Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Shinzo Abe heads to Mar-A-Lago. The Japanese prime minister will join US president Donald Trump to discuss trade and North Korea. The summit comes as both men face growing scandals—Trump with the raid on his personal lawyer (paywall) and a growing special counsel investigation, and Abe over two corruption cases that have led to speculation that he may resign in June (paywall).
China’s big economic data drop. Bloomberg estimates that the world’s second-biggest economy will have expanded 6.8% from a year earlier. Industrial output, fixed investment, and retail sales data will also be released, as well as Beijing’s inaugural jobless rate figures.
Emmanuel Macron addresses the European Parliament. The French president is expected to discuss EU integration (paywall) in his keynote address, which comes on the heels of Paris joining the US and Britain in missile attacks on Syria, as well as France’s anti-Macron rail strikes.
While you were sleeping
Sean Hannity shared a lawyer with Donald Trump. The president’s attorney, Michael Cohen, seeking to block prosecutors’ access to documents seized in a raid last week, was forced by a judge to acknowledge that he also has an attorney-client relationship with the Fox News star (paywall).
The US banned American companies from selling to ZTE. The Chinese telecom manufacturer was hit with stricter sanctions after failing to adhere to the terms of a guilty plea for selling US-made technology to Iran. The penalties, which will hurt ZTE’s ability to source microchips and other components, may heighten tensions between the US and China over technology transfers and tariffs.
WPP fell 6.5% after Martin Sorrell stepped down. The advertising behemoth lost more than $1 billion in market value after its CEO was forced to resign this weekend on allegations of misuse of company funds and improper personal behavior. WPP shares had already slipped more than 30% this year as the ad industry faces competition from platforms like Google and Facebook.
Two exposés of Harvey Weinstein won a Pulitzer Prize. The winners of the top US journalism prize included the New York Times’ Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow, for their reports that ignited the #MeToo reckoning. Kendrick Lamar became the first rapper ever to win the music prize.
Volkswagen teased a Navistar takeover. The German automaker has owned a nearly 17% stake in the US truck company since 2016, and said it’s considering buying a majority stake “at some point.” The move would allow it to expand its trucks business to better compete with market leaders Daimler and Volvo.
Quartz obsession interlude
Josh Horwitz on the AI company that’s quietly watching people in China: “If a person goes shopping at Suning, one of China’s largest electronics retailers, it’s possible that a camera in the store is tracking her behavior using SenseTime’s software. Later, if she opens Rong360, a peer-to-peer lending app, she’ll be asked to login using facial recognition—powered by SenseTime. She might send a video of herself to her friends on SNOW, a Snapchat-esque chat app, donning animated sunglasses built by SenseTime. And if she finds herself approached by police officers in the subway, it’s possible SenseTime helped identify her.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The world’s largest advertising company is vulnerable to a breakup. Martin Sorrell was the man holding WPP together.
It’s ok to root for winners. Sports fans should switch team allegiances like they would any other product.
Facebook didn’t steal “your” data. The social networking giant created that data in the first place—and should be free to exploit it.
Surprising discoveries
The tonka bean is the next big thing in modern cuisine. But the flat, wrinkled legume is also illegal in the United States.
The UK government once burned all evidence of its income tax. Parliament wanted to make sure no future governments would be tempted to try it again.
Turkmenistan banned bikini imports. The country’s president, who calls himself “The Protector,” also banned black cars because white ones bring good fortune.
A Syrian man has spent the last month living in a Malaysian airport. Hassan al-Kontar fears military conscription if he leaves the protected zone.
New research suggests playing with fewer toys is good for kids. Limiting choices might also help kids develop longer attention spans.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tonka bean recipes, and smuggled bikinis 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 Preeti Varathan and Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz and edited by Adam Pasick.