Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Toyota unveils its “budget Tesla,” the Prius Prime. The plug-in electric prototype will be shown at the New York International Auto Show, packed with gadgets like a giant touchscreen, heads-up display, and cordless charging support.
Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington state hold Democratic caucuses. Washington is the biggest prize, with 101 delegates up for grabs. Bernie Sanders is expected to do well, though even a string of wins won’t be enough to overcome Hillary Clinton’s lead.
The markets go on holiday. Most major exchanges in Europe and the Americas are closed today for Good Friday, as are many in Asia. Some government offices and private businesses are also closed.
While you were sleeping
Belgium and France ramped up terror arrests. Belgian police detained six as-yet-unnamed individuals as part of their investigations into the explosions in Brussels. Meanwhile, French police launched an anti-terror investigation in Paris after arresting a man for allegedly planning a separate attack.
Kerry and Putin met in Moscow. The leaders agreed to an August deadline for completing a draft constitution for Syria and a political transition plan for the Assad regime. The two did not discuss whether or not Assad himself would remain in power.
China continued its media crackdown. After it published an open letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation, 17 individuals that worked for online media outlet Wujie News have gone missing, including the letter’s author. The site has also closed down.
Microsoft’s millennial chatbot became a racist jerk after less than a day on Twitter. “Tay,” modeled on a typical teenage girl, used a machine learning algorithm to interact with people—but what she learned was how to be hateful. After Twitter users taught Tay to repeat snippets of text containing vile language, Microsoft took the bot offline.
Volkswagen missed a court deadline. Nearly six months after admitting that millions of its cars violated clean air laws, the automaker was supposed to present a plan for fixing the dirty vehicles to a US court. The presiding judge gave Volkwagen an extension until Apr. 21 to come up with a solution.
Quartz markets haiku
Market’s closed Friday
In observance of Easter
Long weekend for stocks
Quartz obsession interlude
Aamna Mohdin on how borders hurt Europe’s counterterrorism strategy. “Some have blamed the European Union (EU) itself for yet another catastrophic attack on a member state’s soil. But the Brussels attacks suggests the problem is the complete opposite: it’s Europe failure to work together across the region that’s the issue.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The cage-free egg revolution is here. It reflects a changing view of the moral universe.
There is a strategic logic to suicide attacks. Recent bombings in Europe show that ISIL is cornered in its home territory.
Should parents stunt the growth of their disabled children? Some say it’s the only ethical way to care for them.
Surprising discoveries
New Zealand wasted $17 million choosing a new flag. A decisive majority voted to keep the old one.
Russia banned a Polish “Communist Monopoly” board game. It paints Soviet-era shopping in an unflattering light.
China’s biggest broker spent $3.2 billion to prop up the stock market. That’s more than Citic Securities earned for all of 2015.
A North Carolina man was arrested for failing to return a videotape 14 years ago. The rental store has since closed.
Angolans used Facebook to create a secret file-sharing network. They used a “Free Basics” version of the social media network.
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