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Here’s what you need to know
US federal student loan repayments resumed. Some 28 million borrowers will need to begin paying bills this month after a three-year pandemic pause.
California governor Gavin Newsom selected Laphonza Butler to fill Dianne Feinstein’s vacant seat. The 44-year-old will be the only Black woman serving in the US Senate, and the first openly LGBTQ+ lawmaker to represent the state in the upper chamber.
Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial begins today in New York. The former president’s real estate empire is at stake, and the presiding judge does not have a sympathetic track record.
The Panama Canal Authority reduced the daily number of ships allowed to pass through the waterway. The key maritime route is aiming to conserve water amid a serious drought.
Yes, climate change is making El Niño more extreme
This year, El Niño—the climate pattern that is characterized by warm surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific ocean—is back, and with a vengeance. There’s a reason for that: Rising global temperatures are setting a hotter baseline for this El Niño, which naturally warms the Earth even more.
How does this year’s event compare to previous ones?
7: El Niño events since 2000
34: Provinces in Indonesia, the majority of which experienced a severe drought in the 2014-16 El Niño season, the last and strongest one since 2000
60 million: People in Southern Africa who were dependent on food aid because of famine during the 2014-16 El Niño season
What would happen if the current El Niño proves to be even stronger than the last one? Quartz’s Clarisa Diaz looks back across the seven seasons for some clues.
Are rich countries to blame for Nigeria’s medical brain drain?
“My safety means nothing to them. The government is not concerned about me.”—T., a nurse in Nigeria, speaking about the country’s public officials
The pressures within Nigeria’s health system have primed its nurses to leave the country. But as the US and Europe draw healthcare workers from the places that can least afford to lose them, that exodus is increasing the burdens on the nurses left behind and leaving them exhausted, burned out—and looking for a way out, too.
Quartz tells the story of T. and other nurses in Nigeria as part of our series Merchants of Care, published with support from the Pulitzer Center and in partnership with Type Investigations. Read T.’s full story.
Pop quiz: You might know Meta’s new AI assistants
Which of these celebrity personalities *isn’t* an inspiration for Meta’s new AI assistants?
A. Snoop Dogg
B. LeBron James
C. Kendall Jenner
D. Naomi Osaka
Find the answer here, along with why it doesn’t matter too much whether Meta’s latest AI investment succeeds, as long as it collects data on how people use it.
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😞 …and Indian brokers are crushing the dreams of migrant nurses.
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Surprising discoveries
We can thank earthworms for 140 million tons of food each year. The invertebrates’ contribution to grain harvests are the same as Russia’s.
Scientists made tiny flying robots that use the art of origami to shape shift mid-flight. The solar-powered machines can change from folded to unfolded in about 25 milliseconds.
AI detected more fairy circles around the globe. The ground imprints, which usually occur in arid regions, were found in new locations across 15 countries.
It’s getting too hot in Texas to barbecue… Makers of the Southern staple are struggling to stay afloat as extreme heat and high meat prices smoke them out.
…and to dive deep into lakes. Record-low water levels in the state are revealing hidden caves and the remains of bygone houses from a century ago.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, the productivity of an earthworm, and the grace of flying origami robots to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner and Julia Malleck.