Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Super Mario’s report. The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, presents the bank’s annual report. Investors are keen to know if the ECB will extend its current bond-buying program beyond March next year, when it’s due to end.
What crashed Europe’s Mars lander? The European Space Agency is expecting a report on the October mishap involving the Schiaparelli probe. Problems with the parachute and thrusters are believed to have sent the craft crashing into the red planet.
Anthem has its day in US court. The health insurer will defend its $48 billion acquisition (paywall) of Cigna Corp., which the Justice Department is challenging on the grounds that it reduces competition. The deal would make the combined company the biggest health insurer in the US.
Correction: In Friday’s brief we said Nov. 18 was Black Friday in the US. It is of course Nov. 25.
Over the weekend
The race for the French presidency began. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy conceded defeat and François Fillon, who was polling at 8% earlier this month, is leading, in the first-ever presidential primary for Les Républicains. With the left weak, and Front National’s Marine Le Pen lurking, the winner of the run-off between Fillon and Alain Juppé is seen as the likely victor in next year’s election.
Angela Merkel said she will run again. The German chancellor, dubbed the liberal West’s last defender (paywall), will run for a fourth term next year. After letting in 1 million migrants, Merkel is under pressure from some of the same populist forces that led to Brexit and Donald Trump. If she wins, Merkel will match the record of Helmut Kohl, Germany’s longest-serving chancellor.
Eastern Aleppo’s last hospital was destroyed. Up to 250,000 residents have been left without access to surgery or specialist care after Russian-led airstrikes pummeled the Syrian city. Hospitals have, in the past, reopened after heavy bombardment, but this destruction may be too severe to recover from.
Facebook gave London a great big “like.” The company said it will hire 500 new workers when it opens its new office in the capital in 2017, doubling its UK staff. That comes days after Google’s pledge to employ an additional 3,000 employees in London by going ahead with its planned new headquarters there.
Mitt Romney met Donald Trump… After months attacking each other, Trump (who called Romney a “failed candidate”) and Romney (who dubbed Trump a “fraud”) looked past their differences. Romney is now being considered for secretary of state.
…and Mike Pence went to the theater. The vice president-elect was heckled and booed when he took his seat to watch the hit Broadway hip-hop musical Hamilton. The cast addressed Pence directly, asking him to “to work on behalf of all of us.” Trump demanded an apology from the cast, but Pence told Fox News he wasn’t offended and praised the show.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on the growth of sneaker culture as he attended Sneaker Con. “They’re cool on a rapidly growing scale, and the rarest, most desirable sneakers are status symbols in much the same way as designer bags can be—the great difference being that the ‘sneakerheads’ who covet sneakers in this way are mostly men.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
A Trump trade war might not be a bad thing. Mild tariffs could actually help the US domestic economy.
It’s fair to publicly shame Trump supporters. If you vote for a bigot who brags about assaulting women, you should expect the consequences.
Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders isn’t a real danger to the EU. The powerful Dutch eurosceptics massing against deeper integration are a much more serious, and plausible, threat (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
The world fell in love with a polar bear petting a dog. But the viral feel-good video actually showed a predator playing with its prey.
Russia’s latest foodie craze involves a giant rodent. The nutria, also known as coypu or river rat, has found its way onto plates at several Moscow restaurants.
Taxis are encouraging Tunisians to read. An online book-sharing platform has put books in cabs in collaboration with an Uber-style cab-hailing service.
Chinese websites block searches for “Fatty Kim the Third.” Many in China have mockingly used the term to describe the rotund North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
A woman fought off a sword-wielding robber with a plastic fork. The woman pushed the robber and chased him out of her shop—in Glasgow, Scotland, of course.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tasty rodents, and rare sneakers to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our iPhone app.