Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
What is Uber? The European Court of Justice will determine whether the ride-hailing giant is a digital service (as claimed) or a transport company—a crucial distinction that will determine how Uber is regulated. The company has been struggling to find its footing in the EU, amid opposition from local taxi operators.
Tiffany loses its sparkle. Analysts are expecting less than dazzling results (paywall) when the high-end jeweler reports its third-quarter earnings before the bell. As well as suffering from falling sales in the luxury sector, Tiffany now faces declining traffic at its flagship Fifth Avenue store—thanks to increased security surrounding Donald Trump next door in Trump Tower.
A “Day of Disruption” over minimum wage. Sparked by the Fight for $15 activist group, workers at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and elsewhere will go on strike to demand a higher minimum wage. Flights are not expected to be cancelled. Workers in the fast-food and home-care sectors will also take the day off.
An update on the US economy. The commerce department will release revised third-quarter GDP data. The economy is expected to have increased at a 3% annual rate after expanding at a 2.9% pace in the second quarter.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump picked an Obamacare critic as his health secretary. Tom Price, a former orthopedic surgeon, has advocated replacing Obamacare with a plan of tax credits, health savings accounts, and lawsuit reforms. Trump is also expected to name consultant Seema Verma to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
A charter plane crashed in Colombia. With 81 people on board, including members of Brazil’s premier league Chapecoense soccer team, the plane reportedly suffered electronic failure and went down in the mountainous region outside Medellin. The team was due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana this week. There were five survivors, though one died in the hospital.
South Korea’s president finally buckled. After weeks of protests in Seoul over the president’s relationship with Choi Soon-sil, Park Geun-hye said she is willing to resign and has asked parliament to help her find a way to do that. Choi is accused of using her friendship with Park to extort money from South Korean companies. The market breathed a sigh of relief: The South Korean won rose 0.2% against the dollar.
Lufthansa grounded another 800 flights. The pilot strike over pay, which has been going on for almost a week now, will affect hundreds of short- and long-haul flights today and tomorrow. The airline yesterday failed to get a German court to block the strike, which has now affected 525,000 passengers, grounded more than 4,000 flights, and cost the company about $10 million per day.
Samsung Electronics confirmed it will look at splitting in two. Bowing to investor pressure, the South Korean electronics giant said it was considering dividing into a holding firm and an operational company. It also announced plans to increase dividends and continue its share buyback. The holding firm would become the main ownership vehicle for the family of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee.
Quartz obsession interlude
Adam Epstein on why TV shows like “Westworld” cannot outsmart the internet. “In the age of social media, TV writers have to cater to the casual, socially unengaged viewer while simultaneously servicing the diehards who share theories and devour every scrap of content related to the show. From inside that kind of internet bubble, a show can look entirely predictable—even if it still offers the average viewer plenty of surprises.” Read more here. (Spoiler alert!)
Matters of debate
Humans should colonize Saturn’s largest moon. Titan has a protective atmosphere like Earth, though colonists would still require oxygen and a very warm jacket.
Silicon Valley has an empathy problem. It fails to understand those whose lives are shaped—and disturbed—by its technological advances.
Donald Trump made the best argument for a recount. He says the democracy that elected him is a sham.
Surprising discoveries
Scurvy made a comeback in Australia. The vitamin C deficiency associated with ancient sea explorers has been found in diabetes patients in Sydney.
Bitcoin is a lifeline in Venezuela’s faltering economy. Locals are mining the crypto-currency with the help of state-subsidized electricity.
A Holocaust survivor’s appeal went viral. The 89-year-old asked Austrians to not elect the Freedom Party candidate as president, saying the right-wing group “brings out the basest in people.”
Fake news almost took down Abraham Lincoln. Misleading reports in 1864 said the president wanted to intermarry blacks and white to yield an American super-race.
Belgium and the Netherlands peacefully traded plots of land. It was easier than ironing out the jurisdictional difficulties.
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