Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Carlos Ghosn stays in jail. Yesterday a Tokyo court approved a request that the former Nissan chairman be kept in prison an additional 10 days without bail. He was was re-arrested Friday on allegations of aggravated breach of trust.
Mexico releases its unemployment figures. The rate is expected to remain unchanged at a low 3.2% (link in Spanish), thanks largely to a strong manufacturing sector.
The US stock markets will close early today to mark Christmas Eve, and will be closed all day tomorrow.
Over the weekend
A tsunami in Indonesia killed over 220 people. With little warning, the giant wave hit the coasts of Sumatra and Java—where a pop concert was underway—on Saturday night. The cause was not an earthquake but, experts believe, undersea landslides caused by a nearby volcanic eruption.
A government shutdown began in the US. On Friday, Republican senate leaders could not pass a spending bill that also paid for a border wall proposed by Trump. As a result, various federal agencies—employing some 850,000 people—shut down at midnight.
Trump booted out Jim Mattis. He was reportedly angered by the negative news coverage spawned by the defense secretary’s Dec. 20 resignation letter, which rebuked Trump’s treatment of international allies. While Mattis had indicated Feb. 28 as his last day, Trump made it Jan. 1.
SpaceX launched its first US national security space mission. Elon Musk’s company had been trying for years to break into the lucrative market for military space launches dominated by Lockheed and Boeing. Yesterday’s launch carried a roughly $500 million GPS satellite.
Obsession interlude
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” keeps setting records. For a song written in 15 minutes, Mariah Carey’s 1994 holiday classic has had an incredible shelf life. Read all about the unavoidable earworm at today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Most people don’t really want to be happy. A Nobel Prize-winning psychologist says satisfaction is what most people actually want, and it’s entirely distinct from happiness.
Our gadgets will soon have personalities like people. We’ll be able to hold conversations with devices of all sorts, just like in the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Silicon Valley only has so much to teach about innovation. Bayer, a 150-year-old company with more than 100,000 employees, has found success with a different model.
Surprising discoveries
Italian violin makers are harvesting downed trees. Powerful storms have been toppling the red spruce prized by the artisans, who are rushing to save the wood before it rots.
Pirates of the Caribbean may reboot without Johnny Depp. “We want to bring in a new energy and vitality,” explained Disney’s president of production.
Hamas’s popularity is surging among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A survey suggests the militant group’s leader could beat Mahmoud Abbas in an election.
A jazz musician played guitar during brain surgery. He made good use of his six-hour “awake craniotomy.”
Today’s reindeer don’t need Rudolph. Herders in Finland are fitting reindeer with smart collars so they don’t get lost anymore.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Italian violins, and surgery music 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 Steve Mollman and Marc Bain.