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What to watch for today
Sudan’s leader could step down. The army is set to make an announcement today after months of protests against president Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year-old rule that began after an attempt to raise bread prices. Demonstrators have called on the military to protect them and help them oust Bashir.
Uber files its IPO. The company is expected to reveal additional details (paywall) about its financial situation ahead of a May listing. The company is aiming to raise funds at a valuation of up to $100 billion, below previous expectations, after the disappointing Lyft IPO (paywall).
South Korea’s president visits the White House… Moon Jae-in will meet with Donald Trump in a bid to restart discussions with North Korea, which foundered at a summit in February when the US determined it hadn’t made enough concessions to warrant lifting sanctions. Ahead of Moon’s visit, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un said the country must deal “a serious blow to the hostile forces” determined to use sanctions to “bring us to our knees” by making its economy more self-reliant.
…While back home, South Korea’s abortion ban could end. Its constitutional court is set to rule on a case challenging the country’s nearly 70-year-old abortion ban. Currently, women who have abortions, and doctors who perform them, face the threat of prison time.
Carlos Ghosn’s wife testifies in Tokyo. Carole Ghosn is expected to speak with prosecutors as soon as today in defense of her husband. The ousted Nissan chairman, arrested for the fourth time last week on charges of financial impropriety, says he is innocent and the victim of “backstabbing.”
While you were sleeping
Voting began in the world’s largest democratic contest. Narendra Modi seeks another five-year term (membership) as prime minister of India, where almost 900 million people are eligible to vote. The election, which will last six weeks, is a test for both Modi’s Hindu nationalism, which some fear is reshaping India for the worse, and his economic policies. From a history of the quirky electoral symbols on the ballot, to how to talk about a divisive election with kids, check out all of Quartz India’s election coverage.
Halloween Brexit became a thing. The European Union agreed to allow the UK to postpone its April 12 departure from the bloc until October 31. British prime minister Theresa May had asked for a postponement to June 30. The October extension is flexible—Britain can leave whenever it’s able to pass a withdrawal agreement that’s also acceptable to Europe.
The US and China agreed on how to enforce a trade deal they don’t yet have. The two countries are still figuring out how to address the administration’s desire for China to buy more US goods, and that Beijing make it easier for foreign businesses to operate. In the meantime, they’ve agreed they would set up enforcement offices (paywall) in each other’s countries to monitor any agreement.
The Fed’s latest minutes confirmed a dovish turn. Notes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, when it left rates unchanged and signaled interest rates are unlikely to rise further this year, show concerns over slowing global growth (paywall), and about muted inflation in the US.
The National Enquirer was put on sale. Its owner, American Media, came under pressure to sell (paywall) after revelations the supermarket tabloid helped put a lid on unflattering Trump stories, and that it had tried to blackmail Jeff Bezos over his sexts. Inquiring minds apparently now know too much about the paper’s scandal-seeking (or quashing) tactics.
Quartz Obsession
Modern Monetary Theory: It’s sometimes known as the “deficits don’t matter” school of economic thought, and it’s almost certain to be a feature of the 2020 campaigns for US president. MMT’s claims are huge: The US government can spend almost whatever it likes by simply printing more money. Read more here.
Membership
It’s guides galore in today’s membership offerings, with a list of five practical things to never remove from your suitcase, a breakdown of how to use Yelp and other user-generated review sites, and everything you need to know about India’s parliamentary elections.
Matters of debate
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Employers could easily fix America’s retirement fund crisis. It would likely cost less than $3 an hour per employee.
Compulsory parental leave could be the key to gender parity on Wall Street. Male bankers tend not to take time off when their babies are born.
Amazon should lead on combating climate change. Employees argue the retail giant needs to stop helping the oil industry extract more fossil fuels.
Surprising discoveries
Abraham Maslow didn’t create the hierarchy of needs. The famous pyramid ranking levels of human needs is based on a misinterpretation of his ideas.
A small picture of a black hole requires an insane amount of data. A virtual telescope the size of the earth collected the equivalent of 5,000 years of MP3 music files that had to be flown—online transfer would’ve been too slow—to a central location to be analyzed and turned into a tiny image.
Climate change is making seasonal allergies worse. Blame the combination of milder winters, earlier seasonal warming, and pollution for your sniffles and sneezes.
A suspected burglar turned out to be a trapped Roomba. Deputies responding to a 911 call from an Oregon woman found the shadowy figure in a locked bathroom was a little robot doing a “very thorough vacuuming job.”
Warner Brothers blocked Trump from using the Dark Knight soundtrack. The studio filed a copyright complaint after Trump posted a campaign ad with music by Hans Zimmer.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, antihistamines, and original campaign theme music 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 Tripti Lahiri and edited by Isabella Steger.