Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Hollywood kicks off its award season. Jimmy Fallon will host The Golden Globes, the boozy Oscars “pre-game,” on Sunday night (Jan.8). The musical “La La Land” is a favorite, with seven nominations, followed by drama “Moonlight” with six. For TV, this year brings bad news to video streaming services: while they are spending more than ever on production, the number of nominations for Netflix and Amazon dropped from last year.
Washington braces for a big political week. The Republican-controlled US Senate is scheduled to hold nine hearings for nominees to Donald Trump’s cabinet, starting Tuesday. Democrats are criticizing the process for its hastiness, and fear logistical pile-ups. Several committees have not yet received required conflict of interest and financial documentation for the candidates. Environmental groups around the country plan to protest on Monday against Trump’s picks for secretary of state, energy and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The iPhone turns ten. Apple’s founder and then-CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone on Jan. 9 2007, declaring that his company was re-inventing the phone. Today, it is Apple’s biggest source of revenue, although sales slumped in 2016 as the market has become more saturated with smartphones.
Over the weekend
Four were killed in Jerusalem attack. Three women and one man were killed, and 17 others injured in Jerusalem, after a Palestinian man drove a lorry into a group of soldiers, according to police. It is being described as a terror attack.
The Fort Lauderdale shooter could face the death penalty. Esteban Santiago, the National Guard veteran suspected of killing five people and injuring six in a shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida could face the death penalty after US prosecutors charged him.
Britain wants its border controls back. British prime minister Theresa May said Brexit would mean leaving the European single market in order to get back full control of Britain’s borders again. She also said Britain would work out trade deals with the EU.
Ex-Iranian president Rafsanjani died. Iranian moderate former president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has died, aged 82. A former close aide to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he went on to be president from 1989 to 1997.
Quartz obsession interlude
Jenni Avins on a genius cooking strategy for preparing meals for the entire week. “The cooking system designed by Hesser and Stubbs aims to simplify the process of grocery shopping, menu-planning, and cooking. But rather than compelling cooks to whip up a whole new dish every day or two, the book advises readers to invest a few hours of weekend kitchen time to create meal components to be mixed and matched throughout the week.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Hyperlocal currencies are great in theory. But in practice, creating parallel currencies to help support local businesses don’t often achieve that very aim. This is due to liquidity and trust barriers.
It pays to be brutally honest in the workplace. An American management guru has been advising British companies to encourage their employees to give each other more frank feedback in the workplace. Some workers find it quite liberating.
Your 401(k) is still a quite good deal. There has been some pining for a return to defined benefit pensions but by making a few tweaks to your 401 (k) plan it’s often a much better package.
South Africa’s beaches are still racially political spaces. Black people flocking to South Africa’s many beaches is still not a normal sight for some—in a country that’s 80% black.
Surprising discoveries
A funeral of an official in Thailand featured 50 pole dancers on colorful Jeeps. According to local custom, the more people attend a funeral, the bigger honor it is for the deceased.
London breached its 2017 pollution limit in just five days. The year is off to a bad start: according to the law, the city can only cross this threshold 18 times in 365 days.
A Brazilian grandmother for years accidentally prayed to Elrond, an elf from “The Lord of the Rings.” She thought she was worshipping St. Anthony.
The fences that were erected to stop refugees getting into Europe are threatening the continent’s wildlife. The barriers cause inbreeding, weaker animals and dropping populations.
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