Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Raúl Castro steps down. The president of Cuba is likely to be replaced by 57-year-old vice president Miguel Díaz-Canel, marking the first time a Castro brother has not held the largely symbolic role (paywall) since 1976.
Unilever reports earnings. The consumer goods giant’s first-quarter results will offer hints on the performance of emerging markets, where it does most of its business (paywall). The company recently made headlines after choosing the Netherlands over the Brexit-roiled UK for its headquarters.
While you were sleeping
An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico. The US territory’s power authority failed to specify the cause of the nation’s worst blackout in history, but said that electricity would be restored in up to 36 hours. There have been 3.4 billion hours of electricity lost since Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico’s power grid in September.
Facebook reintroduced a controversial facial recognition service. The technology, which is being switched back on in Europe and Canada, allows the company to automatically scan photos and videos so that friends can tag you in their posts. Facebook changed the system to opt-in from opt-out after complaints from EU regulators.
Turkey will hold snap elections in June. In a surprise move that would help solidify his own power, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Ankara would hold presidential and parliamentary elections a year and a half earlier than expected.
A deal to formally end the Korean War is being discussed. South Korea announced talks with US and North Korean officials over a peace treaty that would formally end the war after more than 60 years. The action could help pave the way for an agreement to end the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear program (paywall).
A California agency is probing Tesla. A spokesperson from the state’s occupational safety and health administration said it’s investigating the automaker following a report by news site Reveal, which said Tesla sugar-coated its on-the-job safety stats by not reporting some workplace injuries.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve Mollman on how the peace agreement being discussed ahead of the inter-Korean summit is 65 years overdue: “[The 1953 truce] was meant to be a temporary document at best. It states the objective of ‘establishing an armistice which will insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea…. until a final peaceful settlement is achieved.’ Of course, that never happened.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Elon Musk says to eliminate “dumb things” by flattening communication. Other productivity tips include walking out of meetings and “using common sense as your guide.”
The Echo Look proves that style is just an algorithm. Amazon’s new service uses AI to analyze your outfit, highlighting the sad truth that fashion sense is entirely unoriginal.
Trump shouldn’t underestimate Japan. Undiplomatic tweets (paywall), denying tariff exemptions, and favoring China could push Abe away from backing the US on Russia.
Surprising discoveries
Indonesia is removing crocodiles from prison moats. Instead, they’re looking into less punitive measures for drug addicts—like medical centers and counseling.
You could be paying for your Facebook friends’ mistakes. A careless move by someone in your network may have served your data as well as theirs to Cambridge Analytica.
Iceland’s bitcoin heist mastermind escaped prison. Sindri Thor Stefansson is still missing after he fled the country on the same plane as the prime minister.
Strong winds have made tumbleweeds a Southern California desert menace. In one town, a pile-up trapped the occupants of a house until the infestation was cleared.
The flip phone is making a comeback. But it’s a status symbol for the elite, who show how off-the-grid they can be by conspicuously sporting low-tech devices.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, flip phones, and tumbleweeds 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.