Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Shinzo Abe’s land-sale scandal documents are released. The Finance Ministry’s findings will show whether key public documents were altered to protect the prime minister from being implicated in a 2017 sale of state-owned land to a private school with connections to his family.
South Korea heads to the US with a message from North Korea. Two officials who met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this week are expected to extend an offer from the dictator to the Trump administration to negotiate Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Donald Trump formally announces tariffs. The White House may be willing to exempt certain countries—like Canada and Mexico—from controversial steel and aluminum tariffs that the US president first insisted would be universal.
While you were sleeping
Markets slumped after Gary Cohn quit the White House. The pro-trade, anti-tariff advisor’s exit sent shockwaves throughout world markets on Tuesday with an immediate S&P 500 futures drop worth $230 in market value. European stocks recovered on Wednesday, while US trading began to level out.
Magic Leap gets a fresh boost from Saudi Arabian funds. The Florida-based augmented reality startup confirmed a $502 million investment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Magic Leap has yet to release a product, but with $3.2 billion in funding already, investors seem confident they’ll see results.
Author Sherman Alexie was accused of sexual misconduct. Three of his accusers went on record to share similar stories of inappropriate comments and unwanted sexual advances. Sherman has apologized for past conduct but rejected what he called lies—nevertheless, literary groups have begun to distance themselves from the acclaimed Native American novelist.
Authorities called Sergei Skripal’s poisoning an attempted murder. Officials now believe a nerve agent was used to explicitly target former double agent Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, putting the police officer who found them in serious condition as well. The UK has threatened to respond “robustly” if evidence shows Russia was behind the attack.
An unidentified attacker stabbed pedestrians in Vienna. The man seriously injured three people, seemingly at random and with no known motive, then fled the area near the Austrian capital’s Prater Park. A major manhunt is currently underway.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ephrat Livni on why swearing feels so damn good: “[Writer Emma Byrne] considers vulgarities to be a necessary part of language; they are extra-powerful signifiers, rather than potent insults. But she does suspect that even slurs are, sadly, a deeply ingrained kind of language. Creating in-groups and out-groups seems to be what creatures do, even among non-humans who become acculturated to human taboos.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
America is forfeiting the $30 billion marijuana industry. The medical marijuana market is going to Israel and Canada thanks to FDA red tape.
Facebook’s political nightmare has only just begun. The 2018 midterms will be a trial run to see if the platform can resist outside meddling.
Streaming is killing cult film. Once upon a time, you had to wait for an arthouse theater to schedule a secret screening to consume obscure movies.
Surprising discoveries
A teenager snapped her metal retainer while watching Blank Panther. She clenched her jaw too hard during a shirtless Michael B. Jordan scene, but the actor offered to replace the broken device.
Switzerland is wrapping its glaciers in blankets. Their white canvas is designed to keep the ice from melting by reflecting sunlight.
Dogs see the world with their noses. New research reveals that canines form a mental picture of a target when they’re tracking down a scent.
Samsung’s new TVs are invisible. “Ambient Mode” allows you to snap a picture of the wall behind the TV that you then make the TV’s background.
Giant squids practice food piracy. Kleptoparasitism occurs when one giant squid kills another to steal its food.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cozy glaciers, and camouflage TVs 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 and edited by Susan Howson and Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz.