Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US Senate votes on overturning Trump’s national emergency. Four Republicans are set to join 47 Democrats to pass the measure, which would bar president Donald Trump from using a declaration of an emergency at the southern border to secure billions of dollars to build his border wall. The president is expected to veto the bill, which the House has already passed.
The defense secretary testifies before the US Senate. Acting chief Patrick Shanahan is expected to be grilled over Trump’s 2020 Pentagon budget, which shifts military spending away from counterinsurgency and toward great-power rivalry (paywall) aimed at China and Russia. The testimony will also cover Trump’s controversial border wall plans.
The UK parliament votes on whether to delay Brexit. With less than two weeks before a deadline to leave the European Union, Britain has yet to approve a deal that would maintain some semblance of order after the divorce. Yesterday, parliament passed a non-binding motion rejecting a so-called “no-deal Brexit.”
A new Tesla for the masses. CEO Elon Musk is set to unveil the Model Y (paywall), with production expected to start early next year, in his bid to turn Tesla into a mass-market automaker. The electric SUV will cost about 10% more than the Model 3 sedan, which runs for $35,000.
A new crew for the International Space Station. US astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch and Russia’s Alexey Ovchinin will embark on a Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:14am local time on March 15 (2:14pm ET today).
While you were sleeping
Facebook had a tough day. The world’s largest social media site, along with its Messenger and Instagram apps, went down for hours in an outage many called the longest in its 15-year history. Separately, US federal prosecutors opened a criminal investigation over Facebook’s data-sharing deals (paywall) with tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft.
Uber might sell its self-driving unit. A group of investors, including SoftBank, are in talks with the ride-sharing company to buy a $1 billion stake (paywall) in its self-driving vehicle unit ahead of Uber’s IPO.
A bad omen for the global economy. China’s industrial output growth for January and February slowed to its lowest level in a decade. Unemployment in the world’s second-largest economy also edged up to 5.3%, from 4.9% in December.
Beto O’Rourke finally entered the race. The Democrat and former Texas congressman sent a text to a local TV station in his El Paso hometown saying that he will run for president in 2020. O’Rourke will make the official announcement this morning.
Ethiopia snubbed US air safety experts. Ethiopian Airlines sent the black box of its recently crashed 737 Max plane to France for investigation, a sign it does not trust US aviation authorities (paywall). After more than 40 other countries closed their airspace to the plane, US officials reversed an earlier decision and grounded the Boeing 737 Max.
Membership
Today, we have a look at New Zealand’s green sovereign-wealth fund, a questionnaire where can you play sovereign-wealth-fund manager; Insider View on what recruiters won’t tell you about hiring; and Private Key about the perils of crypto passwords that go missing.
Quartz Obsession
TikTok: The insanely popular app for sharing meme-centric video clips isn’t just for kids—it transformed its Chinese parent company ByteDance into the most valuable startup in the world. Could an AI-powered platform that prizes goofiness and gummy bears be the future of social media? Find out in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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It doesn’t matter where you go to university. The prestige of a school has little relationship to future success.
Michael Jackson is too big to erase. Unlike some artists accused of wrongdoing, MJ’s influence is too deep to eradicate from history entirely.
Apple’s App Store fees are anti-competitive. Spotify is seeking a ruling in Europe that would let apps compete on their own merits, regardless of who owns the platform.
Surprising discoveries
Walking on escalators slows you down. The lack of adequate space for pedestrians coupled with decision-making about speed make standing more efficient.
Mercury is actually Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. A new calculation of the average distances between planets yielded an unexpected finding.
Objective reality doesn’t exist. Two simulated observers in a quantum physics experiment experienced irreconcilable results.
If you get pregnant while taking the pill, it might be your genes. Some women carry a genetic variant that renders hormonal birth control ineffective.
Hungary used a popular internet meme to promote its pro-family policy. The “distracted boyfriend” couple appears on billboards looking happy and in love.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, objective facts, and meme-laden billboards 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 Jason Karaian.