There's a Gale Blowin'

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]( Sponsored by [Cariuma]( 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. Feb 03, 2023 Today The Pentagon revealed it had been tracking a surveillance balloon, likely from China, for days. Northeastern Americans were warned to bunker down this weekend as a cold snap pushes wind chill into negative double digits. Filipino opposition lawmakers pushed back on an announced expansion of U.S. military presence in the country. And Jair Bolsonaro applied for a visa extension in Florida as investigations into a plot to overthrow Brazil’s election continued. All this and more in today’s PDB. [OZY’s Pick For Spring Kicks]( [Cariuma]( We don’t know about you, but we’re over these winter blues. And…we have just the thing. Meet the OCA Low, by the cool, sustainable sneaker brand, [Cariuma](. Good news, they just cleared a 77k+ person waitlist- right in time for spring! With a comfort-first feel and dozens of colors to choose from, it’s no wonder they’re loved by celebs, skaters, and surfers (and even the OZY Tribe!). Exclusive to OZY readers: Get 15% off your pair of Cariumas with code [OZYFEB](, before they sell out again! [SHOP NOW]( IMPORTANT I Spy Is That Superman Over Montana? Nope, a Spy Balloon The surveillance balloon, which the Pentagon has tracked secretly for days, was spotted over several sites in the Western U.S. That includes Montana — home to nuclear missile silos. President Joe Biden elected not to have the balloon shot down after military officials warned of safety risks from falling debris. Officials have a “very high confidence” the balloon is from China, putting pressure on Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s trip to Beijing. The balloon’s altitude is “well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder stressed. (Sources: [WaPo](, [AP]() Blast Chiller A ‘Once-in-a-Generation’ Cold Freeze Is Coming to the Northeast “If wind chills fall to -40 or -50, this will be the first time in 20 or 30 years for many locations,” [weather forecasters in Maine said](. Schoolchildren will stay home Friday in Massachusetts, while shelters in New York City are readying to assist homeless people. Expect a sharp dip Friday night and cancel any outdoor plans for Saturday as the wind chill starts to bite across much of the region, forecasters said. But one Vermont lifer thinks it’s a load of hot air: “This is maybe 24 hours, and people are flipping out, when usually a deep freeze lasts two weeks.” (Source: [NYT]() Welcome (Back) to the Neighborhood US-Philippines Military Ties Anger Some as Taiwan Looms Large The U.S. will expand its military presence in the Philippines, just 750 miles south of Taiwan, under a deal announced Thursday in Manila. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin welcomed access to four more bases in the country after meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. The Philippines has its own challenges with neighboring China, particularly in the South China Sea, but the return of American forces is controversial. “Marcos Jr. seems to be finding a way for our country to be used as a war zone. He is further pushing the Filipino youth to the brink of a war,” activist Raoul Manuel said. (Sources: [BBC](, [Inquirer]() Staying Put Bolsonaro Applies to Extend US Visa as Brasilia Fallout Rages Senator Marcos do Val said he “sat in silence” last December as former lawmaker — and key Bolsonaro ally — Daniel Silveira laid out a plot against electoral body head, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The statement is part of a growing body of evidence tied to a destabilization plot in the Bolsonaro camp. Silveira was arrested Thursday on a warrant issued by Moraes for alleged violations of court rulings and a “complete disrespect and mockery” of the judicial system. Bolsonaro himself is not planning to head home any time soon: he’s applied for a six-month visa extension from his temporary base in Florida. (Sources: [Reuters](, [NPR]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Scrapped. From Monday, travelers between Hong Kong and mainland China will no longer need to produce a negative PCR test and quotas will be dropped — the last remaining restriction on travel at the checkpoint. (Source: [HKFP]() Shut down. A planned protest at the Turkish embassy in Norway, reportedly including the burning of a Quran, has had its permit revoked by police. The Norwegian ambassador in Turkey had been summonsed to explain the plans. (Source: [Al Jazeera]() Rest in protest. Sexual abuse survivors and supporters protested outside the funeral of Cardinal George Pell at a church in Sydney. The late former high-ranking Vatican insider was jailed — and controversially acquitted — of historic sex crimes in Australia. (Source: [The Guardian]() [GET ‘EM BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!]