Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The British foreign secretary talks Iran in Washington. Boris Johnson will continue the efforts of the UK, France, and Germany to persuade the White House not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal. Johnson won’t meet with Trump, but he’ll appear on Fox & Friends, one of the president’s favorite morning news shows.
NAFTA talks resume. The US, Canada, and Mexico will meet in Washington to further negotiate a revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Last week, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said the deal would be “on thin ice” if not finalized in the coming weeks.
SpaceX launches its upgraded Falcon rocket. Elon Musk’s company will send a Bangladeshi communications satellite into space via its Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket. SpaceX reportedly designed the Block 5 to fly again 48 hours after a launch and to have a lifespan of 100 launches.
Over the weekend
Nestlé joined forces with Starbucks. The Swiss food-and-drinks giant will pay Starbucks over $7.1 billion for the right to market the coffee chain’s packaged products in supermarkets and restaurants around the world. The deal should give Nestlé a much-needed boost in the US coffee market.
Air France plunged further into crisis. Shares in the Air France-KLM Group dropped by 13% today in the wake of CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac’s resignation announcement, which came Friday after employees rejected a pay deal. Strikes are ongoing, flights are cancelled, and French economy minister Bruno Le Maire warned that the airline’s survival hangs in the balance.
North Korea scolded the US. State news agency KCNA said Washington was “misleading public opinion” by claiming Pyongyang’s (supposed) intention to denuclearize was the result of US-led sanctions. It also warned the US against provoking North Korea with the issue of human rights.
Warren Buffett talked bitcoin and guns. At Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting, the legendary investor said he refused to pressure subsidiaries to divest from gun-related businesses. He also predicted cryptocurrencies “will come to bad endings.”
The US called China’s airline demands “Orwellian nonsense.” The White House slammed Beijing’s request that foreign airlines change their websites so that Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau are listed as part of China. China’s foreign ministry responded that all foreign companies operating in China must respect its sovereignty.
NASA launched a robotic lander bound for Mars. Due to arrive in November, InSight will be the first probe to examine the Red Planet’s interior. It will set up seismometers on the surface to test for “Marsquakes,” tremors that might reveal more about the planet’s composition and structure.
Quartz obsession interlude
Oliver Staley on the meaning of the US talking “great power competition.” “The Cold War was also good business for US military contractors. Fighting communism meant buying big hardware like aircraft carriers and ICBMs. The US has spent trillions fighting terrorism, but doesn’t have as many shiny toys to show for it. With the rebranding of US military strategy to focus on China and Russia, the US military establishment again has the enemy it wants.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Society needs more troublemakers. A challenge to the general consensus generates consideration and debate.
Wednesday is the best day to work from home. It increases productivity and prevents employees from taking Mondays or Fridays as faux three-day weekends.
Americans are living in a golden age of protest. More people are joining demonstrations, but it’s time they moved on to tougher forms of dissent, like sit-ins.
Surprising discoveries
A Wisconsin man set the world record for gobbling Big Macs. Donald Gorske has eaten 30,000 of them over 40 years—and has all his receipts to prove it.
Some pandas are losing their black eye patches. Baffled scientists have ruled out a disease that can result in hair loss or whitening in humans.
Idaho State University lost some weapons-grade plutonium. It misplaced the radioactive material—enough to make a small dirty bomb—in 2004.
Facebook’s users don’t care much about its scandals. A Reuters/Ipsos survey found most users in the US remain loyal.
A woman was allowed to enter a Japanese bullfighting ring for the first time. The ban was lifted in an attempt to modernize the sport.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, hazmat suits, and panda meds 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 by Jill Petzinger and edited by Steve Mollman.