Tom Price, Italy Avalanche, Novak Djokovic: Your Thursday Briefing
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Good morning.
Here’s what you need to know:
• A final cabinet pick.
President-elect Donald J. Trump made his last cabinet nomination on Wednesday, naming Sonny Perdue, a former governor of Georgia, as secretary of agriculture.
On Capitol Hill, four of Mr. Trump’s nominees faced confirmation hearings, including Tom Price, who spoke of lofty goals but offered few details about what health coverage might look like after the Affordable Care Act.
Up today are Rick Perry, who has faced a “learning curve” in preparing to lead the Energy Department, and Steven T. Mnuchin, chosen as Treasury secretary.
• “Let’s see what he can do.”
We’re driving with several of Mr. Trump’s supporters to his inauguration in Washington on Friday.
The official festivities for Mr. Trump, who has dismissed polls that found he would assume office with less popular support than any new president in modern times, begin this afternoon. Here’s a schedule of events.
• In farewell, Obama sets red lines.
At his final news conference, President Obama promised on Wednesday that he would continue to speak out if he felt America’s “core values may be at stake.”
As part of our series about the Obama era, we looked at how the presidency changed him.
• Standoff unnerves Gambia.
The nation’s neighbors have threatened a military intervention after President Yahya Jammeh, in power for 22 years, refused to step aside despite losing the recent election. His successor is supposed to be inaugurated today.
• Avalanche buries hotel in Italy.
Up to 30 people are missing today after the tragedy, which followed a series of earthquakes on Wednesday.
Business
• Navient, a student loan collection company, has illegally driven up repayment costs for millions of borrowers, according to lawsuits filed by two state attorneys general and a federal regulator in the U.S.
Every customer may have been affected, one state attorney general said.
• The heads of state and billionaires gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum say they are ready to fight income inequality.
But talks about ways to “reform capitalism” tend to focus more on solutions like entrepreneurialism and mindfulness training than on redistributing wealth or increasing workers’ bargaining power, our writer observed.
The only guarantee is an interesting experience. “It’s not just about fixing things,” one participant said.
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Noteworthy
• Djokovic ousted at Australian Open.
In one of the tennis tournament’s biggest upsets, the reigning champion Novak Djokovic lost in five sets to Denis Istomin, ranked 117th in the world.
• Baseball’s newest Hall of Fame members.
Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez will be inducted this year.
The swift election of Rodriguez, who was identified as a steroid user by a former teammate, could help the candidacies of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two superstars also linked to performance-enhancing drugs.
• National Book Critics Circle Awards.
The finalists in the fiction category, named this week, are Zadie Smith (“Swing Time”), Michael Chabon (“Moonglow”), Louise Erdrich (“LaRose”), Adam Haslett (“Imagine Me Gone”) and Ann Patchett (“Commonwealth”).
Contenders were also named for the autobiography, biography, nonfiction, poetry and criticism categories. The winners will be announced March 16.
• A fake news masterpiece.
Cameron Harris isn’t a Russian spy nor an employee of a propaganda group.
But last fall, the recent college graduate with an interest in Republican politics and student loans to pay concocted a fake story with the headline, “BREAKING: ‘Tens of thousands’ of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse.”
It took him 15 minutes to write the article, which brought in about $5,000 in a few days. The bogus story was shared with about six million people.
Smarter Living: Morning Edition
(In this new section, we’ll help you start your day right.)
• Try this at work today: Studies have found that lunchtime strolls can improve people’s moods and ability to handle stress.
• Recipe of the day: Try this version of coconut noodles, which one food writer described as “so easy, the worst cook in the world could make it.”
Back Story
It’s high summer in Australia, and beachgoers are hunting for ways to deter one of the world’s most feared predators: the shark.
Parts of the coastline are hot spots, particularly New South Wales. Last month, a 65-year-old surfer was attacked by what was believed to be a great white shark. And a recent video of a bull shark charging an Australian spearfisherman off Queensland caused a sensation.
Attacks are still rare. Nevertheless, shark repellents crowd the market.
Some chemical sprays mimic the smell of dead sharks, which living sharks avoid. There are also magnetic bands reputed to mess with their electroreceptors. A type of surfboard wax infused with strong-smelling coconut and clove oils is supposed to offend their sensitive olfactory organs.
Experts warn that some repellents are not formally tested and that using them may offer swimmers and surfers a false sense of protection. Dr. Charlie Huveneers, a shark expert at Flinders University in Adelaide, said, “We’ll never be able to test a deterrent in every situation and motivation level of sharks.”
That’s true everywhere. A Florida teenager was attacked in December despite wearing a shark-repelling bracelet. His mother is seeking a refund.
For full protection, there’s just one option: staying on land.
Des Shoe contributed reporting.
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P.C: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/briefing/tom-price-italy-avalanche-novak-djokovic.html
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