Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Theresa May scrambles for support. In last-minute talks, the UK prime minister will try to win over Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to back her Brexit deal, which has already been heavily defeated twice in parliament. May will put her EU departure plan to a third vote on Tuesday or Wednesday if she believes it can pass.
China’s foreign minister makes nice in Brussels. Meeting with his EU counterparts, Wang Yi will discuss ways to promote multilateralism and prepare for next month’s China-EU summit. His visit comes in the wake of an EU report labeling China a “systemic rival.”
Key OPEC members plus Russia meet in Azerbaijan. The countries will review the output curbs they’ve been implementing to defend oil prices (paywall). While Donald Trump has called upon OPEC to moderate prices, Saudi Arabia in particular is reluctant to comply.
Another cabinet shuffle in Canada. Prime minister Justin Trudeau is expected to change his lineup for the third time in three months, after treasury board president Jane Philpott quit over the handling of a corruption trial. High-profile resignations in a growing political crisis threaten to upend Trudeau’s re-election chances.
Lyft kicks off its IPO road show. The US ride-hailing company will be trying to persuade investors not to hold out for rival Uber’s upcoming IPO as it aims to raise $2 billion from its listing this month.
Over the weekend
Facebook removed 1.5 million New Zealand attack videos. The New Zealand mosque shooter was able to live-stream his attack for 17 minutes until police alerted the social media company. About 1.2 million videos were blocked at upload, but it did not say how many people had seen the rest before they were taken down. Separately, the New Zealand cabinet has decided to change gun laws and will announce details within a week.
Black box data showed Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes were similar. Ethiopia’s transport minister said preliminary data showed “a clear similarity” to last year’s crash in Indonesia, which also involved a 737 Max jet. US officials are scrutinizing (paywall) Boeing’s development of the Max, and the US Federal Aviation Administration’s approval of it, amid questions about how pilots trained for new features.
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank started formal merger talks. The German banks said they’re indeed mulling a possible merger (paywall), confirming reports and signaling the discussions have entered a new stage. Germany’s finance ministry has indicated it supports a deal, even though it would likely mean significant job cuts.
Kirsten Gillibrand made her White House bid official. The New York senator formally announced she’s running for US president, saying she’ll hold a campaign kickoff rally in front of Trump International Tower in Manhattan as a way of “bringing the fight to Trump’s doorstep.” She enters a crowded field of Democratic contenders.
Zuzana Caputova won the first round of Slovakia’s presidential race. Known as “Slovakia’s Erin Brockovich,” the environmental activist won 40% of the vote and will now face rival Maros Sefcovic in a runoff election. She’s noted for fighting the expansion of a toxic landfill located near a residential area.
Quartz Obsession
It’s probably accurate to say fact-checking is more important than ever. The internet serves up a tide of errors, some intentional, some not, and the small, skilled community of professional fact-checkers—who can be better at detecting a ruse than PhD historians—has their fingers in the dike. It’s a laborious, unglamorous job, and not many people do it, but everyone can do a little part by learning from how they approach separating fact from fiction. Check it out at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Apple should bring back the click-wheel iPod. We need a renewed focus on individual devices that excel at individual purposes.
It’s time to put your snoozing to use. A growing number of neuroscientists believe that sleep is a time to learn something new—even a foreign language.
The media haven’t figured out how to cover acts of violence. Backlash against the British press for publishing the New Zealand shooter’s manifesto illustrates the difficulty in policing such coverage.
Surprising discoveries
Bird poo turbo-boosts coral reefs. Scientists studying Fiji’s reefs found those with birds can grow four times faster than those without.
A trove of hidden papers could shed light on Van Gogh’s London life. Insurance policies, watercolors and a prayer book were discovered while renovating a Brixton house where the artist lived in 1873.
African politics now has its own dictionary… You can learn the deeper meanings of “three-piece suit voting” and “watermelon politics.”
…and Brexit changed the English language. The word and political phenomenon has captured the world’s imagination like no other single political coinage.
The US government will pay you $1,000 to adopt a wild horse. The Bureau of Land Management’s corrals are at capacity.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, political lexicons, and click-wheel iPods 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 and Isabella Steger.