Your Presidential Daily Brief: Pyongyang Throws Shade at Malaysia | Iraq Goes for Mosul

[The Presidential Daily Brief]( [The Presidential Daily Brief]( IMPORTANT February 20, 2017 [Iraqi forces in a tank approach a village south of Mosul during the current offensive aimed at retaking the west of the city from ISIS control. Source: Getty]( [Kim Jong Nam's Killing Sours North Korea-Malaysia Relations]( Someone's got to take the blame. After North Korea bristled at insinuations that it was behind the Kuala Lumpur assassination of Kim Jong Un's exiled half-brother, it shot back that Malaysia may be conspiring with "hostile forces." [Malaysia]( promptly recalled its ambassador to Pyongyang, even as CCTV footage was released today revealing the attack by at least one woman. Four people have been detained in Malaysia over the killing, and more are being sought. Meanwhile, Washington's reportedly planning to bring North Korean diplomats to the U.S. for talks. Sources: [FT (sub)]( [Al Jazeera]( [Reuters]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Iraqi Forces Battle to Retake West Mosul From ISIS]( Once more unto the breach. Iraqi forces have launched a long-awaited offensive to retake the western part of Mosul, the country's second-largest city. Within 24 hours of Sunday's dawn assault, troops have made headway from the south, as hundreds of Iraqi military vehicles, backed by coalition airstrikes, rolled into one of the last remaining [ISIS]( strongholds. It could be a turning point in the fight against the militants, but U.N. agencies are voicing concern for the estimated 650,000 civilians put at "extreme risk" by the fighting. Sources: [BBC]( [NYT]( [The Guardian]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pence Tries to Reassure Europe Despite Trump's Rhetoric]( Actions speak louder than words. Vice President Mike Pence told European leaders that President Donald [Trump]( supports them, but many remain nervous - especially after Trump's comments at a Saturday rally about a terror attack "last night in Sweden" that never happened. The president later clarified he'd been referring to a Fox News report about immigration, but some Trump supporters are now alleging an international cover-up of attacks. Meanwhile, some Trump associates are reportedly quietly pushing a peace plan in Ukraine that would offer heightened control to Russia. Sources: [NYT]( [Washington Post]( [The Guardian]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [$143 Billion Kraft Heinz-Unilever Deal Called Off]( It's good to know when you're not wanted. Kraft Heinz went public with a bid for its European rival Friday - reportedly despite being told that Unilever didn't want a takeover. Now the American company's dream of creating the world's second-largest [consumer]( goods group is no more, and Unilever's stock dropped 8 percent Monday morning on the news. It's still seen as a victory for Unilever's CEO, however, for fighting back against the takeover, and as a defeat for Kraft Heinz, which many believe acted too hastily. Sources: [FT (sub)]( [WSJ (sub)]( [Bloomberg]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Briefly Know This: Uber has opened an [internal investigation]( into sexual harassment in response to a viral blog post by a female engineer detailing her treatment there. Ecuador's election is likely to see a [runoff vote]( as former Vice President Lenín Moreno came just short of the 40 percent required to win outright. And a court has ruled that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom can be [extradited]( to the U.S. to face fraud and copyright violation charges. Read This: Britain's Parliament will begin a [debate]( today on whether to cancel President Trump's planned state visit, after 1.8 million people signed a petition urging that he be disinvited despite Prime Minister Theresa May's hasty invitation just a week after his inauguration. Talk to Us:  We want your feedback on the Presidential Daily Brief - what you think we're doing right and what we should be doing differently. Send us an email at pdbrief@ozy.com. [Sponsored by: The Great Courses Plus]( [The Great Epizootic]( In the late 19th century, a plague brought the American economy to its knees. It caused runs on banks and paralyzed industries from Baltimore to San Francisco. The true victims? The horses. Sources: [OZY]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( INTRIGUING [Los Angeles Named World's Most Congested City]( That's one road to glory. The City of Angels has kept first place in the latest Global [Traffic]( Scorecard, beating out 1,063 other cities across five continents and 38 countries to be named the most congested city on Earth. The average L.A. commuter spent over 104 hours of 2016 in traffic jams. The U.S. also ranks as the world's most congested developed country. Globally, gridlock cost about $300 billion last year, and the human costs are rising too, with 40,000 American traffic deaths in 2016, a 14 percent increase from 2014. Sources: [The Verge]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Advertisers Envision a Future of Facial Recognition]( Here's looking at you. While many worry Big Brother already knows far too much about our lives - what we watch, who we know, what we eat - others say we ain't seen nothin' yet. Blippar, an app that scans and recognizes images and faces, is merging machine learning and augmented reality into a "facial network." As the marketing world dreams of future technology, some think consumers will reject phone-based facial recognition as going too far, while others contend that we'll accept anything in exchange for micro-targeted advertising. Sources: [OZY]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pro-Smoking Groups Light Up Indonesia]( They're within their rights. Indonesia is the only country in Asia that hasn't banned tobacco advertising, and the Marlboro Man is still going strong there, even as 400,000 citizens per year [die]( of smoking-related illnesses. The country's signature clove cigarette, the kretek, is banned in the U.S. but used by almost 90 percent of Indonesia's 70 million smokers. Now some smokers' rights groups, backed by the tobacco industry, have sprung up to defend the "human right" to light up, even as 170 cities have instituted restrictions on smoking in public. Sources: [Quartz]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Shia LaBeouf Moves Anti-Trump Performance Art to New Mexico]( It's a new state for the art. LaBeouf and collaborators Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner have relocated He Will Not Divide Us, a four-year livestream of people repeating the exhibit's title to [protest]( against President Trump. After pro-Trump forces rallied to derail the project, leading to LaBeouf's arrest for allegedly assaulting a neo-Nazi, New York City's Museum of the Moving Image shut the exhibit Feb. 10 for safety reasons. Now the artists say they'll continue the protest at the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sources: [SPIN]( [AV Club]( [Gothamist]( [Fader]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [West Beats East in Record-Breaking All-Star Game]( Welcome to the dunk tank. The Western Conference triumphed over their eastern counterparts 192-182 in this year's NBA All-Star Game last night in New Orleans, throwing defense out the window as the exhibition turned into a [freewheeling]( dunkfest. The individual scoring record for an All-Star game - previously Wilt Chamberlain's 42 points in 1962 - was shattered by Pelicans forward MVP Anthony Davis, 23, who notched a stunning 52 points. And the total tally from both teams, 374, surpassed last year's 369, the previous record. Sources: [Bleacher Report]( [CBS Sports]( [ESPN]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Your 8 must reads to get you ahead of the curve POLITICS & POWER [American Authoritarianism - A Long Time Coming?]( [Read In Full]( FAST FORWARD [The Future of Advertising Starts With Your Face]( [Read In Full]( FLASHBACK [The Forgotten Mexican Punk Rebellion of 1985]( [Read In Full]( 25M people love reading OZY every month. Be part of the revolution. 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