Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The daughter of India’s richest man gets married. Isha Ambani (paywall), daughter of mega-billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will wed Anand Piramal, a scion of another of prominent business family. Hillary Clinton is among the foreign A-listers attending; Beyoncé performed a private concert at a pre-wedding party.
The US indicts Chinese hackers. The US Justice Department will announce as soon as Wednesday that it is charging hackers working for Chinese intelligence (paywall) with a number of intrusions into US networks dating back to 2014. Other US agencies are expected to add to the charges of economic espionage.
Tencent Music begins trading after a turbulent IPO. The company’s US shares are projected to price at the midpoint of their expected range, due to stiff market headwinds and a lawsuit from a prominent investor. China’s answer to Spotify is expected to be valued at about $23 billion.
While you were sleeping
A former Canadian diplomat was arrested in China. Michael Kovrig of the International Crisis Group has reportedly been detained for reasons unknown, in what may be a retaliatory move for Canada’s arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the United States. Meng’s request for bail from a court in British Columbia is still pending.
Trump threatened a shutdown in a showdown with Democrats. The US president told incoming senior congressional Democrats that he would demand funding for his much-maligned border wall (paywall), even if it prompted a government shutdown in January: “I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.”
Congress grilled Google’s CEO. Sundar Pichai faced nearly four hours of questioning on Google’s allegedly anti-conservative bias—no, there is no “man behind the curtain” linking searches for “idiot” with pictures of Trump—and data privacy. More notably, Pichai refused to rule out building a censored search engine in China.
A shooter killed two shoppers at a French Christmas market. Strasbourg police are searching for a lone gunman, previously known to law enforcement, who shot 13 people at the city’s main tourist attraction. Officials are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.
McDonalds cracked down on antibiotics in its burger supply chain. The world’s largest buyer of beef said it would curb antibiotic use by the end of 2020 in its 10 biggest markets, including the United States. In particular, it won’t allow the use of drugs to promote growth or prevent disease, which is thought to increase the chances of resistant superbugs.
Obsession interlude
Tetris: When it all falls into place. Sure, the old school video game is addictive, but it comes with a big benefit—it trains us to stop using the parts of the brain that are inefficient. Read how it all stacks up in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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The global internet hit a tipping point thanks to Africa. 51% of humans now have internet access, with African households driving adoption.
Robots could kill the coffee industry, but boost CBD. Battery-powered workers don’t need caffeine to stay productive, while everyone else may need to take the edge off.
Will 2019 be the new 1929? Rising student debt, consumer spending in China, and interest rates paint a not-so-rosy economic picture for the coming year.
Quartz membership
Why one expert changed his mind about China’s electric cars. “The Chinese have long-term plans that I think are both aggressive and sustainable. … Look back at the creation of the Japanese automobile industry in the 1950s onwards, and you’ll see a parallel. The Japanese put up very high barriers around their domestic market through tariffs and restrictions on foreign companies entering the market. At the same time, they began to attempt to export vehicles abroad.” Read more of Quartz’s interview with Levi Tillemann, author of The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future.
Surprising discoveries
Films with heroines make more money. And movies where women actually talk to each other do even better. (paywall).
A 4,000-year-old board game was discovered in Azerbaijan. Researchers think holes in the floor of an ancient shelter were used to play “Hounds and Jackals.”
A futuristic bodysuit failed to disrupt online fashion. Zozo’s spandex bodysuit covered in polka dots was designed to provide the perfect fit.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” indirectly created Islamic fundamentalism. The “seductive” tune confirmed religious scholar’s Sayyid Qutb’s worst suspicions about Western culture.
Southern Californians don’t understand snow. A recent blizzard inspired car-top snowmen that were whimsical and extremely dangerous.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, ancient board games, and female-centric screenplays to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Susan Howson and Adam Pasick.