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Plus: Biden's surprise visit to Kyiv Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/fcCpRpAWsvU5bv_2Cm9qPYklHP0Yb9kYHX5Y3Inzkww=288) [Quartz](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850135834%2Fmeta-seeks-subscribers%2F/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/BI11lgHDTM-ArahpoaFdrFmyNDUFHWIPAiH9nfRD06c=288) February 20, 2023 [View in browser](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850135834%2Fmeta-seeks-subscribers%2F/2/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/CEjCsK86ZMoMrRzXWKBaZNrimHYHSES6BUPzgGy-Aao=288) Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Facebook and Instagram’s parent company launched a subscription service. The offering, [called Meta Verified](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fmeta-verified-pay-blue-ticks-facebook-instagram-1850135793%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=%26rev=1676884018259/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/_3P3PLMmq_d6Alza0jejsSQG-9OI6EaeK1w90fST4Mw=288), costs $11.99 per month and targets content creators. A slaughterhouse cleaning company was fined $1.5 million over child labor. Packers Sanitation Services, based in Wisconsin, illegally employed [more than 100 children](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fpackers-sanitation-services-inc-child-labor-laws-fine-1850135839%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=%26rev=1676889807453/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/x0b2tmJ6qchGQYw2ydynXnQ0dQESvV7p16V1LMZsnNs=288) in hazardous jobs. Paul Pierce was fined almost $1.4 million for misleadingly promoting ethereum max. The former NBA star [joins Kim Kardashian](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fkim-kardashian-was-charged-for-illegally-hawking-a-cryp-1849608174%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/tweyqh5M3tvjlWxMyn6T3kjWZLARAFkrbdxLnzBcHBo=288) in the list of celebrities punished for [hawking the cryptocurrency](%2F%2Fwww.barrons.com%2Farticles%2Fpaul-pierce-crypto-sec-b28849b6/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/91mFGrnVTukNpHeNkYBcYZhi_rM5M3sKWH92nRxQqb0=288). Cattle ranching is a larger driver of deforestation than coca plants in Colombia. A new study suggests that the focus of the country’s Amazon conservation policy [needs to shift](%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2023%2Ffeb%2F19%2Fcolombia-cattle-ranching-coca-amazon-deforestation/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/epPHqomh9zzh7XDimnubVFBiqj-9SqfBDvjAF1CuPag=288). PepsiCo recalled more than 300,000 bottles of Starbucks drinks. The vanilla chilled coffee drinks were voluntarily pulled after [glass was found](%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fbusiness%2Fretail-consumer%2Fpepsico-recalls-some-starbucks-vanilla-frappuccino-drinks-us-2023-02-19%2F/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/E7AM6objEE6URLKZJc_9kBbfJPwyD07ZBqLmfQxuWoQ=288) in some of the bottles. An art exhibition visitor accidentally broke a $42,000 Jeff Koons balloon dog. The porcelain art piece was [knocked off its pedestal](%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2Fstyle%2Famp%2Fjeff-koons-balloon-dog-broken-miami/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/g3iZ0t74_AmDPSIKgnTypXJMUABut4ADH_UOftGY8VI=288) during opening cocktails at a Miami art fair. What to watch for US president Joe Biden has made [a surprise visit to Ukraine](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fjoe-biden-kyiv-surprise-visit-ukraine-russia-war-1850135864%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=%26rev=1676890996658/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/xLJ3XZImx7iZV1QjrD3W0Mwmg7cTdcNOFr61To2YYrg=288) today (Feb. 20) ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion as part of a scheduled trip to Poland. [Biden’s trip to Europe](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fbiden-poland-ukraine-war-russia-invasion-putin-1850127523%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=%26rev=1676651271054/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/FEw-1aBXvo6biJ92f7X6LKDgyLvk-HXlyY4uZuO1PKY=288) coincides with Russian president Vladimir Putin’s annual State of the Nation address, scheduled for tomorrow (Feb. 21). [A year ago on that date](%2F%2Fqz.com%2F2128407%2Fwhy-russia-might-invade-ukraine%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/rfdXRsqMDL4GKmzu24Foc8yF7mrg8_RQZz70YySKX5w=288), Putin recognized Ukraine’s separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent and, instead of the customary address, he gave a belligerent speech in the early hours of Feb. 24 before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine. The US has committed nearly $30 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, but with the Republican party now holding a majority in the House of Representatives, it remains to be seen how much additional aid US lawmakers will commit to supporting the country. World Bank