Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Kim Yong Chol meets Mike Pompeo. The general and the US secretary of state will discuss the June 12 summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Kim Yong Chol is the highest ranking official to visit the US since 2000; he was blamed for masterminding the 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors.
Kim Kardashian meets Trump. The reality TV star will reportedly discuss prison reform with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in the White House, before meeting Trump, whom she plans to ask to pardon a woman serving a life sentence for a first-time drug offense.
Brazilian oil workers strike. The planned 72-hour strike was declared illegal by the top labor court on Tuesday, but the country’s biggest oil-workers union says it’s going ahead. It’s a blow to president Michel Temer, coming right after a week-long truckers’ strike that brought Brazil to a standstill.
While you were sleeping
Martin Sorrell is back. Just six weeks after he was ousted from WPP for alleged wrongdoing, Sorrell will become the executive chairman of Derriston Capital (paywall), a UK-listed shell company, and plans to buy advertising businesses. He’s still a major WPP shareholder.
The Belgian gunman killed someone the day before the Liège attack. Benjamin Herman, who shot dead two police officers and a bystander yesterday, allegedly bludgeoned a man to death on Monday, according to Belgian interior minister Jan Jambon. Jambon said the murdered man had done jail time with Herman.
Trump and the Mexican president reignited the border wall spat. After Trump told a rally in Nashville that Mexico would pay for the wall in the end, president Enrique Peña Nieto swiftly hit back on Twitter, writing: “Mexico will NEVER pay for a wall. Not now, not ever. Sincerely, Mexico.”
The US tightened restrictions on Chinese visas. To help counter the alleged theft of US intellectual property, authorities said they will limit visa durations for Chinese grad students involved in fields including robotics, aviation, and high-tech manufacturing.
A report detailed “crimes against humanity” by Nicolás Maduro’s government. The Organization of American States’ report documents thousands of extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions in Venezuela under the strongman’s rule. It was presented to the International Criminal Court, which announced a preliminary investigation.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Marc Bain on Balenciaga’s $1,290 “t-shirt shirt.” ”It doesn’t seem to be made of extraordinarily expensive materials, and it doesn’t look like it was an unusually complex garment to put together. For explanation, maybe it’s enough to know that Balenciaga’s artistic director, Demna Gvasalia, clearly enjoys toying with people’s notions of what fashion, luxury, and beauty should be.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Ethiopia is the China of Africa. The two ancient nation-states share a grand vision for the future (paywall).
Your multivitamins aren’t helping you live longer. For most people, there is no reason to take them.
Donald Trump is using “salami tactics” to take control of the Russia probe. He’s slicing away at the FBI’s independence by forcing it to make small concessions rather than stage a total confrontation.
Surprising discoveries
Thailand is the new dumping ground for the world’s e-waste. It’s being rerouted to the Southeast Asian country after China banned imports of discarded electronics.
A New York court ruled that a McDonald’s restaurant wasn’t one of its managers’ “place of business.” Being the boss versus an employee can lessen the penalty for unlicensed gun possession in the workplace.
The first cyberattack used the telegraph. Shady bankers wired false information to get an upper hand in bond-market trading back in 1834.
Exam results are worse in hot weather. A Harvard study of 10 million US secondary students found hot weather negatively impacts their test performance.
Authorities warned against roasting marshmallows over Kilauea’s lava. It’s insanely dangerous and would taste terrible anyway.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, overpriced T-shirts, and non-crusty smores 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 Lianna Brinded.