Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Disputed election results in Africa. In Nigeria, president Muhammadu Buhari took an early lead against challenger Atiku Abubakar, but the opposition is claiming fraud after election-day violence. In Senegal, incumbent president Macky Sall led in unofficial results, but two opposition candidates say the vote should go to a runoff.
Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump arrive in Hanoi. The US president is flying in on Air Force One, while the North Korean leader is taking the scenic route via armored train. Their two-day summit begins Wednesday.
Congress votes to undo Trump’s border wall emergency. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is expected to easily pass a measure blocking $5.7 billion in spending on the president’s long-promised border wall. The prospects of passage in the Senate are more difficult, though Democrats only need to win over two more Republican votes.
While you were sleeping
General Electric sold off its biopharma unit to Danaher for $21 billion. The latest downsizing by GE CEO Larry Culp will see the conglomerate shed its business that makes medical instruments and software to develop new drugs. The move represents a change in strategy after GE rejected an earlier offer from Danaher, where Culp used to be CEO.
Amazon got into the milk business. Analyst firm TJI Research reported that the company began selling milk through its Happy Belly brand in its AmazonFresh home delivery service. The company, which has been trying to break into the fresh grocery sector for more than a decade, also offers 24 different kinds of private-label cheese.
The Chinese government may have funded the controversial CRISPR baby experiment. Documents obtained by STAT suggested that three government agencies, including the science ministry, may have provided financial support to scientist He Jiankui, who shocked the world last year by announcing the genetic modification of two twin girls. Beijing has disavowed He’s research, but experts questioned how he could have carried out the work without government approval.
Britain’s Labour Party backed calls for a new Brexit referendum. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn bowed to pressure from his party to give the public a vote on the EU exit if lawmakers vote down prime minister Theresa May’s latest attempt to secure parliamentary approval. May is due to update the House of Commons on Tuesday after returning from a meeting of EU leaders.
A new report laid bare the psychological trauma of Facebook comment moderators. An exposé by the Verge painted a dystopian picture of what it’s like to be a contractor for the social media network. Workers in Arizona have to review violence, pornography, and other disturbing content, while earning a tiny fraction of the median Facebook employee’s salary.
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536 AD. Did Twitter convince you that 2018 was the worst year ever? Maybe that’s because social media wasn’t around in 536. That’s the year that a volcanic eruption kicked off the Little (but not that little) Ice Age. Then came two more eruptions, a bubonic plague pandemic, falling empires, and more. Look back at the Quartz Obsession.
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Matters of debate
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Chinese footbinding was about work, not sex. The archaic practice became a way to control women’s sedentary labor.
Closing the mobile phone gender gap is a huge opportunity. An uptick in smartphone use among women in low and middle income countries could be a $700 billion opportunity.
Big Pharma should be treated more like Big Tobacco. The industry is overdue for an investigation on price fixing, overzealous patents, and sketchy financial practices.
Surprising discoveries
China is using facial recognition on pigs. Local tech firms are trying to help the nation keep track of livestock (paywall) to prevent a swine flu epidemic.
Vietnam deported a Kim Jong Un impersonator. The Australian comedian named Howard X was in Hanoi ahead of the Trump-Kim summit.
Earth’s atmosphere is bigger than we thought. According to NASA and ESA data, our planet’s gaseous layer actually extends far past the moon.
Female serial killers have their own particular MO. Women, often well-educated caregivers, tend to kill acquaintances or people they see every day.
The veins in your hand can unlock a smartphone. LG’s new “Hand ID” technology can read the unique blueprint under your palm.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Kim Jong Un impressions, and vein passwords 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 McKinley Noble and Adam Pasick.