Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The global elite discuss their worries at the Bilderberg conference. The secretive annual meeting is taking place in Turin, Italy. Political and industry leaders will talk about Russia, free-trade, and the “post-truth” world until late Sunday.
Shinzo Abe meets Donald Trump in Washington. The Japanese prime minister is having his seventh one-on-one with Trump to reaffirm Tokyo’s close ties to the US ahead of its summit with North Korea.
Canada is likely to legalize marijuana. The senate will vote on bill C-45, which would make Canada the first G20 nation to legalize the drug. All eyes will be on the short and long-term effects legalization has on the country’s economy, crime levels, and health system.
While you were sleeping
Vladimir Putin’s annual Q&A got underway. The Russian president answered questions from citizens in his annual television call-in show, Direct Line With Vladimir Putin. State news agency TASS said 1.4 million questions had been submitted.
The London Stock Exchange was late for work. The auction, which establishes opening prices for stocks, was delayed by an hour this morning after a trading outage, according to Bloomberg. The LSE, which operates one of Europe’s largest cash equity markets, has had issues recently with its regulatory news announcements.
The White House held an iftar dinner. Trump’s decision to host the dinner, which breaks the fast each day during the month of Ramadan, was a surprise as he didn’t host one last year. Trump struck a more conciliatory tone toward the Muslim community at the dinner, but some rights groups protested the event.
Kate Spade’s husband spoke about his wife’s suicide. Andy Spade said that the fashion designer, who was found dead on Tuesday, had suffered from depression and anxiety for a long time. He added that there was no indication she was considering taking her own life.
More US staff in China were evacuated over a mysterious illness. Several US consulate workers in Guangzhou were taken for medical tests. Worries are mounting that staff there are being affected by the same “sonic attacks” that were allegedly targeted at staff in the US embassy in Havana in 2016.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Heather Timmons on how Trump is driving away Republicans. “On May 31, in the name of national security, the president passed steel and aluminum tariffs that threaten trade with the US’s closest allies. The announcement drew furious criticism from members of his party, because it goes against their pro-business agenda. Now some of the biggest Republican donors have launched a war against Trump’s tariffs, and once-loyal senators are trying to curb Trump’s powers as the country’s 45th president.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Body positivity is just another advertising gimmick. Brands now point out that many women feel bad about themselves but offer no solutions.
India shouldn’t treat water as private property. Communities could be convinced to share access to groundwater if they’re presented with the facts.
Young AI algorithms need parenting. Corporations should nurture algorithms until it’s clear they’ve learned enough not to go rogue.
Surprising discoveries
Planes without windows could be the future. Emirates wants to use “virtual windows” on its planes to make them lighter and faster.
Meteorite fragments are in high demand. Treasure hunters are hoping to cash in on the latest space rock to hit China.
A 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for a record $70 million. WeatherTech founder David MacNeill bought the Tour de France-winning Ferrari, now believed to be the most expensive car in the world.
Spain’s new cabinet has more women than men. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet has a higher proportion of women than any other EU country.
Microsoft sunk a data center into the ocean. The water’s cooler temperatures may reduce servers’ costly energy requirements.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, space rocks, and luxury motors 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.