Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Italy holds a general election. Italians will vote for a new parliament on Sunday, with former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi back in the game and leading the center-right Forza Italia party. Right-wing parties are tapping into anti-immigrant sentiment and Eurosceptism for votes.
Germany’s Social Democrats vote. The SPD party will on Sunday announce the result of a weeks-long postal ballot on whether its members back the decision to renew the “grand coalition” with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
New Zealand’s prime minister surveys the South Pacific. Jacinda Ardern will lead a delegation to multiple island-nations to witness recovery efforts following the damage wrought by tropical cyclone Gita last month.
Hollywood gathers for the Oscars. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel will return for the second consecutive year to host the award show on Sunday night (5pm local time) in Los Angeles. The Shape of Water leads with 13 nominations, including best picture.
While you were sleeping
Weinstein Co. reached a deal with investors. An investor group which includes the billionaire Ron Burkle said it has reached a deal (paywall) to buy most of the assets from Harvey Weinstein’s company. The announcement comes after the company on Sunday said it was filing for bankruptcy as a deal to sell collapsed.
Georgia punished Delta for its stance on guns. Lawmakers in support of gun rights voted to revoke a proposed tax break on jet fuel for the airline after Atlanta-based Delta said it would no longer offer discount fares to members of the National Rifle Association.
South Korea plans to send a special envoy to the North. In a phone call with Trump, president Moon Jae-in said that he wants to capitalize on the momentum in diplomatic relations between the two countries. The White House said that its ultimate goal remains North Korea’s denuclearization.
Twitter sought help in being less toxic. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, said in a series of tweets that he was seeking advice on how to encourage more healthy debate on the social network, and acknowledged that the company had failed to properly prevent the spread of malicious information.
The US ambassador to Mexico resigned. Roberta Jacobson, an Obama appointee, is the latest career diplomat to step down amid a tumultuous time at the State Department and in US-Latin America relations. The US ambassador to Panama stepped down in January.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on why Xi Jinping’s presidential power grab is bad news for China’s economy. “Most China experts agree that to sustain long-term growth, the Party must cede its control over the economy… Without these reforms, the country will continue to amass debt and encourage capital outflow, leading ultimately to economic catastrophe.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Collecting health data is a privacy issue. The rights to personal medical data—and whether it’s effectively used—are getting increasingly murky.
Companies still penalize or ignore those who speak up against bias and inequities at work. They derive fewer benefits from diversity as a result.
Americans won’t and can’t turn fascist. The American government is so large and unwieldy that it would simply be too hard for fascists, or other radical groups, to seize control.
Surprising discoveries
Fans can bring weed and cocaine to the World Cup. Getting drugs into Russia requires a lot of customs paperwork, but it’s doable if it comes with a doctor’s note.
Yoga pants have overtaken jeans in the US. Imports of women’s elastic knit pants exceeded those of blue jeans in 2017 for the first time.
A teacher in Ghana teaches software on a blackboard. Richard Appiah Akoto’s methods swept the internet, giving a look into Africa’s dire educational supply needs.
A helicopter bank robbery explains why cash is dying in Sweden. A string of heists prompted the country to question if cash was worth the risk.
The Loch Ness monster will be featured on a British coin. The Royal Mint is releasing a new set of 10 pence coins, featuring a design for every letter of the alphabet.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, computers for schools, and Nessie paraphernalia to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Isabella Steger and edited by Alice Truong.