Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The UN Security Council discusses Sudan’s coup. Protesters who forced out longtime president Omar al-Bashir refused to obey a military curfew, raising fears of violence between demonstrators, the army, and other security forces and militia.
Trump’s transgender ban takes effect. The 14,000 openly transgender people serving in the military will be able to continue doing so, if they get a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Several outstanding lawsuits are challenging the ban.
Australian officials visit Julian Assange. Consular staff will meet with the WikiLeaks founder, an Australian citizen, in a London jail today after he was forced from the Ecuadorian embassy. Australia said it is “completely opposed” to the death penalty amid concerns about Assange being sent to the US, but added that the extradition was a matter between the US and UK.
Finland’s opposition make their bid for power. Social Democrats are currently leading prime minister Juha Sipila’s Center Party in polls, though some of the country’s many small parties may ultimately decide the outcome in Sunday’s election (paywall).
Banks kick off earnings season. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are expected to show small drops in revenue for the first quarter today. The slower US economy as well as declining mortgage rates are expected to weigh down earnings for many US banks.
Game of Thrones begins its farewell. The show’s eighth and final season airs on Sunday. Quartz’s Bot Studio created a Game of Thrones recap chatbot to walk you through what happened in the previous seven seasons—and to help you think through your dream ending for the show.
While you were sleeping
China had a stellar trade month. March figures show China with a hefty $32.6 billion trade surplus compared to a year ago—significantly more than the $6 billion that was expected—and driven in part by a bump in seasonal exports. Its politically sensitive trade deficit with the US also widened to $20.5 billion, up from $14.7 billion in February.
Donald Trump considered a radical plan to get back at his opponents. The Washington Post reported that the White House had on multiple occasions pressured immigration officials to release detained immigrants (paywall) onto the streets of “sanctuary cities” such as San Francisco to retaliate against Democrats. The proposal was rejected.
SoftBank got serious about debt. The Japanese tech giant issued ¥500 billion ($4.5 billion) in bonds (paywall), the largest corporate offering yet in Japanese yen, following a surge in earnings the first three quarters of the fiscal year, which led to higher debt levels. Separately, SoftBank has agreed to take a more passive role in its investments in US startups, to assuage more stringent government restrictions on foreign ownership.
DisneyPlus took on Netflix. The entertainment giant announced its new streaming service will launch on Nov. 12, featuring a new Star Wars series and Marvel programming. The streaming service will cost $7 a month, less than Netflix’s $13, and will make new films exclusive to its platform.
Chicago sued Jussie Smollett. The city is taking the Empire actor to court to recoup losses for the money spent investigating the racist and homophobic attack that police say Smollett had orchestrated against himself. In a surprise move, prosecutors last month decided to drop all charges against Smollett.
The Dalai Lama was discharged from hospital. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who was admitted earlier in the week to a hospital in New Delhi for a chest infection, said he felt “almost normal.”
Quartz Obsession
Drones are hard at work—even if they won’t bring you pizza. Alphabet is conducting a high-profile consumer delivery trial in Australia, but drones are far more active behind the scenes: inspecting buildings, herding animals, planting trees, and looking for dinosaur bones. In Rwanda, they carry 20% of blood outside the capital. Hover over to the Quartz Obsession.
Membership
We wrap up our week-long investigation of the tech IPO boom, which included a spotter’s guide to this year’s big IPOs and a close look at Zoom. In case you missed it, we also launched our new members-only video series, Because China, which started by looking at how the new superpower is upending recycling.
Matters of debate
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Hitting climate goals won’t be as costly as we feared. A trillion-dollar investment fund says it may only cost 0.5% of global GDP.
The EU allowed the destruction of Hungary’s democracy. It failed to act when the country began its turn to nationalism and authoritarianism.
People are more willing to put up with wage cuts than we think. New research runs contrary to the Keynesian tenet that wage rigidity is why unemployment remains so high during a recession.
Surprising discoveries
Chinese consumers fell victim to a literal pyramid scheme. Two companies are under investigation for selling pyramid-shaped products purporting to have healing properties.
Cuba is turning to unusual animals to tackle food shortages. Officials are touting the benefits of eating ostrich and hutia, a native rodent.
Switzerland thinks coffee is not essential to life. The government won’t stockpile java anymore because it lacks nutritional value.
Chinese scientists put human brain genes in monkeys. The primates did better on memory tests, but one American researcher called the experiment “a very risky road to take.”
“Old Town Road” is making country music history. The controversial tune is the first of its genre in 30 years to top the Billboard Hot 100.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, stockpiled coffee, and pizza-carrying drones 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 Jackie Bischof.