Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn duel on TV. The UK prime minister and the Labour leader will take part in an hour-long debate hosted by BBC tonight. The broadcaster’s Andrew Neil has also challenged Johnson to a televised grilling, but he has yet to accept.
France braces for a second day of nationwide strikes. More than 800,000 took to the streets yesterday to protest pension reforms, and the labor action is expected to continue today as various unions decide on further strike plans.
The US and Canada release November job reports. The American labor market could show an uptick from disappointing October numbers. Analysts also predict good news from Canada.
Hong Kong’s protesters test the momentum of their movement. Police granted rare approval for a major demonstration on Sunday, two weeks after opposition candidates swept district-level elections. Separately, cash-strapped Hong Kong Airlines will find out tomorrow whether it will retain its license.
While you were sleeping
Uber recorded over 3,000 reports of sexual assaults on its US rides last year. The figures from the ride-hailing company’s long-awaited safety report include 229 rapes across 1.3 billion rides, with both riders and drivers as victims.
R Kelly was hit with new bribery charges. The American R&B singer is accused of paying off an Illinois government official in order to obtain a fake ID for singer Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, so as to secretly marry her in 1994.
Police in India shot dead four murder and rape suspects. The men had been taken back to the scene of crime, where they allegedly killed and gang-raped a young woman in Hyderabad last week, but were shot after they tried to escape and disarm the officers.
Huge bush fires raged in Australia’s New South Wales. Three fires merged into a “mega blaze” north of Sydney this morning, with flames spanning the entire state’s coastline.
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Matters of debate
“OK boomer” is much more complicated than the meme. Memory and bias play big roles in the generational divide.
Driverless cars won’t help old people. The autonomous technology hasn’t had much input from the actual aging population.
Learning a new language is like having a love affair. There’s the same heady mix of curiosity and wonder.
Surprising discoveries
Volcanic eruptions helped create modern Scotland. Researchers suggest that two major eruptions triggered an economic depression that ultimately pushed the nation to join Great Britain.
Amazon pulled “death flights” t-shirts from its website. Survivors of Chile’s military dictatorship were outraged by shirts glorifying the violent killings during Pinochet’s reign.
Once-a-month birth control pills appear to have worked in pigs. A capsule, after swallowing, sits in the stomach and slowly releases hormones into the body.
Only one airline is willing to deport high-risk immigrants for the US. And it’s price-gouging ICE, with some flights as high as $33,500 per hour.
The climate crisis is causing birds to shrink. That’s according to a study of 70,716 specimens from 52 North American migratory bird species.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, small birds, and naughty children to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android, and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Mary Hui and edited by Isabella Steger.