Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Damage from Cyclone Debbie in northeast Australia. The category 4 juggernaut hit land with gusts of 270 km per hour (167 miles per hour). It could prove as destructive as 2011’s Cyclone Yasi, which tore homes from their foundations. About 30,000 people were told to evacuate, and emergency service workers have been sent to the region.
Donald Trump rolls back US environmental regulations. An executive order is expected to reverse Obama-era restrictions on greenhouse-gas emissions from coal-fired and natural-gas power plants. Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, claims the “pro-growth pro-environment” order will bring back manufacturing jobs and cut electricity costs.
Britain finally gets a fraud-proof coin. The Royal Mint will release 1.5 billion one-pound coins featuring a 12-sided bimetallic design, along with a hologram and other anti-counterfeiting measures. An estimated 45 million fakes coins are in circulation.
While you were sleeping
Didi-Chuxing mulled over a $6 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group. China’s ride-sharing leader bought out Uber’s domestic operations last year and now enjoys a dominant position. If accepted, the funding will be single largest for a Chinese tech startup on record, and it would dilute existing backers such as Apple.
Facebook hired an Apple veteran to oversee hardware at its VR division Oculus. CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees virtual reality as the next major computing platform after mobile phones. He wants Michael Hillman, previously chief architect for Apple’s desktop computers, to help take VR hardware mainstream.
Chihuahua’s governor said his state is unable to tackle organized crime. He said he’s requested federal resources to help police fight the drug cartels. His comments followed last week’s murder of journalist Miroslava Breach, who’d been investigating links between the cartels and local politicians in the Mexican state.
Las Vegas will get an NFL team. National Football League owners approved a plan to move the Raiders, now in Oakland, California, to the gambling mecca. About $750 million in public funding will go toward an upcoming $1.9 billion stadium. Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf said she was proud about “refusing to use public money to subsidize stadium construction.”
South Korea revised its 2016 growth to 2.8%. Last year Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew a bit more than previously thought. The nation’s central bank said the manufacturing sector expanded 2.3% rather than the previously estimated 1.7%. The revision means the nation’s GDP last year was unchanged from 2015, rather than lower.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on Nike’s multi-billion-dollar empire that is literally built on air. “The idea to expose the innards of the sneaker was the brainchild of now-renowned designer Tinker Hatfield, who had begun his career as an architect. He was inspired by the Centre Pompidou, the modern-art museum in Paris whose creators left its interior architecture exposed.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Health-care reform should be about supply, not demand. A drug that reduces cancer deaths by 10% could save $5 trillion in the United States alone.
The world needs more followers. Yet universities are exclusively focused on glorifying leadership skills (paywall).
The Nintendo Switch could save your relationship. The hybrid console allows for conflicting forms of entertainment to coexist.
Surprising discoveries
Adam Sandler’s ultra-lowbrow movies are huge hits for Netflix. The comedies score poorly with the critics but are the company’s biggest original film releases.
A Swedish hotel is offering a refund if you divorce within 12 months of your stay. The offer is meant to emphasize the importance of investing in one’s relationship.
Italian detectives solved a 5,000-year-old murder mystery. Ötzi the mummified iceman was shot in the back with an arrow (paywall).
Thieves stole a million-dollar coin from a Berlin museum. The “Big Maple Leaf” Canadian coin weighs 100 kg (220 lb) and is 99.9% pure gold.
Swedish government offices were targets of a stink attack. Pranksters put the putrefied herring known as surströmming through their mail slots.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, quirky hotel offers, and caveman murder mysteries to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android.