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What to watch for today
Theresa May holds a crunch cabinet meeting. As the UK parliament again rejected all Brexit options in a second round of indicative voting yesterday, the prime minister will summon her cabinet for a five-hour showdown to try and break a deadlock before the April 12 EU departure deadline.
The Greek prime minister visits Skopje. Alexis Tsipras will travel to the capital of North Macedonia in what he has called a “historic” trip as the first official visit by a top Greek leader. The two countries in January resolved a 27-year-row over Macedonia’s name.
Australia pushes new policies and a fresh budget. The Coalition government is expected to forecast a rare surplus, with proposals including cash handouts, healthcare revamps, and infrastructure upgrades.
While you were sleeping
Boeing delayed its software update. The aircraft company had planned to submit the fix for its grounded 737 Max aircraft to the US Federal Aviation Administration as early as this week, but the timeline has now been pushed back by several weeks. All 737 Max jets have been grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes in five months.
Trump considers appointing an immigration “czar.” The US president is reportedly considering far-right candidates to take on the post of a border “czar” to coordinate immigration policy across different federal agencies, according to the Associated Press.
A second woman accused Joe Biden of touching her inappropriately. Two women in three days have come forward to accuse the former US vice president of unwanted physical contact as he considers a White House bid. In a statement, Biden said it was “never my intention” to act inappropriately.
NASA rebuked India for its anti-satellite test. The space agency condemned the country’s recent shooting down of a low-orbiting satellite as a “terrible thing” that created hundreds of pieces of orbital debris, endangering astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
A Mexican musician was found dead after being accused of sexual assault. Armando Vega Gil, bass player for the rock band Botellita de Jerez, published a letter online before his death denying accusations that he assaulted a 13-year-old girl over a decade ago.
Quartz Obsession
“Hmmm. Ugh. Ouch!” Vocal bursts—also called non-word utterances or non-verbal exclamations—can imply dozens of emotions across the spectrum of human language. They’re valuable tools for artists, entertainers, and advertisers—and can even help AI-centric technologies better parse the complexity of human speech. Clear your throat for today’s Quartz Obsession.
Membership
The complete guide to the battery revolution: The question isn’t whether battery-powered cars will outnumber gas-guzzlers, but when. Some startups have even begun looking to build small, battery-powered commercial planes. Quartz’s Akshat Rathi spent the last year traveling from Shenzhen to San Francisco to look under the hood of the most innovative startups and the world’s largest battery companies, to separate the pretenders from the contenders. Read more here.
Matters of debate
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Fascism never died in Italy. The reaction to Jim Carrey’s Mussolini painting is a stark reminder that the fight against fascism is ongoing.
The Matrix is a landmark of transgender art. Created by two trans women, the film perfectly captures the experience of being a closeted trans person.
When it comes to climate change, cotton totes might be the worst. Plastic bag bans could do more harm than good.
Surprising discoveries
Brexit protesters stripped naked and glued themselves to the public gallery of parliament. Activists from the group Extinction Rebellion “enlivened the existential hell” of the endless debate.
Closing the US-Mexico border would cause a dire avocado shortage. Americans could run out of avocados in just three weeks if Trump shuts the border, as he has threatened to do.
Burger King is testing a plant-based Impossible Whopper. The fast-food chain famous for its beef patties might put a vegan option front-and-center on its menu.
Incendio! A group of Polish priests burned Harry Potter books in a bonfire. The SMS from Heaven Foundation cited a Bible verse to justify its actions.
Banksy is using a low-tech, highly secure method to authenticate his artwork. People who certify their prints receive a torn banknote with a hand-drawn ID number.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rescued Harry Potter books, and Banksy authentication banknotes 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 Isabella Steger.