Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Donald Trump discusses Afghanistan strategy. The US president will meet with national security advisors at Camp David to flesh out a new “South Asia strategy” and reevaluate US involvement in region. Currently about 8,400 US troops are deployed there.
US pro wrestling launches in China. Chinese viewers will be able to subscribe to a video-on-demand service for all World Wrestling Entertainment events, exclusively through local partner PPTV.
Infosys considers a share buyback. The Indian tech giant’s board will meet on Saturday to discuss a possible purchase of its stock, following similar moves by Wipro and Tata Consulting Services.
While you were sleeping
A terrorist attack killed 13 people in Barcelona. A van drove into a crowd in a densely packed street in the heart of the city’s tourist district, in an attack claimed by ISIL that caused heavy casualties including about 80 injuries. Local media reports said a suspect was later killed in a police shootout on the outskirts of the city.
The US stock market tumbled. The S&P 500 fell more than 1.5%, its biggest loss in more than three months, as the ongoing furor about Trump’s comments on white supremacists put the administration’s tax cut plan in doubt. Walmart, Cisco, and Victoria’s Secret each took a hit (paywall) after falling short of quarterly earnings expectations.
Alibaba is on a tear. Operating profits nearly doubled at China’s largest e-commerce company, though it was also warned by the Chinese government to crack down on the sale of “illegal VPN tools” and other contraband. Alibaba stock has jumped almost 90% this year, bringing its market cap within shouting distance of Amazon.
Mylan paid $465 million to settle fraud allegations. The pharmaceutical firm reached a settlement with the US government after misclassifying its life-saving allergy-shot EpiPen as a “generic” drug, costing Medicaid as much as $1.27 billion.
The US kept a military response to North Korea on the table. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson and defense secretary James Mattis contradicted senior White House adviser Stephen Bannon’s recent claim that there’s “no military solution” to Pyongyang’s nuclear threats. Tillerson insisted his approach “has been endorsed by the president.”
Quartz obsession interlude
Zoë Schlanger on the history of climate data: “Scientists mark the start of modern global record-keeping at roughly 137 years ago, in 1880. That’s because earlier available climate data doesn’t cover enough of the planet to get an accurate reading, according to NASA. So 2016 wasn’t just the hottest year in 137 years—it’s truly the hottest year on record.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
The world of business / awaits his conscience. This is / Gary Cohn’s crisis
Matters of debate
Renewable energy is paying for itself. The widely criticized government subsidies have saved up to $220 billion in healthcare and climate costs.
Robots are already changing childhood. The benefits of having “computers as servants” will probably outweigh the negatives.
Surgeons may be psychopaths, but in a good way. Emotional detachment leads to better choices in life-and-death scenarios.
Surprising discoveries
Alien cults are making a comeback in France. Despite a 1995 government crackdown, more than 600 sects exist today.
In the US, you’re never far from a Confederate monument. Click here to find out just how close you are.
Some AI systems can’t understand African-Americans. One popular algorithm concluded that common slang and vernacular was actually Danish.
In the future, dead bodies will be turned to goo. A chemical mixture is being used to dissolve the corpses, which smell like “steamed clams” when liquified.
Polish doctors used science to hoodwink Nazis. They gave patients injections that created a false positive for a deadly infectious disease.
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