Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Treasury Department may deny Democrat demands. The department, which oversees the Internal Revenue Service, will reportedly notify lawmakers that it will not comply with today’s deadline to release six years of the president’s tax returns. Separately, Trump yesterday sued House Democrats for subpoenaing a decade of his financial records.
The Supreme Court weighs adding a census update. The issue of whether to add a citizenship question to the questionnaire, distributed every 10 years, will have a significant impact (paywall) on the allocation of congressional seats and federal funds. Democrats command more support in states with many non-citizens.
The US could derail a UN vote on rape. The Guardian reported that the US plans to veto a Security Council resolution on combating rape as a weapon of war because of language in the document that it says hints at support for abortion. The vote could be shelved as a result.
A big day for earnings. Coca-Cola, Verizon, and Procter & Gamble are expected to deliver solid results, while embattled social platforms Snap and Twitter could have less positive reports. Harley-Davidson and United Technologies will likely be hindered again by US tariffs, while the closure of Toys “R” Us is sure to drag on Hasbro.
While you were sleeping
Sri Lanka began a national day of mourning. Citizens observed three minutes of silence to mark the deadly blasts on Easter Sunday. The death toll now stands at 320. Authorities have arrested 40 people in relation to the attacks, and the government has invoked emergency rules allowing for more power over detentions, while upholding a ban on social media.
Samsung retrieves its bendy phones. The phonemaker is getting its hands back on review samples for its $2,000 Galaxy Fold, after reports of breaking screens. The decision comes a day after Samsung delayed the release of the premium device, which was supposed to launch in the US on Friday.
Two Reuters journalists lost their appeals in Myanmar’s highest court. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who were sentenced in September to seven years in prison on espionage charges following their investigation into the 2017 murder of 10 Rohingya Muslims.
The New IRA admitted to killing a journalist in Northern Ireland. The organization, a collection of armed groups opposed to the peace process, apologized to the family of Lyra Mckee in a statement. It said it had mobilized its members to “engage” in response to actions by British forces ahead of the anniversary of a 1916 armed Easter rebellion.
The third stage of India’s election began. Citizens across 14 states and union territories started voting for 115 parliamentary seats, the largest stage of the weeks-long election. The most eye-catching of these seats is Wayanad in Kerala, which opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is campaigning for, while prime minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat also goes to the polls.
Membership
Although large direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have huge databases of customers, their homogeneity is a pitfall. We dive into how smaller companies and nonprofit groups have emerged to fill the gaps. Over at Private Key, we examine what presidential hopeful Andrew Yang gets right—and wrong—about blockchain.
Quartz Obsession
Bricks: There’s more than meets the eye to the ubiquitous, rectangular building material. To an international fandom of enthusiasts, the 9,000-year-old technology can be a historical artifact or a piece of design inspiration. Explore the many layers of brick collecting in our Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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The media is dangerously quiet about climate change. The amount of coverage around the planet’s dire situation is not at all proportional to the severity of the threat.
Editing is the new coding. As the market becomes saturated with content-heavy platforms, the most promising careers are in storytelling.
Plant-based meat companies have an identity crisis on their hands. They’re staring down the possibility they won’t be able to use the word “meat” on their products at all.
Surprising discoveries
A new treatment allows Parkinson’s sufferers to walk again. The therapy delivers electrical stimulation to the spine, partially restoring mobility.
Otters are wildly popular in Asia. They’re increasingly prized as pets, fueling an illicit trade (paywall) in the animal.
Botanists rediscovered a rare Hawaiian flower with a drone. The Hibiscadelphus woodii, a relative of the hibiscus thought to be extinct, was seen for the first time since 2009 on a sheer cliff face in Kauai.
“Ashley” is an unusually popular password. It was the highest-ranked name on a UK list of hacked passwords.
Elon Musk wants a million “robo-taxis” on the road by 2020. It’s an ambitious goal for the electric vehicle maker, which has a history of missing deadlines.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, safe passwords, and rare Hawaiian flower sightings 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.