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Kevin McCarthy was ousted as US House speaker. A far-right coalition voted for his removal in a historic first, sewing both political and economic uncertainty.
The Federal Trade Commission alleged that Amazon designed an unfair algorithm to outprice other retailers. The Wall Street Journal reported that the regulator is going after so-called “Project Nessie” in its antitrust suit.
Meta is laying off metaverse employees. Staff in its Reality Labs division are being cut, according to Reuters, in another potential sign of trouble for Mark Zuckerberg’s augmented reality ambitions.
McDonald’s and Wendy’s won big in court. A US federal judge dismissed claims that a reasonable person would expect a fast food burger to be as big as it looked in an ad.
How the other half lives
On Monday, the UK announced that it’s raising the minimum wage to at least £11 ($13.40) per hour. That sent us on a little bit of a road trip around the world, tracking which countries pay the highest and lowest minimum wages and converting that into dollars. (A real minimum wage takes inflation into account.)
As you can see, the UK’s change will put it up among the highest. The US is somewhere in the middle of these lists, at $7.30. See how other countries stack up.
Masking systematic exploitation
“I was excited,” Rachel said of the weeks before she boarded her flight to Tallahassee in August 2022. “It’s the US. It’s the most glamorous place.”
The US means opportunity for many foreign nurses—more pay, more education, more career advancement. Along with Type Investigations, and with funding from the Pulitzer Center, we spent a year following nurses from the Philippines laboring under exploitative contracts.
The final installment in our series Merchants of Care follows migrant nurses in Florida and other states, who were threatened with lawsuits or reports to immigration authorities if they wanted to leave their positions, an experience one described as “exhausting” and “demoralizing.” Meanwhile, the nurses watch waves of other skilled migrants arrive, full of hope. Read the story.
One important number: 10%
Share of men who experience postpartum depression after a new baby enters the picture, according to a 2019 study
Sadness, anxiety, and self-doubt are classic postpartum depression symptoms we’re used to associating with women in the months after giving birth. But new research is showing that the reasons for the phenomenon aren’t just hormonal, and such a dramatic shift to a lifestyle (including, hello, lack of sleep) affects men too. And men suffering from postpartum depression can see real changes to their work performance. Rather than pretend it doesn’t exist, savvy employers are adapting accordingly.
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Surprising discoveries
Disco balls have a scientific purpose. You can use them for safely observing the sun during an eclipse, assuming you don’t dance into a pal.
We’ve been thinking about galaxy brightness all wrong. Images of unusually glittery early galaxies—or, one could say, nature’s disco balls—brought back by the James Webb telescope threw scientists for a loop until they figured out what was going on.
Kellogg’s, soon to be renamed Kellanova, prefers snacks to cereal. Sugary flakes used to be the company’s bread and butter, but now its cereal division is toast.
Taco Bell wants to be the first to see you go. Its drive-thru is the one to beat, says a wildly thorough report.
X has signed Paris Hilton to make videos and do live shopping events. For our younger readers, Hilton is famous for being famous around about when Twitter was still in its infancy.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, Paris Hilton memories, and disco ball eclipse glasses to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Susan Howson and Julia Malleck.