The Fitness Magazine: Your Presidential Daily Brief: Trump's Big First Week

IMPORTANT

January 28, 2017

President Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May hold a joint White House press conference Friday. Source: Getty

Trump Battles Foes While Charging Ahead With Agenda

Now exhale. In his first week, President Trump's rapid-fire executive orders initiated his border wall, barred refugees from certain Muslim-majority nations, punished "sanctuary cities" that shelter undocumented immigrants and revived two oil pipelines. He also proposed a tariff that upset Mexicans - and Texans, reportedly asked the U.S. Park Service director for evidence of his outlandish record inaugural crowd claim and vowed to investigate his debunked assertion that up to 5 million illegal ballots robbed him of the popular vote. As the nation catches its breath, next week's agenda looms.

Sources: BBC, TIME, Washington Post, NPR, USA Today

High Court Nod Might Hinge on Abortion - Or Trump's Sister

It's time to pay the piper. Many voters chose Donald Trump to ensure a conservative, anti-abortion Supreme Court nominee. So far, the best hint on the selection comes from Veep Mike Pence, who described the nominee, to be announced on Friday, as a "strict constructionist" - ignoring modern context when interpreting the Constitution. The experts feeding the reliable FantasySCOTUS website pick Colorado federal appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, with no established abortion stance, while others favor Judge Thomas Hardiman, who weighs federal appeals with Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, the president's sister.

Sources: McClatchy, Reuters, Politico, USA Today

The Playboy Predator Behind the Bastille Day Attack

He fell under a violent spell. Mohamed Salmène Lahouaiej Bouhlel had no formal link to ISIS, nor was he a devout Muslim. But in the final days before the Tunisian killed 86 people by driving a rented truck into revelers in Nice, the troubled, pork-eating sexual obsessive watched video after video of gory attacks, according to French investigative documents. Lahouaiej Bouhlel was painted as an ISIS-tied terrorist in the days after the July 14 attack, but the reality is far more complicated - and harder to stop.

Sources: GQ

The Corporation That's Reconciling Its Racial Ledger

The books need balancing. Accounting giant PwC has taken an unusually direct approach to race relations - and it's sparked the potential for corporate powers to play meaningful roles in addressing racial trauma. Following this summer's wave of police brutality against Black Americans, PwC's U.S. chairman Tim Ryan started a company-wide conversation that's translated into policy. His firm's made anti-bias training mandatory, loudly advocated for a greater awareness of race on social media, and begun to market lessons about racial inequality to other businesses ready to hold themselves to account.

Sources: Fortune

Briefly

Know This: Tennis superstar Serena Williams broke the Open Era Grand Slam record by beating her sister, Venus, to win the Australian Open. The UN's World Food Program is cutting food rations for 1.4 million Iraqi refugees, citing delayed payments from donor nations. And Vanity Fair Mexico faces criticism for running a cover feature glamorizing U.S. First Lady Melania Trump just as her husband's angering readers.

Remember This: "Trump approved the refugee ban amid the biggest refugee crisis in history and on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which honors the millions of people killed during World War II, many of whom tried to flee to the U.S. but were turned away." - Huffington Post.

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.

HIGH SCHOOL, DISRUPTED

Nothing reveals as much about a society, and its future, as its high schools. Yet amid accelerating change - widening inequality, unprecedented globalization and massive advances in technology - high schools around the world have woefully lagged behind. In general, high schools tends to reinforce and reproduce inequality, while failing to prepare the next generation for future challenges. There are, of course, exceptions. High School, Disrupted aims to look at some of the leading educators, cutting-edge trends and big ideas reimagining secondary education - for the better. Watch for this special series, coming Sunday, January 29, 2017.

Sources: OZY

INTRIGUING

Multifaceted British Actor John Hurt Dies at Age 77

He wasn't a "leading man." But John Hurt, whose death was announced today, and his distinctive gravelly voice nonetheless captivated film audiences, often as a victim: of prejudice, in The Elephant Man (1980), totalitarianism, in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) and even a chest-bursting xenomorph in Alien (1979). The Derbyshire native's cause of death wasn't announced, but he'd recently suffered from pancreatic cancer. He earned a knighthood and wide respect for his work, as "invincible. Unflinching. Eternal," said Chilean director Pablo Larraín, who directed Hurt in Jackie, set for digital release March 7.

Sources: NYT, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly

The Heartland Explains Itself in One Student Essay

Where did that come from? Many young Trump voters may have trouble articulating their position, especially without offending the sensibilities of their progressive-minded counterparts. But a recent essay by an erudite honors student from rural Oklahoma might say it best. Many poor white Americans don't feel invested in modern America and haven't witnessed the effects of inequality and racism. In "Plight of the Redneck," Peter, 21, helped his liberal classmates - and now his countrymen - understand how feelings of being left behind fueled the precarious upheaval now playing out in Washington.

Sources: Mother Jones

OZY Heads to Kentucky for Next Look at States of the Nation

Practicality is his motto. Louisville mayor Greg Fischer boasts a hard-data meets soft-heart approach to juicing the economy, education and quality of life in his city - by opening the door to immigrants and driving technical innovations. But a spike in murders threatens Louisville's inclusive image, and the Democrat says job growth is the best crime fighter. Fischer's story kicks off the Kentucky installment of OZY's 50-state series tomorrow, and you can catch up with West Virginia coverage here.

Sources: OZY

Bald Eagles Soaring to New Depredations

Weren't they extinct? Turns out that after the insecticide DDT almost wiped them out, America's national symbol is thriving, and annoyingly so. Georgia free-range farmer Will Harris was fine with some predation. When some 80 of the majestic carnivores declared open season on thousands of his defenseless chickens, however, he found himself face-to-face with federal laws protecting the birds - making it illegal even to disturb them. What followed was a flurry of forms, phone calls and appeals, and ultimately the realization that far from being purged, these avian emblems aren't going anywhere.

Sources: NYT Magazine

The Raptors' DeMar DeRozan and His Soundtrack of Survival

He can still hear where he came from. Toronto Raptors' star guard DeMar DeRozan's sports career has been surprisingly political - as shown by the songs that trace his life story. Known for his comebacks and ability to rally "Canada's team," he's also a kid from Compton, whose rich musical history and "grind and hustle" spirit helped put his career on track. Now 27 and looking back thousands of miles, DeRozan identifies tracks like Public Enemy's "He Got Game," his childhood basketball anthem, as lessons about what it takes to beat the odds.

Sources: Bleacher Report