Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 1, 2018

Animal Stories:

Horses can read, remember and react to human expressions. Popular Mechanicssays the surprising new findings come from the University of Sussex in the U.K. and the University of Portsmouth in Pittsburgh.
They showed domestic horses photos of an angry or happy human face. Several hours later, they introduced the horses to the actual person photographed. The horses reacted differently depending on the photo they'd seen. Animals process threatening stimuli in their right brain-hemisphere, using their left eye, so the direction of the horse's gaze revealed their read of the photograph.
They did not have any reaction to strangers whose photos they had never seen before. That means horses have a memory for emotion. (Bartha)

Jedi mind tricks:

A California 7-Eleven store found a way to get rid of loiterers.
SUKHI SANDHU owns a 7-Eleven in Modesto. He's been playing loud opera music on outdoor speakers to drive away the "riffraff." Sandhu says classical music is part of a company policy that promotes non-confrontational methods to reduce loitering. MANUEL SOUZA, who admits to being one of the "riffraff," says, "Once the music started, the riffraff left." Souza says the loud opera makes it hard to hang out and "gossip and joke around."
Some other 7-Eleven stores have been getting rid of unwanted crowds by playing a loud buzzing noise that sounds like a mosquito. (Still)

The White House:

White House chief of staff JOHN KELLY is strongly denying a report from NBC News that he called PRESIDENT TRUMP an "idiot"and saidthat Mr. Trump doesn't know about the policy issues on his agenda. In a statement yesterday, Kelly said, "I spend more time with the president than anyone else and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship."
Kelly continued, "He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS... I am committed to the president, his agenda, and our country. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration's many successes." (Pacelli)