The Fitness Magazine: Your Presidential Daily Brief: National Security Adviser Chosen

IMPORTANT

February 21, 2017

President Donald Trump shakes hands with his new national security adviser, General H.R. McMaster, at the president's Palm Beach resort. Source: Getty

Trump Appoints H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser

He's tried and tested. A week after Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser, President Donald Trump has named Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as Flynn's replacement. McMaster - who Trump described as "a man of tremendous talent" - served in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been known throughout his Army career for searingly honest critiques of his commanders. He was the choice of several congressional Republicans - who may see Trump's decision as a sign that the president could be willing to be counseled when making appointments and decisions.

Sources: NYT, Washington Post, CNN, BBC

Attack on Pakistan Courthouse Kills Five

More than 100 people have died over the last 10 days in a wave of attacks around Pakistan. Today, at least five more were killed and 15 were injured when suicide bombers armed with grenades entered a court complex in the Charsadda district. Reports say two bombers blew themselves up and another was killed in a firefight with police. In recent days Pakistani authorities have cracked down on militants believed to be entering from Afghanistan, but the Pakistan-based Taliban group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar has claimed responsibility for today's attack.

Sources: BBC, Al Jazeera

British MPs Clash Over Trump State Visit

No one was mincing words. A packed Westminster Hall saw Britain's Parliament quarrel over whether President Trump's planned state visit to the U.K. should be canceled. Over the three-hour debate - prompted by an online petition with nearly 2 million signatures - Trump was branded a "bully and a bigot" and "immoral" by MPs from both sides of the aisle. Government sources say there's no way the visit will be canceled, but Britain's Speaker of the House has made it clear that Trump won't be allowed to address Parliament.

Sources: The Independent, BBC, the Guardian

HSBC Blames Global Outlook as Shares Drop

It's the economy, stupid. HSBC's 2016 profits fell 62 percent year-on-year to $7.1 billion, less than half of analysts' forecasts - something the bank's blaming on sluggish economic growth in the U.K. and Hong Kong. Shares dropped more than 6 percent on news of disappointing fourth-quarter results. The British lender has pivoted toward Asia in recent years, banking on regional trade agreements buoying the Asian economy - even as uncertainty over a newly protectionist U.S. and Britain's exit from the EU's single market looms over the financial industry.

Sources: WSJ (sub), FT (sub)

Briefly

Know This: After outbreaks of violence in China's Xinjiang region, authorities have ordered GPS tracking on every car. French ultranationalist Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting with Lebanon's Grand Mufti because she refused to wear a headscarf. And an Israeli soldier has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for killing a wounded Palestinian man.

Read This: Nearly 100,000 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in Europe in 2015. With 2016's figures thought to be similar, Europe is struggling - and in many cases failing - to care for endangered children as political infighting and nationalism take a front seat.

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.

INTRIGUING

Yiannopoulos Loses Book Deal After Pedophilia Comments

There are some things you can't say. Right-wing editor and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos lost his already controversial $250,000 Simon and Schuster book deal after video surfaced of him appearing to condone statutory rape and sexual relationships between young boys and adult men. Yiannopoulos, already banned from Twitter for inciting hatred against Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones, was to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week, but his invitation has now been rescinded. He responded on Facebook, blaming the video's "deceptive editing" and asserting, "This will not defeat me."

Sources: Buzzfeed, NPR

Same-Sex Marriage Linked to Drop in Teen Suicides

It's all about hope. A new study found that suicide, the second most common cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, decreased 7 percent - 14 percent among LGBT teens - as equal marriage became legal. Data suggests that 29 percent of LGBT teens attempt suicide, while only 6 percent of their heterosexual peers do. Though the Supreme Court has legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, researchers caution that other laws restricting the lives of LGBT Americans should also be studied, as fear of stigma can spur despair in teens.

Sources: Pacific Standard, Forbes

Snap's Video-Recording Spectacles Now Available Online

Seeing is believing ... and potentially very invasive. Social media behemoth Snapchat has begun selling their wearable tech - colorful circular-video-recording Spectacles - for $130 online, in a bid to show their worth in the open marketplace to future IPO investors. The glasses were previously only available at surprise pop-up Snapbot vending machines in the U.S. While Snap defends the slow rollout, it likely wasn't a sustainable long-term strategy - especially as the camera sunglasses, like the rest of Snapchat, aren't yet very profitable.

Sources: Techcrunch, The Verge, CNBC, Techradar

The Multibillion-Dollar Business of Balding

It's a hair-raising prospect. The business of follicular regeneration is big and still growing - much as consumers hope their hairlines will. Studies suggest that people with better hair are seen as more assertive and accomplished, and they even earn more. It's no surprise that hair restoration surgeries spiked 57 percent from 2010 to 2014. The global hair loss market is projected to hit $2.7 billion by the end of 2017, as some 55 labs around the world experiment with new solutions in the search for an elusive baldness cure.

Sources: OZY

DeMarcus Cousins Trade Baffles NBA Fans

U-turn ahead. Overshadowing All-Star weekend was the shock announcement that Cousins was heading to New Orleans, traded for lower-scoring rookie Buddy Hield, two drafts picks and two players with expiring contracts. The lopsided trade was especially surprising since the Kings recently insisted Cousins was off the market, and the confusion escalated when GM Vlade Divac admitted they turned down a "better" deal two days earlier. Some are calling it the worst trade in NBA history, but Kings owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly hopes Hield will be the next Steph Curry.

Sources: SB Nation, ESPN, Sports Illustrated