Good morning. It's Friday, March 27, and we're covering Nicolás Maduro's New York court appearance, an Olympic ban on transgender athletes, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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A New York judge yesterday rejected a bid by ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores to dismiss their drug trafficking charges over a legal fees dispute.
Maduro and Flores' attorneys claim the US is violating the couple's right to counsel by blocking the Venezuelan government from paying their legal expenses. Maduro has said he cannot personally afford his attorney of choice, Barry J. Pollack, a New York lawyer who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (more on Pollack's track record). Prosecutors countered that granting access to state funds would undermine US sanctions. While the judge decided not to dismiss the case, he is still considering whether the couple can access Venezuelan funds. If unable, they may be assigned public defenders. Maduro is awaiting trial in a jail within a jail in Brooklyn; Flores is housed separately in the same facility.
Separately, former Cuban President Raúl Castro has joined US-Cuba talks as President Donald Trump expresses interest in "taking" Cuba, a Venezuelan ally. |
Transgender women will be barred from competing in women's Olympic events, starting with the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. Women athletes must undergo a one-time genetic test, already used in track and field, skiing, and boxing.
The International Olympic Committee announced the shift yesterday, reversing a 2004 decision that allowed transgender participation. The genetic test—via saliva, a cheek swab, or a blood sample—screens for the SRY (sex-determining region Y) gene, a DNA marker typically found on the Y chromosome that triggers male sex development in utero. The IOC cited research suggesting advantages linked to male puberty, such as strength and endurance, can persist even after puberty suppression or hormone therapy (see full reasoning).
The change comes a year after two-time swimming gold medalist Kirsty Coventry became the IOC's first woman president in its 132-year history. To date, one openly transgender woman has competed at the Olympics: a weightlifter in 2021.
Learn about the 100-year history of sex-testing in sports (w/audio). |
NBC's "Today" cohost Savannah Guthrie gave her first interview since the Feb. 1 disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. The discussion with cohost Hoda Kotb this week was split into two parts.
Guthrie detailed the moment she discovered her mom was missing, and her initial belief Nancy may have had a medical episode and was taken by paramedics to the hospital. She discussed the realization her mother had been taken by force and the guilt she feels at the prospect her mother’s kidnapper could have been motivated by Savannah’s own celebrity. Guthrie denounced rumors suggesting a family member may have been involved and reiterated calls for help locating her mother. Watch the emotional first part here (and second part here).
Women comprise 70% of kidnapping victims. Abductions of people over the age of 70, however, are rare, comprising 1% of the nearly 50,000 kidnappings documented in the US since last year. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> No. 9 Iowa upsets No. 4 Nebraska in NCAA Men's Sweet 16; games continue today with Duke (1) vs. St. John's (5) at 7:10 pm ET (More, w/full schedule) | Women's Sweet 16 begins today with Vanderbilt (2) vs. Notre Dame (6) at 2:30 pm ET (More, w/full schedule) |
> Comedian Bill Maher to accept the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on June 28, the final event before the DC venue closes for a two-year renovation (More) | Watch Maher's latest work (More) |
> Beatles star Paul McCartney drops new single, announces May 29 release of first album in nearly six years (More, w/audio) | Oscars to move from Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, its home since 2002, to downtown LA's Peacock Theater in 2029 (More) |
🧑🏽🎤 What we learned researching Prince: Tomorrow's 1440 Society & Culture newsletter dives into the life of the pop icon, from "Purple Rain" to Paisley Park. Join nearly 150,000 other readers and sign up here to receive! |
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> Fast, long-haul space travel inches closer to reality after scientists achieve first-ever plasma ignition in nuclear fusion rocket engine, which can create up to 1,000 times more thrust than standard engines (More) | Fusion power crash course (1440 Topics) |
> Implantable device with insulin-producing cells could offer new long-term management method for type 1 diabetes; study shows cells can survive in body for at least 90 days (More) | Diabetes, explained (1440 Topics) |
> Scientists capture clan of sperm whales helping a pregnant mother birth a calf, suggesting a level of social coordination similar to that seen in humans and primates (More, w/video) |
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> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -1.7%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq -2.4%) in biggest drop across indexes since the start of the Iran war; Nasdaq enters correction territory after falling over 10% from recent peak (More) |
> Wall Street posts record $49.2B in total bonuses, nearing $250K per person, on average; figure is key source of New York City tax revenue (More) | United Airlines flight attendants reach tentative labor deal for first raise since the pandemic (More) |
> German consumer brand Henkel to buy hair-care brand Olaplex for $1.4B (More) | Meta boosts investment in West Texas AI data center to $10B, up from $1.5B (More) |
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> House passes third bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security; bill is stalled in Senate (More) | Longest line at Philadelphia airport was for cheesesteaks (More) |
> President Donald Trump says Iran let 10 ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, pauses planned destruction of Iranian energy sites (More) | Israel says it killed the Iranian naval chief, responsible for blockade on oil ships (More) |
> The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is accused of mass voter intimidation in film released ahead of April 12 election (More) |
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> Man’s Best Friend, Medicine's Best Bet
CBS | Staff. Dogs suffer from many of the same age-related diseases as us. But, because they age more quickly, they offer a unique opportunity to study treatments in years rather than the decades required for human trials. (Watch) |
> Origins of the 60-Minute Hour
BBC | Jocelyn Timperley. To understand why our timekeeping system is based on 60—and its factors, like 24 hours in a day and roughly 30 days in a month—we need to go back to the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations. (Read) |
> Looksmaxxing, Explained
The New York Times | Staff. A once-fringe internet community of young men taking hammers to their jawlines and questionable supplements is shaping mainstream vocabulary and exposing dark truths about male beauty standards. (Listen) |
> The Dictionary's Color Crisis
Longreads | Kory Stamper. A Merriam-Webster lexicographer falls in love with the challenge of defining colors. (Read) |
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Historybook: Director Quentin Tarantino born (1963); Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, dies (1968); Mariah Carey born (1969); Tenerife airport disaster, worst accident in aviation history, kills 583 (1977).
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