Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Iraq’s parliamentary election. Authorities will ban firearms and close border routes ahead of Saturday’s vote, which has already been long delayed by widespread violence. More than 15 assassination attempts were made on election officials and candidates in the last month, and ISIL has ramped up threats against Sunni and Shia Muslims who participate.
Donald Trump’s pharma speech. The US president will outline his strategy on lowering prescription drug prices in the US. He’ll target multiple parties across the industry—drug companies, lobbyists, pharmacy benefit managers—and “foreign governments free-riding off of American investment in innovation,” according to US health secretary Alex Azar.
Kenya launches its first satellite. Today the University of Nairobi, partnering with Japan’s space agency, will send the first sub-Saharan African nano satellite into orbit. The million-dollar cubed device will loop the Earth every 90 minutes, providing Kenya with weather, mapping, and environmental data over its lifespan of 12 to 18 months.
While you were sleeping
Eurovision fought back against LGBT censorship in China. The European Broadcasting Union barred China’s Mango TV from showing Saturday’s final of the singing contest, after the channel cut an act with a gay love scene in the first semi-final. Chinese authorities are increasingly restricting LGBT content.
A key opposition leader in Malaysia will be freed from jail. After being sworn in yesterday, prime minister Mahathir Mohamad announced the country’s king has agreed to pardoning and immediately releasing Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir, 92, has pledged to eventually hand the premiership to Anwar, his former nemesis.
Congo announced the first official death of a new Ebola outbreak. The virus killed a nurse in the country’s northwest, reported the health ministry. Authorities declared the outbreak Tuesday after testing confirmed the virus in two cases from the town of Bikoro. World Health Organization officials are in the area to help contain the outbreak’s spread.
Snapchat rolled out a redesign of its hated redesign. Earlier this month Snap’s shares fell to a new all-time low after the company reported the original redesign, announced last year, had hurt user growth. The iOS update separates shared “stories” from one-to-one chats, and puts posts and messages by friends back into chronological order.
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Matters of debate
Don’t spend money on Mother’s Day. The holiday’s founder strongly disagreed with the commercialization of a day meant for children to honor their moms.
Feral cats are ruining the ecosystem. They kill environmentally crucial birds and spell trouble for ecosystems.
Space needs a traffic cop. More satellites means more orbiting objects and debris (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
UPS’s new electric truck is more than just adorable. Its cute design helps keep the driver aware by reducing fatigue and giving a wider field of vision.
Even plants need their beauty sleep. Darwin studied the effects of regular rest on trees and houseplants, concluding that their leaves droop overnight and perk back up in the morning.
An actress had the lowest rent in New York City until her death this year. Patricia O’Grady had no heat or hot water, but thanks to rent control, she made it work for 63 years.
A hangover pill works for drunk rodents. Nanocapsules of alcohol-digesting, liver-assisting enzymes reduced blood alcohol levels in mice by 45%.
Siri and Alexa can hear commands you can’t. Researchers say they can embed commands (paywall) within music and spoken text to control your virtual assistant without you noticing.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cute trucks, and tipsy mice 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 Steve Mollman and edited by Isabella Steger.