Suez Ship Floats | Singer's 'Satanic' Sneakers

Boats blew their horns and cheers erupted this morning after workers managed to refloat the container ship that’s been blocking one of the world’s busiest waterways for a week in a maritime soap opera that’s spawned a million memes but also caused huge financial losses and fuel shortages. The Ever Given, which is the size of the Empire State Building, should be fully freed today when the water level rises, Egyptian authorities said, after an operation involving 10 tugboats and sand dredges. More than 350 ships carrying billions in cargo will soon be able to continue their passage.

Sources: CNN, BBC

2. Dozens Dead, Beheaded in Islamist Attacks in Mozambique

A Mozambican army spokesman confirmed Sunday that dozens of civilians have been killed since Wednesday as Islamist insurgents beseige the northern town of Palma. Many remain missing, including scores of foreign workers. Witnesses reported militants shooting indiscriminately and bodies in the streets, while attackers laid siege to a hotel and ambushed convoys of cars trying to escape. The gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, which is home to a $20 billion development by French energy company Total, has seen sporadic attacks, including beheadings, since 2017. Hundreds of people have been rescued from the coastal town in boats.

Sources: Reuters, Daily Maverick, AP, Al Jazeera

3. Lawyers to Give Opening Statements in Chauvin Trial

Four Black, nine white and two multiracial jurors will ultimately decide the fate of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, whose trial begins in earnest today. After weeks of jury selection, opening arguments will be heard in the case that rocked America and spurred a reckoning about racial justice. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and second- and third-degree murder. While witness videos showed him kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for about 9 minutes, the defense is expected to argue Floyd could have died from health problems or drug use.

Sources: Washington Post, NBC

Oil prices slumped this morning on news that the container ship stuck in the Suez Canal had been mostly freed, meaning the vital waterway, which accounts for some 12 percent of world trade, would soon reopen. Oil prices have fluctuated wildly in the last week, and “volatile trading is set to continue,” said market analyst Jeffrey Halley. But Asian markets made small gains today as analysts remain optimistic about economic growth, fueled by anticipation of U.S. President Joe Biden releasing the details of his ambitious infrastructure plan on Wednesday.

Sources: AP, Al Jazeera, CNN

5. Also Important …

Myanmar security forces opened fire on people attending the Sunday funeral of an anti-coup protester who was among the more than 100 killed on Saturday. The U.N. is negotiating with China to visit Xinjiang province and investigate the treatment of the Uyghur minority. And two Australian Cabinet ministers have been sacked in the wake of two government rape scandals.

Coronavirus Update: Mexico has revised its COVID-19 death toll up 60 percent, with more than 321,000 people now believed to have died of the virus. And hundreds of thousands of American coronavirus deaths could have been prevented if former President Donald Trump’s administration had acted more aggressively, his pandemic response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx has said.

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Who will save their soles? Today “Old Town Road” singer Lil' Nas X drops his “Satan Shoe” collection — 666 pairs of modified Nike Air Max 97s that contain a drop of human blood and feature a pentagram and a Bible verse about the devil. “Nike did not design or release these shoes,” the company said in a statement, stressing they’re a collaboration between Lil’ Nas X and streetwear company MSCHF. The launch coincides with the video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” in which the openly gay singer rides a stripper pole to hell and gives the devil a lap dance.

Sources: Slate, NBC

2. Venezuela’s Maduro Slams ‘Totalitarian Facebook’ After Ban

Trump’s not alone anymore. Facebook has temporarily blocked President Nicolás Maduro, who in turn accused the tech giant of “digital totalitarianism” — suggesting it takes one to know one. Maduro earned his 30-day block for posted a video promoting a local remedy he claims can cure COVID-19, violating the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policy. Earlier this year Facebook blocked former President Trump indefinitely in the wake of the Capitol riot. While Venezuela has only reported 1,555 deaths during the pandemic, the number could be much higher due to a lack of testing.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera

3. Fertility Crisis: Professor Predicts Sperm Count of Zero by 2045

Chemicals play a major role in reducing fertility in both men and women, according to environmental medicine professor Shanna Swan, whose recent findings about shrinking penises and low sperm counts have been generating headlines. While conventional wisdom suggests more couples are turning to IVF because women are delaying having babies until they’re older, there are many other factors at play with declining fertility rates, Swan says. Phthalates and bisphenol A, both chemicals commonly used in plastics, negatively affect sperm count, and data shows that by 2045 the world could have a median sperm count of zero.

Sources: Guardian, Bloomberg (sub)

4. ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Motel, Minus Rosebud Sign, for Sale in Canada

Channel your inner Moira, don an extravagant wig and make yourself at home at the Rosebud Motel, which could be yours for the cool price of $1.5 million. The motel in Mono, Ontario, where beloved TV series Schitt’s Creek and an episode of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy were filmed, has 10 bedrooms and backs onto a river known for good trout fishing. Current owner Jesse Tipping would “love to see the property's next owner turn it into a Schitt's Creek-themed motel.” Hopefully without insufferable neighbor Roland Schitt or a dead guy in room four. “Ew, David!”

Sources: The Guardian, The Mirror

5. Lewis Hamilton Wins F1 Season Opener by a Hair

“I’ll be gray before the end of the season,” Hamilton joked after a hair-raising last-minute victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday. The world champion Mercedes driver beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.7 seconds. “Twenty-two more races this season. Holy crap,” Hamilton said after the race. It was the British driver’s 96th Formula One win, but he said it was the hardest for a while, with Verstappen initially in the lead and Hamilton forced to finish on old, hard tires. If he wins again this year, it will be the 36-year-old’s eighth world championship.

Sources: ESPN, Daily Mail

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