What to watch for today
The race to save Greece. The fate of Greece remains at the mercy of 19 leaders of European Union countries, who are in Brussels negotiating the final points of a draft agreement to keep Greece in the euro, but the rifts preventing a deal appear to be widening in a “tough, even violent” atmosphere.
Iran and the world inch toward a nuclear deal. The looming pact to ease economic sanctions on the oil-rich country, which could be announced as soon as Monday (July 13), has only a “few steps” left to become a reality, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said over the weekend.
US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton talks economics. The frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination will outline her economic plan for supporting “everyday Americans” as she looks to edge out her progressive rival, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
Puerto Rico squares off with its creditors. The small island’s debts total roughly $72 billion, which its governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has described as “unpayable.”
Over the weekend
One of the world’s top drug lords escaped prison—again. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, head of “Mexico’s most powerful organized crime group,” escaped a maximum security prison for the second time. Mexican authorities say he used an elaborate tunnel from his cell to break loose.
China cracked down on margin lending. In another attempt to steady China’s rocky financial system, the country’s securities regulator told brokerages (paywall) to stop allowing gray-market companies that provide credit for risky leveraged stock trades from using their platforms.
Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer to win Wimbledon. The two tennis players, ranked number one and number two in the world respectively, have faced off 40 times, with each person winning 20 times, making it one of the most competitive and evenly matched rivalries in tennis history.
Dozens of human rights lawyers and staff were detained in China. More than 50 Chinese human rights lawyers and staffers were interrogated and detained in an organized crackdown, with some facing house arrest. Charges ranged from “subversion of state power” to taking on high-profile “pro-democracy” cases.
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump held an anti-immigration rally in Arizona. Trump, who has stoked controversy for his racist remarks about American hispanics, told an audience of thousands in Phoenix that he would get the “bad ones” and ”get them out fast.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Hanna Kozlowska on the disturbing pipeline to prison for girls in the US that stems from sexual abuse. ”Some of the girls are victims of sexual trafficking. They get arrested for truancy or prostitution—at ages as young as 13—and instead of receiving support, they are placed in the juvenile justice system.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
We’ve been thinking of our taste buds all wrong. The “tongue map” of our taste buds was debunked by chemosensory scientists long ago, but it’s still taught in classrooms and textbooks.
Celebrity activism isn’t helping the needy. New research suggests celebrity involvement in humanitarian causes has become a personal branding exercise for celebrities that does more harm than good.
Greece should adopt the renminbi. Going back to the drachma would be perilous to its banking system, and China would appreciate the foothold into Europe.
The hiccups can’t be explained. They’re an unconscious, uncontrollable tic caused by the tickling of the vagus nerve and quick closure of the glottis—which is ultimately inexplicable.
Oil consumers will be victors in the looming Iran nuclear deal. The losers will be petro-rulers and bloated oil companies; the winners will be oil-consuming states that can expect another year of cheap oil.
Surprising discoveries
This death-themed wedding is all the rage in Singapore. Wedding portraits featuring a casket and a crimson dress of an engaged couple in Singapore, both of whom work in the funeral trade, have gone viral.
Your memory doesn’t like multitasking. A new study suggests that trying to keep several tasks or memories in mind simultaneously can interfere with and weaken them, forcing the brain to pick winners and losers.
A giant “Nicholas Cage in a Cage” is about to descend on Australia. The life-sized art installation looks like a bouncy, striped prison cell where visitors can come face-to-face with a giant effigy of the actor.
Becky Hammon is the first female head coach in an NBA Summer League team. Hammon is currently the assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, and was given the top gig for the team’s summer season.
The world’s worst-named startup is getting attention for the wrong reason. A software company that unfortunately dubbed itself “Grexit” is gaining serious website traffic, thanks in part to Google listing the company as a “related term” in Greece and the Euro trends.
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