The Fitness Magazine: Your Presidential Daily Brief: Award Mix-Up Roils Oscars

IMPORTANT

February 27, 2017

Justin Horowitz, producer of 'La La Land,' hands over the best picture Oscar to 'Moonlight' auteur Barry Jenkins after Warren Beatty initially presented the award to the wrong film. Source: Getty

'Moonlight' Wins Best Picture Despite Mix-Up

What a plot twist! The 89th Academy Awards ended in embarrassment when Moonlight earned best picture - but only after La La Land was mistakenly named the winner. The confusion may overshadow a markedly political ceremony, including a boycott from Iran's Asghar Farhadi, who won best foreign language film and denounced the recent U.S. travel ban in a statement read by astronaut Anousheh Ansari. Casey Affleck, Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Mahershala Ali picked up acting trophies, while La La Land's Damien Chazelle became the youngest person to ever win best director.

Sources: The Oscars, USA Today, THR, Variety

Father of Slain Navy SEAL Calls for Investigation

"All of a sudden we had to make this grand display?" That's the question from Bill Owens, whose son Ryan was killed during a controversial Jan. 28 raid in Yemen. Owens, who refused to meet with President Donald Trump when his son's body was delivered home, says the operation should be investigated. A spokeswoman said she believed that Trump, set to ask for sharp increases in military spending today, would support such an investigation. The White House previously asserted that questioning the raid's success would devalue Owens' sacrifice.

Sources: BBC, Miami Herald, NYT

Contamination Leaves Millions Without Water in Chile

You wouldn't think a flood would cause a water shortage. But after months of drought and wildfires, deadly deluges and landslides in Chile have contaminated the Maipo river, which is the water supply for at least four million people in Santiago. Restaurants and businesses were closed, and the start of the school term postponed as residents stocked up on bottled water. Three have died in the floods and 19 more are missing. Governor Claudio Orrego says there's no word on when the drinking water will come back on.

Sources: BBC, DW

Deutsche Borse-LSE Merger at Risk Over Antitrust Concerns

You have to give up to get. While the London Stock Exchange was prepared to sell its French operation for $540 million to appease regulatory concerns about its planned merger with Deutsche Börse, it says it won't be selling its Italian trading platform - and that such a sale would be too complex anyway. That doesn't sit well with EU regulators worried about the planned mega-exchange, which would be Europe's largest and worth about $29 billion. But LSE says without new terms it's prepared to walk away.

Sources: WSJ (sub), The Guardian

Briefly

Know This: Philip Bilden, President Trump's pick for secretary of the Navy, has withdrawn from consideration over conflicts of interest. The suspect in a New Orleans truck crash that injured 28 people Saturday had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit. And the U.S. has condemned pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine who opened fire on civilian monitors and seized a drone collecting information about frontline violence.

Remember This Number: 3,500. That's how many attacks on shelters, refugees and migrants Germany saw last year, according to its interior ministry - an average of almost 10 per day. More than 560 people were injured in the attacks, including 43 children.

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.

Your State of the Union Address

President Donald Trump is slated to address Congress this Tuesday, Feb. 28. While newly inaugurated presidents don't normally give a formal State of the Union speech, we want to hear the message you would deliver if you were leading the U.S. Email us at nation@ozy.com with a brief, postcard-length message about the agenda you would set, for a chance to be featured on OZY.

Sources: OZY

INTRIGUING

'Twister' Star Bill Paxton Dies at Age 61

His journey is over. In his most memorable cinematic supporting roles, Bill Paxton was floating: in the North Atlantic finding the wreck of Titanic; on troubled Apollo 13 moon modules; and aboard an Aliens- infested spaceship. Paxton, who died Saturday from heart surgery complications, found starring TV roles as a polygamist patriarch in Big Love in 2006, and led the cast of CBS' new Training Day series. Tom Hanks, who worked with Paxton on Apollo 13 and the upcoming The Circle, remembered him as a "wonderful, wonderful man."

Sources: People, Deadline, NY Daily News

Nokia Resurrects Classic Phone

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Finnish tech company has announced the revival of a turn-of-the-century classic: the Nokia 3310. First launched in September 2000, the rugged phone went on to sell more than 126 million units and is widely considered one of the most important ever made - especially for those who spent hours playing Snake. The retro favorite, soon to be re-launched alongside Nokia's latest Android smartphones, plays on users' nostalgia but also on a desire for simplicity as mobile devices become increasingly complex.

Sources: CNET, The Verge

World's Only Sample of Metallic Hydrogen Disappears

As the scientific method says, replication is key. Harvard researchers reported last month that they'd managed to create metallic hydrogen - which can superconduct electricity at room temperature without resistance - by using massive amounts of pressure and a diamond vice. Now they say the sample, which was stored at a temperature near absolute zero, has disappeared, though they couldn't tell whether it had been moved or simply evaporated. Next the scientists will attempt to recreate their experiment and make more of "the holy grail of high-pressure physics."

Sources: Tech Times

The International Rise of 'Cholo Goth'

Opposites attract. Starting with the two-man, cross-border band Prayers, a new aesthetic is bubbling up from Southern California's underground scene. An unlikely combination of androgynous synth-infused Euro goth and barrio-born Mexican-American metal, the influence of "cholo goth" is spreading - in clubs from Mexico City to Tokyo and even onto international fashion runways. But can cholo goth, born of gang-related strife and deep introspection, survive commercialization and appropriation? Prayers' singer Rafael Reyes isn't worried, proclaiming, "Our music isn't going to be devalued by who listens to it."

Sources: OZY

Kurt Busch Wins Daytona 500

He who laps last.... The only lap first-time winner Kurt Busch led on Sunday was the final one, but that's all he needed. It was the first race using NASCAR’s new format, dividing the 500-mile event into three stages in order to make drivers race harder. It worked: The race went from mundane to madness, with 35 of 40 cars involved in accidents, including pre-race favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. Even Busch's car was "completely thrashed" by the time he claimed victory with a last-lap pass of Kyle Larson.

Sources: Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports , CBS Sports