Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US Congress votes on immigration. The bills under consideration address a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, border wall funding, and migrant-family separation, which Donald Trump has promised to end. Both bills face skepticism from conservatives and liberals.
The Federal Reserve publishes bank stress tests. Investors expect financial firms to announce large capital returns to shareholders after the results are released. Last year, the Fed gave the industry the green light to pay out as much as it takes in through annual profits.
Moon Jae-in builds ties with Russia. The South Korean president will meet diplomats in Moscow over three days and deliver a speech to lawmakers there on Saturday.
While you were sleeping
The National Enquirer publisher was subpoenaed. The order is linked to the broader investigation into former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Prosecutors are probing the company’s $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story alleging an affair with the president prior to the 2016 election.
Trump said he’ll keep migrant families together. The president signed an executive order to keep families detained together. The decision followed reports of forced medication and “tender age” detention facilities for toddlers at the US-Mexico border.
New Zealand’s prime minister gave birth to a baby girl. Jacinda Ardern is the first world leader in nearly three decades to have a child while in office. The #babywatch phenomenon increased her worldwide recognition.
Instagram introduced hour-long videos. IGTV, which will be an in-app feature and standalone app, will help Facebook’s Instagram compete against Google’s YouTube and its army of influencers.
Tinder’s parent company bought the anti-Tinder dating app. Match Group will add Hinge to a portfolio that includes OkCupid and Plenty of Fish. Hinge helps people meet long-term partners and purportedly appeals to urban, millennial women.
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on NASA’s plan to find Earth-threatening asteroids. “The bad news? NASA is not going to be able to find all the asteroids big enough to cause serious devastation on Earth by 2020—or even 2033. Also: For a hypothetical attempt to send a spacecraft to divert a seriously dangerous incoming asteroid, we’ll need a ten year heads-up… The good news? They’re working on it.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Blockchain isn’t just hype. Microsoft thinks the distributed ledger technology is the best solution for royalty contracts.
The best employees are not the agreeable ones. Workers who are grouchy yet giving in nature are often more valuable.
The way offices treat pregnancy is dangerous. A workaholic culture puts expectant mothers and their children at risk.
Surprising discoveries
A German toy company pulled a Nazi UFO off the market. The company apologized for implying that Nazis invented space travel.
A carbon dioxide shortage is causing a beer and meat crisis. Britain is particularly affected because of the seasonal shutdown of CO2 plants across Europe.
Burger King Russia pulled an ad offering free food and cash to women impregnated by footballers. The public found the promotion “insulting” and the chain has since apologized.
Yoga students are learning from cadavers. They explore human anatomy and physiology by handling parts of dead bodies.
Drug-polluted rivers are getting eels high. Cocaine in aquatic groundwater doesn’t just make eels hyper, it alters their physiology.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, asteroid sightings, and uncontroversial toys 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 John Detrixhe and edited by Lianna Brinded.