| | | | 1. Jury Gets First Look at Chauvin's Body Cam Video “That man is going to haunt you for the rest of your life.” So said witness Donald Williams to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin shortly after he knelt on George Floyd's neck. Chauvin’s own body-cam footage was presented to jurors yesterday in the third day of his trial. In it, the now-dismissed officer was heard telling a bystander, “We had to control this guy because he's a sizable guy. It looks like he's probably on something.” The witness confronted the officer after the doomed Black man, who pleaded for his life as Chauvin pinned him, was taken away by medics. Sources: HuffPost, CNN, Star-Tribune |
| 2. Biden Launches $2.3 Trillion Infrastructure Plan What’s another couple trillion, anyway? If you’re President Joe Biden, his $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan is a shot in the arm for a struggling economy long in need of better roads, bridges and other infrastructure. If you’re a Republican, the corporate tax-financed measure unveiled Wednesday is a massive budget-busting boondoggle. On Capitol Hill, Biden’s fellow Democrats are expecting a grueling political struggle that could take six months. It will have to satisfy all 50 senators in their party, and can survive only three House defections, after the razor-close passage of $1.9 trillion in pandemic relief. Sources: Washington Post, Fox News, Politico, AP |
| 3. California Mass Shooter Kills Child, Three Others A gunman opened fire in a Southern California office building Wednesday, killing four people, including a child, and critically injuring another person. The alleged shooter has been hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot wound, but it’s not clear if he shot himself or was hit in a subsequent shootout with police. Authorities in Orange, a city of 140,000 near Los Angeles, haven’t addressed a possible motive for the shooting. Although Orange hasn’t had such a deadly shooting since 1997, it’s the third major U.S. mass shooting in two weeks. Sources: LA Times, NBC Los Angeles |
| 4. France Locks Down, Spain Masks Up Warning that “the epidemic is accelerating,” President Emmauel Macron ordered France into its third lockdown Wednesday. Schools will close for three weeks, while travel within the country is banned as it struggles to care for 5,000 intensive care patients and new cases, which have doubled since February. Meanwhile, Spain’s tourism industry pushed back against new mandates that require masks to be worn outside at all times, including on beaches, despite the country’s improved caseload and experts’ consensus that the risk of open-air transmission is low. Authorities say they fear a fourth infection wave. Sources: NBC, The Week, The Guardian |
| 5. Also Important … Myanmar’s military junta declared a cease-fire Wednesday that excludes governmental disruptions as the U.N. Security Council met to consider responding to a crackdown that killed 114 people on Saturday. Georgia-based corporations Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola have changed their stance and yesterday condemned a new state law restricting voting . And North Macedonia’s national soccer team yesterday upset global powerhouse Germany 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier. Whiskey in Your Clubhouse:Join OZY editors and writers today at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET for insights on the big news of the week, a chat about your favorite sections of Whiskey in Your Coffee and more. Write to OZY reporter Joshua Eferighe at joshua.eferighe@ozy.com so we can pull you into the room, and follow him @Eferighe. |
| | | OZY has made it a mission to identify emerging talent. Before you witnessed Amanda Gorman's genius onstage at the 2021 presidential inauguration, she was an OZY Genius Award winner. Now it's your turn! Apply today for your chance to win a grant of up to $10,000 — or tune in to our free webinar on April 5 for tips about how to perfect your application. |
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| | | | 1. It’s Time for Balls, Strikes and Contagion“It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. ” That line from Field of Dreams shows why Major League Baseball is welcoming fans back for opening day — despite dire pandemic warnings. The Washington Nationals will be missing President Biden, who’s declined to throw the ceremonial first pitch, and one unnamed player who tested positive for COVID-19, mirroring last year’s opener. All 30 teams will play today, mostly before 20 percent capacity crowds. But Monday, the Texas Rangers will open all 40,300 seats in their Arlington stadium, raising fears of a superspreader event. Sources: USA Today, NJ.com, Yahoo Sports, CBS Would you attend a baseball game this weekend? Let us know here. |
| 2. Factory Mistake Ruins 15 Million Vaccine Doses You can’t mix vectors. Those harmless versions of the coronavirus used to make AstraZeneca’s and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccines got mixed up several weeks ago in a Baltimore factory making both immunizations. The mistake ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and cast doubt on whether Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions will be able to ship its planned 24 million doses over the next month. Meanwhile, more than 100 fully vaccinated individuals in Washington state have tested positive for COVID-19. Experts say that the 0.01 percent “breakthrough” cases are to be expected for any vaccine. Sources: Baltimore Sun, NYT, ABC |
| 3. Google Cancels April Fool’s — Again They must have seen VW's premature “Voltswagen” electric car gag. The search giant, which has produced classic April 1 announcements about self-driving bicycles and Google Translate for animal languages, has decided not to celebrate in 2021. Google is canceling for the second year in a row “out of respect for all those fighting COVID-19” and other global crises. But other brands were undaunted by the pandemic, including a collaboration between Green Giant and Peeps for cauliflower-flavored marshmallows and Velveeta’s new luxury skincare line “inspired by the unmatchable creaminess of Velveeta liquid gold.” Sources: The Verge, YouTube, The Drum, TheStreet |
| 4. Digital Compiling Pioneers Win Computing’s ‘Nobel’ Does your computer understand you — or at least the person who programmed the app you’re using? If you’re reading this, the answer is yes, and you have Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman to thank. Yesterday they won the 2020 Turing Award for pioneering the compiler, which translates programming written by humans into the binary language computers understand. New Yorker Ullman, 78, and Canadian Aho, 79, were babies when British mathematician Alan Turing laid the groundwork for modern computing by helping decrypt secret Nazi communications in World War II. His face now graces Britain’s new 50-pound note. Sources: Cnet, Forbes |
| 5. Attic Search Yields 121-Year-Old Royal Chocolate It’s past its sell-by date. Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, England, is giving up its secrets, and one is a chocolate bar sent to British soldiers in South Africa’s Boer War — in 1900, at the behest of Queen Victoria. “You wouldn't want it as your Easter treat,” said Anna Forrest, a curator for the National Trust, which is responsible for the 15th-century estate. She said the still-wrapped bar, found in a military helmet case, was kept by Sir Henry Edward Paston-Bedingfeld, Oxburgh’s eighth baronet. What does it look like? Let’s just say it belongs in a museum. Sources: Sky News, Reuters |
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| | feast on some mouth-watering history |
| | Based on the HISTORY channel documentary series, OZY and HISTORY are proud to bring you your new podcast obsession: The Food That Built America. Hear about the bold visionaries behind some of the most recognizable brands on the planet. With his iconic milk chocolate bar, Milton Hershey transformed an exotic luxury into an affordable indulgence for millions of Americans. Then he went to war with an upstart rival — Frank Mars, creator of legendary bars like the Milky Way, Snickers and Three Musketeers. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever else you get your podcasts. |
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