( [Cariuma]( If you missed them last time around, the sneakers you’ve heard us rave about from the cool sustainable sneaker brand, [Cariuma]( are back after clearing a 77k waitlist! With over twenty-thousand (😲) 5-star reviews, a vast range of colors, prints, and limited edition collabs, they’re sure to have exactly what you’re looking for to gear up for spring. And for a limited time, the OZY family can take 15% off your pair. Use the code [OZYFEB]( at checkout. [SHOP HERE]( INTRIGUING Mucky Menagerie UK Reports Bird Flu ‘Spillover’ Into Fox, Otter Populations The virus has killed 208 million birds globally — but it’s the 200 reported cases in mammals that have the U.K. worried. The Animal and Plant Health Agency tested 66 mammals and found the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in nine otters and foxes. Virologist Ian Brown explained that “a sick or a dead wild bird contains an awful lot of virus.” Scavenging mammals that are opportunistic and ingest these birds are exposed to a heavy viral load, and may become hosts themselves. Monitoring efforts will be ramped up, but public health experts say that a jump from animals to humans is [possible but unlikely](. (Source: [BBC]() Logging Off Say Goodbye to Beloved Bot Accounts on Twitter After API Shutdown “Hey, if this bot goes away on february 9th, this is why. not going to pay hundreds of bucks a month for this, sorry,” the owner of comedy bot account @JAVdottxt [tweeted](. That’s when a planned end to Twitter’s free Application Program Interface (API) access will come into effect, according to the platform. A new paid option will cost up to $2,499 per month for 10,000 API requests. While it’s bad news for bot accounts, it’s devastating to social media researchers who have used Twitter API to track dis- and misinformation campaigns. One researcher floated a “collaborative” model to share costs. (Source: [Vice]() Help Needed UNESCO Warns Newest World Heritage Site, Odesa, at Risk The Ukrainian port city on the Black Sea has been a target for Russian shelling since the invasion began a year ago. Last month, Odesa was named a culturally significant city that “has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts,” Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the U.N. cultural body, said. The city’s newfound status brings both prestige and much-needed technical help, especially for the Odesa Museum of Modern Art and Odesa Museum of Fine Arts which were damaged last July by Russian aerial bombing. Museum workers evacuated nearly all of the 12,000-piece-strong collection in the early days of the invasion. (Source: [ARTNews]() Drop Dead Fred Is the Death of a Groundhog a Winter Omen? It could be in Quebec, where the province’s beloved rodent was discovered dead just hours before Groundhog Day celebrations. Event organizer Roberto Blondin announced the news to the crowd 40 minutes before Fred was due to make his appearance: “In life, the only thing that’s certain is that nothing is certain. Well, this year it’s true. It’s true and it’s unfortunate. I announce to you the death of Fred,” Blondin said. Fred likely died while hibernating in late fall or early December, he added. A child in a groundhog hat took to the stage to make the prediction — six more weeks of winter for Quebec. (Source: [CBC]() Wrong Court Kyrgios Pleads Guilty But No Conviction in 2021 Assault Australian tennis superstar Nick Kyrgios pleaded guilty in his hometown Canberra to pushing his then-girlfriend to the ground in the incident. Lawyers for the Wimbledon runner-up had attempted to have the charges dropped on mental health grounds. Kyrgios’ psychologist told the court he had suffered major depressive episodes and drug and alcohol issues. Kyrgios thanked the court and apologized for the incident, saying: “I’ve found that getting help and working on myself has helped me to feel better and to be better.” He also pointed to the effect of mental health issues on his tennis career, including last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open tournaments. (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](