Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
EU officials talk counter-terrorism with Silicon Valley. They want help from US tech giants in fighting terrorist propaganda online and will meet with leaders at Google, Facebook, and Twitter, among others. The California confabs will come at an awkward time, after WikiLeaks apparently revealed ways the CIA hacks smartphones and other devices.
The US jobs report. The economy is expected to have added more than 200,000 jobs in February. It’s too early to hold the impressive numbers up as proof of Trump’s promises to bring back jobs—the trend is continuing from Obama’s term.
A big decision on a bitcoin ETF. US securities regulators are due to decide whether the cryptocurrency can have its own exchange-traded fund. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Facebook fame are trying to convince the government to let more investors access the borderless cryptocurrency.
While you were sleeping
South Korea removed its president. Park Geun-hye became the nation’s first president to be ousted by impeachment. On live TV a panel of justices upheld a motion to dismiss her over one of the biggest influence-peddling scandals in the country’s history. The ruling triggers new elections, with Park’s replacement to be determined in the next 60 days.
A huge oil discovery was made in Alaska. Spain’s Repsol announced the discovery of 1.2 billion barrels of oil on the state’s North Slope—the largest US onshore find in 30 years. First production could come as soon as 2021, helping to stem declines in the state.
US household net worth reached a record $92.8 trillion. A surging stock market and steady climb in home prices added more than $2 trillion to household balance sheets in the fourth quarter of last year, the US Federal Reserve reported. The figure has risen by $38 trillion since the first quarter of 2009.
MGM Holdings neared a deal to take sole ownership of the pay-TV channel Epix. It’s been investing heavily in its TV business recently. While Epix lags behind HBO and Showtime, it does have millions of subscribers, shows like Graves, and an online streaming service. A deal would likely value Epix at between $1 billion to $2 billion, Reuters reported.
A man attacked people with an ax at Düsseldorf’s main train station. Seven were injured and three are in critical condition after the assailant appeared to target people at random. German authorities said the man, from “the former Yugoslavia,” appeared to have psychological problems. They added, ”We are not using the words ‘rampage’ or ‘terror.'”
Quartz obsession interlude
Sarah Kessler on the optimist’s guide to the robot apocalypse: “Our modern fear that robots will steal all the jobs fits a classic script. Nearly 500 years ago, Queen Elizabeth I cited the same fear when she denied an English inventor named William Lee a patent for an automated knitting contraption.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
People who speak multiple languages make the best employees. Their malleable minds create the potential for more original thinking.
Google’s next big business isn’t a moonshot. The company thinks its AI expertise will give it an edge in the lucrative cloud computing sector.
The world needs more cable cars. The quaint mode of transit is a game-changer that can boost tourism and improve troubled regions.
Surprising discoveries
Most US restaurants get their truffles from a 24-year-old. Ian Purkayastha sources luxury goods like suckling pig and sea urchin for Michelin-starred chefs.
Scientists have discovered the world’s oldest crocodile egg. The remarkably well-preserved fossil dates back 125 million years.
NASA is growing potatoes for Mars. A project with a Peruvian research center successfully grew tubers in an environment that mimicked the Red Planet.
Women are essential to the global khat trade. The plant, chewed for its amphetamine-like properties, is grown in East Africa and consumed all over the world.
China leads the world in self-made female billionaires. An estimated 56 out of 88 call China home, led by real estate magnate Chen Lihua, worth $7.2 billion.
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