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What to watch for today and over the weekend
Students around the world go on climate strike. Inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who was just nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, students in more than 100 countries will hold massive school walkouts to protest climate inaction.
Trump issues his first veto. The White House indicated the president could veto a congressional resolution to block his declaration of a border national emergency as soon as today. Democrats in the US Senate were joined by 12 Republicans in delivering a rebuke to the president’s executive action, while the Democrat-controlled House passed the measure earlier.
FIFA meets to discuss the future of soccer. The sport’s global governing body will consider expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, as well as a a multi-billion dollar proposal for a new World Cup-style competition for top clubs. It is the first time FIFA has met in the US since 2015, when a major corruption scandal threatened the group’s existence.
Slovakia votes for its president. Zuzana Caputova, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist, is the surprise frontrunner (paywall) in elections this Saturday. It is the country’s first national vote after the double murder last year of an investigative journalist and his fiancée upended domestic politics and led to widespread protests.
Advance voting begins in Thailand. Some 2.7 million people in Thailand will vote early on Sunday ahead of the country’s March 24 general elections, its first since a military coup in 2014.
While you were sleeping
Shooter attacked two mosques in New Zealand. Three men and a woman were in custody after shootings at two mosques in Christchurch during Friday prayers caused multiple fatalities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it one of the country’s “darkest days.” Authorities have not confirmed a death toll, but said it was “significant.”
Boeing halted 737 Max deliveries. The company will continue building the aircraft model at full speed but will assess the impact of worldwide restrictions in the aftermath of two deadly crashes in five months. Separately, China’s grounding of the Boeing jetliners may scuttle a major jet order linked to a US-China trade deal.
Tesla unveiled its baby SUV. The long-anticipated Model Y is priced between $39,000 and $60,000, and will start delivering in late 2020 as the carmaker attempts to reach cost-conscious customers who want an all-electric SUV.
China passed a new foreign investment law. The legislation bars government agencies from demanding foreign companies hand over technology secrets in exchange for market access, and ensures foreign firms are treated the same as Chinese companies in most sectors. The law, which will come into effect next year, may help China resolve its trade war with the US.
The SEC accused Volkswagen of “massive fraud.” The US regulator sued the German automaker for deceiving investors by issuing securities while concealing it was cheating on diesel-emissions standards. The company has dismissed the allegations, which stem from a 2015 scandal that cost it billions of dollars.
Facebook’s head of product announced his exit. Just a year after he took the reins at WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, Chris Cox made a surprise announcement (paywall) that he’d be leaving the company, where he’s long been Mark Zuckerberg’s close confidant. In his farewell note, Cox took issue with Zuckerberg’s recent encryption manifesto.
Mt. Gox’s chief was found guilty of data manipulation. Disgraced bitcoin mogul Mark Karpeles was given a suspended jail term of two-and-a-half years by a Tokyo court, after allegedly embezzling 341 million yen ($3 million) of clients money. Karpeles has denied the charges and has blamed the missing bitcoin on hackers.
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Matters of debate
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Boeing and the US government are tied together by money. The 737 Max crisis is part of a long and complicated relationship.
Tesla’s finally making a mass-market car the masses will want. Its Model 3 sedan was supposed to be mass market but the Model Y baby SUV is the kind of car Americans really love.
Trump is prepping his followers for violence. His musings about the “tough people on his side” are a subtle warning to foes.
Surprising discoveries
The hot new teen messaging app is… Google Docs? Kids are reportedly using it to gossip when they should be doing homework.
Soft foods gave us an overbite—and the F-word. The switch to soft, processed foods changed our jaw growth and allowed us to make “f” and “v” sounds.
A US court affirmed the right to flip cops the bird. The ruling vindicated a Michigan woman who sued after she got a traffic ticket for making a gesture “without four of her fingers showing.”
A smartphone saved an Australian man from an arrow to the neck. He received only a small laceration—but his phone wasn’t so lucky.
A lot of Tumblr users were only there for the porn. The site’s page views plunged by 100 million after it banned “female-presenting nipples” and other adult content.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, soft foods, and heroic smartphones 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 Mary Hui and edited by Tripti Lahiri.