Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Google’s CEO goes to Washington. The House Judiciary Committee will question Sundar Pichai, focusing on the company’s controversial Chinese search engine, antitrust criticisms, and alleged anti-conservative bias.
Theresa May tries to salvage her Brexit deal in Europe’s capitals. The UK prime minister will meet German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, after she called off a parliamentary vote on her Brexit proposal originally scheduled for today as she faced a crushing defeat.
A bail ruling for Huawei’s CFO. A Vancouver court is expected to decide (paywall) on the bail request of Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested on Dec. 1 at the request of American authorities on grounds that she violated sanctions against Iran, as she awaits a ruling on whether she will be extradited to the US.
CBS holds an annual meeting amid a probe into its former CEO. A number of groups plan to stage protests outside the network’s headquarters in New York to encourage its board to withhold a $120 million severance package for Les Moonves, who was ousted in September following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
While you were sleeping
China and the US resumed trade talks. Vice premier Liu He talked on the phone (paywall) with Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and trade representative Robert Lighthizer to lay the groundwork for the next round of negotiations. Among the issues discussed on the phone call were agricultural products, with the resumption of US soybean purchases (paywall) expected soon.
Emmanuel Macron made concessions to protesters. The French president, acknowledging the anger of the “yellow vest” protesters, said in a televised speech that he would increase the minimum wage and waive a planned tax on pensions.
NASA’s Voyager 2 probe crossed into interstellar space. It becomes only the second man-made object to exit the heliosphere, some 11 billion miles (18 billion km) from Earth. The Voyager 2 was launched in 1977 and was studied Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.
Accused spy Maria Butina cut a deal. Lawyers for the Russian graduate student and gun enthusiast withdrew her “not guilty” plea and requested a hearing with the judge overseeing her case. Butina may be able to reveal communications between Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Russia, and the National Rifle Association.
Google is accelerating the timeline to shut down its social network after another breach. The company announced that 52 million Google+ accounts have been improperly accessed, as it retires the site several months ahead of schedule. Google says that an API bug accidentally exposed names, emails, and job information, but financial data and passwords weren’t accessed.
Obsession interlude
Scooters are having a moment. And not just the dockless kick scooters creating a buzz in America. In China, India, and Southeast Asia, electric scooters could radically reduce noise and pollution. Even Vespa is going electric. Hop on at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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The arrest of Huawei’s CFO is an overreach of American power. The US has chosen to handle the issue (paywall) in a highly personal way, which is likely to further worsen relations with China.
Jack Dorsey missed the point of meditation on his Myanmar retreat. The Twitter CEO’s obsession with quantifying his spiritual progress runs counter to the Buddha’s teachings of detachment.
Giving selectively to a few charities is better than a fragmented approach. Trying to take on too many needs and problems (paywall) of other people can lead to “compassion fatigue.”
Quartz membership
Beyond the Tesla bubble: The future of electric cars is being written in China, where the government has invested nearly $60 billion to develop a manufacturing and consumer base. This year, the country is expected to sell more than 1 million electric vehicles (EVs), nearly as many as the rest of the world combined. To read more about the other contenders, check out this week’s Field Guide.
Surprising discoveries
Japan’s famously lethal fugu are creating new hybrid species. The pufferfish are breeding with their close cousins, after climate change forced them into new waters.
Nearly a third of US calls are scams, robots, or both. It’s no wonder Americans don’t answer the phone anymore (paywall).
Samsung is also retiring the headphone jack. After mocking Apple’s decision to do so in 2016, the Korean company is now following suit with its latest smartphone.
Egyptian authorities are investigating a nude photoshoot at the Great Pyramid. They first have to verify whether the video depicting a naked Danish couple scaling the structure is even real.
American farmers are shifting from tobacco to weed. The trend is likely to continue as Congress is expected to pass a bill that would define industrial hemp as a regular crop.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, phones with headphone jacks, and meditation tips 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 Isabella Steger and edited by Alice Truong.