Does McCarthy Have the Votes?

Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]( [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. Jan 03, 2023 Today Congress convenes today with Republicans in control of the House — but party leadership still up in the air. Russia has admitted that 63 troops were killed in a Ukrainian strike. The suspect in the murders of four Idaho students is expected to be extradited. And a national park in the Florida Keys has closed after an influx of migrants arrived from Cuba. All this and more in today’s PDB. IMPORTANT Who’s Running the Show? Congress Opens Amid Uncertainty About Speaker of the House Lawmakers convene today with a new balance of power after Republicans won the House by a narrow margin. But they haven’t rallied behind Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and some speculate he’ll be the first nominee in a century to lose the vote. McCarthy’s struggle exposes deep divisions within the GOP, as Trump loyalists pull the party further right and mainstream Republicans, reeling from Trump-endorsed candidates’ midterm losses, try to move beyond his influence. “This is a lot more important than about one person,” said one former aide. “It’s about whether Republicans will be able to govern.” (Sources: [AP](, [NYT](, [WaPo]() Striking Back Ukraine Counterattack on Russian Barracks Kills at Least 63 In a rare admission, Moscow said that 63 of its troops were killed in a New Year’s Day strike on “a temporary deployment facility” in the Russian-controlled city of Makiivka. Ukrainian forces fired six rockets using a guided missile system provided by the U.S., and two were shot down by Russian defenses. Moscow rarely releases casualty numbers and when it does the figures are typically low: It claimed just one death from a crew of hundreds after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser. Kyiv, unsurprisingly, puts the numbers higher, estimating that 400 Russian soldiers were killed and hundreds injured. (Source: [The Guardian](, [Al Jazeera]() Criminal Mind Idaho Murder Suspect to Be Extradited From Pennsylvania Bryan Kohberger, who is facing first-degree murder charges in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, is not expected to fight extradition at a court hearing today after he was taken into custody Friday at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. Investigators believe he broke into the students’ Moscow, Idaho, home in November “with the intent to commit murder,” though they have yet to reveal a possible motive. Kohberger is a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Washington State University — about 10 miles from the crime scene. (Sources: [AP](, [NPR](, [NYT]() Island Getaway Florida National Park Closes After 300 Cuban Migrants Arrive The National Park Service reported that the remote islands of Dry Tortugas National Park, at the tip of the Florida Keys, would be closed for several days “while law enforcement & medical personnel evaluate, provide care for & coordinate transport.” Around 300 migrants have landed in the last few days. The Coast Guard has noted an increase in arrivals from Cuba during “unseasonably good weather,” and sent 80 asylum-seekers back to the island last week. More than 220,000 Cubans have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in the last year in what experts call the largest-ever exodus from the authoritarian nation. (Sources: [WaPo](, [NBC]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Ugly politics. Two members of Parliament in Senegal have been sentenced to six months in prison for attacking pregnant MP Amy Ndiaye and kicking her in the stomach during a budget debate. (Source: [BBC]() Conflicting reports. President Joe Biden contradicted remarks by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, saying the U.S. is not discussing joint nuclear exercises with Seoul amid growing tensions with North Korea. (Source: [Al Jazeera]() Not welcome. France’s César Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars, will ban anyone being investigated for sexual misconduct from its ceremony in February. Protests were expected over actor Sofiane Bennacer, who is under investigation for allegations of rape and abuse. (Source: [AFP]() INTRIGUING Hard Hit Bills Safety in Critical Condition After Cardiac Arrest on Field Monday night’s football game between the Bengals and the Bills was suspended in the first quarter when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after tackling Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins. Medical staff administered CPR and restored Hamlin’s heartbeat before he was taken off the field by ambulance. The 24-year-old is sedated and in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. Hamlin had been collecting money for a toy drive with a goal of $2,500 before the game — but as of Tuesday morning it had raised over $3 million after an outpouring of support for the young player. (Sources: [ESPN](, [USA Today]() Bad Call Police Use Debunked 911 Analysis Method to Discredit Callers A ProPublica investigation into 911 call analysis — a method to identify guilt from callers’ voices and word choices — shows it’s widely used by police and prosecutors despite consensus among experts that it’s unscientific. “I know what a guilty father, mother or boyfriend sounds like,” said Tracy Harpster, author of Is The Caller the Killer? His method was even used by the FBI until [its own studies]( [debunked it](. But while callers have been wrongly accused or convicted, Harpster keeps his methods secret: “The more civilians who know about it, the more who will try to get away with murder.” (Source: [ProPublica]() Turn Back Time Can Ditching Old Cells Reverse the Effects of Aging? Biochemist James Kirkland and molecular biologist Tamara Tchkonia of the Mayo Clinic are at the forefront of a movement to keep humans healthier for longer by targeting aging cells. These “senescent” cells, which have worn out and stopped dividing, build up as we age, releasing compounds that make tissues susceptible to illnesses like strokes, diabetes and osteoporosis. Kirkland and Tchkonia are taking aim at these toxic cells with senolytics — drugs that kill decrepit cells so that younger, healthier ones can flourish — in the hopes of extending not the lifespan, but the “health span” of humans to live disease-free. (Source: [Ars Technica]() Sins of the Forefathers Benedict Cumberbatch’s Family Targeted for Slavery Reparations The Emmy-winning Doctor Strange actor may be asked to hand over some of his Hollywood earnings to descendants of sugar plantation slaves in Barbados. The Caribbean nation, which rejected British rule and became a republic in 2021, has begun seeking reparations from wealthy descendants of plantation owners. Abraham Cumberbatch, Benedict’s seventh great-grandfather, made the family’s fortune in the 18th century when he owned the Cleland plantation, where he enslaved 250 Barbadians. The actor played a slave owner in 12 Years a Slave and also portrayed an abolitionist in Amazing Grace as a “sort of apology” for his family’s history. (Sources: [Insider](, [The Daily Beast]() Mistaken Identity Invitation to Masters Tournament Goes to Wrong Scott Stallings The three-time PGA Tour winner started worrying when his invitation hadn’t arrived by late December. “Honestly, I thought my wife had it and was doing something for Christmas.” But then he received an Instagram message from someone with a familiar name. “Hi Scott. My name is Scott Stallings as well and I’m from GA. My wife’s name is Jennifer too! I received a FedEx today from the Masters inviting me to play in the Masters Tournament,” he wrote. “I’m 100% sure this is NOT for me.” The golfer has since invited the other Stallings to join him at Augusta National. (Source: [AP]() NOW STREAMING FROM OZY STUDIO 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. [www.ozy.com]( / #OZY Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! [TV]( | [PODCASTS]( | [NEWS]( | [FESTIVALS]( A Modern Media Company OZY Media, 800 West El Camino Mountain View, California 94040 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](