Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU votes on reintroducing visa requirements for US citizens. People from Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, and Romania still need visas to visit the US—a decade or more after these countries joined the EU. A resolution calls on the Commission to reimpose visa requirements on Americans until the matter is resolved.
Snap’s IPO. Shares in the loss-making tech startup will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange, in one of the biggest tech offerings in years. The company has reportedly priced 200 million shares at $17 each, exceeding expectations and raising $3.4 billion at a $24 billion valuation.
Sweden decides on military conscription. The country, struggling to find new recruits, will decide whether to make military service mandatory for citizens born from 1999 onwards—the first draft would entail about 4,000 people.
While you were sleeping
Meetings between Jeff Sessions and Russian officials came to light. The US attorney general reportedly had meetings with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak last September, at the height of what intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to alter the US presidential race. Session said during his confirmation hearing that he wasn’t aware of any contact between Trump’s people and the Russians. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi called for Sessions to resign.
Lyft pitched investors on a new funding round. The Uber rival wants to raise at least $500 million, which would value the ride-hailing service at around $6 billion. The cash infusion could help it seize the moment as Uber contends with image problems involving its treatment of drivers and female executives.
Recession-hit Brazil lost its thirst for beer. Sales in AB InBev’s second-largest market fell again, making this the seventh straight quarter that the brewing behemoth missed analysts’ estimates. CEO Carlos Brito may be crying in his beer—he won’t get his bonus this year. On the bright side, the company said savings from its merger with SAB Miller will likely reach $2.8 billion.
Tesla revved up in China. The electric carmaker saw Chinese sales triple to more than $1 billion, good but still way less than the $4 billion revenue it made in the US. China’s love affair with Tesla could soon be in danger, now that Hong Kong plans to remove the purchase-tax waiver on electric vehicles. That will make a new Tesla as pricey as a new Mercedes.
Relations between Malaysia and North Korea turned even more sour. Malaysia suddenly scrapped visa-free travel for North Koreans as the rift between the two countries widens over the assassination of Kim Jong-nam—the half-brother of Kim Yong-un—in Kuala Lumpur airport. Kim was killed using a deadly banned nerve agent, which experts suspect was made in a sophisticated state weapons lab.
Quartz obsession interlude
Chase Purdy on the poultry industry’s second thoughts about fast-growing chicken. “Food companies are signaling they want to [change] the process to make life easier for the chickens and to also make their meat taste better. Doing so, though, requires scientists dive into and tinker with chicken genetics to create a new, slower-growing model of bird. That fundamentally changes what winds up on dinner plates.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Young people think all news is biased. They’ve learned to verify information through multiple sources.
Is social media a civil right? The US Supreme Court is considering a case about a sex offender banned from Facebook.
Governments must keep funding foreign aid programs. We all suffer the effects when fragile countries fail.
Surprising discoveries
A stowaway mouse grounded a BA flight to San Francisco. The crew told passengers that planes can’t take off with mice on board.
Lego’s new heroes are the women of NASA. The toymaker’s new figures are based on scientists, engineers, and astronauts.
Public pools contain up to 75 liters (20 gallons) of urine. But hotel jacuzzis are far, far worse.
A Gambian dishwasher is the new co-owner of Noma. Ali Sonko is “the heart and soul” of the famed Copenhagen restaurant.
Gray squirrels are being baited with Nutella. Conservationists in the UK lace the hazelnut spread with contraceptives to curb the invasive species.
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