Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Saad Hariri may finally leave Saudi Arabia. After several days of conflicting reports, the Lebanese prime minister agreed to fly to Paris amid confusion about his abrupt resignation two weeks ago while visiting Riyadh. Lebanese politicians have accused the Saudis of holding Hariri hostage and forcing him to resign.
China sends a special envoy to North Korea. US president Donald Trump has called the visit a “big move,” though it’s unclear whether there will be a major breakthrough at a time when Beijing-Pyongyang relations are at a low point.
NAFTA talks continue. As the three North American countries press on with negotiations in Mexico City, Reuters reported that Canada is open to a Mexican proposal to review the agreement every five years. Both countries are opposed to the US demand to end the deal if it is not renegotiated.
A secretive SpaceX Zuma mission is now set to launch on Friday. A second delay this week pushed the US government’s mystery satellite mission back to Friday night at 8pm local time. Watch the launch from Cape Canaveral on the SpaceX live stream.
While you were sleeping
The controversial Keystone pipeline spilled 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota. Crews are responding to an oil spill amounting to some 5,000 barrels of oil according to TransCanada, the company that operates the pipeline.
A smiling Robert Mugabe refused to step down. The future of the 93-year-old Zimbabwean leader, who is under house arrest, remains unclear. Mediation efforts are underway, with earlier photos showing Mugabe posing with Zimbabwe’s army chief made public.
BuzzFeed missed its targets. The digital media company said it’s going to miss its revenue target (paywall) for the year by a significant amount, signaling tough times for the wider industry. Mashable agreed on Thursday to sell itself to trade publisher Ziff Davis for $50 million, compared to its earlier $250 million valuation.
House Republicans passed their tax bill. The measure would cut corporate tax rates, decrease the tax burden for many Americans, and raise the federal deficit by an estimated $1.4 trillion. The Senate is debating its own version of the tax bill.
Walmart’s profits—and shares—soared. Hurricane stockpiling and a surge in online shopping contributed to better-than-expected earnings at the retail giant. Shares rose 8.5% to hit their highest point since 2009.
Quartz obsession interlude
Yomi Kazeem on the 40 African countries that help explain what a coup is. “Since the 1960s, Africa has seen at least 200 successful and failed coups. The coups have inspired Hollywood flicks such as Tears of the Sun which starred Bruce Willis and depicted a bloody overthrow of a Nigerian president… Burkina Faso, land of Thomas Sankara, is the coup capital of Africa after witnessing 10 attempts—the most on the continent. Six of those happened in the 1980s alone.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Sex addiction is not an excuse for criminal behavior. Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey set a dangerous precedent by (falsely) framing their scandals as a neurological struggle.
Silicon Valley is beating Detroit on self-driving cars. Traditional automakers can’t match the breakneck pace set by Alphabet, Apple, and Uber.
America’s prescription drug epidemic is changing hip-hop. Lil Peep, the 21-year-old rapper who recently died of a suspected overdose, frequently rapped about Xanax.
Surprising discoveries
Scientists found a forest in Antarctica’s ice. The fossilized remains, roughly 260 million years old, prove the continent had plant life despite long sunless winters.
The third-highest-grossing tour in history belongs to Coldplay. Chris Martin’s band made more than $500 million on their recent tour, just after U2’s 2009-2011 tour and the Rolling Stones’ a decade ago.
The Malaysian government is looking into the aphrodisiac value of durian. It’s pungent, delicious, and “good for men.”
Chinese videogames now include Xi Jinping’s teachings. Players can absorb the Chinese president’s socialist exhortations as they kill their enemies.
Vantablack is the new ultra-black. The man-made material absorbs 99.96% of visible light, creating a visual effect like looking at a black hole.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, ultra-black materials, and videogames with Chinese characteristics to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android.