Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Democrats retake control of the US House of Representatives… Nancy Pelosi is poised (subscription) to be the first lawmaker in more than 50 years to hold the office of House speaker twice. Under her leadership, lawmakers are planning to launch a series of investigations into Donald Trump’s candidacy and administration.
…While more US government agencies suspend operations. As a result of the ongoing partial government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission will pause operations today, affecting services such as consumer complaint hotlines, licensing, and new device approvals. House Democrats are expected to adopt a bill today to end the shutdown without funding for Trump’s border wall.
Michael Schumacher’s family marks his 50th birthday. They will release an app today to honor the German Formula One driver, who hasn’t appeared in public since a 2013 skiing accident. His family, who have revealed little about his condition, said the app will be a “virtual museum” of Schumacher’s achievements.
An unprecedented cyclone hits Thailand. Tropical storm Pabuk is expected to bring storm surges and heavy flooding to southern Thailand and Myanmar during the tourism high season, before heading north. Tourist destinations such as Koh Samui will be affected.
US employment and manufacturing data rolls in. Today’s ISM index of factory activity is forecast to fall, following yesterday’s Markit PMI index, which hit a 15-month low in December. That figure also showed job creation had slowed to an 18-month low, which means analysts will be closely watching today’s ADP National Employment Report on private payrolls, and a labor department report on state unemployment benefit claims.
While you were sleeping
China’s Chang’e-4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon. The lunar rover landed this morning in the 110-mile-wide (186 km) Von Kármán crater, marking the second significant space advance in 2019 after NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sent back pictures of Ultima Thule, some 4 billion miles from the Sun.
Apple’s outlook rattled markets. The tech company’s surprise cut to its revenue forecasts yesterday prompted US stock futures to plunge, and hit markets in China and Hong Kong this morning, with European stocks also down in early trading. The turmoil sent the Australian dollar tumbling to a 10-year low, while the Japanese yen, a haven currency, rallied.
A North Korean diplomat sought asylum in Europe. South Korean media reported that Jo Song Gil, the acting North Korean ambassador to Italy, applied for asylum in an unidentified country. The last senior diplomat to defect was Thae Yong Ho in 2016, who worked at the embassy in London.
French police arrested a “yellow vests” leader. Eric Drouet was detained on Wednesday night while traveling with about 50 others to an unsanctioned protest in central Paris. Demonstrations have dwindled since President Emmanuel Macron last month scrapped the planned fuel tax hike that had been a central rally for the yellow vests protesters.
Disney had a terrific 2018. The creator of wildly popular animation films had its second-best year on record at the box office, pulling in over $7 billion globally. Four films—Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Incredibles 2—each drew over $1 billion. Disney also swept up more than a quarter of all US box office sales.
Quartz obsession interlude
Sumo is shrinking. The ancient Japanese sport is facing a dearth of new adherents; last year no one showed up for the national association’s fitness test. It’s been a rough decade for the national sport, plagued by dangerous hazing, match-fixing, and organized-crime ties. For sumo to keep thriving, the future means bringing in more foreigners, and erasing a longtime ban against women. Read more here.
Matters of debate
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Reading instruction needs to be revamped. Young readers need to be taught how to decode language, rather than relying on visual clues and context.
Women’s magazines are disappearing, and that’s OK. Many haven’t been able to break free (subscription) from outdated notions of womanhood.
Millennial bosses are more caring. They value the personal touch, such as creating strong relationships through face-to-face conversations.
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Water is driving lunar exploration. The existence of water—a critical resource for life support and rocket fuel—has become a major reason to go to the moon. Access to H20 could make what we are already doing in space cheaper and more efficient, and enable far more ambitious future missions. Read more here.
Surprising discoveries
Cathay Pacific made a very expensive ticketing error. The Hong Kong carrier said it would honor mistakenly sold $675 business- and first-class flights from Vietnam to New York.
Yosemite is clogged with garbage. The partial US government shutdown means that the skeleton crews working at national parks are unable to maintain them.
Binge-eating shows are a health hazard in South Korea. The government warned (subscription) that just watching people eating excessive amounts of food on the internet is fueling obesity.
Australian police were called on an arachnophobic screamer. The Perth resident was repeatedly yelling, “Why don’t you die?” at a stubborn spider.
Ultima Thule looks like a reddish snowman. NASA’s recent flyby of the farthest space object ever photographed revealed the space rock’s surprising shape.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, caring millennial managers, and space snowman sightings 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 Adam Rasmi and edited by Jackie Bischof.