Eyes in the Sky

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 13, 2023 Today The U.S. shot down three unidentified flying objects over the weekend. The U.N. warned that the death toll in the Turkey-Syria quake could “at least double.” As many as 1 million Russians may have fled the country since the start of the war. And Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to their second Super Bowl in four years. 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 High Fliers More Questions Than Answers as US Downs 4th Mystery Craft Sunday marked the third straight day U.S. fighter jets shot down a mystery airship in North American airspace. The latest object, “an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but no discernible payload,” was intercepted by an F-16 over Lake Huron. All three objects were flying at around 20,000 feet — much lower than the Chinese spy balloon downed on Feb. 4 — and thus posed a risk to civil aviation. Officials say they have no idea where the objects came from or what their purpose was — although they did seem to rule out extraterrestrial origins. The search for debris continues. (Source: [NYT]() More Misery Quake Death Toll Passes 33,000, Expected to ‘at Least Double’ A week after two massive earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, the death toll continues to rise inexorably — despite [occasional survivors still being discovered amongst the rubble](. The quake has killed 29,605 in Turkey and at least 4,300 in Syria, where the ongoing civil war has made rescue efforts exceedingly complicated. Up to 5.3 million people are reportedly homeless in Syria, many of them in the rebel-held northwest. The region, which has only one border crossing linking it to the rest of the world, has received precious little outside assistance. U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths said the people of Syria “rightly feel abandoned.” (Source: [The Guardian]() In Their Droves 1 Million Russians May Have Fled Since Invasion Between 500,000 and 1 million people have left Russia in the past year — a tsunami of emigration on a par with those triggered by the 1917 October Revolution and the USSR’s collapse in 1991. The floodgates are expected to reopen if economic conditions worsen or President Putin announces another mobilization — both of which seem likely as the war drags bloodily on. “This exodus is a terrible blow for Russia,” said historian Tamara Eidelman, who moved to Portugal after the invasion. “The layer that could have changed something in the country has now been washed away.” Putin called those who leave “scum.” (Source: [WaPo]() Mahomes Magic Chiefs Pip Eagles 38-35; Rihanna’s Big Halftime Reveal Patrick Mahomes overcame the MVP curse, a 10-point halftime deficit and an ankle injury to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a dramatic Super Bowl victory over the valiant Philadelphia Eagles. Harrison Butker sealed the win with a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds to go. Mahomes, who ran for 44 yards, finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three TDs and no turnovers. Rihanna, meanwhile, used the halftime break to give her first solo show in seven years — [confidently reeling off snippets of 12 of her biggest hits]( — and to reveal that she’s pregnant with her second child. (Sources: [AP](, [NYT]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Gunned down. Top South African rapper AKA and his entrepreneur friend Tebello Motsoane were shot dead outside a Durban restaurant Saturday. The murders were caught on camera, but the assailants remain at large. (Source: [Timeslive]() Wet wet wet. The remains of tropical cyclone Gabrielle have disgorged 16 inches of rain on New Zealand and the worst is yet to come. The island is bracing itself for a midnight storm surge. (Source: [Stuff]() Sugar tax. Mars Wrigley has been fined $14,500 after two workers fell into a vat of Dove chocolate ingredients at a factory in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and had to be rescued. (Source: [BBC]() [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 Filthy Rich Why Are Oil Companies Making So Much Cash Right Now? Earlier this month Shell reported its biggest profits in 115 years — $39.9 billion for a year’s work. And they’re by no means alone: ExxonMobil made $59 billion in 2022 while Chevron had to settle for a measly $37 billion. It’s all to do with the war in Ukraine. Russia used to export 45% of the world’s oil and natural gas, so many countries are now paying a premium to get it elsewhere. This plays right into the hands of oil companies, whose costs have remained pretty steady. Several countries have introduced windfall taxes, but some say more needs to be done. (Source: [BBC]() ‘A Cowardly and Repulsive Deed’ Anti-Semitic Message Projected Onto Anne Frank Museum Last week the words “Ann Frank, inventor of the ballpoint pen” were briefly laser-projected onto the Amsterdam house where Frank hid from the Nazis, and distributed through far-right Telegram channels. The message rehashes an old conspiracy theory that the diary is a hoax as some pages were supposedly written in ballpoint, which came into use after WWII. It’s long been known that the loose sheets of ballpoint script were accidentally left with the manuscript in the 1960s. The stunt was “reprehensible,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, “There is no place for anti-Semitism in our country; we can never and should never accept this.” (Sources: [France 24](, [DutchNews]() High-Rise Hogs Beijing’s Answer to Food Insecurity? Giant Pig Condos A 26-story edifice adjoining a cement factory looms over a village in central China. And construction on an identical neighboring “farm” is almost complete. Once they reach full capacity, the twin towers — which are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to oversee every stage of a pig’s life — will raise 1.2 million porkers a year. China is the world’s largest consumer of pork, but its “current pig breeding is still decades behind the most advanced nations,” said company president Zhuge Wenda. While they may be uber-efficient, U.S. experts say giant hog farms are a breeding ground for disease. (Source: [NYT]() Clever Clogs Goffin’s Cockatoo Uses Sets of Tools to Complete Complex Tasks Until now the only animal known to choose separate tools for different stages of a task was the chimpanzee. Now, [research from the University of Vienna]( shows that a large white parrot from Indonesia is more than just a pretty face. Researchers presented ten Goffin’s cockatoos with a cashew-nut conundrum that could only be solved by using a sharp, hard stick and a longer, more flexible one. Seven of the ten managed to access the nut — and two nailed it first time round. “Our fellow species have many competences that we are just starting to uncover,” said behavioral ecologist Alex Kacelnik. (Source: [The Guardian]() Making History Wu Yubing Becomes First Chinese Man to Win an ATP Tennis Title The World No. 97 withstood 44 aces and four championship points to down America’s John Isner 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(12) to claim the Dallas Open. In the process, the 23-year-old also became the first Chinese man to down a Top 10 player when he beat World No. 8 Taylor Fritz in the semi-final. “I swear I thought I won the match a few times,” said Isner. “It’s like he plays every point the same, so definitely no nerves.” Wu, meanwhile, appreciated the significance of his win: “I made history here for my country and for my home.” (Source: [ATP Tour]() 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! 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