Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Pope Francis releases “Amoris Laetitia” on family issues. Latin for “the Joy of Love,” the 200-page document could have a significant impact on thorny issues (paywall) in the Catholic Church, including contraception, divorce and same-sex relationships. It’s the culmination of the pope’s sweeping three-year examination of how the church meets the needs of families in the 21st century.
SpaceX launches a cargo ship to the International Space Station. It will carry supplies, fungi, live mice (for experiments), and an expandable habitat. The launch is scheduled for 3.30 pm ET today and will be live-streamed.
The Argentine president defends himself. Mauricio Macri said he will appear before a court today to prove his innocence after the leaked Panama Papers revealed he was the director of an offshore company. Prosecutors opened an investigation into the president’s business affairs yesterday.
Peru’s presidential election on Sunday. Keiko Fujimori is currently tied in the polls with leftist candidate Veronika Mendoza. Over 30,000 people staged a march in Lima this week to protest against Keiko, the daughter of former leader Alberto Fujimori, currently incarcerated for corruption and crimes against humanity.
Suitors are lining up for Yahoo. Verizon is reportedly planning a first-round bid for the company’s web business as early as next week and may acquire the company’s Japanese unit to sweeten the offer. The US telecom giant may face competition for Yahoo’s core business from Google and Time.
While you were sleeping
Uber and Lyft battled legal troubles in California. Uber paid $10 million to settle a case on background checks after claiming its driver-vetting procedure was better than in traditional cab firms. And a court rejected Lyft’s $12.25-million settlement offer in a class-action suit by drivers who claimed the company was denying them employee benefits.
US demand for skilled-worker visas outstripped supply—in five days. This is the fourth consecutive year (paywall) that H1-B visa requests exceeded the 85,000 available visas. They are mainly demanded by the tech sector, and the government will now award them through a lottery.
Japan reported its biggest current-account surplus since March 2015. More foreign tourists, cheaper energy imports, and higher income from investments abroad by Japanese companies all contributed to the February surplus, which was the 20th in a row.
German export and housing data looked good. The 1.3% month-on-month rise in February exports was much better than analysts’ predictions. And rising demand and lower interest rates have driven a rise in construction projects (link in German)—January had the biggest month-on-month jump in the number of construction permits granted in a decade.
Quartz obsession interlude
Matt Phillips on the end of globalization as we know it. “The evidence is everywhere. It’s in Donald J. Trump’s ugly comments about Mexican immigrants and his promises to build an impregnable wall between the US and its southern neighbor. It’s manifest in the complaints about an influx of eastern Europeans in the the UK, now fueling the push for Brexit.” Read more.
Matters of debate
Stop worshipping central bankers. Policymakers like Janet Yellen have very little power relative to the attention we pay them.
Roads aren’t ready for self-driving cars. Cities need to be totally redesigned for a driverless future.
The Panama Papers prove that the US can afford a universal basic income. Tax evasion is standing in the way.
Surprising discoveries
The first video-game Olympics will launch in Rio. Britain, Canada, Brazil, and the US are the only entrants so far.
Now I wanna be your… bird? Iggy Pop’s cockatoo is an Instagram celebrity.
Mexico is deploying a dream team for Trump damage control. The Republican presidential candidate has become a real threat to US-Mexico relations.
Arabic will soon become Sweden’s second language. It’s set to overtake Finnish as the number of Arabic-speaking refugees rise.
You might be missing important messages on Facebook. The Messenger app has a hidden second inbox that tries to screen out spam.
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