Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
North Korea hosts a K-pop extravaganza. As part of its ongoing diplomatic efforts, South Korea is dispatching a large troupe of performers to Pyongyang, including girl group Red Velvet. Psy was left off the list.
China’s space lab is falling back to earth. Launched in 2011, the Tiangong-1 is now making an uncontrolled descent. The lab fragments, if any, are expected to land somewhere between the latitudes of 43ºN and 43ºS, an area largely covered by the ocean.
Costa Rica’s election goes into a runoff. Christian preacher Fabricio Alvarado won the election’s first round—but not the required 40% majority—after fiercely opposing marriage equality. The already tight race could turn against opponent Carlos Alvarado (no relation) for good if liberal voters don’t show up during Easter.
SpaceX preps for another launch. After a one-day delay, it’s scheduled to send the Falcon 9 rocket skyward at 10:13am ET today. It’ll be the company’s fifth rocket launch this year, this one carrying 10 Iridium NEXT communications satellites.
While you were sleeping
Russia expelled around 150 Western diplomats. Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov indicated the final tally would be a quid pro quo of the number of Russian diplomats pushed out from Western countries, in response to the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK. The Kremlin also ordered the closure of the US consulate in St. Petersburg.
Walmart could get deeper into health insurance. The US retailer is in talks with health insurer Humana, and is exploring a potential acquisition. Pharmacy chain CVS agreed in December to buy health insurer Aetna for $69 billion.
Under Armour disclosed a data breach. The sportswear company said that 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts—including user names and email addresses, but not financial information—were compromised. Under Armour bought the website and fitness-tracking app in 2015.
The subject of the Serial podcast will get a new trial. Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering a fellow high school classmate in 1999, and his story was closely examined by the podcast’s producers. Based on information they uncovered, a Maryland appellate court overturned his conviction and called for a new trial.
Quartz obsession interlude
Michelle Kim on why focusing on the “business case” for diversity is a red flag. “When you are solely focused on efficiency and profitability, a diverse and inclusive workplace may not give you a quick enough solution. You’ll end up looking for that ‘checklist’ that merely gets you to comply with what’s minimally required… It’s like going on a crash diet to see a different number on a scale, but not really changing your overall lifestyle.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Cambridge Analytica’s psychology is massively overhyped. The firm may understand data, but we’re not as susceptible to manipulation as it would like to believe.
Amazon sells tons of clothes, but it still can’t sell fashion. Designer brands shy away from selling on the site in part because they traffic in a perception of exclusivity and prestige.
Mark Zuckerberg is losing friends in Silicon Valley. Elon Musk’s and Tim Cook’s criticism of the Facebook founder marks a turning point in tech culture.
Surprising discoveries
The mysteries of knuckle-cracking could be explained. Scientists found that force is the biggest factor, which could lead to more important discoveries about joint health.
Cathay Pacific’s female cabin crew can finally wear trousers. Only a tiny number of Asian airlines currently allow flight attendants the choice.
The world’s tiniest sushi is made with a grain of rice. A customer challenged the son of a sushi restaurant owner in Tokyo to make the smallest sushi possible.
A headless cockroach can live for a week. The hardy bug’s abundant genes (paywall) also let it regenerate legs, eat just about anything, and avoid bitter poison.
Lululemon pants manipulate our sense of touch. The veritable yoga-pants machine attempts to make both men and women feel hugged, but not crushed.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, space-station parts, and cabin-crew uniforms 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.