Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US Congress gets back to business. After their Easter break, lawmakers return to a Washington rattled by the release of Robert Mueller’s report. Some Democrats want to proceed with impeachment proceedings against president Trump, but others fear it could lead to a political backlash (paywall).
Alphabet delivers its first-quarter results. Soaring ad sales are likely to have helped Google’s parent company, as well as solid contributions from other businesses, such as its app store, cloud and hardware offerings, and YouTube.
India begins the fourth part of its seven-stage elections. Nine states will vote in the nation’s general elections today. Some 900 million of India’s 1.3 billion people are registered to vote, making the whole thing a rather gargantuan undertaking.
Boeing seeks to reassure. Its annual shareholders meeting follows last week’s turbulent first-quarter results, which showed an 18% drop in earnings and $1 billion in costs over the global grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 8.
China and Russia begin joint naval drills. The drills will take place off the Chinese port city of Qingdao and feature ships, submarines, and aircraft. Meanwhile, two US Navy warships passed through the strategic Taiwan Strait this weekend, part of the Pentagon’s increasing frequency of movement through the waterway, despite opposition from China.
Over the weekend
A gunman opened fire on a San Diego synagogue. One worshipper died and two others were wounded, including the congregation’s rabbi, after a shooting on the last day of Passover. The 19-year-old attacker is believed to have praised the recent deadly attacks on the Christchurch mosques and Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue online an hour before the incident.
Sri Lanka went on high-alert over further attacks. Authorities warned that militants behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings at three churches are planning another wave of attacks. Security forces on Friday night raided a home and exchanged fire with militants believed to have been linked to the attack.
China’s BYD delivered stellar results. The world’s largest maker of electric vehicles reported a 632% jump in first-quarter profit compared to a year ago, in marked contrast to the woeful results recently released by Tesla.
Avengers: Endgame obliterated box-office records. The Marvel movie had the biggest opening weekend of all time, with ticket sales estimated at $350 million in the US and $1.2 billion globally. In China it took in over $330 million, also a record.
Spain’s governing Socialists claimed victory. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s party won the country’s snap poll, the third general election in four years. It will need to form a coalition to counter the rise of ultra-nationalist Vox, the first far-right party to enter parliament since the end of military rule in the 1970s.
Membership
Silicon Valley goes to Washington. Despite attracting disfavor from both the left and the right, the US tech industry feels confident it can treat political challenges much like it has treated technological challenges—as problems that can be solved. This week we’re looking at all the ways tech companies are influencing governmental affairs, with a field guide on the political workings of Silicon Valley.
Quartz Obsession
Happy Birthday, Bauhaus! The short-lived German design school was meant to create a new future after WWI with a clean break from the past, a focus on simplicity, and an embrace of the new industrial era. Its avant-garde aesthetic was a victim of the Nazis’ rise, but when its teachers and students scattered, they set up outposts the world over—and the design-forward world we live in, from Apple to Ikea to Louis Vuitton, carries its DNA. Get schooled at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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It’s time to celebrate the slackers. The chilled-out, pre-Instagram heroes of the 1980s and 1990s are back in vogue.
Hitler would have loved social media. The Nazi leader would have used digital platforms to promote his hateful ideology, says Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Parents should pledge to not give their kids smartphones. A group oath to bar tap-tap-tapping until at least eighth grade would address a growing public health crisis.
Surprising discoveries
Mark Zuckerberg built Priscilla Chan a screen-free bedside alarm. The Facebook CEO doesn’t want his wife’s sleep disrupted by a smartphone’s glare.
Over 13% of homes in Japan are abandoned. It’s another result of the nation’s shrinking population.
Ningxia notched over $740 million in wine sales last year. The region is emerging as China’s answer to Bordeaux.
Pepsi is suing Indian farmers for growing special spuds designed for Lay’s chips. The proprietary FC5 potato is patented, after all.
A Brazilian drug bust led to a parrot’s arrest. The feathered vertebrate almost foiled an undercover raid.
Correction: The April 26 edition of the Daily Brief said then-president Obama roasted Donald Trump at the 2016 White House Correspondents Dinner instead of 2011.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Ningxia grapes, and patent-free spuds 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.