Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The European Court of Justice rules on Islamic headscarf bans. The EU’s top court will decide whether an employer can prohibit staff from wearing the Islamic headscarf at work. The ruling will be watched especially closely in France, where one of the cases originates, and where the far-right National Front party is expected to do well in upcoming elections.
It’s time to celebrate everyone’s favorite ratio. Pi Day (3/14, in some countries at least) will be marked with NASA’s pi challenge, bakery discounts on pie, and MIT handing out acceptance letters. Mathematicians care about pi because “it puts infinity within reach.”
China flirts with the TPP. Chinese delegates will attend a ministerial-level meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership in Chile, but the country has not changed its position on the trade agreement. With the TPP all but dead in the water, China hopes to push its own rival Asia-Pacific pact.
While you were sleeping
UK lawmakers cleared the way for Article 50. The House of Commons overturned amendments aimed at guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK and giving Parliament a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal. Prime minister Theresa May is now free to trigger Britain’s EU exit anytime, though it appears she might wait a few weeks.
The numbers came in for the health-care plan put forward by US Republicans. The nonpartisan congressional budget office concluded that 24 million fewer Americans would have health insurance within the next decade under the GOP proposal, resulting in savings of $337 billion. Premiums would rise sharply until 2018, after which they would decrease—because bare-bones insurance plans would cover fewer health costs.
Homes sales surged in China. The value of new homes sold rose 23% in January and February from the same period a year ago, despite government efforts to cool the market. Policymakers are worried a sudden, sharp correction in property values could hurt the economy.
Toshiba missed its reporting deadline for third-quarter earnings—again. The electronics conglomerate also postponed the report a month ago, amid problems at its Westinghouse subsidiary, which develops nuclear power plants. It risks being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange if it fails to share the numbers after its second extension.
Quartz obsession interlude
Cassie Werber on the end of an era of American global domination of language: “With the election of Donald Trump as US president, however, the country’s rhetoric has become decidedly more isolationist. Murphy asks both whether its words and its culture will flow so freely abroad as before, and whether the rest of the world will be as receptive to them.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Preet Bharara is no hero. The recently fired US attorney for New York was tough on corrupt politicians, but he was soft on Wall Street.
Progressive economics will not defeat the extreme right. Robust social welfare programs are not enough to tamp down xenophobia.
South Korea’s protest culture is nothing to envy. It shows that Koreans strongly distrust their leaders and institutions.
Surprising discoveries
Robots with emotions are creepier than those without. Researchers have detected an “uncanny valley of the mind” that may influence future designs.
A man in Las Vegas was arrested after attempting to murder a mannequin. Police set up a sting operation after the brutal killings of two homeless men.
Dogs are surprisingly good liars. A clever study exposed their ability to deceive people to increase the likelihood they would get a treat.
NASA found an Indian lunar probe that had been missing for years. The search involved techniques that will be useful in tracking space junk.
A DNA computer has a trillion siblings and replicates itself to make a decision. It could explore solutions exponentially faster than modern devices.
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