Editor's note

Britain’s Brexit just got more complicated. Less than a day after U.K. lawmakers dealt Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to leave the European Union a historic defeat, they voted to keep her in power. The situation reminds Penn State international business professor Terrence Guay of an “escape room,” the adventure game that requires participants to solve a series of puzzles before they can leave one room and advance to the next. Yet, in this room, there may be no solution and no escape. For much more on Brexit, read the coverage from our U.K. edition.

Drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán allegedly paid $100 million to former Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto and routinely bribed police to smooth operations for his Sinaloa cartel. Those are the latest stunning allegations from El Chapo’s federal trial in Brooklyn, New York. Two months of testimony by trafficker after trafficker has made quite clear that the drug trade is just too big – and too lucrative – to fail, writes Luis Gómez Romero.

And, as the U.S. government shutdown drags on, and TSA staff call in sick or quit, security lines are growing at some airports. Some industry officials hope facial recognition or other types of technology might help speed passengers on their way – during the shutdown and after it’s over. Not so fast, says airport historian Janet Bednarek from the University of Dayton.

Bryan Keogh

Economics + Business Editor

Top stories

Theresa May likely wants to escape this room. Reuters TV

Brexit: An ‘escape room’ with no escape

Terrence Guay, Pennsylvania State University

The UK's agonizing efforts to find a path out of the European Union is beginning to look a lot like a game or riddle with no solution – and certainly no winners.

An artist’s sketch of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán at a 2018 pretrial hearing in a Brooklyn Federal courthouse. Elizabeth Williams via AP, File

El Chapo trial shows why a wall won’t stop drugs from crossing the US-Mexico border

Luis Gómez Romero, University of Wollongong

With its tales of bloody violence, corruption, international trade and entrepreneurial innovation, Guzmán's trial offers a telenovela-style explainer on Mexican cartels and their American clients.

Just because an airport looks impressive doesn’t mean it functions well. AP Photo/Emrah Gurel

In ‘airports of the future,’ everything new is old again

Janet Bednarek, University of Dayton

Big lines and long distances to walk have plagued airports since the dawn of the jet age. New designs and technologies haven't helped much, even if they're visually impressive.

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Today’s quote

Criminals operate with impunity in Guatemala. Around 90 percent of all crimes go unpunished – which is actually an improvement over the country’s 2007 impunity rate of 98 percent.

 

Guatemala in crisis after president bans corruption investigation into his government

 

Rachel E. Bowen

The Ohio State University

Rachel E. Bowen