Good morning, Quartz readers!
WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki. Trump said he was going into the meeting with “low expectations.” It should be interesting, considering the US just indicted 12 Russian intelligence agents for interfering with the 2016 US elections.
Goldman Sachs names its new CEO. The investment bank is expected to announce (paywall) as early as today that president David Solomon will succeed Lloyd Blankfein as chief executive.
Netflix premiers its second-quarter results. The video-streaming champion’s stock has soared over the last year, thanks to subscriber growth and global expansion. International sales are expected to have outstripped US sales for the first time in the last quarter.
Over the weekend
Elon Musk called a British diver in the Thai cave rescue a “pedo.” The Tesla CEO has been widely criticized for his baseless Twitter attack on Vern Unsworth after the diver described Musk’s attempt to send his mini-submarine into the caves as a “PR stunt.” Unsworth is considering legal action.
Trump left Britain’s head spinning. UK prime minister Theresa May told the BBC that Trump advised her to sue the European Union rather than negotiate a Brexit deal with the bloc. He also told CBS news that the EU was his “biggest foe globally right now” in terms of trade relationships, and, of course, attacked Germany again.
Nicaraguan police killed at least 10 people. The Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights said that government forces attacked local communities not far from the capital, Managua. Over 300 people have been killed in three months of bloody clashes with president Daniel Ortega’s forces.
France won its second World Cup. In one of the most exciting finals in years, France defeated Croatia 4-2 to win the FIFA tournament. When France took the cup 20 years ago, its current star player, Kylian Mbappé, had not yet been born.
Haitian prime minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned. He faced a no-confidence vote in parliament following deadly riots over the government’s plan to revoke fuel subsidies. Under that scheme, fuel prices in one of the world’s poorest nations would have increased by up to 50%.
Cuba moved to legalize private property. State media released teasers of the communist country’s new constitution, which will also limit presidential terms and put a prime minister in place. The national assembly will likely approve the constitution this week, before a public referendum later this year.
QUARTZ OBSESSION INTERLUDE
Echo Huang on the lasting distrust left by China’s 2008 tainted baby-formula tragedy. “‘I feel like foreign baby powder is better,’ says 25-year-old Zeng Yingpei, who lives in the southern city of Foshan and buys German baby formula for her two-year-old. Citing the Sanlu scandal, she quoted a popular refrain: ‘It only takes one mouse dropping to ruin the whole pot of porridge.'” Read more here.
MATTERS OF DEBATE
A single iTunes update changed the entire media landscape. The introduction of podcast support brought podcasts to the limelight.
Trump is what happens when postmodernism goes too far. Discarding the truth has intellectual roots in high culture.
Longer lives mean a single marriage may not be enough. More couples are wondering if the relationship they had in their first phase of adulthood is worth continuing.
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Paintings by robots will be sold at the Seattle Art Fair. It will be the first time entries from the 2018 RobotArt contest get their own gallery.
The last US Blockbuster video store is in Bend, Oregon. A Quiet Place was one of the top rentals last week.
Seafood scraps from restaurants may revive barrier reefs. Long Island conservationists hope throwing shells back in the sea will bolster eroded barrier islands (paywall).
South Africa had its first Wimbledon finalist in 97 years. It’s become a matter of national pride.
Goldman Sachs’s World Cup predictions weren’t even close. Its impressive statistical models had Brazil beating Germany in the final (paywall).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, robot masterpieces, and seafood platters 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.