Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Donald Trump turns back the clock on US-Cuba relations. The US president is expected to at least partly reverse the Obama-era measures that opened the country to US trade and travel in 2014.
The Dalai Lama gives a contentious speech in California. Chinese students, who account for 14% of the University of California-San Diego’s student body, say the university was insensitive to invite the exiled Tibetan leader to give a commencement address.
Yahoo ceases to exist. Board member Thomas McInerney will become CEO of the newly renamed Altaba Inc, which consists of equity stakes in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Yahoo Japan.
While you were sleeping
Greece and the EU agreed on yet another bailout. Euro zone finance ministers agreed to extend another €8.5 billion in funds, which will go toward servicing previous debt—essentially a loan to repay a previous loan.
Spotify will fork over about $2 billion to record labels. The music streaming service, which posted $3.3 billion in revenue last year, says the payout is a crucial step towards boosting profit margins as it prepares to go public.
The US student freed by North Korea has a severe neurological injury. Otto Warmbier returned to his home state of Ohio this week in a coma after more than a year in prison for stealing a propaganda poster.
Seven people were killed in an explosion at a Chinese school. The cause of the blast, which took place in the eastern province of Jiangsu and injured at least 66, is still unknown. This is China’s second recent tragedy; last month 11 children died when a bus caught fire.
A woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India is suing the company. The unnamed woman, who lives in Texas, filed a US lawsuit against CEO Travis Kalanick and two former executives who allegedly obtained her medical records.
Nike is cutting its workforce by 2%. About 1,400 employees will be laid off as the sportswear giant reorganizes its retail business to concentrate on a dozen cities around the world. Its shares fell more than 2% on the news.
Quartz obsession interlude
Thu-Huong Ha and Nikhil Sonnad on what we reveal when we draw a circle. “Americans tend to draw circles counterclockwise. Of nearly 50,000 circles drawn in the US, 86% were drawn this way. People in Japan, on the other hand, tend to draw circles in the opposite direction. Of 800 circles drawn in Japan, 80% went clockwise.” Read more here.
Matters of Debate
Hedge funds need to stop naming themselves after Greek gods. Medea slaughtered her sons, Hermes was the patron of swindlers, and don’t even start with Icarus.
Instagram is rendering record labels obsolete. Through social media, musicians can finally be their own bosses.
Extremists aren’t always criminals. Engaging with people who are moving towards political violence is essential to preventing terrorism.
Surprising discoveries
You could be a tree someday. Two Barcelona brothers make biodegradable urns that seed pines, redwoods, maples, and oaks from human ashes.
The secret to AI may be knowing how to say “good job.” New research suggests that humans may be the best at helping machines learn.
Sushi robots could serve up Japan’s economic recovery. Automation is compensating for the nation’s shrinking population, especially in the food and restaurant industry.
Baby sea turtles are baking on the beach. Rising temperatures on Florida’s coast are killing hatchlings and skewing turtle populations.
The universe has a bruise. An anomalous region of the sky might be the mark left from an ancient collision with another universe.
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