Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Markets brace for a Fed rate hike. Chairman Jerome Powell is due to announce a rise in the US central bank's benchmark rate, the first of the year. Markets are waiting for signals about how many hikes will follow, and for the Fed's updated view on economic growth and inflation. Two mid-level Facebook staffers brief angry US lawmakers. The company's associate general counsel and deputy chief privacy officer will tell Congress why it allowed Cambridge Analytica—a marketing firm used by the Trump presidential campaign—to harvest the information of tens of millions of users. Pratt & Whitney starts delivering spare engines for India's stranded jets. IndiGo was forced to ground 11 Airbus SE A320neo aircraft last week due to safety concerns. The airline has lost more than $600 million in market value this month amid its engine problems. While you were sleeping Troubles mounted for Cambridge Analytica… The board suspended CEO Andrew Nix, who was captured on hidden camera by Channel 4 News bragging about using bribes and sex workers to entrap foreign officials. Separately, UK regulators are requesting a warrant to seize servers at the firm. …and Mark Zuckerberg was AWOL at an all-hands Facebook crisis meeting. The CEO has been notably silent since damning reports emerged about the company's interactions with Cambridge Analytica, and was not present at a meeting open to all employees to discuss the scandal. Meanwhile US and UK lawmakers are pressing for him to answer their questions directly. Donald Trump can't dodge a defamation suit. A Manhattan judge ruled that the US president must face a lawsuit from a former Apprentice contestant, Summer Zervos, who accused Trump in 2016 of sexual assault. Her suit claims that he defamed her by saying her statements were "fiction" and made "for personal gain." Israel admitted to bombing a Syrian nuclear site in 2007. It isn't yet clear why the nation, long suspected of the airstrikes, went public now. Authorities said Israel would not tolerate projects posing an "existential threat," and noted that ISIL militants later captured the area where the site, believed at the time to house a nuclear reactor soon to go live, had been. A pension fund objected to Tesla's compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk. The California State Teachers' Retirement System, an investor in the carmaker, said the amount Musk could make if he hits ambitious targets was too much. Shareholders will vote on the plan today (March 21), with results made public within four business days. Quartz obsession interlude Tim Fernholz on how a startup launched satellites after the US said no. "Security experts have already been sounding the alarm about how easier access to space could have bad effects, too, warning that it could quickly create a space traffic management issue. This time around, the worst-case scenario is an accidental collision, but future sneaky satellites could be operated by people with more pernicious aims." Read more here. Matters of debate Tell your boss about your weaknesses. It'll help reinforce your desire to keep learning and improving. Deleting Facebook improves happiness. Whether or not you're sending the company a message, you'll increase your appreciation of what's actually important in life. Brick-and-mortar beauty stores are impervious to the app invasion. The ability to quickly hands-on test the products can't be matched by online offerings. Surprising discoveries South Korea is using K-pop diplomacy with North Korea. More than 150 artists will travel to Pyongyang, where no K-pop singers have performed since 2005. Jeff Bezos has a terrifying robot dog. The Spot Mini from Boston Dynamics was seen strolling casually next to the world's richest man at a robotics conference. Child-abuse images could bring down bitcoin. Unidentified users have been using the cryptocurrency's blockchain to store and distribute disturbing images of minors. Gerhard Schroeder has inspired a new word for "corruption." The German ex-chancellor's relationship with Vladimir Putin has inspired the useful term "Schroederization." Alabama sheriffs skim money from jail food budgets, and it's all legal. A landscaper blew the whistle, and now he's locked up too. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, K-pop ambassadors, and non-threatening robodogs 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 Steve Mollman and edited by Alice Truong. | 
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