Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Should Donald Trump have the authority to use nuclear weapons? The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on the president’s unfettered ability to deploy nukes. It was convened by outgoing senator Bob Corker, who has called the White House “an adult day-care center” in his war of words with the president.
Jeff Sessions gets a grilling about his Russia contacts. The US attorney general will face uncomfortable questions about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. His previous testimony denying knowledge of communications between the Kremlin and White House is at odds with the guilty-plea agreement of Trump advisor George Papadopoulos.
UK lawmakers try to agree the date of Brexit. Parliament will discuss Theresa May’s EU Withdrawal Bill, which is said to be a “copy and paste” of EU rules and regulations into British law and enshrines March 29, 2019 as the UK’s last day in the EU—whether or not MPs decide to back a deal. There are already 186 pages of proposed amendments.
While you were sleeping
The US approved the world’s first digital pill. Regulators approved a mental-illness drug from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Proteus Digital Health that contains a sensor activated by stomach fluids. It sends a signal to a patch on a patient’s skin and transmits the data via app to a doctor. It raises concerns that such data could infringe on people’s rights to refuse drugs and give health-insurance companies too much power.
Germany is in the rudest of health. Europe’s powerhouse economy posted 0.8% GDP growth in the third quarter from the previous three months, outstripping predictions by a full 0.2 percentage points. It’s on track for its best year since 2011—no surprise that export growth was a key driver. The IMF this week called Europe the “world’s engine of global trade.”
The North Korean soldier who tried to defect is still alive—barely. The South Korean military said the soldier, who had been shot at at least 40 times by the north’s troops as he fled across the Demilitarized Zone and was found under a pile of leaves, would live. Doctors extracted five bullets from his body, but think there are still two more inside.
S&P said Venezuela is in default on interest payments. Vice president Tareck El-Aissami railed against Trump and financiers, saying they conspired to stop (paywall) the country from making its payments on time. Yesterday, Venezuela promised to keep paying its debts at a conference in Caracas.
Everything is perfect in Russia! As president Vladimir Putin gears up for his next presidential election in March, Reuters reports that the Kremlin sent out strict instructions to 45 major Russian companies demanding positive stories about the country and its leadership. New jobs, scientific achievements, that kind of thing—and it gave them a weekly deadline for submissions.
Quartz obsession interlude
Yemisi Adegoke on the Uber drivers using a fake GPS app to inflate fares. “Initially created for developers to ‘test geofencing-based apps,’ Lockito, an Android app that lets your phone follow a fake GPS itinerary, is being used by Uber drivers in Lagos… In some cases, inflated trips can cost riders more than double the rate they should be paying.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Superstar cities come with a downside. A creative class can spur innovation, but winner-takes-all urbanism leaves many behind.
Somaliland is East Africa’s strongest democracy. It’s one of the few entities carved up by colonists that actually makes sense, and it created a democracy for citizens (paywall) instead of donors.
SoftBank is the savior of troubled startups. CEO Masayoshi Son is a sort of a “unicorn veterinarian” at companies like Uber.
Surprising discoveries
Greece bets marijuana can reboot its economy. The government believes its balmy climes will attract major investors in medical marijuana.
Italy won’t play in the soccer World Cup for the first time in 60 years. The four-time winners were kicked out by Sweden.
“Secret agent” robots are infiltrating schools of fish. Scientists designed them to mimic and influence real fish.
The 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos will be co-chaired by seven women—and zero men. The forum has been criticized as much for its gender imbalance as for its elitism.
A trove of Nazi art is locked up on an army base in Virginia. The collection includes four watercolors by Adolf Hitler.
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