The Fitness Magazine: Your Presidential Daily Brief: Kim's New ICBM Might Reach New York

IMPORTANT

July 29, 2017

A South Korean soldier in a Seoul train station watches video of Friday's North Korean ICBM launch. Source: Getty

New North Korean ICBM 'Could Hit U.S. Mainland'

It's a chilling achievement. On Friday North Korea launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile, which flew far enough — around 2,300 miles in 45 minutes — that analysts believe it could've reached major U.S. cities if fired at an attack trajectory. U.S. President Donald Trump called it "reckless and dangerous" and vowed "all necessary steps" to protect America. While his options are limited, experts believe that the Hermit Kingdom lacks the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon enough for such a missile, but could do so in five to 10 years.

Sources: Washington Post,NYT,BBC,AP

Even if Trump's Not, It's Been Crazy

Did Sean Spicer keep things sane? Since the White House press secretary left, it's been anything but. New Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci may be as combative, but his ire has been directed inward, blasting unprintable insults at Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that presaged his replacement Friday by Gen. John Kelly. Republicans have openly defied President Donald Trump, with ailing Sen. John McCain helping vote down the last-ditch Obamacare repeal bill Friday, joined by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who's holding up administration business in her committee after Trump's interior secretary threatened her state.

Sources: The Hill,Reuters,Politico,NYT,New Yorker

Defying Protests and the U.S., Maduro Reinvents Government

This can't end well. On Sunday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro plans elections to choose 545 members of a "constituent assembly" with power to rewrite the constitution and circumvent the opposition-controlled National Assembly. More than 100 people have died in anti-government unrest since April, and protests are banned through Tuesday. Opponents nonetheless vowed new demonstrations over a move they say threatens the country's democracy. The government also faces U.S. sanctions and condemnation from neighboring Colombia for antidemocratic policies, while Maduro declared, "We have no other option, between winning or dying."

Sources: Washington Post,Vox,LA Times,BBC

The Silent Struggle of China's Human Rights Lawyers

Who will speak for them? Under a dimming international spotlight, China is turning up the heat on its tiny network of human rights attorneys. These "rights protection lawyers" have scored major victories since starting as a core of fewer than 20 in the early 2000s. But in 2015, the so-called "709" crackdown chilled that community after authorities targeted some 300 of these jurists. As details emerge describing their torture, intimidation, and "confessions" publicly denouncing democracy and human rights, their remaining colleagues must make a stark choice: conform — or flee.

Sources: NYT Magazine

Briefly

The Week Ahead: Vice President Mike Pence embarks today on a five-day trip to Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro in a bid to convince NATO and other allies that America has their back. On Sunday, outfielder Tim Raines Sr. will be among inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. And on Wednesday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hear closed-door testimony from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis on how the Trump administration views authorization for the use of force.

Know This: Nawaz Sharif stepped down as prime minister Friday after Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualified him because of corruption charges stemming from last year's Panama Papers leak. President Trump, speaking to Long Island police officers, urged against being "too nice" to "thugs" they arrest, comments rejected by those opposed to police brutality, including the local police department. And Maryland Rep. John Delaney has become the first Democrat to announce his bid for the 2020 presidential nomination.

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INTRIGUING

Cubans Grow Their Own Web

Viva la e-volución! Ever resourceful after decades of stifling communist rule, Cubans have devised alternatives to their country's highly restricted and unbearably slow internet. They trade in hard drives packed with movies and music, as well as rig their own "street net" featuring homespun versions of Facebook and Instagram. The knock-offs have even spawned a crude form of advertising, which somewhat mirrors the early days of online marketing in the developed world. While the West waits for Cuba to open up, its citizens will be busy surfing their own digital wave.

Sources: Wired

Patagonia's Dressed for Public Lands Battle

They're taking it outside. Patagonia's CEO complains his fellow outfitters are "a bunch of weenies" when it comes to standing up for the environment their customers value. So he pushed his peers to punish Utah for supporting President Trump's revocation of federal land protections, moving their $45 million trade show to eco-friendly Colorado. It may be a tiny player when compared to the likes of oil and gas – the typical antagonists over public land rights – but an unflinching call to arms is winning Patagonia disproportionate influence in its $887 billion industry.

Sources: Outside

Paris' Sordid Love Affair with US Southern Foods

Y'all reviens now, y'hear? Since the early 2010s, restaurants touting U.S.-style eatin' have popped up along the cobbled streets of Paris. In the last three years, that obsession americaine has gone south: Sous chefs have given way to grillmasters as menus from a dozen new restaurants feature everything from barbecue ribs to po' boys, gumbo, and chicken and waffles. Add to that New Orleans-inspired cocktail bars, appropriating judgment-free Southern hospitality, and one can expect haute cuisine to become a little more gauche.

Sources: OZY

How a 1980s Soap Opera Explains Russian-American Relations

They wanted another world. They got Santa Barbara. When 1990s post-Soviet chaos was too painful to acknowledge, reruns of the American soap opera was the opiate of Russia's masses. With a ruined economy, rampant crime and no hope for the future, viewers turned to the wealthy Capwell family's perpetual drama — set in a sun-soaked Mediterranean climate — to escape their everyday misery. Russians still wax nostalgic about that alternate universe, even if they're supposed to hate America and are now consumed by steamy Washington's drama-saturated reality.

Sources: Foreign Policy

Spanish Prosecutors Try to Score on Cristiano Ronaldo

Glory has a price. The soccer superstar is to appear in a Spanish courtroom on Monday, this time on defense. It's alleged that on $176 million in income, he's paid just $7 million in taxes, thanks to a banking shell game exposed by leaked documents that saw his income cycle through Ireland, New Zealand and the Caribbean. A raft of other Real Madrid players using the same agent have already paid up, but it's another stain for European pro soccer, whose president calls the leaks a "good thing" and pledges to settle accounts.

Sources: Der Spiegel