🌍 Drug stores found liable in opioid crisis

A NASA spacecraft heads to an asteroid. [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Forward to a friend who [cares about sustainability](. Here’s what you need to know A jury held US drug stores liable for their role in the opioid crisis. The verdict in Ohio against [CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart]( is the first time they’ve faced legal consequences for distributing the potentially deadly painkillers. The US is releasing 50 million barrels of oil. It’s a coordinated plan to reduce gasoline prices with China, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and [India](, but major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia [may not respond in kind](. Elon Musk sold another $1 billion worth of Tesla shares. The CEO also [exercised options to buy 2 million]( more—[the whole thing]( avoids an even larger tax bill. Olaf Scholz is confirmed as the next German chancellor. The [center-left Social Democrat]( has [built a coalition]( with two other parties, and will succeed Angela Merkel. A child became the sixth person to die in the Waukesha parade tragedy. [Jackson Parks](, 8, was allegedly killed along with five others by Darrell Brooks, whose presence on the streets is the focus of [a heated debate about bail](. Sponsor content by Galaxy Fund Management These five brands are changing the world as we know it. Some are household names; others are low-key superstars. But they’re all looking far beyond their initial mission statements and business plans to fundamentally alter the way we work, exercise, invest, and even fall in love. [Explore this new interactive]( from Galaxy Fund Management x Quartz Creative to see how a company becomes a catalyst. What to watch for [A scene from the 1998 film Armageddon, where astronauts are shown dramatically walking toward the camera.] Giphy Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to launch a NASA spacecraft [directly into an asteroid]( today. Don’t worry—it’s not Armageddon. It’s part of a planetary defensive mission called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Basically, NASA is trying to learn how it would deflect an asteroid if one were threatening Earth. 610 kg: Weight of the spacecraft 10: Months it will spend traveling to a pair of asteroids 15,000 mph: Speed at which it will hit Didymos, the smaller of the two asteroids 780 m: Diameter of Didymos 546 m: Height of One World Trade Center in New York City $330 million: Cost of the project for NASA The test could have far-reaching implications for [the future of space](. “For the first time, humanity will change the motion of a natural celestial body in space,” [according to]( NASA scientist Tom Statler. New voting, same Grammys The 64th [Grammys]( in 2022 will be historic for a few reasons. Previously, [voting was mired in secrecy](, with a small number of anonymous voters weighing in on which musical artists were considered for awards. But recent public criticism of the awards process and [allegations of corruption]( led the organization to overhaul the system. This time around, the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys, allowed its 12,000 members to vote on the awards (though it wasn’t enough to stop one of the chief critics of the Grammys, [The Weeknd, from boycotting](). This year’s nominees, [released Tuesday](, don’t include a [Weeknd-size snub](, but the change appears to have resulted in [a more robust list]( of candidates. An expanded ballot, which the academy’s chief executive says better reflects the age of streaming, definitely helped. Pop quiz: Which is not a property of rare earth elements? - They’re magnetic - They’re catalytic - They float - They glow Find out in [the latest episode of the Quartz Obsession podcast](, in which Quartz reporter Mary Hui digs deep into rare earths—those materials we didn’t even know we relied on every single day. Sponsored by American Express 🎧 Listen to all this season’s episodes on [Apple Podcasts]( | [Spotify]( | [Google]( | [Stitcher]( Handpicked Quartz 🇺🇸 [An unprecedented third H-1B lottery is under way]( 📊 [How negative feedback impacts women and men differently]( 🚫 [Kenya plans to deny unvaccinated people access to government services]( 🌱 [Indigenous knowledge is central to making the global food system sustainable]( 👎🏽 [Why is Delhi’s air so bad?]( 🤩 [How NFT art phenom Beeple staves off the pressure of fame]( Sponsor content by Galaxy Fund Management These five brands are changing the world as we know it. Some are household names; others are low-key superstars. But they’re all looking far beyond their initial mission statements and business plans to fundamentally alter the way we work, exercise, invest, and even fall in love. [Explore this new interactive]( from Galaxy Fund Management x Quartz Creative to see how a company becomes a catalyst. Surprising discoveries JRR Tolkien’s estate put a stop to JRR Token cryptocurrency. Simply putting an actor from the movie in your promotional materials doesn’t mean you can [get around trademark law](. ​Organized shoplifting is on the rise in the US. When demand for a product goes up, so does price… and the likelihood that [a flash mob will descend upon retailers](. A virtual real estate lot sold for $2.4 million. What does [anything mean anymore](? Crypto investors paid a lot to not buy the US Constitution. The bidding group, which is [now shutting down](, may have lost the Sotheby’s auction, but they have to pay [millions in crypto transaction fees](. A famous ancient Roman mosaic was hiding in plain sight as a coffee table. [From Emperor Caligula]( to the bottom of a lake, through fire set by Nazis to a Manhattan apartment. SPREAD THE WORD Over 500k readers and counting. You already know why half a million people read the Daily Brief, so why not spread the word? [Share the Daily Brief today]( and get rewarded. Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, legendary art, and your custom furniture designs that feature that legendary art to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Adario Strange, Susan Howson, and Morgan Haefner. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. If you’re looking to unsubscribe, [click here](. 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