leadership needs a shakeup The World Bank president is stepping down. Appointed by US president Donald Trump in 2019, David Malpass resigned months after he faced criticism for being a climate-change denier. Now, the question is [who will take his place](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fthe-us-should-appoint-a-non-american-to-head-the-world-1850121994%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/mEO-gYhDC_MZmcoMN8YvhI5lqoshZoLyqbkMq0vDCak=288). For the past nearly 80 years, the US has appointed a steady stream of American bankers or economists to lead the institution. It’s high time for a change. As an international institution, it would make sense for the World Bank’s leadership to reflect its global priorities. (After all, diversity in leadership these days [is in short supply](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fnicola-sturgeon-another-female-leader-steps-down-1850117489%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/GX7a7__4KHsbjl59WLgBOm3NSnCW5E2m4Dt2AUdAxYk=288).) But it doesn’t seem like the Biden administration is in the mood to break the World Bank presidency’s unwritten code. Rajiv Shah, the head of the Rockefeller Foundation; Samantha Power, the former US ambassador to the UN; and Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, have been floated as replacements for Malpass—and all three are American. The label behind BTS wants more control of K-pop Hybe, the company behind [Korean boy band BTS](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fthe-future-of-k-pop-superstars-bts-takes-center-stage-i-1849643275%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/DMP3mdB0yIVaFNa14Y0Q2XjfY5KoQ3NCYz5VWZsxeq8=288), one of the most popular musical groups in the world, is going on a buying spree. It recently bought a 15% stake in rival firm SM Entertainment, and reportedly offered to buy an additional 25%. The combined investment would be worth $900 million, good for 40%—and control—of one of K-pop’s most powerful companies. Naturally, the deal is [raising the eyebrows of South Korea’s antitrust regulators](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fbts-hybe-k-pop-sm-entertainment-consolidation-1850129393%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=daily-brief%26utm_content=/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/9TfSCkUVnM0DMOts1yVRoM5eapPemAJspdifa0Jqse8=288). [A bar chart showing K-pop's most valuable companies.](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850135834%2Fmeta-seeks-subscribers%2F/3/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/xE4wr-hIXzXXfVF5c6VjBzuSCB0RlmSwJCEmX7D9iPc=288) Graphic: (Scott Nover) ✦ Love reading Quartz’s latest hits? Help keep our content free and accessible by picking up an annual membership. 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L-DOPA is [communicated through roots](%2F%2Fr.g-omedia.com%2FCL0%2Fhttps:%252F%252Fwww.economist.com%252Fscience-and-technology%252F2023%252F02%252F15%252Fplants-call-for-help-with-a-chemical-employed-by-people-as-a-drug%2F1%2F010001866b5a66b0-64e97a0f-d3e6-4d5f-ab30-08cb02123f96-000000%2FM3CI7368ZfWR1LMvNpW79ApptQecCAS17f-9C2FSedY=288/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/CAcTimeAwHDLOpjIc0gx8ja6sDZqxD2s9QnnzpJ7gX8=288) as a cry for help. Baby shrimp have disco ball eyes... Larvae are basically invisible to predators because they’re transparent and make the sea [reflect off their little orbs](%2F%2Fslate.com%2Ftechnology%2F2023%2F02%2Fshrimp-larvae-eye-glitter-nanotechnology.html/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/iCoapHym5VyjAJha5qAjnR3UrrtfUW5wNaJO_Ht1acw=288). …and cuttlefish have incredible 3D vision. Their eyesight is so good that robot makers are [copying them](%2F%2Fwww.popsci.com%2Ftechnology%2Fcuttlefish-eye-imaging-system%2F/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/huLx2B0OrxZoqlAbrOFFVcP5j5cC9hQwY02s3UV3Hp4=288). Pickles and ranch are hot pizza topics. But they still have [nothing on mushrooms](%2F%2Fwww.axios.com%2F2023%2F02%2F17%2Fpizza-trends-2023/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/Urmx7VgtlgXx6KzlmpkfV6fzEFiFjiK3otZKVLLu1Ko=288). It may pay to be dumb. Smarts only lead to higher wages [up to a certain point](%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2023-02-17%2Fhighest-salaries-may-not-be-paid-to-the-smartest-workers-study-says/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/u12RtYfibZid3wIWBbjfQ2ch7KYgSIcO6z8Y6_UXlBA=288), then it’s all luck and who you know, one Swedish study found. Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, disco balls, and ranch pizza to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—[become a member](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fsubscribe%2F/1/010001866ea08e11-c244ab02-07e1-4497-8e53-b792476ab9ac-000000/O_OAzcjEg75mvTvDVznEf17QENSqf4T8lWcoWlagnXg=288). Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Diego Lasarte, Sofia Lotto Persio, Julia Malleck, and Morgan Haefner. 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