Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Taiwan holds live-fire drills as tensions with China rise. Military officials say the exercises are specifically about “defending against a possible Chinese invasion,” after Xi Jinping claimed that Beijing had the right to use force to claim what it sees as a renegade province.
A Belarusian escort who claims to have Trump-Russia evidence is deported from Thailand. Anastasia Vashukevich, who spent several months in prison after being convicted of solicitation, says she has audio recordings (paywall) of aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska discussing his connections with the Trump campaign.
Netflix tries to meet sky-high expectations. The streaming giant’s stock is surging, especially after it hiked prices earlier this week. Analysts expect net subscriber additions of 9.2 million—up from 8.3 million a year ago—when it reports quarterly results.
While you were sleeping
Theresa May narrowly survived a no-confidence vote. The British prime minister escaped being ousted by a mere 19 votes, after her Brexit proposal was resoundingly defeated on Tuesday. The vote won’t do anything to break the UK’s political deadlock: May says she’ll start talks with opposition parties and the EU about a way forward, but no one seems willing to budge.
The US opened a criminal probe into Huawei. Prosecutors are probing whether the Chinese telecom equipment giant, which has become embroiled in the US-China trade war, may have stolen trade secrets from its business partners, the Wall Street Journal reported (paywall). T-Mobile filed a lawsuit in 2014 accusing Huawei of trying to steal information about a robotic device used to test smartphones.
An ISIS attack on a US-led convoy in Syria killed 19 people, including four US troops and contractors. The suicide bombing in the city of Manbij, near the Turkish border, came several weeks after Donald Trump declared the militant group had been defeated in Syria. That decision prompted the resignations of the US secretary of defense and the US diplomat coordinating the anti-ISIS coalition.
The US rejected Russia’s attempt to salvage a nuclear missile treaty. US officials said Russia’s offer to inspect components of Moscow’s medium-range nuclear-capable cruise missile system was not sufficient. That raises the likelihood that the US will opt out of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Feb. 2.
Congressional Democrats pressed Donald Trump to delay his state of the union speech. House speaker Nancy Pelosi told the US president his high-profile address slated for Jan. 29 should be delayed or delivered in writing due to the government shutdown, which will make security arrangements difficult. Trump can address Congress only with the consent of Pelosi and her Senate counterpart.
Quartz obsession interlude
In France, high-viz means high anxiety. In 2018, yellow safety vests became the symbol of frustration with president Emmanuel Macron, and protests are still drawing tens of thousands of people. Why the vests? All the country’s drivers are required to have them, so when Macron proposed a gas-tax hike, those affected had a resonant symbol of the working class ready to go. For more on a political groundswell that has its links in Day-Glo paint, check out today’s Quartz Obsession.
Quartz Membership
The Alibaba executives who call the shots. Charismatic co-founder Jack Ma is no longer running things, as he prepares to step down as chairman later this year. He’ll hand the reins to his longtime lieutenant Daniel Zhang, the company’s CEO since 2015, along with senior leaders like Joe Tsai,, Maggie Wu, Lucy Peng, and Jeff Zhang. Sign up for a free 30-day Quartz membership trial to learn more about the leaders of one of the world’s most disruptive companies.
Matters of debate
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Ditch the KonMari method. Tidying up shouldn’t mean having to ask too much of yourself.
Facebook’s “10 Year Challenge” isn’t worth it. The viral photo meme may be a stealth tool to help the social media giant hone its facial recognition software.
Open offices are too cheap to abandon. The floor plans are ineffective, but the low price is just too good to pass up.
Surprising discoveries
The Pinkertons still exist—and they want some video game loot. The detective agency’s parent company has demanded compensation its agents’ roles in “Red Dead Redemption 2.”
Motorola is bringing back the RAZR. The iconic gadget is making a $1,500 comeback as a foldable smartphone from Lenovo.
A startup is selling the blood of young donors. For $8,000 a session, Ambrosia Medical hopes to breathe new life into tired organs.
YouTube is banning dangerous pranks from its platform. Stunts honoring Bird Box and Tide Pods now violate its community guidelines.
Japan’s last homegrown sumo champ threw in the towel. Kisenosato Yutaka is expected to teach sumo as an elder, and will assume the name Araiso.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, outlawed YouTube videos, and antique RAZRs 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 April Siese and Adam Pasick.