Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
ASEAN holds its regional security forum. The association’s 10 member nations and special guests will tackle trade, infrastructure investments, and waterway control, with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo expected to discuss a $113 million investment in the region. North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho is also expected to attend.
Pompeo makes a stop in Malaysia. Before arriving at the ASEAN forum, the US state secretary will meet with prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was re-elected on a promise to clean up corruption. Pompeo plans to promote the Trump administration’s vision for turning the Indo-Pacific into an “open, transparent, rules-based region”.
The US reports jobs data. Analysts predict the economy will have added 188,000 new non-farm jobs in July, down from the 213,000 added in June, but with a slightly lower unemployment rate.
While you were sleeping
Apple became America’s first $1 trillion company. Shares of the iPhone maker rose above $207.05, pushing its market capitalization past the historic milestone. Chinese oil giant PetroChina reached $1 trillion in market cap in 2007, and Saudi oil firm Aramco is valued at $2 trillion, but is not yet public.
Pope Francis called the death penalty “inadmissible.” The Roman Catholic church, which had formerly defended some cases of capital punishment, reversed course to say it’s an “attack on the inviolability and dignity of a person.”
Trump’s aides warned that Russia is still meddling in US elections… Director of national intelligence Dan Coats and security adviser John Bolton said the Kremlin is behind “pervasive” attempts to “drive a wedge” between Americans and “undermine our democratic values” through voter suppression and cyber attacks. The allegations stand in stark contrast to denials by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
…While Robert Mueller eyed a Russian pop star. The US special counsel is seeking Emin Agalarov—aka EMIN—as a witness in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The 38-year-old singer was allegedly part of the circle that helped coordinate a Trump Tower meeting; his father, oligarch Aras Agalarov, has longstanding business ties to Putin.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Chase Purdy on the future of sugar: “A relatively new startup headquartered near Tel Aviv, Israel has developed a super-tiny method that may have cracked what has been an impossible code. In doing so, it sits on the cusp of changing the landscape of food manufacturing by making sugar so efficient that food companies can use 40% less while keeping tastes the same.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Africa needs an energy upgrade. Bad planning, cost-cutting, and utility company bankruptcies are keeping millions of poor African citizens in the dark.
Sri Lanka’s lavish new city is not necessarily progress. Colombo’s Port City expansion may cause social upheaval, logistical problems, and mass environmental damage.
QAnon isn’t a joke. This latest internet-meme-turned-political-conspiracy (paywall) is mobilizing paranoid Trump supporters to take increasingly destructive actions against a non-existent enemy.
Surprising discoveries
“Orange” wasn’t always a color. England stuck to variant descriptions like “yellow-red” until the fruit itself became more common.
A 2,000-year-old library was found under Cologne. The discovery, likely a Roman structure, has niches just the right size to hold parchment or papyrus scrolls.
Hawaii’s coastline is one mile longer. Constant lava flow from Kīlauea is adding between 50 to 150 cubic meters of land every second.
West Virginia is testing blockchain ballots. The option gives out-of-state citizens a safe way to cast their vote (paywall) via smartphone.
Alaskan government workers went back to typewriters. Most of the Matanuska-Susitna department’s 500 computers and 120 servers were compromised in a malware attack.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, orange synonyms, and typewriter ribbon 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 McKinley Noble and edited by Susan Howson.