Iran Nuke Facility Hit, Peace Hopes Flounder

A cyber attack at one of Iran’s biggest nuclear facilities on Sunday led to a blackout, with growing indications that Israel was behind the attack. The strike threatens to further escalate tensions between the archenemies and complicate efforts by the Biden administration to revive nuclear talks with Iran. (Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN)

2. Floyd Fire Again

A police officer shot dead a Black man pulled over for a traffic violation 10 miles from the Minneapolis location where George Floyd died last May, after an officer used his knee to press Floyd’s neck against the ground. The shooting sparked fresh protests even as the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of killing Floyd, continues in a Minneapolis court. (Sources: NYT, WaPo)

3. Left, Right or No One?

Pedro Castillo,a far-left schoolteacher, emerged as the front-runner in a fractured election to pick Peru’s next president, but will likely face a runoff against Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. Some 28 percent of voters didn’t want anyone from a field of 18 candidates. Meanwhile, in Ecuador, conservative banker Guillermo Lasso won the presidency. (Sources: France 24, Guardian, Reuters)

4. Crisis-Exploiting Officers

The median pay of top CEOs at U.S. public companies rose by almost a million dollars in 2020 — even as unemployment was skyrocketing — boosted by rising stocks. Instead of taking standard pay cuts, should CEOs share annual earnings from stock options they receive with employees? Vote here or on Twitter. (Source: WSJ)

It turns out that our entire species could be toxic. Snake researchers have concluded that humans could someday develop venom glands, making our saliva poisonous.  

They call him Iron Byron, the name of the U.S. Golf Association’s robot golf tester. At a 2019 tournament in Melbourne, Australia, other top golfers concluded they couldn’t play against a 25-mile-an-hour wind. But the South Korean golfer, now 23, kept hitting the green … like a machine. At the Masters last November, he registered a performance that would have won him the green jacket 80 out of the previous 84 times, only to be beaten right at the end by eventual winner Dustin Johnson. Im won’t be denied much longer.

2. Tsubasa Kajitani

Matsuyama’s making the headlines, but a fellow Japanese golfer beat him to success on the sport’s most famous greens. Kajitani, 17, mounted a comeback after a double bogey to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this month. It also earned her a congratulatory message from Tiger Woods, as the all-time great recovers from an injury after a car crash in February.

3. Patty Tavatanakit

The 21-year-old from Thailand took up golf when she was 8, inspired by (no surprise) Woods. Now she’s poised to inspire a new generation of Asian women, after winning the year’s first LPGA major, the ANA Inspiration. You’ll frequently find her on Instagram, posting about her other great loves: bagels, pizza and Sichuan food. That is when she’s not chewing up rivals on the course. 

America’s COVID-19 vaccination program is progressing rapidly and states are reopening. But could new variants undermine those gains? Katty Kay and Carlos Watson are joined by Cynthia Finch, who is fighting vaccine inequity, and Dr. Michael Osterholm, a leading epidemiologist. Listen onApple Podcasts,Stitcher, theiHeart Radio app or OZY.

1. Poaching to Protect

South Africa and Botswana are embracing a radical approach that regulates but allows trophy hunting of endangered animals. Banning poaching altogether, they've found, only encourages illegal hunting, where local communities have little incentive to stop the killings. Instead, by allowing limited trophy hunting, governments give communities a reason to ensure the long-term survival of endangered species. It’s working with Botswana’s elephants and South Africa’s sable antelope.

2.  Where Shepherds Save Wolves

For centuries, the rugged terrain of Ladakh, along the India-China border, has witnessed pitched battles between yak herders and predatory wolves and snow leopards. Now a dramatic new approach pioneered by local conservationists and villagers is upending that seemingly irreconcilable tension, using Buddhist principles to turn enmity into peaceful coexistence. Read more on OZY.

3. Test-Tube Frogs

What if a lab could meet the demand for exotic species that’s behind illegal hunting? Conservationists in Ecuador are doing just that: breeding a rare species of frog specifically for the wildlife-trafficking market. They argue that as long as there’s a demand for these creatures, poachers with resources will find ways to get them. So it's better to meet that demand — but without killing any wild frogs. 

Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the 2012 killing of Black teenager Trayvon Martin, said he wanted to box. His promoter put out a bid. DMX won it, and was clearly licking his lips. “I am going to beat the living f--- out him … I am breaking every rule in boxing to make sure I f--- him right up,” the rapper said. Zimmerman called off the 2014 fight.

2. Behind Woodstock ‘99

DMX’sperformance at Woodstock ’99 drew 200,000 attendees, making it one of the biggest rap concerts in history — and the source of clips that still go viral. But did you know that in addition to being overbooked, the venue wasa 100-degree oven that day, with a water shortage. And that 1,200 people were sent to on-site medical facilities?

3. DMX Gets Cute

With a lengthy record of arrests, struggles with addiction and a voice that seems like it was made for aggression, it would be easy to assume the Yonkers native didn’t have a soft spot. You couldn’t be more wrong. Just check out hiscover of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” during a visit to a radio station.

What’s your favorite DMX song? Tell us and we’ll create a playlist.

We’ve all been lonely this past year, but imagine being on an island with no one visiting during the pandemic. That’s the struggle Mauritius has grappled with, as its tourism-dependent economy was battered. Now it’s reentering the world, building confidence among its people and potential visitors by offering free COVID-19 vaccines not just to citizens but to long-term visa holders too. Trust science. It’s our best shot at health and economic recovery.

2. Exposure Therapy

Slowly expose yourself to anxiety-inducing situations. Meet one person, then two, to regain your confidence before attending a party. More and more experts are recommending this “exposure therapy” as the smartest way to reenter. It’ll help you overcome your fears of acne coming back a year after you last put on makeup. But even if your country or state is a leader in COVID-19 vaccinations, don’t lower your guard, or masks, too much — or, as Chile is discovering, the virus will bite back.

3. Time to Inspire

Amid growing talk of a “lost year” in education, mental health specialists are now advising parents to get out of a sense of crisis and model optimism for their children. Yes, last year was tough. But children will recover — if that’s the message we give them.