Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Argentina’s senate votes on an abortion law. The measure would decriminalize abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. If passed, the country would be the first in Latin America to legalize the procedure.
CVS’s quarterly health check. The drugstore chain, which just closed a $69 billion deal with health insurer Aetna, will report second-quarter results that have likely benefited from higher sales of prescription drugs.
21st Century Fox reports earnings. The media giant published its offer document yesterday to acquire Sky, Europe’s largest pay-TV operator. Fox, which values Sky at £24.5 billion ($32 billion), is seeking to outplay a higher bid from Comcast. The US company is expected to post higher quarterly revenue.
While you were sleeping
Republicans claimed victory in Ohio. Though the outcome was too close to officially call, Troy Balderson’s tight lead at the end of the night avoided an embarrassing defeat for the president’s party. The House special election in the conservative stronghold is seen as a bellwether for the US midterm elections.
Slack is looking to raise $400 million or more in funding. The chat app for professionals, with 8 million active users, may be valued at around $7 billion. That’s $2 billion more than in September when it raised $250 million in a round led by SoftBank.
Samsung bet big on AI and 5G. The South Korean conglomerate announced it will invest more than $22 billion (paywall) in machine learning, auto tech, and fifth-generation cellular technology. The world’s largest smartphone maker is looking for growth beyond memory chips and phones.
Jack Dorsey defended Twitter’s decision not to ban Alex Jones. The Twitter founder said the American conspiracy theorist “hasn’t violated our rules.” Jones has been banned from Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Spotify in recent days for promoting hate speech and violence.
China’s exports surged last month. Despite new US tariffs, exports rose 12% from a year earlier—a weaker yuan helped reduce the sting—and the country’s trade surplus with the US barely dipped. On Tuesday, the US said it will begin imposing 25% tariffs on an additional $16 billion in Chinese imports from Aug. 23.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Annabelle Timsit on how yogurt fueled the rise of civilization. “Some historians believe that the Book of Job’s description of the land of Israel as ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ refers to yogurt, and the book’s author links yogurt consumption to Abraham’s longevity and fecundity. Genghis Khan fed his army yogurt, based on the belief that it instilled bravery in his warriors—or so the legend goes.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Did Elon Musk break US securities law? He shocked traders when he said he’d secured funding to take Tesla private—but could be in trouble if the money hasn’t been pledged.
Publish your climate change study during a hot summer. People will be more open to accepting that global warming is real.
Excellent teams have “cultural brokers.” Members who can relate to all sides of a diverse team can facilitate cross-cultural interactions.
Surprising discoveries
Female heart patients do better with female doctors. Women present heart attack symptoms differently, and are statistically more likely to die if treated by a male doctor.
Television could be ruining your sex life. TV owners have a 5.7% lower likelihood of having done the deed in the past week than those without.
The Pentagon banned deployed personnel from using fitness trackers and dating apps. Geolocation features had inadvertently revealed their secret locations.
Ghost peppers could boost fire-ravaged ecosystems. Coating seeds in their capsaicin (the spicy bit) deters seed-eating rodents.
Brexit could disrupt the British sandwich. An interrupted supply chain could mean two slices of bread without much in between.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, spicy seeds, and Brexit sandwiches 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 John Detrixhe and edited by Eshe Nelson.