12.1.2017

Man Acquitted in Case that Spurred Kate's Law.
A jury acquitted Jose Ines Garcia Zarate of the 2015 killing of Kate Steinle on San Francisco's Pier 14, in a case that injected itself into the 2016 presidential election and spurred a national debate over sanctuary cities (see 101). The jury found Zarate - an undocumented immigrant who had been deported five previous times - innocent of murder and manslaughter charges after deliberating for six days. Evidence was presented that the bullet from Zarate's gun, which he said he found and went off on accident, ricocheted off the concrete before hitting Steinle. Her death was the basis for legislation in the House called 'Kate's Law' that would increase penalties for illegal immigrants who had been deported multiple times. 

White House Considers Replacing Tillerson.
Plans to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson leaked yesterday, with reports suggesting current CIA director Mike Pompeo would move over to lead the State Department. Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, has been on the job since February 1st but has been at odds with President Trump over issues like North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal. It is unclear whether Trump had approved the plan, though he has reportedly been eyeing a change in recent months. Under the plan, Pompeo would be replaced by current Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), a staunch ally of the President's foreign policy agenda. If the plan does unfold, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson would appoint a replacement for Cotton until the 2018 election, while Cotton is not slated to run again until 2020. 

2018 World Cup Draw Today.
The Kremlin will host the draw to determine who plays who in the 2018 World Cup today, sorting the teams from 32 countries into 8 initial groups. Germany, who won 10 out of 10 qualifying matches, is FIFA's top-ranked team heading into the draw, followed by Brazil, Portugal, and Argentina (see rankings). The United States missed the 2018 World Cup, the first time the national team won't play in the Cup since 1986, after being stunned by the tiny island country of Trinidad and Tobago in their final qualifying match in October. 
 

> Music mogul Russell Simmons walks away from business empire following sexual assault allegations (More)
> Jim Nabors, best-known as TV's Gomer Pyle, dies at 87 (More)
> Tiger Woods shoots 3-under par in return to golf after nearly a year off (More)
 

> New drug Fasudil stimulates neuron pruning, helps nudge mice away from bad habits (More)
> Elon Musk's Boring Company to bid for Chicago airport project to deliver passengers to downtown in under 20 minutes (More)
> New software cuts DNA identification from days to minutes (More)
 

> OPEC & allies agree to maintain oil production cuts until end of 2018 (More) | Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - aka OPEC - 101 (More)
> Meal kit maker Blue Apron - which IPO'd at $10 in June, and currently trades at $3 - terminates CEO, CFO to step in (More)
> One of world's best startup incubators, SF-based YCombinator, raising new $1B VC fund (More) | Y Combinator Company list, including unicorns AirBnB, Dropbox, InstaCart (More)
 

> House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi calls on Rep. John Conyers (D, MI-13) to resign amid harassment allegations (More) | Rep. Joe Barton (R, TX-6) won't seek reelection due to nude selfie scandal (More)
> Niger to allow US to fly weaponized drones out of capital, expands US military Africa footprint (More)
> UN human rights group exposes, condemns Libyan slave trade in shocking report (More)

NYT Style Magazine | Dean Baquet. Rap's patriarch sits for a wide-ranging interview that covers therapy, politics, marriage, and the state of rap. Comes along with a video of the conversation and some great art by LA-based Henry Taylor. (Read) 

 

An Orgy of Killing. 

An extremely cool visualization of the American workday, by occupation.

Don't shoot the messenger, but dogs might be smarter than cats.

Study predicts more than half of U.S. kids will be obese by the time they’re 35.

How to watch the only visible “supermoon” of 2017 on Sunday.

See the Bloomberg 50, 2017's List of the 50 most influential individuals. 

South Korea plans to erase the debts of as many as 1.6 million people.

Check out Oil magnate T. Boone Picken's $250M ranch listed for sale.

Clickbait: A lobster was found with - somehow - a near photographic image of a Pepsi logo on its claw.

Historybook: First moving assembly line created by Ford (1913); Pablo Escobar born (1949); Rosa Parks jailed, prompts Montgomery bus boycotts (1955); Benazir Bhutto is 1st female PM of Pakistan (1988).

"LIFE IS TO BE LIVED TO ITS FULLEST SO THAT DEATH IS JUST ANOTHER CHAPTER."
-Rosa Parks
 

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