Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
India releases its election results. Can the alliance led by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party hold its majority? Exit polls predict a win for Modi but have been wrong before. Use Quartz’s real-time results tool to follow the action in the world’s biggest vote.
Global aviation regulators meet in Texas. The US Federal Aviation Administration is hoping for a consensus on how to move forward with the troubled Boeing 737 Max. European and Canadian officials have made clear they’ll decide for themselves when the plane is safe.
The start of the European Parliament elections. While most countries won’t vote until May 26, the UK—which thought that by now it’d be out of the EU and not participating—and the Netherlands will do so today. In the UK, the recently formed Brexit Party is expected to come out on top.
While you were sleeping
Pressure intensified over Trump’s taxes. New York lawmakers passed legislation to give Congress access to the US president’s state tax returns, with Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo expected to sign the bill. Meanwhile treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted to Congress he wasn’t breaking the law by refusing to hand over Trump’s federal returns.
Researchers pinpointed the source of an ozone-depleting chemical. A study published in Nature identified China’s heavily industrialized Shandong and Hebei provinces as the primary sources of rogue CFC-11 emissions. The chlorofluorocarbon destroys atmospheric ozone and was outlawed decades ago by an international pact.
The world condemned Britain’s occupation of the Chagos Islands. The UN general assembly overwhelmingly backed a non-binding resolution for Britain to return control of the archipelago to neighboring Mauritius. The US, which has a military base on the islands, lobbied hard against the motion.
SpaceX’s secretive lawsuit against the US government became less secretive. Rivals of the company—including Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance—came forward to defend their interests in the case. At issue, it became clear, is access to lucrative contracts to launch national security payloads for the military.
Washington state lawmakers approved human corpse composting. The bill approves eco-friendly “recomposition” as an alternative to conventional burial methods. The approach involves reusable, above-ground vessels that transform human remains to soil.
Quartz Obsession
Jumpsuits are a true all-in-one garment. They’re futuristic, yet retro. Buttoned-up, yet rock ‘n roll. Maybe that’s why they’re a go-to for pilots, sky divers, and utopian thinkers (and were favored by Elvis, no less). Now, after a slow initial start, they’ve finally made it to the C-suite. Learn why the democratic onesie could be here to stay.
Membership
While the bar has been raised on benefits for new moms and dads, there are a lot of working-parent worries that today’s policies don’t address. We break them down in our ongoing field guide to new management.
Matters of debate
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Post-election emigration threats are largely empty. But online searches for how to jump a country’s ship are still a useful indicator of unrest.
Working parents need to be loud and proud. Being afraid to talk about childcare obligations at work only makes change happen more slowly.
Streetwear is consumers dictating the terms of fashion. The power balance between brands and the people who wear them has fundamentally changed.
Surprising discoveries
The Bahamas’ giant iguanas are a mystery no more. The endangered Allen Cays rock iguana got twice as long as other nearby subspecies because of seabird droppings.
A Chinese fern excels at absorbing arsenic. Pteris vittata can tolerate up to 1,000 times more of the toxin than other plants, which could make it useful at mines and other industrial sites.
Hunger Games and Twilight are getting a theme park. Film company Lionsgate’s upcoming park in China will feature rides and experiences based on its movie franchises.
The future could hold a 90-minute trans-Atlantic flight. A startup says it needs just 10 years to build a hypersonic passenger jet that flies at more than four times the speed of sound.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, mysterious iguanas, and vampire rides 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 Susan Howson, Whet Moser, and Steve Mollman.