Atlanta mass shooting, vaccine diplomacy in Africa, fashion’s diversity

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Six Asian women were shot dead in Atlanta. Police arrested Robert Aaron Long, 21, on suspicion of a total of eight murders in three incidents last night.

Uber drivers in the UK are now employees. Following a court ruling last month, they will be entitled to paid vacation, minimum wage, and a pension.

Europe’s drugs regulator insists the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe. More than a dozen countries suspended its use, with politics at play, but some of the reported side effects are ridiculous.

LeBron James became a partner in Fenway Sports Group. The basketball superstar invested in the Boston-based company, which owns the Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club.

Leading designers of social housing won architecture’s biggest prize. French duo Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal took home the Pritzker for their work in redefining low-income homes.

What to watch for

When the US Federal Reserve updates its economic projections today, policy makers are expected to be more upbeat than they were in December. Since then, John Detrixhe says, vaccine rollout has quickened, and Congress has passed president Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. As the economy revs up, investors are on the outlook for inflation that could reach, or exceed, the Fed’s 2% goal faster than expected.

Even so, most experts think the Fed, seeking to enable a sustained recovery and keep interest rates low, will continue to step firmly on the gas pedal. Or, as Sebastien Galy, strategist at Nordea Asset Management, puts it: “The Federal Reserve is widely expected to stay on hold and to fight against the perception that it would tighten early monetary policy.”

Mapping China’s vaccine diplomacy in Africa

China is donating thousands of its vaccines to low- and middle-income countries, including in Africa, in what is viewed as a soft-power push to bolster its global influence.

The number of vaccine doses that China has donated is relatively low—the most doses given freely to an African country are 300,000 to Egypt. Still, as Eric Olander, co-founder and managing editor of the China Africa Project, told Quartz’s Carlos Mureithi, China is owning the narrative of vaccine diplomacy by using “powerful” images to get headlines “on the cheap.”

Checking in on fashion’s diversity efforts

At the end of May last year, as antiracism protests exploded, numerous fashion and beauty companies went online to post their messages of support for the Black community and the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as to pledge their own commitments to change.

In an eye-opening interactive piece, Quartz’s Amanda Shendruk and Marc Bain analyzed 27,000 images from the feeds of 34 fashion and beauty brands to see if they’d made any progress besides that initial Blackout Tuesday posting. Their findings, we’re sorry to say, were disappointing.

✦ Read more about why so many diversity initiatives fail as part of our field guide on how to be an anti-racist company. You’ll need a membership, but we’ve got you covered. Try one out for a week, free.

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Surprising discoveries

Thousands of bitcoin ATMs have been installed in the US. They’re popping up at gas stations, vape shops, and delis.

The NFT record-breaker plans to donate funds from his next sale. Beeple’s money will go towards blockchain and climate change research.

A Japanese soba shop has a new robot chef. It can make 150 servings in an hour.

Scientists discovered why hummingbirds hum. Pressure changes resulting from wing movements are the primary source of the distinctive sound.

Zoom Escaper fills your meetings with annoying noises. No one will want you on the call when they hear your echo and nonstop construction sounds—you’re welcome.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Zoom escape strategies, and Beeple art to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Jane Li, Tripti Lahiri, Liz Webber, and Susan Howson.