Trump’s school-safety plans, “Beast from the East,” Genghis Khan upset

[Quartz - qz.com]() Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today The White House unveils new school-safety proposals. [According to CNN]( the proposals, drawn up in the wake of last month’s Florida school shooting, are due to be announced today. The National Rifle Association reportedly wants the White House to [pursue school-safety programs]( rather than raise the age limit for buying certain firearms. Donald Trump may announce new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Global markets could be roiled if the president follows through on trade threats to [slap new tariffs]( (paywall) on these imports. Amid a late scramble, White House insiders also said that the big announcement could be postponed. A super-sophisticated weather satellite heads for space. Carried by an Atlas V rocket, the GOES-S [will allow for better detection]( storms, wildfires, and other dangerous natural phenomena in close to real time. The launch window from Cape Canaveral, Florida opens at [5pm ET](. Sponsor content by AT&T Business For remote workers, 20% of life is showing up...to the office. Research shows that employees might be more productive working outside the office some of the time, but working remotely all the time may not be the solution either. It turns out, [there’s a sweet spot]( for how often you should work away from your colleagues. While you were sleeping The “Beast from the East” brought Britain to a near standstill. Airports, schools, and roads are closed after [snow storms from Siberia]( brought the worst weather since 1991. Weather services issued red warnings, urging people to stay home, as temperatures dropped to [-10° C]( (14 °F) in places. Heavy snowfall also caused traffic chaos across France and [closed Geneva airport](. Martin Sorrell said 2017 was “not pretty” for WPP. The chief executive of the [world’s biggest advertising agency]( said he planned to simplify the group’s structure but forecast no growth for the year ahead. In 2017, WPP suffered a 1% fall in net sales and its worst annual performance since the financial crisis. Dyson boomed in Asia. Demand for the company’s [vacuum cleaners]( hand dryers, and air purifiers among Asia’s fast-growing middle class boosted Dyson’s annual sales by 40% in 2017, and bagged a profit of £801 million ($1.1 billion). All that extra money will come in useful to fund Dyson’s electric car ambitions—it plans to build one by 2020. The US Senate passed the Taiwan Travel Act. The legislation [makes it easier]( for top officials from Taiwan to visit the US to meet their counterparts, and vice versa. Though the bill [has angered China]( considers Taiwan a wayward province and not a sovereign nation—Trump will likely sign it into law. Vladimir Putin pledged to tackle poverty in Russia. In his[annual state of the union address]( the Russian president said the country needed a breakthrough in its living standards and to increase employment and life expectancy. It was his final speech before the election in 17 days—[he’s expected to win](. Quartz obsession interlude Lynsey Chutel on one of the world’s most elitist sports in one of the poorest places on earth. “The [equestrian] club’s willingness to encourage new riders, albeit still wealthy ones, demonstrates a self-awareness of its place in this society. Still, should Lubumbashi’s wealthy feel any moral obligation to the city’s poor, any more so than the wealthy of any other city?” [Read more here](. Matters of debate Recent stock market volatility had almost nothing to do with economic fundamentals. Human brains [like narratives]( but that doesn’t make these causal links true. If you want your kid to get a good job, let them play more. Play builds the foundations of social, emotional, and [academic learning](. Autonomous cars won’t fix congested cities. We should rather focus on [moving greater numbers of people]( (paywall) by optimizing city grids for mass transit. Surprising discoveries The ‘African Mona Lisa’ sold for £1.2million ($1.6 million) at auction. The painting of [Tutu, a Nigerian princess,]( for decades, was recently found in a London apartment. Ben Carson’s office furniture costs more than a low-income family earns in a year. The Department of Housing and Urban Development head [won’t return the $31,000 dining set](. Sex sells, even for monkeys. Rhesus macaques prefer [evocative imagery in advertising]( preferably featuring female macaque backsides or dominant males. A French company wants to bottle your unique scent. Its [secret process]( involves extracting molecules from clothing. Mongolians are protesting a manga that “insults” Genghis Khan. The Japanese publisher [apologized for a picture]( of a character scribbling a penis on a portrait of the famed leader. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, human-scented perfume, and lost masterpieces to hi@qz.com. You can follow us [on Twitter]( for updates throughout the day or download our [apps for iPhone]( and [Android](. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Eshe Nelson. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here]( for more information. Want to receive the Daily Brief at a different time? [Click here]( to change your edition. To unsubscribe entirely, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States