Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Will Disney post magical results? The movie studio’s earnings are expected to be mixed after the successes of blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Incredibles 2. However, Solo: A Star Wars Story could be the first Star Wars film to lose money on Disney’s watch.
Rick Gates faces cross-examination at Paul Manafort’s trial. In his first day of testimony, the government’s star witness told prosecutors that he broke the law in various ways on Manafort’s orders, including hiding foreign bank accounts. The legal team for Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, has tried to pin the blame for wrongdoing on Gates, and will probably get its chance to question him directly today.
Colombia’s new conservative president is sworn in. Iván Duque will take over from Juan Manuel Santos to become the country’s youngest elected head of state. Duque, who has called the 2016 peace deal with FARC guerrillas “a joke,” will be presiding over a congress with 10 seats given to the FARC.
While you were sleeping
US “snapback” sanctions against Iran took effect. The sanctions target Iranian purchases of foreign currency and commodities, and ban US imports of pistachios and Persian rugs. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani responded by calling the sanctions “psychological warfare.“
Arsenal’s American owner bought out the club’s Russian shareholder. Stan Kroenke, who also runs the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Nuggets, bought Alisher Usmanov’s 30% stake in the London-based Premier League soccer team, giving him total control of the club. The deal values the underachieving team at $2.3 billion.
A wildfire became the largest in California’s history. Dubbed the Mendocino Complex, it’s made up of two separate conflagrations that merged, covering 283,800 acres. It has already destroyed 75 homes and forced thousands to flee. With more hot and dry weather expected, it is threatening to spread.
Ola geared up to enter into the UK. The Indian Uber rival—which recently set up shop in Australia—said it has already obtained licenses to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester starting next month. It plans to be UK-wide by the end of the year.
Japan’s wage growth hit a 21-year high. It surged 2.8% in June from a year earlier, thanks in part to higher summer bonuses. Household spending fell 1.2%, less than the forecast of 1.6%, and household income marked the fastest gain in three years.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Lily Zheng on the impossibility of curing implicit bias. “Bias isn’t like an upset stomach that an individual can take an antacid to fix; it’s a chronic issue that affects entire organizations, industries, and even societies… The outcome of any implicit bias training shouldn’t be to cure people’s bias or make them more objective—it should be to make people bias-aware.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Orcas and humans grieve in the same way. A “tour of grief” by a mother whale for her dead calf says a lot about our parent-child instincts.
Americans live in the ruins of the 2008 financial crisis. Prosperity is undercut by broken institutions, from health care to law enforcement.
The planet could be entering an irreversible “hot house” state. A new paper from leading scientists argues that positive feedback loops could mean our warming planet reaches a point of no return.
Surprising discoveries
Negative power prices are a thing now. They’re most common when clean energy supplies spike at a time when demand is low—especially in Germany.
WW2-era guns were found at a Japanese elementary school. The weapons were discovered two meters underground during excavation work.
Happiness hangovers are an evolutionary trait. Hedonic hotspots in the brain release their own drug-like neurotransmitters.
A Chinese electric car startup that has delivered zero cars is valued at $3.6 billion. Alibaba-backed Xiaopeng Motors was founded four years ago.
Starbucks coffee has more caffeine per dollar than McDonald’s. 7-Eleven provides even more bang per buck, while Dunkin’ Donuts trails well behind.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, free power, and caffeinated beverages 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 Rosie Spinks and Eshe Nelson and edited by Jason Karaian.