Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Jacinda Ardern and Emmanuel Macron host a summit to tackle online violence. The New Zealand and French leaders are meeting in Paris today to discuss the “Christchurch Call,” a plan to eliminate terrorist and violent content online. Representatives from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter are scheduled to attend. Ahead of the meeting, Facebook unveiled new restrictions on its live-streaming feature, introducing a one-strike policy for users who violate the platform’s community rules.
Donald Trump is expected to effectively ban Huawei. The US president could sign an executive order as early as today (paywall) barring domestic companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms posing a national security risk—a move that would all but block the Chinese tech giant from the country.
Alibaba and Tencent earnings. China’s tech giants are both under the microscope, as investors fret about the US-China trade war and a slowing Chinese economy. Alibaba is trying to diversify away from e-commerce into cloud computing, while Tencent is still struggling in the aftermath (paywall) of a government video game crackdown.
Germany releases GDP figures. The economy is expected to have grown 0.4% in the first quarter, a slight pickup, but confidence is lagging due to fears the US-China trade war will spill over.
While you were sleeping
Theresa May pledged to put Brexit to a fourth vote. After meeting with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday evening, the UK prime minister vowed to ask members of parliament to vote again on her Brexit deal early next month.
Alabama outlawed almost all abortions. The state’s senate passed a bill that criminalizes abortions at any stage of a pregnancy, and doctors who carry out the procedure could be charged with felonies and face up to 99 years in prison. An exemption is permitted if the mother’s life is threatened, but not in cases of rape or incest. The bill now goes to Republican governor Kay Ivey, who is a strong opponent of abortion.
San Francisco banned government use of facial recognition. Officials voted eight to one to pass the “Stop Secret Surveillance Ordinance,” making it the first major American city to ban police and other government agencies from using facial recognition technology. The legislation will also require city agencies to disclose any other surveillance technology currently in use.
Sudan’s army and protesters settled on a three-year transition period. The two sides reached an agreement for transferring power to a full civilian administration after last month’s ouster of president Omar al-Bashir. Negotiations were marred by violence this week when an army major and five protesters were shot dead during protests.
Donald Trump Jr. agreed to testify before the Senate intelligence committee. The US president’s eldest son reached a deal with lawmakers and will sit for a limited, closed-door interview with senators next month, cooling a heated confrontation over a subpoena as part of the panel’s Russia investigation.
US markets rebounded as Trump soft-pedaled his trade war. Major indices rose around 1%, regaining some of the ground lost since US-China tensions rose last week, as the US president dismissed the tit-for-tat tariff battle as “a little squabble.” A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said the countries would “continue pursuing relevant discussions.”
Quartz Obsession
Doorbells: With the dawn of the electric era came a new domestic anxiety—the piercing buzz of a visitor at the door. Now, new hyper-connected digital versions have only amplified the unease, raising complicated questions about data security, community dynamics, and surveillance. Eyeball the story in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Membership
Today we explore the question that is surely keeping people at Boeing awake: Will passengers ever feel good about the 737 Max again? Meanwhile, over at Private Key, we dive into theories about why crypto is surging.
Matters of debate
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Noisy coworkers are the most disruptive office distractions. It’s not the temperature or the traffic noise—it’s us.
Long-distance relationships are getting closer. Advances in technology make the dreaded status more bearable.
Everything should take 20 minutes. It’s objectively the ideal amount of time for any task.
Surprising discoveries
A probe revealed how US Navy pilots drew a giant phallus in the sky. “Balls are complete,” said one of the two prankster pilots.
Laptop screens are entering the folding fold. Lenovo is one-upping Samsung’s foldable smartphone with an all-screen foldable laptop.
Jumpsuits are going mainstream. Long associated with revolution and newness, the one-piece garment is now turning up in white-collar boardrooms.
New Zealand’s PM returned a $5 bribe from the dragon lobby. An 11-year-old wanted Jacinda Ardern to fund research on the mystical reptiles.
A condom maker has a new baby-preventing product. Skyn’s “baby blocker” tool lets users erase photos of their friends’ kids on social media.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, naughty contrails, and professional onesies to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Mary Hui and Isabella Steger.