Fed: Up

Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]() Your World. Bold & Bright [Presidential Daily Brief]( Start your day smarter with a dossier on the most important world news, rounded off with a shot of intriguing and offbeat stories. Like the president, you deserve no less. Jun 16, 2022 Today The Fed has shocked watchers with a record rate rise following worrying inflation predictors. Boris Johnson has found himself on the ropes again after a high-profile ethics resignation. An Amazonian mystery comes to a tragic end with the discovery of remains. And the Jan. 6 committee zeroes in on Ginni Thomas’ emails. All this and more in today’s PDB. IMPORTANT Climb High Fed Takes No Chances With Rate Rise The 0.75 percentage point hike is the highest increase since 1994. The decision shocked watchers who expected a slower-paced increase following positive signs in the economy. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he’d hoped there would be some good news, but was alarmed by rises in the consumer price index — a key measure of inflation — for May. For analysts, it’s a near confirmation that a recession is around the corner. Wells Fargo forecast a “mild recession” beginning next summer and Bloomberg Economics predicts a 3-in-4 odds of a contraction in the economy by 2024. (Sources: [The Hill](, [Bloomberg]() Oh No, BoJo Boris Johnson’s No-Good Week Continues Off the back of the shelving of his government’s controversial plan to ship refugees to Rwanda, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a fresh crisis. This time the calls are coming from within the house after ethics advisor Lord Christopher Geidt walked out on the beleaguered leader Wednesday night. Geidt earlier said there was a “legitimate question” as to whether the ministerial code may have been broken during No. 10’s now-infamous pandemic parties. He’s the second ethics advisor to quit in under two years: Predecessor Alex Allan left in 2020 following ministerial bullying allegations. (Source: [The Guardian]() Her Emails Ginni Thomas Back Under Spotlight for Jan. 6 Emails A new trove of emails between Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and lawyer John Eastman — who was part of efforts to pressure then Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election result — has revealed the depths of her involvement. The committee charged with investigating the event had previously decided against questioning her role but the new evidence has prompted a rethink. It is likely to incite renewed scrutiny on the Thomases — who have long maintained a separation between their respective professional lives — and particularly on Justice Thomas’ involvement in any cases relating to the election. (Source: [WaPo]() RIP Suspect Confesses, Leads Police to Bodies in Amazon Double Murder Local police say Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, confessed to the crime Tuesday night and led investigators to the remains. Journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira went missing in the Amazon June 5. The family of da Costa de Oliveira had previously denied his involvement and alleged he had been tortured into making a confession. Formal identification of the remains is expected within days and authorities say the bodies “will be returned to the families of the two.” President Jair Bolsonaro, no fan of journalists, is facing mounting criticism over the perception the government dragged its feet in becoming involved. (Source: [AP]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Record movement. The U.N. warns food insecurity in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is likely to create an unprecedented humanitarian disaster. Refugee chief Filippo Grandi said a record 89.3 million were displaced in 2021 and that number is expected to climb dramatically this year. (Source: [France24]() World watches. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy and Romania have arrived in Kyiv to demonstrate a united Europe against the invasion, just weeks before an EU vote on Ukrainian membership. (Source: [AP]() For all. Thai lawmakers passed bills Wednesday to recognize same-sex partnerships in the first major step for marriage equality in Southeast Asia. (Source: [Reuters]() INTRIGUING Super Massive Look Up! Researchers Just Found an Impressive Black Hole It’s a doozy. The snappily named SMSS J114447.77-430859.3 black hole is the fastest-growing in 9 billion years, researchers from the Australian National University say, and its light has taken 7 billion years to reach Earth. “This black hole is eating the equivalent of 80 of our suns every year, or an Earth every second,” astrophysicist Chris Onken says. The team is still looking into just why this particular black hole is so bright and so fast, but they have an inkling. It could be that two galaxies have collided, allowing for the black hole to “feed,” Onken told media. (Source: [Cosmos]() Stood Up No One Is Laughing as Mo’Nique, Netflix Settle Pay-Gap Suit Neither side has disclosed the terms of the settlement, which Netflix unsuccessfully tried to have thrown out in 2020. The case stems from an offer made by the streaming giant back in 2017 for a stand-up special, which would have seen Mo’Nique pocket a meager $500,000. That’s well behind the $100 million paid to Jerry Springer or the $13 million Amy Schumer negotiated for herself. When Mo’Nique tried to negotiate, the case alleged, she was shut down by Netflix. The gulf between herself and the other comedians “perpetuated the pay gap suffered by Black women,” she said when the case was launched in 2019. (Sources: [Vulture](, [Deadline]() Sweet Home 200 Years On, London Thanks the Women of Ayahs’ Home During the peak of Britain’s colonial empire, children were often cared for by nannies, or “ayahs,” from India and across Asia. There was no retirement plan and many of these women were eventually abandoned by the families they worked for, stuck in a foreign country without access to a return fare home. Enter Ayahs’ Home. The East London address took in hundreds of women a year after it opened around 1825, largely funded by church donations. Nearly 200 years — and a campaign by Londoner Farhanah Mamoojee — later, the building is being memorialized with an iconic blue plaque, signaling to passersby that the home is a vital part of the country’s history. (Source: [BBC]() Unhappy Court Rules Happy Is a Pachy — Not a Person It’s the end of the legal road for Happy, a 50-year-old Asian pachyderm. Animal activists had pursued the novel legal challenge — arguing that Happy is intelligent enough to deserve “person” status — to spring her from imprisonment at the Bronx Zoo. Nope, voted the New York court 5-2. “While no one disputes that elephants are intelligent beings deserving of proper care and compassion, the courts below properly granted the motion to dismiss the petition,” the majority decision from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said. The two dissenting judges argued that Happy has a right to be freed, both as a reflection of society and for her own happiness. (Source: [NY Post]() Tee Up Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Splits Sport, Accused of ‘Sportswashing’ The gulf is widening between players who signed up for LIV Golf and those who stuck with the PGA, top golfers say. Star PGA player Rory McIlroy took a swing at those who joined the Saudi-funded league, saying it was the “easy way out.” LIV Golf held its inaugural event last week in London, prompting a purge from the PGA and accusations of “sportswashing” from survivors of the 9/11 terror attacks — orchestrated by Saudi nationals. U.S. Open boss Mike Whan warns the controversy is unlikely to blow over easily. LIV participants, like major champion Phil Mickelson, may face excommunication from future events. (Sources: [ESPN](, [The Guardian]() Catch the Newest Episodes of The Carlos Watson Show, Season 4! COMMUNITY What else are you curious about? Share your questions or thoughts with us at OzyCommunity@Ozy.com ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. 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