Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Ivanka Trump attends the Olympics. The White House senior advisor will dine with South Korean president Moon Jae-in Friday before leading the US delegation at Sunday’s closing ceremony. The two are expected to reaffirm their countries’ alliance and avoid discussing the dispute over North Korea’s missile tests.
Justin Trudeau visits Narendra Modi. The Canadian prime minister will meet his Indian counterpart on Friday amid controversy over a botched party invitation. Meanwhile Donald Trump Jr. is expected to give a foreign policy speech (paywall) alongside Modi during a private business trip to promote the family’s real estate brand.
Malcolm Turnbull talks TPP in Washington. Fresh from a trip to China, the Australian prime minister says he will discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership and North Korean security risks during a visit to Donald Trump on Friday.
While you were sleeping
An ex-employee sued Google over being fired for promoting diversity. Tim Chevalier claims he was terminated for internally posting memes that criticized straight white male privilege. Chevalier’s posts were referenced during the lawsuit of James Damore, who wrote the infamous memo accusing Google of discrimination against conservative white men.
Iran threatened to withdraw from its nuclear deal. The 2015 deal promised the removal of sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear program, but big banks have continued to stay away, depriving the country of economic benefit. In a move to apply pressure on the US, Iran also raised the prospect of building seaborne nuclear reactors while staying within the limits of the deal.
A suicide bomber attacked the US embassy in Montenegro. A Yugoslav army veteran tossed a hand grenade over the embassy compound’s fence before blowing himself up. There were no reported injuries or material damage and no indications that it was an act of terrorism. An investigation is underway.
Snap tumbled $1.3 billion in market value after a redesign. Snapchat’s parent company saw a 7.2% dip in share price on the heels of an unfavorable reception to its latest redesign. Among those disappointed was social media influencer Kylie Jenner, who tweeted that she no longer opens the app.
Barclays’ financial report revealed a major gender pay gap. On average across its international wing last year, women earned 26% less than men and 60% less on bonuses, creating a combined discrepancy of 79%. Though women make up 44% of Barclays’ global staff, they constitute just a third of management and one seat on the board.
Quartz obsession interlude
Per Bylund on how society will make progress by automating jobs: “Nobody works for the sake of work—people strive to create value, which helps pay our salaries and feed our families. Automation effectively opens the door for more new endeavors that will elevate our species to greater heights.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Boys don’t know who they are, and it’s leading to violence. Men should use feminism as inspiration to figure out what “being a man” means now (paywall).
Math class techniques can fix problematic writing class culture. Focusing on the process, not the result, will leave fewer students behind.
The US could grow as fast as China. Increasing government spending supports infrastructure, grows investments, and creates new opportunities for future populations.
Surprising discoveries
Dirty meat could be making the US sick. The alarming contamination incidents in chicken and pig plants could be linked to the 1 in 7 Americans who contract foodborne illnesses each year.
Climate change will force mammals to get picky about mating. It’s no longer safe to molt white for winter in many habitats, so molting animals will have to pick new mates to save the species.
Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell set a New York real estate record. He was behind the mysterious $100.47-million purchase (paywall) of a penthouse on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row in 2014.
Britain is losing its shine among career-minded non-Brits. Since the Brexit vote, the number of EU migrants coming to the UK has fallen by a third.
An amateur astronomer captured an impossible photo of a supernova. The chances of his stroke of luck are one in 10 million—or perhaps even one in 100 million.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, supernovas, and multimillion-dollar penthouses to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Susan Howson and Karen Hao.