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Start your day smarter with the most important world news, plus intriguing and offbeat stories. www.ozy.com [OZY]( [OZY]() Your World. Bold & Bright [Presidential Daily Brief]( Sponsored by [ezCater]( Start your day smarter with a dossier on the most important world news, rounded off with a shot of intriguing and offbeat stories. Like the president, you deserve no less. Nov 08, 2022 Today As Biden attempted to cling on to the Senate, Trump hinted at “a very big announcement.” The leader of Barbados tore strips off rich nations at COP27, accusing them of “fundamentally unfair” treatment. The Kremlin took the unprecedented step of publicly refuting reports of battlefield slaughters. And “Putin’s chef” seemingly admitted to meddling in the U.S. midterms. All this and more in today’s PDB. [Need food for work?]( [ezCater]( Having good food at work is essential. It helps everyone stay productive, creative, and feeling their best. But finding a way to feed all your people takes time and effort. With [ezCater](, you can order from over 100,000 restaurants nationwide from one simple platform, with options to suit any size group, any taste, or any dietary need. Whether you’re ordering boxed lunches for a meeting, creating a holiday breakfast spread, or setting up recurring employee meals, ezCater makes sure your food is always delivered professionally — on time, as ordered. And every order is supported by our award-winning 24/7 customer service. Call, text, or email, and a helpful human will be with you in seconds. It’s no wonder [ezCater]( gets orders from 93% of Fortune 500 companies. Are you ready to order? [START YOUR ORDER]( IMPORTANT High Stakes Record Turnout Expected in Most Consequential Midterms in Ages Republicans appear poised to retake the House — they need just five seats to flip it — but the 50-50 Senate and several tight gubernatorial tussles remain in the balance. Dems would have to defy history to hang on to either chamber: since 1934, the president’s party has lost 28 House and four Senate seats on average. In his final speech before election day, President Biden warned voters that “next year will shape our lifetimes.” But it was former President Donald Trump who stole the limelight, saying “I’m going to be making a very big announcement on Nov. 15.” 2024, anyone? (Sources: [NYT](, [WaPo](, [The Guardian]() ‘Fundamentally Unfair’ Barbados PM Lays Into Rich Nations at COP27 The first day of the global climate conference was marked by dire warnings and urgent calls to cooperate or die. “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. But the most memorable speech came from Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley: “We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution,” she said, speaking on behalf of all developing nations. “Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gases from the industrial revolution?” Watch this space. (Sources: [Reuters](, [The Guardian]() Lambs to the Slaughter Russia Denies Reports of Massive Battlefield Losses in Rare Statement While criticizing the war remains a crime, Moscow’s turned a blind eye of late. That changed when a letter from members of the 155th Brigade claimed that “as a result of the ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great generals,’ we lost about 300 people.” Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a statement refuting its contents: “Due to the competent actions of the commanders, the losses among the marines over this period do not exceed 1 percent of the combat personnel and 7 percent of the wounded.” Elsewhere, two Russian conscripts said around 500 soldiers in their unit were killed just hours after arriving in Luhansk. (Sources: [WaPo](, [Daily Mail]() ‘We Interfered’ Putin Ally Appears to Admit Continued Meddling in US Elections “I will answer you very subtly, and delicately and I apologize, I will allow a certain ambiguity. Gentlemen, we interfered, we interfere and we will interfere.” This was how Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man so close to Russia’s president that he’s known as “Vladimir Putin’s chef” responded to a journalist’s question about whether Russia meddled in today’s midterms. He continued: “Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way, as we know how. During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once.” If sincere, it’s the first admission of a high-level Russian campaign to undermine U.S. democracy. (Source: [CNN]() Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Dogfight. South Korea’s former President Moon Jae-in says he’ll return the dogs given to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if Seoul stops paying for their care. (Source: [BBC]() Sins of the father. One of France’s highest-ranking Roman Catholics, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, is withdrawing from all religious duties after admitting to abusing a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. “My behavior has inevitably caused serious and lasting consequences for this person,” he said. (Source: [ABC]() Twisted. The white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand is appealing his conviction and life sentence. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accused him of attempting to “revictimize people.” (Source: [BBC]() INTRIGUING Blue Bonds When Belize Refinanced Its Debt, the Environment Benefited Following the pandemic, the Caribbean island nation teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. Then Virginia-based nonprofit The Nature Conservancy offered to lend Prime Minister Johnny Briceño the $350 million Belize owed its creditors. The catch? Some of the savings must be plowed into preserving Belize’s oceans, mangroves and coral reefs. “It gave us breathing space,” said Briceño. “Instead of bondholders, we will now be paying to protect our environment.” The Nature Conservancy has reached similar deals with the Seychelles and Barbados. Larger economies including Sri Lanka and Ecuador have also invested in “blue bonds” — but critics say it’s too little too late. (Source: [NYT]() Alternative Protein Singapore Leads the Way in Plant-Based Meats Singapore’s the first country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat — [chicken nuggets]( to be precise — and last week it gave the green light to a yellow protein powder that’s grown “out of thin air.” Home to 36 alternative protein companies, which have raised $213 million between them, Singapore is “without question the leading alternative protein hub in Asia – and arguably the world,” said Good Food Institute’s Mirte Gosker, who also praised Israel’s efforts. It’s all part of the tiny, import-reliant nation’s “30 by 30” strategy — a government plan to produce 30% of its food needs locally and sustainably by 2030. (Source: [The Guardian]() Back With a Bang Myanmar Hot Air Balloon Festival Returns After 2-Year Break Thousands have descended on Pyin Oo Lwin for the Tazaungdaing light festival. The five-day celebration to mark the end of the rainy season will see 76 teams launch their elaborate balloon creations heavenwards — and watch eagerly as the fireworks onboard explode in spectacular blasts of pyrotechnics. Points are awarded for aesthetics, teamwork, time spent aloft and height reached — but the real prize for most participants would be a return to [national stability](. “We are holding our festival here but we are sorry for what is happening elsewhere,” said Aung Myat Thu. “When we were preparing for the competition, we all worked alongside our worries.” (Source: [AFP]() Do Not Lick the Toad! National Park Service Adds New Warning to Its Repertoire “As we say with most things you come across in a national park, whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night, please refrain from licking.” The NPS took the unusual step of urging visitors not to put their tongues near the Sonoran Desert Toad. The 7-inch amphibian secretes a potent toxin that can make humans sick — but it also contains 5-MeO-DMT, a powerful hallucinogenic. More and more people, including Mike Tyson and Hunter Biden, have taken to smoking these secretions and the toad’s now threatened in New Mexico. (Source: [NPR]() ‘Eat That Bird!’ ‘Philadelphia Chicken Man’ Eats 40 Rotisserie Chickens in 40 Days Philadelphia may have lost the World Series and the Major League Soccer Cup — but Alexander Tominsky brought a measure of redemption to the crowd on “that abandoned pier near Walmart” by devouring his 40th whole chicken in as many days. The challenge wasn’t the result of a lost bet, nor was it a moneymaking ploy: Tominsky simply hoped his suffering might bring others joy. While the first dozen chickens went down easy, he soon began to “feel the pulse of my heart in my stomach.” By the end, he admitted to washing them down with water: “Basically, I drank the chicken.” (Source: [NYT]() COMMUNITY What else are you curious about? Share your questions or thoughts with us at OzyCommunity@Ozy.com ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. [www.ozy.com]( / #OZY Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! 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