Your Presidential Daily Brief: Government Shutdown Apparently Averted | Northern Ireland's EU Loophole

[The Presidential Daily Brief]( [The Presidential Daily Brief]( IMPORTANT April 28, 2017 [Protesters inside Macedonia's parliament demonstrate against the newly elected parliamentary speaker. Source: Getty]( [Congress Delays Health Care Vote to Avoid Shutdown]( Win some, lose some. The White House had hoped a vote on a revised GOP replacement for Obamacare could deliver a legislative win for President Donald Trump before his 100th day in office tomorrow, but the vote has reportedly been delayed as lawmakers focus on avoiding a government [shutdown](. They appear to have succeeded somewhat on that score: Congress looks ready to pass a one-week extension to keep the federal government's lights on through May 5 while they debate a longer-term spending deal that'll last through September. Sources: [Politico]( [Reuters]( [Washington Post]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Europe Could Welcome 'United Ireland' to Post-Brexit EU]( Break up or make up? As the U.K. prepares for the 2019 split, the [Irish]( government is seeking an official EU declaration that Northern Ireland could automatically re-enter the bloc if it votes to reunite with the Republic of Ireland. While such language is already embedded in the Good Friday Agreement, the move's a politically sensitive one, as Scottish politicians demand another independence referendum and concern grows that Brexit could trigger the breakup of the United Kingdom. EU officials will discuss the matter at a summit this weekend. Sources: [The Guardian]( [RTE]( [FT (sub)]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Nationalists Storm Macedonian Parliament]( Fists were flying. Dozens of masked protesters broke into the Skopje parliament building after Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian politician, was elected speaker. Supporters of ex-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who won disputed December elections but has been unable to form a coalition government, reportedly attacked lawmakers, injuring 10 MPs. Ethnic Albanians make up about 25 percent of Macedonia's population, but nationalist factions have resisted their participation in politics. Now, with Russia condemning [Western]( mediation, some fear the spreading political crisis could endanger Macedonia's hopes to join NATO and the EU. Sources: [BBC]( [FT (sub)]( [Al Jazeera]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Social Media Ban Strains Already Tense Kashmir]( There's no app for this. Spooked by mounting tensions in the volatile [Kashmir]( region, the Indian government has banned 22 social media services, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp, for 30 days. Officials are worried they're being used to foment revolution, but enforcing the unprecedented ban is proving difficult: Kashmir's telecom company says it's been unable to shut down access to the sites without blocking the internet completely. Meanwhile, advocacy groups in India and abroad are calling for an end to the edict, saying it impinges on free speech. Sources: [AP]( [BBC]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Briefly Know This: David Dao, the United Airlines passenger whose violent removal from a plane sparked outrage, has reached a [settlement]( with the airline for an undisclosed amount. Amid growing concerns of war with North Korea, President Trump has said a "major, major conflict" is [possible]( but he would prefer a diplomatic solution. And Arkansas has [executed]( its fourth death row inmate in a week, just days before part of its lethal injection cocktail expires. Try This: Feeling presidential after a week of briefings? [Prove it]( the PDB quiz. 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. [Created for: BOSCH]( [The Police Procedural Starring Real Detectives]( On TV, cops get answers by being tough. In reality, coaxing information from suspects or reluctant witnesses requires a gentler touch. Amazon Studios' original series Bosch, based on Michael Connelly's best-selling detective novels, cast real-life detectives who know what it takes to get the job done. Sources: [OZY]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( INTRIGUING [Cassini Returns From First Dive Into Saturn's Rings]( Follow the ringleader. After briefly losing contact with NASA, the 20-year-old [spacecraft]( beamed back dramatic images, including the best views yet of the giant hurricane raging at Saturn's north pole. This first dive brought it within 1,900 miles of the planet's cloud tops and 200 miles of the inner rings. With its fuel running out, Cassini's begun its final mission: increasingly close and dangerous dives to collect data on Saturn's atmosphere and magnetic field. It'll make 21 more dives before plunging into the planet's surface Sept. 15. Sources: [The Atlantic]( [Smithsonian]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Uber's Autonomous Car Chief Steps Aside Amid Legal Trouble]( It's getting Waymo serious. Anthony Levandowski, head of Uber's [self-driving]( car program, announced he'll step aside as litigation with its Alphabet-owned rival heats up. Levandowski's at the center of a lawsuit accusing him of stealing 14,000 "highly confidential" files - particularly radar sensor technology that helps cars navigate around obstacles - while working for Waymo. Uber maintains its version is "fundamentally different" from its competitor's technology. With a hearing scheduled for next week, a U.S. district judge will decide whether to grant Waymo's injunction. Sources: [CNET]( [Business Insider]( [Buzzfeed]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Researchers Discover New Path to the Past]( Make no bones about it. For the first time, scientists have recovered ancient human DNA without needing to analyze bones or teeth, thereby opening up new possibilities for probing [prehistory](. By analyzing sediment in Ice Age caves where our extinct evolutionary cousins would have lived, researchers identified DNA from both Neanderthals and Denisovans. The technique, which involves sequencing the genomes of mitochondria within the dirt, was first used on plants and animals in 2003 - but this marks the first time it has successfully been used to identify hominid DNA. Sources: [Nature]( [New Scientist]( [The Verge]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( ['Blurred Lines' Composers Appeal Against Copyrighting 'Groove']( They don't want to give it up. Despite famously losing a 2015 copyright infringement lawsuit over the hit song "Blurred Lines," Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' lawyers have struck back at the ruling, insisting it's impossible to copyright a "groove" or "feeling" - and therefore no infringement took place. The duo had been ordered to pay Marvin Gaye's estate $7.4 million, later reduced to $5.3 million, for ripping off "Got To Give It Up." Thicke and Williams maintain they were simply [inspired]( by the song, claiming their version is significantly different. Sources: [THR]( [AV Club]( [Jezebel]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [FIFA Investigated Over Russia and Qatar World Cup Bids]( Better late than never. French authorities have questioned former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter over allegations of corruption surrounding the contentious decisions to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar. The scandal-ridden organization also faces bribery and [corruption]( investigations from Switzerland and the United States. The controversial decision to award Qatar the 2022 event especially raised eyebrows, and it's thought to have triggered Blatter's ouster in 2015. FIFA has said there's no legal way to rescind hosting duties once they've been awarded. Sources: [ESPN]( [Sky Sports]( [Fox Sports]( Share: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Your 8 must reads to get you ahead of the curve THE HUDDLE [The Legendary 1962 Season That Changed Basketball Forever]( [Read In Full]( FAST FORWARD [The World's Most Celebrated Anti-Slavery Program Is Being Gutted]( [Read In Full]( POV [A Modest Proposal for Building Trump's Wall]( [Read In Full]( 25M people love reading OZY every month. 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