Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The EU starts slapping tariffs on US goods. Bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles are among the €2.8 billion ($3.2 billion) worth of products that will now carry levies. The move is in retaliation to new US tariffs on European aluminum and steel.
Turkey votes in two elections. If he wins Sunday’s vote, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will assume sweeping new powers as a result of last year’s constitutional referendum. Polls suggest that his AK Party could lose its parliamentary majority and that the presidential vote could go to a second round.
The EU holds a migration mini-summit. Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary won’t attend and have refused to back plans spearheaded by Angela Merkel. The German chancellor proposed sharing out asylum seekers more evenly across EU countries.
OPEC nations and Russia decide oil output in Vienna. The group has nearly reached a consensus to nudge up oil production. The nations face pressure from the US and China to cool prices and support the global economy. Iran may not agree as it faces fresh US sanctions.
While you were sleeping
Tesla will cut back its solar division. The electric-car maker will close about a dozen installation facilities of what was once SolarCity. The closures raise questions about CEO Elon Musk’s rationale for acquiring SolarCity, which was founded by two of his cousins, in 2016.
The Uber driver was streaming a show at the time of the fatal self-driving car accident in Arizona. The police reported that Rafaela Vasquez was streaming a Hulu show on her phone and only looked up a half second before the crash. The collision was avoidable and she could face charges of vehicle manslaughter, it said.
Donald Trump defended his wife’s controversial coat. Melania Trump caused outrage by wearing a Zara jacket emblazoned with the words “I really don’t care, do u?” as she boarded a plane to visit migrant children separated from their parents. Trump tweeted that the script refers to her feelings about the “Fake News Media.”
Greece was cleared for a comeback. The country’s euro-zone creditors agreed on a compromise that will allow it to emerge from its third and final bailout on Aug. 20 and face the markets again. Greece has received over €300 billion ($346 billion) in bailouts since 2010.
North and South Korea discussed reuniting divided families. They discussed the details of allowing families, separated since the Korean War, to meet again. Today’s meeting is a follow-up on the promise made in April by Kim Jong Un and president Moon Jae-in to improve relations.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Marc Bain on the ethics of wearing silk. “If you set your ethical bar at whether a living thing died to produce a product, then silk is a fiber you’ll want to avoid. But for many, the question is whether the living thing involved has the level of consciousness required to experience pain.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council is a gift to China. Beijing wants to redefine human rights after the “China model.”
Audiobooks are more emotionally resonant than TV or movies. Psychologists made their case by measuring subjects’ heart rates and skin conductivity.
Children are targets in Trump’s America. The mere act of parenting in peace has become a privilege, rather than a human right.
Surprising discoveries
Elvis Presley’s private jet is up for sale—again. The person who bought it for $430,000 last year wants rid of the rusty 1962 Lockheed JetStar.
Herpes is linked to Alzheimer’s. Researchers found high levels of HHV-6 and HHV-7 viruses in the brain tissue of Alzheimer’s patients.
An airport hangar is slated to become a “mega brothel.” The Belgian city of Ostend will convert an abandoned terminal into “Hangar d’amour.”
Immigrants are changing the way Kansas residents speak. Isolated towns and rapidly changing demographics alter cadence and phonetics.
A Japanese worker went to lunch a few minutes early. The 64-year-old employee had his pay docked for 26 similar infractions, and his managers apologized on live TV.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Kansas lingo, and workplace compassion 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.