Bitcoin breaks $60,000, Toyota and Chrysler recalls, T.J. Maxx stock soars

Good morning, Quartz readers!

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Here’s what you need to know

Toyota and Chrysler recalled hundreds of thousands of cars. The former’s recalls hit Tacoma and Tundra pickups, Sequoia SUVs, and Camry compacts, while Chrysler’s targeted Jeep Grand Cherokees.

Bitcoin broke $60,000. The cryptocurrency is nearing a record, and prices will probably keep rising as an event known as “halving” is about to take place.

Elon Musk said a Tesla sports car is finally coming next year. The Roadster vehicle, which is a SpaceX collaboration, was supposed to go to market in 2020, so it’s a bit behind.

 Disney is hoping an $8.5 billion mega-merger with Reliance will save its India business. The deal will combine Disney’s Star India with Viacom18, which is itself a venture between Reliance and Paramount Global.

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The Supreme Court social media case drew weird comparisons

Is social media more like a wedding cake designer’s website or Etsy? Or is it like a bookstore?

The Supreme Court heard arguments over Texas and Florida’s social media laws on Monday, and some of the arguments made by the justices, state solicitors general, and trade groups representing social media firms were chock full of far-reaching similes and metaphors.

Quartz looked at the wackiest comparisons drawn, and why the word “parade” was mentioned 25 times during the arguments.

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Apple’s rival in China has the keys to the cars

Huawei, Apple’s smartphone rival in China, took a different bet on cars, and it looks like it’s winning the bet.

The key difference in their strategy is that Apple wanted to build cars, but Huawei wanted to build things for cars. But it might not be game over for Apple cars just yet.

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One big number: $50 billion

What T.J. Maxx’s parent company brought in for sales last year, a milestone for the off-price retailer

The record-breaking party for T.J. Maxx made its way to the stock market, too.

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🤖 Google AI Gemini’s ‘problematic’ responses are ‘completely unacceptable,’ CEO says

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Surprising discoveries

By 2030, Saudi Arabia would like tourism to reflect 10% of its GDP. The CEO of the kingdom’s second airline said a second airline is just what is needed.

A 280 million-year-old lizard fossil turned out to be fake. It’s actually a cave carving that was painted black.

Boiling tap water can reduce the amount of microplastics in it by 80%. We’re not quite sure yet how the tiny, tiny pieces of plastic affect our health.

Scientists think dehydrating the Earth’s atmosphere could help slow down climate change. The geoengineering scheme isn’t a silver bullet though.

There’s something bigger than a megachurch. It’s called a gigachurch, and it must have at least 10,000 weekly attendees. We explained why churches got so big in the latest Quartz Obsession newsletter. Sign up for free.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, fabricated fossils, and geoengineering schemes to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.

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