Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Toyota and Mazda announce the location of a shared $1.6 billion US plant. The Japanese carmakers will name Alabama as the site, according to multiple reports. Expected to create up to 4,000 jobs, it will be the first new plant announced since Donald Trump—who’s prodded automakers to make more cars in the US—became president.
California’s governor proposes his final state budget. Jerry Brown will set out a spending blueprint, with taxes from marijuana sales—estimated to eventually reach $1 billion a year—factored in for the first time. Recreational use of marijuana became legal in California, which has the world’s sixth-largest economy, on Jan. 1.
Lennar Construction posts earnings. Analysts expect the 2018 tax cuts to keep fueling construction—new home sales in November grew at their fastest pace since 2007—so expectations are that homebuilder Lennar will report solid fourth-quarter results.
South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator begins a three-day visit to the US. Lee Do-hoon, Seoul’s chief delegate to the long-stalled six-party nuclear talks, will meet with his US counterpart Joseph Yun to discuss ways to peacefully resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis.
While you were sleeping
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s decision to end DACA. US district judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to stop Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court. The program has protected hundreds of thousands brought to the US illegally as children.
Malaysia offered a Houston-based salvage company $50 million to find MH370 wreckage. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that the country hired Ocean Infinity (paywall) to comb a 25,000 sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean for 90 days. It will start this month and get paid only if it finds debris from the Malaysian Airlines flight, which disappeared four years ago with 239 passengers on board.
India relaxed rules for foreign investors. New Delhi announced that foreign retailers will no longer need to partner with local companies in order to set up shop (paywall). It also said that foreign investors will be permitted to own 49% of Air India, when it is privatized—Singapore Airlines is reportedly interested.
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake rocked the Caribbean… The quake occurred between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands at a depth of about six miles (10 km). The US Tsunami Center briefly issued a warning for Puerto Rico and a number of Caribbean islands, and said parts of Honduras and Belize could still be hit by high waves.
… And a massive mudslide trapped people in their homes in California. At least 13 people were killed Tuesday after a rainstorm triggered a deluge of mud and boulders in Montecito. Around 25 were injured and, as of last night, around 300 were still stuck in their homes as rescuers struggled to reach them. This area was devastated by fire last month.
Quartz obsession interlude
Echo Huang and Tripti Lahiri on the growing space-junk problem. “Many man-made objects remain in space way beyond their useful life, orbiting our planet endlessly and fueling space scientists’ worst nightmares. Since human beings began sending satellites into space in the late 1950s, we’ve been leaving behind trash with every launch. By one estimate there are some 170 million pieces of debris traveling at enormous speeds.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
If you want to lose weight, don’t tell your friends. Studies show those closest to you can actively sabotage your efforts.
Free access to art shapes the world’s culture. Museums without admission fees draw more tourists and increase engagement with lower-income communities.
Self-help has turned into self-harm. The industry encourages us to remain unsatisfied with ourselves, and keeps us from remembering who we really are.
Surprising discoveries
Robot strippers underwhelmed at CES in Las Vegas. Most visitors were either unimpressed by the tech or outraged by the degradation of robo-women.
An electronic pill could shed light on how farts are made. The one-inch capsule analyzes decomposition in the gut.
Higher temperatures are turning 99% of green sea turtles female. Climate change effects on the Great Barrier Reef are also upping turtle egg mortality rates.
Sales of lipsticks for kids grew six-fold last year in South Korea. Having conquered the market for male grooming, K-beauty companies are now turning their attention to children.
Canada’s ice hotel caught on fire. The blaze hospitalized two guests and damaged a room, but the ice structure was remarkably undamaged.
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