Alphabet earnings, historic papal visit, baby flamingo rescue missions

Alphabet reports fourth-quarter earnings. Investors hope the company, which has amassed a fortune from Google ad products, will share more details on its other lines of business, such as cloud services, self-driving cars, and the Play Store. [Quartz Daily Brief]( Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Alphabet reports fourth-quarter earnings. Investors hope the company, which has amassed a fortune from Google ad products, will [share more details]( on its other lines of business, such as cloud services, self-driving cars, and the Play Store. GM slashes thousands of white-collar jobs. Ahead of its earnings report Wednesday, the automaker is [expected to start laying off]( at least 4,000 salaried workers in North America. The move is part of a massive restructuring designed to help the company prepare for a future of autonomous vehicles and electric cars. The Pope meets Muslim clerics on a historic visit to the UAE. On [the first papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula]( Pope Francis will attend an interfaith conference and meet the grand imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar mosque today, followed by an open-air mass in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Brexit talks grind on. The UK begins [three days of talks]( on possible “[alternative arrangements]( prime minister Theresa May could seek from the EU to the Irish backstop, the most controversial part of her proposed Brexit deal. Ireland’s prime minister says MPs are studying solutions the EU has already turned down. Angela Merkel’s Japan visit begins. The German chancellor [will hold talks]( with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on ways to strengthen their economic ties in the face of American isolationism, as each seeks to balance relations with China. Over the weekend The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. Quarterback Tom Brady became the first NFL player in history to secure six Super Bowl titles, after [the Patriots’ 13-3 victory]( over the Los Angeles Rams. A half-time show by Maroon 5, featuring a bare-chested Adam Levine, scored largely [negative reviews](. More US troops were deployed at the Mexico border. Roughly 3,750 troops will [head to the border]( to put up 150 miles of barbed wire and assist Customs and Border Protection, the Pentagon announced on Sunday, bringing the total number of troops to 4,350. Critics of the move say president Donald Trump’s administration is [manufacturing a border crisis](. European nations recognized Venezuela’s interim president. President Nicolas Maduro [rejected an EU ultimatum]( to hold elections, prompting [the UK, France, and Spain]( to join the US and Canada today in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president. Guaidó [gained another ally]( (paywall) in the Venezuelan military over the weekend. A former mayor declared victory in El Salvador’s presidential election. Nayib Bukele, onetime mayor of capital San Salvador, won [around 54% of the vote]( with nearly 90% of the ballots counted. He defeated candidates from the two major political parties that have dominated the country’s politics since a 1992 deal that ended the civil war. Virginia’s governor did some remarkable backtracking. A day after apologizing for appearing in a racist 1984 photo showing one person wearing black face and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe, Democrat Ralph Northam said that upon further reflection he [did not believe he was in it]( and would not resign. Russia pulled out of a landmark nuclear arms control treaty. The move [came on Saturday]( a day after the US did the same. Signed in 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banned the use of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles by both countries. The US and its NATO allies had accused Russia of violating it. Nissan scrapped plans to build the new X-Trail model in Britain. The carmaker warned that while it made the decision for “business reasons,” uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the EU on March 29 was making it difficult to plan for the future. It will now build the vehicle [solely in Japan](. Ryanair posted a multi-million dollar loss. The low-cost European airline announced plans to restructure Monday as it posted a [$23 million third-quarter loss](. Sales remain strong, which points to low fares—the most popular part of [Ryanair’s business model]( a key driver of losses. Quartz obsession interlude Rosie Spinks on the man who started the celery wellness craze. “But it’s not celery in its roughage-filled stalk form that has been showing up in your Instagram feed in the past few months—it’s glasses of celery juice, a pale green potion that’s the latest buzzy wellness elixir, credited with treating a slew of ailments. From its humble beginnings as a vegetable that is 95% water, celery has climbed the ranks of aspirational vegetables with staggering speed.” [Read more here](. Matters of debate [Join the conversation with the new Quartz app!]( Being a progressive NFL fan presents moral dilemmas. Viewers are increasingly aware of the damage players do to their brains as they [play for our entertainment](. Digital free market forces are killing journalism. The commercial internet is [incompatible with]( profitable journalism. The next tech revolution will be inspired by peace, not war. The convergence of biology and engineering [will find solutions]( for major crises. Surprising discoveries A German World War I grenade was found among potatoes from France. Hong Kong police [detonated the explosive]( outside the snack company it was shipped to. Residents of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, saw the sun rise after two months. The northernmost US town sees [months of darkness in winter]( and round-the-clock daylight in summer. British foodies have discovered a sustainable, local meat: grey squirrel. [Chefs are using the meat]( of the regularly culled invasive species in pancakes, croquettes, and lasagne. Baby flamingos are being airlifted to escape drought. Thousands of chicks [are being rescued]( from breeding grounds in South Africa where they are at risk of overheating. Uzbekistan no longer considers political studies a “pseudoscience.” The country’s reform-minded president has lifted a ban [on the academic field]( along with restrictions on face-painting, buying foreign currency, and playing snooker. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rare sunrise photos, and political science textbooks to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by [downloading our app]( and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Adam Rasmi and edited by Jackie Bischof. 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