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 mostly covered by ocean, but also includes some of the US, all of Africa, Brazil, and parts of China.
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
Tesla announced a rusty-screw recall. The carmaker is recalling 123,000 Model S cars built before April 2016, over “excessive corrosion in the power steering bolts,” mainly in colder climates where road salt is used. If the bolts (from German supplier Bosch) should fail, the driver would find it harder to steer at low speeds.
Walmart mulled a big health move. The world’s biggest retailer is reportedly exploring the acquisition of health insurer Humana (paywall) which currently has a market value of around $37 billion. If it goes ahead, it would be Walmart’s biggest acquisition to date—larger than its $10.8 billion takeover of Britain’s Asda Group in 1999.
Huawei soared on smartphone sales. The world’s third-biggest smartphone maker posted a 28% increase in net profit for 2017, thanks to phone sales in its home market of China. It said it sold 153 million smartphones globally last year and spent a record $13.8 billion on R&D.
Merger mania hit a record high in the first quarter of the year. Despite a 10% drop in the number of M&A deals, the value of the deals increased 67%, topping $1.2 trillion in total. US tax reform and economic growth in Europe has whetted deal-making appetites.
Under Armour disclosed a data breach. The sportswear company said that 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts—including usernames and email addresses, but not financial information—were compromised. Under Armour bought the website and fitness-tracking app in 2015 for $475 million.
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 powers have been overhyped. The firm may understand people using 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 to preserve the perception of their 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 world’s tiniest sushi is made with a single grain of rice. A customer challenged the son of a sushi restaurant owner in Tokyo to make the smallest sushi possible.
Cathay Pacific’s female cabin crew can finally wear trousers. Only a tiny number of Asian airlines currently allow flight attendants the choice.
Ireland has lifted its Good Friday alcohol ban. Selling alcohol on Easter Friday had been outlawed for nearly a century for religious reasons.
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.
The world’s first sausage dog museum is set to open in Germany. It will have 2,000 exhibits dedicated to the country’s famous “Dachshund.”
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, space-station parts, and sausage dogs 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 Jill Petzinger and edited by Eshe Nelson.