Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
President Trump makes a statement about the Iranian attacks on two US bases in Iraq. Iran fired 22 ballistic missiles last night, but there are no reported casualties. Significantly, Iran’s foreign minister says, “We do not seek escalation or war.”
Investigations begin after more than 170 people die in a plane crash in Iran. A Boeing passenger jet travelling from Tehran to Kyiv, and operated by Ukraine International Airlines, burst into flames shortly after takeoff this morning.
Carlos Ghosn faces reporters in Lebanon. The former Renault-Nissan chairman says he is providing documents and naming names, following his dramatic escape from house arrest in Japan. Ghosn’s legal team accuses his former company of a “perversion of truth.”
While you were sleeping
Tens of thousands of workers went on strike in India. They disrupted transportation and commerce to protest an economic slowdown—Indian growth reached its slowest pace in over a decade—and prime minister Narendra Modi’s economic reforms.
Impossible Foods abandoned talks with McDonald’s. The plant-based meat company said it first needs to scale up production before it tries to win a contract with the world’s largest fast-food chain. Rival Beyond Meat said its negotiations with McDonald’s are going “very well.”
Samsung beat expectations with quarterly earnings. At CES, the company attracted attention with a spherical robot, and a line of exoskeletons. And now it has published good fourth-quarter results, driven by renewed demand for its chips after a slow 2019.
Uber and Hyundai unveiled a flying taxi prototype. The companies presented the electric four-passenger vehicle at CES, saying it would be capable of taking off vertically and, at some point in the future, fly by itself. They plan commercial operations in three years.
Mercedes and Geely announced plans to build electric Smart microcars. They are each investing $390 million in the joint venture. The cars will be manufactured in China, with the German firm responsible for the design, and the Chinese company taking care of the engineering.
Quartz membership
Senior living and millennial living are starting to look alike. From a “Zen-inspired” senior community in California to on-demand meals from Postmates, a new crop of assisted living facilities have more in common with the hospitality industry than with hospitals.
Quartz obsession
Giraffes are the world’s gentlest giants. NASA has carefully investigated their circulatory systems to inform space suit design, and we have filmed their epic neck wrestling battles, but we still don’t know why they hum at night. Graze on everything there is to know about giraffes with the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Don’t go to grad school to learn. Only enroll if you want to improve your salary potential or change careers.
World War III memes are shockingly honest. Kids’ jokes about the end of the world betray a terrifying self-awareness.
Don’t call Taiwan a “renegade province.” That kind of vocabulary tacitly supports a pro-China stance.
Surprising discoveries
Astronomers discovered a “star nursery” in the Milky Way. It gets better—they found the massive star-forming structure because they are building a new map of our galaxy.
A chunk of human brain survived intact for 2,600 years. Researchers found that two proteins helped preserve the soft tissue for millennia.
A Japanese fashion mogul is giving millions of dollars to his Twitter followers. Yusaku Maezawa says it is a “social experiment” to see if the money boosts their happiness.
Jupiter is throwing comets at Earth. Instead of protecting our planet from debris, researchers think Jupiter is creating it.
Antique tractors are hot commodities. Machines built before the 1980s are cheap, sturdy, and don’t come with hard-to-repair computerized parts.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Milky Way maps, and antique tractors 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 brought to you by Luiz Romero and Hasit Shah.