Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Central bankers speak. Germany’s Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann is giving a speech called “New Momentum for Europe” at the central bank of Austria. Later in the day, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and his fellow Fed governor, Randal Quarles, will offer remarks.
India and China meet on trade. India wants to boost its exports to China in areas such as pharmaceutical and agricultural products, as well as IT services, to help reduce the trade imbalance between the two nations.
An update on the health of the US economy. The Chicago Fed will release its monthly national activity index. The last data showed that the American economy had ticked down slightly in January, owing to a slowdown in factory activity.
Over the weekend
The ex-head of Catalonia was detained. German police are holding Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia who is wanted in Spain for sedition. Spain’s Supreme Court had ruled that the leaders of the region of Catalonia, which has been pushing for independence, should be tried on various charges, sparking protests throughout the region.
Students marched for their lives. In cities around the US, celebrities and young Americans called for tighter gun laws and voiced their outrage at the lack of action by politicians. The “March For Our Lives” demonstrations were prompted by the mass shootings that have continued to occur in US schools, the latest at a school in Parkland, Florida in February.
Donald Trump dumped his two new lawyers. Just last week, the president’s legal team had announced the two new additions as well as his lead lawyer’s departure. But Trump has seemingly been unable to hire them (paywall). His personal lawyer said Trump was disappointed that “conflicts” prevented them from joining.
Facebook apologized in print. The giant social network ran full-page ads in the largest UK newspapers saying sorry for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. “We have a responsibility to protect your information,” it said. “If we can’t, we don’t deserve it.” It was signed by Mark Zuckerberg.
Apple’s Tim Cook called for more data regulation. The CEO, speaking at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday, said “well-crafted regulation is necessary” to ensure that data breaches such as the one that recently occurred with Facebook don’t happen again. He added that the ability of a company to collect granular data on a person’s private life “shouldn’t exist.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Mike Murphy, Hanna Kozlowska, Ashley Rodriguez, and Michael J. Coren on whether Facebook is as invincible as it seems. ”As the scandal and backlash escalate, we begin to wonder how badly Facebook could be hurt. Does its dominant position in so many people’s’ lives, and the sheer amount of money it makes, mean that it’s untouchable? Is Facebook too big to fail? Quartz weighs the options.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Ethically dubious startups are inherent to Silicon Valley. Companies such as Theranos and Zenefits are a feature of the tech-innovation hub, not a bug.
We know how to beat the US opioid crisis. The HIV/AIDS epidemic gave us the blueprint for combating the current opioid problem.
Students worried about gun violence should learn CPR. Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum said they are better served by learning how to deal with shootings than “looking to someone else to solve their problem.”
Surprising discoveries
You could soon get shooting stars on demand. One firm plans to fill the sky over Japan with colorful arcs made by releasing metallic pebbles from a satellite.
Netflix is banned from winning one of cinema’s highest prizes. The Cannes Film Festival’s head says it will no longer be able to compete for the Palme d’Or.
Orange snow is falling in Eastern Europe. Sand from desert storms in the Sahara is mixing with snow and rain and falling in countries including Russia, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.
A Flat Earther took off in a homemade rocket. ”Mad” Mike Hughes launched himself 1,875 feet into the air to prove to himself that Earth is shaped “like a Frisbee.”
Amazon is the best place to work in the US. LinkedIn went through “billions of actions” taken by its 500 million members to come to that conclusion.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Amazon job applications, and Facebook rants 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 Marc Bain and edited by Kabir Chibber.