Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
“Davos in Dalian” begins. The World Economic Forum’s annual summer meeting in China kicks off, with discussions focused on innovation and technology and opening remarks by Chinese premier Li Keqiang.
Janet Yellen speaks in London. Investors hope the US Fed chair will maintain an upbeat tone despite weak US economic data.
Google is hit with a record-breaking EU fine. Its parent company, Alphabet, will be charged with infringing on antitrust regulations for anticompetitive behavior and search result manipulation.
While you were sleeping
The US Supreme Court revived most of Donald Trump’s travel ban. Justices reversed several injunctions on the executive order, which bars travelers from six Muslim-majority countries, but carved out an exemption for those with family or business ties to the US. The ban will go into effect in the next 72 hours ahead of a court ruling this fall.
Avis will manage Waymo’s self-driving cars. The rental-car company will maintain a 600-vehicle fleet of autonomous minivans in Phoenix, where Google’s sister company is testing a ride-hailing service. Avis, which also owns rental-car service Zipcar, saw its shares surge over 20% after the news.
Theresa May sealed a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) deal to form a government. The UK prime minister agreed to provide funding as a sweetener for Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), after her Conservative party failed to win a majority. The agreement will allow May to pass a budget and give her a better chance of authorizing laws related to Brexit.
Narendra Modi visited the White House. In his first face-to-face meeting with India’s prime minister, Trump laid the groundwork to boost military relations despite differences over trade, climate, and immigration.
A Republican senator blocked weapons sales to the Middle East. Bob Corker, chairman of the foreign relations committee, said he would halt arms deals until disputes between Qatar and its Arab neighbors are resolved. He warned the conflict was undermining efforts to combat the Islamic State.
Quartz obsession interlude
Leah Fessler on what conference rooms reveal about a company’s culture. “Two weeks ago, in an act of somewhat desperate symbolism, Uber board member Arianna Huffington announced that the ride-sharing service was renaming its ‘War Room’ the ‘Peace Room’ as part of a broader effort to reform its tarnished image.” Read more here.
Matters of Debate
The back pain industry is a $100 billion hoax. Massages, chiropractors, painkillers, and injections obscure a simple solution: moving.
Vladimir Putin is the greatest Russian in history. Polls show the public’s esteem is rising.
Hufflepuffs are the best. It’s time to rethink the humble, hardworking heroes of the Harry Potter novels.
Surprising discoveries
Salvador Dali’s body is being exhumed. DNA is needed to settle a paternity suit filed by a Spanish tarot card reader who claims she’s the artist’s daughter.
Facebook’s AI created its own language. Chatbots accidentally veered from their human-coded scripts while talking amongst themselves—and it turns out they’re great negotiators.
Climate change is spreading Lyme disease. Ticks carrying the disease are traveling farther and reproducing faster due to warm winters.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless snail mind. Scientists found a way to delete snails’ associative memories, which may have implications for humans with PTSD.
Even ancient Greeks thought society’s best days were behind them. Athenian plays were plagued by comic nostalgia.
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