Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereâs what you need to know
Elon Musk made a surprise trip to China yesterday. He spoke with Chinese officials about deploying Teslaâs Full Self-Driving technology in the country.
Paramount Globalâs CEO is expected to be out as early as today. The media companyâs board is prepared to fire Bob Bakish as it pushes ahead with its potential Skydance merger.
The Internal Revenue Serviceâs free Direct File pilot worked. The service attracted a fair amount of attention â more than 3.3 million people in the U.S. checked to see if theyâd be eligible â and could have big implications for TurboTax and H&R Block.
AI pushed Google to a $2 trillion market cap. The companyâs parent Alphabet crossed the threshold for market capitalization on Friday, thanks to a stock surge powered partly by its work with generative artificial intelligence.
Gyms arenât sweating over Ozempic
You may think that a class of drugs that has been shown to help users lose 15% to 20% of their body weight may put the fitness industry on edge. But some gyms are actually embracing these slimming medications.
A number of upscale and lifestyle gyms, including Equinox, Life Time Fitness, and Xponential Fitness, have launched programs over the past few months that specifically cater to people who are on or want to take weight loss drugs.
It shouldnât âbe bad for the fitness industry to have a large population of people getting into better physical shape,â said Michael Crandall, a personal trainer at E by Equinox at Hudson Yards who piloted and developed the upscale gymâs Ozempic protocol. âThe natural progression from weight loss is better physical fitness.â
Read more about why lifestyle gyms are embracing Ozempic.
Trump Media stock has been on a rollercoaster
In the month since its debut on the Nasdaq, Trump Media & Technology Groupâs market value has soared to almost $10 billion, and plunged to below $4 billion. The volatile stock performance has been driven by a âmeme stockâ-like frenzy (not unlike what Reddit also saw), and regulatory disclosures that shaved several billions of dollars off of its market cap.
Quartzâs Rocio Fabbro looked at just how many ups and downs Trump Media stock saw in a month.
More from Quartz
đ A Tesla executive sold $181.5 million worth of stock shortly after quitting
đ« Apple and Google pulled several AI apps that advertised deepfake nudes
đ Fast-fashion giant Shein is the latest to face the EUâs strictest digital regulations
â Starbucks and its workers union have made âsignificant progressâ in contract bargaining
đ» Snap stock popped 30% after a sunny first-quarter earnings report
đ„ Bird flu traces have been found in cowsâ milk. Should we be worried?
Surprising discoveries
Saudi Arabia is building a megacity in the desert. But the massive, sci-fi-esque project isnât going well at all.
A snow crab heist took place in Pennsylvania. A truck was ransacked, with 100 cases worth $300,000 of the delicacy stolen.
A 44-floor skyscraper in St. Louis sold for $3.5 million dollars. Back in 2006, it went for $205 million.
Using your face and thumb to unlock your phone isnât as safe as you may think. A recent ruling found police were lawful when they forcibly used a suspectâs fingerprint to unlock a phone.
A giant cruise ship was cut in half to make it bigger. It only took two months to make it 50 feet (15 meters) longer.
Did you know we have two premium weekend emails, too? One gives you analysis on the weekâs news, and one provides the best reads from Quartz and elsewhere to get your week started right. Become a member or give membership as a gift!
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, megacity blueprints, and uses for downtown skyscrapers to talk@qz.com. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.