Your Daily Brief

January 17th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! We’re smack-dab in the middle of winter, and if you’re starting to get tired of the cold, at least you can feel glad you’re not in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. Yakutsk has been called the world’s coldest city, and as you read this, temperatures there are sitting at minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes!

In Today’s Brief

  • World Economy: Mixed predictions for 2023
  • FAA: Investing JFK mishap
  • American Idol: Contestant dies at 31
  • Three Arrows: Founders pitching new company

...and more

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Top Tips


Italian mafia boss captured

Italy's most-wanted Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was captured in Sicily yesterday after 30 years of being on the run.

Messina Denaro–who is alleged to be a boss of the Cosa Nostra Mafia–was arrested at the clinic where he was receiving treatment under a fake name for an undisclosed medical condition, according to Carabinieri General Pasquale Angelosanto, who heads the Sicilian police force’s special operations squad. Nicknamed “Diabolik” and “U Siccu” (translated to “The Skinny One”), Messina Denaro had been sentenced in absentia to life in prison for his role in the 1992 murders of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, among other crimes.

While Messina Denaro had been a fugitive since 1993, he was believed to have been issuing orders to his subordinates from various locations around the country. His arrest came 30 years and a day after the 1993 arrest of convicted Mafia boss Salvatore “Toto” Riina, who eluded capture for 23 years.

Laser diverts lightning

A group of French researchers said that they succeeded in using a laser aimed at the sky from atop Mount Santis in northeastern Switzerland to divert lightning strikes.

According to a study published in Nature Photonics, scientists at Ecole Polytechnique in France attempted to guide lightning with laser pulses emitted from equipment placed atop the Swiss mountain at an altitude of over 8K feet. The equipment focused on the sky above a transmission tower belonging to telecommunications provider Swisscom, which the study claims is struck by lightning about 100 times per year. Per the study, all four lightning strikes while the system was active were successfully intercepted.

Lightning poses both economic and human risks whenever it strikes, causing damage to global infrastructure annually. The scientists note that with further development, the process of using lasers to divert lightning could potentially protect infrastructure including power stations, airports, wind farms, and launchpads.

Kyrgios leaves Australian Open

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios pulled out of the Australian Open yesterday due to a knee injury less than 24 hours before he was due to play his first-round match.

The 27-year-old tennis player’s physiotherapist Will Maher said Kyrgios had been dealing with a cyst on a small tear in the meniscus of his left knee for a couple of weeks and called the decision “sensible,” adding that it is “not a significant injury.” When speaking to reporters regarding his withdrawal from the grand slam event, Kyrgios said, “I’m devastated obviously. Honestly, I’m just exhausted from everything, and obviously pretty brutal. One of the most important tournaments of my career. It hasn’t been easy at all.”

Kyrgios, who is ranked 21st in the world, was the runner-up at Wimbledon in the men’s singles last year and secured the men’s doubles title at last year’s Australian Open with partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.

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Quick Tips


Around the Globe

  • Siamak Namazi begins a hunger strike to protest against the failure of the U.S. to free him and other dual nationals held in Iran; Namazi, 51, has been imprisoned in the country after being arrested in 2015 on espionage charges and is serving a 10-year sentence (More)
  • World economic outlook for 2023 will reflect “moderate or strong” growth in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia in 2023, while more than 9 out of 10 chief economists expect growth to be weak in the U.S. and Europe, according to the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists Outlook (More)
  • Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite around 130 “terrorists” to Turkey before the country’s parliament will approve their bids to join NATO (More)

On the Homefront

  • Ex-Alabama men’s basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with murder in connection with a Sunday shooting near the university’s campus that left a 23-year-old woman dead (More)
  • Federal Aviation Administration launches investigation after a near-collision between two airplanes at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday night (More)
  • Shooting at a home in Goshen, CA leaves six dead; authorities say two suspects have not been caught and that those deceased include a 17-year-old mother and a six-month-old baby (More)

Glitz & Games

  • ‘American Idol’ contestant C.J. Harris passed away at age 31 after suffering an unspecified medical emergency and being rushed to the Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper, Alabama (More)
  • Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will return as the school’s head football coach in 2023 after being rumored as a candidate for multiple NFL openings over the past several weeks (More)
  • Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, known for her roles in 1950s and ‘60s films such as Beat the Devil, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Crossed Swords, passed away at age 95 (More)

Business & Markets

  • U.S. stock market was closed yesterday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday; markets resume trading today
  • Co-founders of now-liquidated Three Arrows Capital are reportedly seeking investors for a new venture that would focus on digital currency bankruptcy claims (More)
  • German engineering and technology company Bosch is reportedly planning to put $1B into a factory that will make components for new energy vehicles in China (More)

Tips & Tricks

  • Feel Good: The Buffalo Bills gave two Super Bowl tickets to a New York man who saved more than 20 people by breaking into a school and sheltering them from last month’s blizzard in Erie County
  • Tear Up: Watch this video of the lead singer of the band Plain White T’s surprising an eight-year-old cancer patient named Delilah by singing her favorite song, “Hey There Delilah,” in her hospital room (we’re officially huge fans of this band now, respect)
  • Belly Laugh: Check out these clumsy panda cubs in China giving their handlers a headache through their sheer lack of coordination
  • Say What: “I want you to know that if you too, can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen,” actor Brendan Fraser said during the Critics Choice Awards when accepting ‘Best Actor’ for his role in The Whale
  • Hot Goss: Remains of a human skeleton were reportedly found in an unused building at UC Berkeley recently, and officials say they have no idea how long they have been there (well, that’s not creepy at all…)
  • Life Hack: Trying to manage stress can feel like a never-ending game of Whack-a-Mole, but you can take simple measures to keep it under control - here are four tips to reduce anxiety and lower stress in your day-to-day life

Tip-Offs


How corporations trick you into eating junk food.

See these eight iconic Yellowstone locations in real life.

Unpacking 16th-century England’s strange social etiquette

Watch a rusty 1930s typewriter get restored to perfect condition.

A photo of a vine snake captured mid-attack.

…and an up-close shot of a platypus’ foot.

See what happens when you light fireworks in the break room.

Meet the woman who ran a marathon a day for 150 days.

Looking Back…

On January 17th: A committee led by Sanford Ballard Dole deposes Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani and installs a provisional government (1893); the U.S. purchases three of the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25M (1917); Harald V becomes king of Norway following the death of his father, Olav V (1991); American gangster Al Capone is born (1899).

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Question of the day


Would you rather deal with extreme heat or extreme cold?

Heat - feeling cold is the worst

Cold - at least you can bundle up

Yesterday's Results


Do you prefer eating in a fancy restaurant or a home-cooked meal?

Nothing beats a home-cooked meal (73%)

I’ll take fancy restaurants any day (27%)

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