Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Theresa May visits Dublin to try break the Brexit deadlock. The UK prime minister will meet with her Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, after the EU agreed to resume negotiations over the Irish border.
A deluge of data sheds light on US agriculture imports. The reports, delayed by last month’s government shutdown, will be examined for clues about Chinese soybean purchases. They plunged to zero in November due to the US-China trade war.
The Grammy and BAFTA awards. Sunday’s US music awards will feature a performance by Lady Gaga of “Shallow” from A Star Is Born, which is nominated for song and record of the year. Her co-star Bradley Cooper will attend the UK awards, where the movie, snubbed at the Oscars, is nominated for best film and best director.
An aid delivery brings Venezuela tensions to a head. Troops loyal to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro are blocking humanitarian aid—which opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, has warned many could die without—from entering the country from Colombia. Maduro has said opening the bridge would lead to foreign military intervention.
Donald Trump undergoes his second physical in office. But Ronny Jackson, the navy doctor who said that the president had “incredibly good genes,” won’t be present (paywall). After his last physical, Trump, a lover of fast food, has been eating healthier, but hasn’t stepped up his fitness routine.
While you were sleeping
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accused the National Enquirer’s publisher of extortion. In an explosive blog post, Bezos alleged that American Media Inc. threatened to release comprising photos of him unless he ended his criticism of the publication. Bezos refused, saying: “I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.”
Sony announced its first-ever share buyback. The company’s shares surged more than 5% following news of its plan to repurchase up to $910 million of its own stock through March 22. The announcement comes days after SoftBank unveiled its own record buyback.
Hermès shone… The French luxury goods maker saw a healthy bump in fourth quarter earnings, pushing annual sales to nearly $6.8 billion. The record results, which beat earnings estimates, were driven by strong growth in Asia (paywall).
…while Tata Motors sputtered. Weak sales in China saw the Indian conglomerate, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, post a $4 billion third-quarter loss. It was the worst showing in Indian corporate history, with shares tumbling by almost one-third following the news. China’s car market, the world’s largest, contracted for the first time last year in nearly three decades.
The US Supreme Court blocked Louisiana’s abortion restrictions. In a 5-4 ruling, chief justice John Roberts voted with the court’s liberal members to deny the state from enforcing a law that opponents said would have left only one doctor authorized to perform abortions state-wide. It was the court’s first significant decision on abortion rights since justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias faced more accusations of sexual misconduct. Five women have now come forward to accuse the former Costa Rican president of harassment and assault. Antinuclear activist Alexandra Arce von Herold filed a criminal complaint earlier this week (paywall) asking prosecutors to charge Arias with sexual assault.
Another report linked Saudi’s crown prince to Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Mohammed bin Salman reportedly told a top aide a year before the Washington Post journalist was killed that he would use a “bullet” (paywall) to silence him, according to US and foreign officials interviewed by the New York Times. Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul late last year.
Quartz obsession interlude
The Nobel prize, riots, and a legal fight: it’s the Brown Dog Affair. Once upon a time vivisection—dissecting and experimenting on live animals—wasn’t a big deal. That’s until 1903, when British doctors killed a brown terrier during a lecture two Swedish feminists and anti-vivisectionists were attending undercover. It led to a huge libel case, a Mark Twain short story, and a fight between cops and 1,000 medical students wielding dog effigies. Read a tail too strange to tell: today’s Quartz Obsession.
Membership
Esports players live fast and retire young. There’s a misconception that professional gaming can be easily compared to recreational gaming, but it’s anything but leisurely. With 12-to-14-hour practice sessions commonplace among many esports players, it’s simply too difficult to keep up with that hard of a grind for more than a short few years. Today’s membership exclusive digs into how a sedentary industry causes such intense burnout.
Matters of debate
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Sheryl Sandberg is still inspiring women. The Facebook COO’s achievements are still revered by females in tech, despite recent ethics concerns.
“Synergies” is a scary word in a merger. It really means that the two companies will make more money by eliminating redundancies and cutting jobs.
Brexit isn’t a joke to Northern Ireland. Being the stage for the “backstop” just reopens old wounds and deepens past divisions.
Surprising discoveries
Florida’s face-licking politician has resigned. Commissioner Nancy Oakley’s penchant for licking men’s faces led several to come forward with ethics complaints.
The British Council apologized to George Orwell—70 years late. The body wants to “make amends” for rejecting an 1946 essay by the writer titled “British Cookery.”
Life was less harsh for the Vikings than we thought. Tiny bugs reveal that between 985 and 1450, their settlement areas had warmer temperatures than depicted in popular culture.
There may soon be a cure for your fear of needles. Pills containing tiny hypodermics could one day deliver medicine through the lining of the stomach.
A satirist could become Ukraine’s next president. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an actor who plays the role of president in a hit TV show, is leading in polls.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cases of life imitating art, and delayed apologies 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.