📬 Daily Brief: Fake Ozempic

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

The World Health Organization issued a warning about fake Ozempic. The agency said it found counterfeits in the U.K. and Brazil in October, and more in the U.S. in December.

Oil prices have gone up 10% in the last two weeks. A slight ding in supply and rising Middle East tensions are boosting the commodity.

Amazon is getting rid of plastic air pillows in its packaging. The company already has replaced 95% of its plastic air pillows in North American with paper filler.

McDonald’s is giving Free Fries Friday a shot. App users who spend a minimum of $1 on Fridays will receive free fries with their order in an effort to win back inflation-scorned customers.

Apple needs an OpenAI alternative in China

Apple unveiled its hotly anticipated generative AI plans earlier this month, including an integration partnership with OpenAI.

There’s just one problem: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which Apple is putting in its newest iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating systems, is not available in China, along with other AI models developed outside the country.

Apple is going to need a plan to turn around rapidly declining numbers in the country, and this won’t help. Case in point:

2nd: Where China ranks among Apple’s biggest markets
15.7%: Apple’s share of China’s smartphone market, down year over year from 19.7%
19%: How much Apple’s iPhone sales in China have fallen in the first quarter of this year
2020: Last time Apple’s iPhone sales in China were that bad

How do drugs get their wacky names?

Stelara, Comirnaty, Sronyx — why are drug names often so strange? It’s actually primarily due to safety. Settling on a name can take a drug manufacturer up to four years and involves several regulatory agencies.

In the season premier of the Quartz Obsession podcast — Drug Names: The machinations behind the monikers — Quartz reporter Bruce Gil tells host Rocio Fabbro all about the art and science of drug naming.

🎧 Listen now on Spotify | Apple | Pandora

👓 Or, read the transcript

Friday market haiku

Felony charges

weren’t kind to Trump Media.

Next up: All time low.

Trump Media stock has plunged 50% since Donald Trump’s conviction and is near an all-time low, with yesterday marking more losses.

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🤑 New millionaires are more likely to give directly to charity than old money

🍺 Ozempic and other weight loss drugs could help alcoholics, too

🚨 Distracted driving is accelerating as Gen Z takes the wheel

Surprising discoveries

Earth’s core is indeed rotating slower. That could mean longer days, but we wouldn’t notice it much.

Saturn is also dealing with some orbital changes. Scientists found the planet has seasons of energy imbalance due to how it spins.

A theater in London was set to screen the world premiere of a movie written by ChatGPT4.0. The backlash was swift and the showing was halted.

Snapchat is being linked to an uptick in teen opioid overdoses. Users are meeting dealers on the app, and it’s fueling addiction to the prescription painkillers.

Another shiny monolith column popped up in the middle of nowhere, this time in the desert near Las Vegas. Similar sightings have been reported in Utah and California since 2020.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, longer days (happy solstice!), and seasons of energy balance to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.