📬 Daily Brief: To Birmingham and… not beyond

Good morning, readers of Quartz!
Here are the key points you should know:

• The British government is considering canceling a significant portion of a high-speed rail line that was originally planned to connect London to Manchester. It may now only reach Birmingham.
• A seven-year mission to retrieve soil samples from the asteroid Bennu has concluded, with the samples landing in Utah. These samples could provide new insights into the formation of Earth.
• The US is recommending that pregnant women get vaccinated for respiratory illness RSV to protect newborns from severe lung infections.
• Ghana is experiencing its worst economic hardship in a generation, leading to high living costs and a lack of jobs.
• The US is investing in a rare earth magnet factory to reduce its reliance on China, but the parent company of the factory has significant exposure to China, limiting the impact on Beijing's influence in the industry.
• Pebble, a Twitter alternative, is taking a slow and steady approach to building its user base, focusing on creating a great community rather than rapid growth.
• The snowplowing services industry is expecting high revenues due to the El Niño climate pattern, which will bring a colder winter with more snow for some regions.
• Flamingos have been spotted in Wisconsin for the first time, a species typically found along the Gulf Coast states.
• The teaser for the Netflix series Squid Game's reality competition has been released, sparking discussion about whether the show should be turned into a franchise.
• Silkworms have been genetically modified to produce spider silk, a material six times stronger than kevlar.
• A correction was made regarding the expected ridership on Brightline's high-speed rail line in Florida, with the correct figure being 8 million annual riders, not 8 billion or 22 million riders per day.

Have a productive day, and feel free to share any news or comments with us.