of 1980s sitcom Growing Pains died Tuesday of a heart attack while playing hockey. After his role as the Seaver family patriarch, Thicke hosted [game shows] Pictionary and Three's a Crowd. He also wrote the theme songs for Diff'rent Strokes, Wheel of Fortune and Growing Pains. More recently, Thicke appeared in the Netflix reboot Fuller House, now in its second season. His son, singer Robin Thicke, reportedly rushed to be by his father's side in his final hours. Sources: [US Weekly], [TMZ] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Archaeologists Discover 2,500-Year-Old Greek City] Like Atlantis, it sank into obscurity. Archaeologists had previously assumed that the seemingly uninteresting ruins on a hill near Vlochós, about 200 miles north of Athens, were those of a small, insignificant settlement. But an international team using ground-penetrating radar found a 99-acre metropolis that flourished in the fourth and third centuries B.C. The noninvasive exploration, which started in September, revealed gates, walls, towers and coins - and further research might explain the fate of the ancient [Greek] city, which declined around the time of the Roman conquest. Sources: [LiveScience], [The Independent] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [US Teen Smoking, Drinking, Drug Use at 40-Year Lows] The kids are alright. Only 37 percent of 12th graders reported that they'd been drunk and just 4.8 percent said they'd tried painkillers - sharp declines from a decade ago. Researchers aren't sure what's causing the decline, but some point to a reduction in cigarette smoking, a gateway to riskier behaviors. Others worry that the annual federal survey of 45,000 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders in 372 public and private schools is missing an [opioid] epidemic, but one expert called the findings "gigantic good fortune." Sources: [CSM] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Google Publishes Fed Requests for Emails] They're feeling transparent. After Edward Snowden's revelations about federal surveillance, tech leaders went to court for permission to disclose information about secret FBI demands for user data. Yesterday, Google released eight of the thousands of letters it receives each month from global agencies. "We have fought for the right to be transparent," said Richard Salgado, Google's [information security] chief. The released letters are just a tiny sample, with email addresses and agents' names redacted, but Salgado said there'd be "a more permanent home" for such material - no doubt searchable. Sources: [Computerworld], [Google] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] [The Low Fade Haircut Is Taking Over the NBA] It's a winning cut. When Stephen Curry took his low fade - a few centimeters on top, tapering down around the ears to a clean shave at the base of the skull - on Golden State's historic rampage through the regular season last year, it was bound to score. Now young stars like Phoenix's Devin Booker and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo are rocking the fade, rather than the traditional high-and-tight. With barber shop and hoops culture intertwined, expect to see more fades on your local blacktop soon. Sources: [OZY] Share: [Facebook] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Twitter] Your 8 must reads to get you ahead of the curve FAST FORWARD [The Rise of the Low Fade in the NBA] [Read In Full] RISING STARS [Dirty South: Atlanta's Premier Producer] [Read In Full] 2016 [Russian Election Hacking: Is It Time to Declare War?] [Read In Full] 20M people love reading OZY every month. 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