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What to watch for today
The CIA updates US senators on Jamal Khashoggi. The intelligence agency’s director Gina Haspel will give a closed briefing (paywall) to several senators on what it knows about the murder of the Saudi journalist. Haspel was criticized for not attending an earlier briefing by defense chief Jim Mattis and secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
The “God letter” auction. Albert Einstein’s handwritten note, in which the revered physicist criticizes the concept of a biblical god and the superstition of religion, is expected to fetch at least $1 million (paywall) at a Christie’s auction in New York.
German auto execs visit DC. Chief executives from BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen are expected to meet US trade representatives at the White House (paywall). This follows months of threats by Donald Trump to hike import penalties on German carmakers.
Russia’s athletics federation learns its fate. The International Association of Athletics Federations will decide in Monaco whether the country’s three-year ban for doping will be lifted. The ban was imposed in November 2015, but the country has since been reinstated by the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
While you were sleeping
Quora announced a massive data breach. The company said that hackers stole the data of up to 100 million users, including encrypted versions of passwords. The breach comes after Marriott said that hackers leaked information of up to 500 million guests.
The French government handed fuel protesters a victory. Prime minister Edouard Philippe is set to announce that he will suspend a planned fuel tax increase in an effort to appease the yellow vests, who have staged increasingly violent protests across France in recent weeks.
Israel accused Hezbollah of building cross-border tunnels leading into the country.The Israeli military announced it has begun work destroying a network of tunnels that it alleges the Lebanese militia group dug in a “flagrant and blatant violation of Israeli authority.”
Europe’s top court advisor said the UK could end Brexit unilaterally. The advocate general for the European Court of Justice issued non-binding guidance that would permit the UK to back out of Brexit without the EU’s approval. The court of justice typically follows the advocate general’s advice, which could in turn provide ammunition to Remainers who say that staying in the EU is a better option than prime minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal.
Stormy Daniels was cheered by liberals in Washington. In a sign of Daniels’ influence, the adult film star was given something of a hero’s welcome during an interview with one of the capital’s most influential reporters, Sally Quinn. Daniels gained notoriety after going public about the hush money she’d received to cover up an alleged affair with Donald Trump.
Obsession interlude
Simultaneous invention: Much as everyone loves the idea of the lone genius, many of science’s most important breakthroughs—like the discovery of oxygen, the polio vaccine, the invention of calculus, and color photography—took place in many places at once. Investigate the phenomenon in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Join the conversation with the new Quartz app!
The next Bill Gates shouldn’t look like the last one. Stereotypes can discourage young women and people of color from pursuing tech in the first place.
Restaurants are too loud. Minimalist designs and the merging of bars and dining areas mean restaurants are cheaper to build—at the expense of being able to hear one another.
“Perennials,” not millennials, will trigger the next wave of talent-retention efforts. Older workers are now the fastest-growing population of workers in the US.
Surprising discoveries
Japanese train stations have blue LEDs to discourage suicides. The soothing hue helped cut deaths by 84% over 10 years.
Moldy mouse food could delay NASA’s resupply mission to the USS. The mice, to be used in lab experiments in space, are waiting for their food supply to be replenished.
Extravagant weddings are taboo in China. The government wants to put an end to “vulgar wedding practices” like lavish gifts and money paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s.
Robot janitors are coming to Walmart. The biggest US private employer will roll out 360 floor-mopping bots (paywall) by the end of January.
Despite climate chaos, it’s been a good year for white truffles. After a productively rainy season in Italy’s Piedmont region, the elusive fungus has popped up in record numbers.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, yummy mouse food, and low-key wedding plans to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Annabelle Timsit and edited by Sarah Todd.