| | | British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks inside 10 Downing Street in London Wednesday. Source: Getty |
| IMPORTANT | 01 |
Less than week after the Christchurch mosque killings, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on “military-style” semi-automatic firearms, assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. The new law is expected to be enacted by April 11, while the government is planning a buy-back program and offering amnesty to owners of the soon-to-be-banned weapons. Ardern said she believes “the vast majority” of gun owners will support these moves. How much will a buy-back program cost? It’ll take as much as $138 million to rid New Zealand of the deadliest of its 1.5 million firearms. Read OZY’s Special Briefing about when terror strikes at tranquility.
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Before leaving for Brussels in a bid to delay her country’s withdrawal from the EU, the British prime minister warned lawmakers that she’s “not prepared” to push Brexit beyond the requested June 30 extension — which the European Union must still approve in a unanimous vote. She’ll offer up her divorce deal for the third and final time next week, adding that voters “want us to get on with it.” What’s the contingency plan? The government is weighing how soon to activate Operation Yellowhammer, emergency measures to ensure citizens’ access to food, fuel and financial institutions in the event of a no-deal withdrawal next Friday.
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Members of the Republican Party are rushing to defend the late Sen. John McCain from President Donald Trump, who claimed at an Ohio rally yesterday that McCain “didn’t get the job done” for U.S. veterans — the latest in his continuing attacks against the venerated statesman. Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia called Trump’s remarks “deplorable,” while McCain’s biographer, Mark Salter, urged public servants not to “ignore the damage Trump is doing to politics and to the country’s well-being.” What are Trump supporters saying? Their sentiments are mixed, ranging from appreciating Trump’s “backbone” to discomfort with his criticism of McCain. Don’t miss OZY’s latest installment of the Mueller Thread.
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They’re trying it on for size. The renowned denim maker is rejoining the New York Stock Exchange today after more than three decades as a family-owned company. In its second IPO yesterday, shares sold at $17, resulting in a valuation of around $6.6 billion. The Haas family — descendants of founder and purported blue jeans inventor Levi Strauss — made $462 million from the offering. So are they out of the picture? Not exactly: With 10 votes per share, the Haas family will still have significant sway over key decisions like electing directors or acquiring new companies.
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INTRIGUING | 01 |
A Connecticut woman claims the Ivy League school is exploiting images of her great-great-great-grandfather Renty and his daughter Delia, both former South Carolina slaves. Tamara Lanier says a top Harvard biologist stripped and photographed her ancestors in 1850 to help him “prove” his theory of Black inferiority. She filed a lawsuit yesterday after the university failed to respond to her requests to discuss the images. What does Lanier want? She’s demanding that Harvard stop licensing the photos and turn them over to her, arguing they belong to the subjects’ descendants.
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Expect a tech-tonic shift. According to EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the internet giant violated trade rules by preventing AdSense customers from accepting ads from rival search engines. She said 10 years of misconduct prevented other companies from trying to “compete on the merits and to innovate.” It’s the third fine in three years from the European authority, bringing Google’s total penalties to $9.3 billion. Will this set a precedent? Vestager is also considering complaints against Amazon, Apple and Facebook, and new EU data privacy rules come with substantial fines for breaching them. Don’t miss OZY’s feature on the growing contradictions of Silicon Valley.
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With the U.S. autonomous vehicle market expected to grow from $54.2 billion this year to $556.7 billion in 2026, OZY reports that mobile spaces are the logical next step in the driverless evolution. That means a host of innovations — from unstaffed corner-store modules to office pods that can be summoned and parked halfway between co-workers — could give folks back a piece of their lives currently spent on the road. Why does it matter? If autonomous, on-call shops, offices and recreation spaces gain traction, you may not even need a car.
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Two people have been arrested and two more are under investigation for using hidden cameras to capture more than 1,600 unwitting visitors in 42 hotel rooms across the country, according to police in Seoul. The clips were livestreamed to a pornographic site, which pocketed $6,200 from more than 4,000 members. It’s the latest development in South Korea’s ongoing spycam epidemic that’s fueled anger over sexual exploitation and revenge porn. What are officials doing about it? Prompted by protests, the government is ramping up on-site inspections and helping victims remove their internet porn footprint.
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Lawyers for the New England Patriots owner reportedly filed a motion Wednesday to keep surveillance tapes described in media reports as “damning and graphic” from being released by Florida prosecutors. The 77-year-old was charged with soliciting prostitution at a Palm Beach County day spa in January. This week, prosecutors offered Kraft a deal that requires he admit his guilt in exchange for avoiding a trial. Will Kraft get his day in court? He still may — but before that, the prominent ally of President Trump is expected to appear at the White House to celebrate his team’s Super Bowl win. Check out OZY’s Immodest Proposal to scrap the Pro Bowl.
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Fast Forward
Designers are building a future in which work, play and retail spaces will come to you, redefining the modern-day commute.
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