Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
US retail figures for July. Analysts expect retail sales to rise, based on income growth and a strong labor market. Macy’s, due to report earnings, may have benefited from the robust retail environment.
T-Mobile’s “Un-Carrier” reveal. Some predict the company will announce a Layer3 TV or video product offering at today’s event. T-Mobile bought cable company Layer3 in December.
Cisco’s latest earnings. The software company is expected to report higher quarterly revenue, thanks to growth in its cyber security arm—it recently bought Duo Security for $2.4 billion (paywall) in a push to diversify its sales with subscription software.
While you were sleeping
Turkey raised the stakes in its fight with the US. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled import tariffs on American cars, alcohol, and tobacco in response to Donald Trump’s doubling of US tariffs on steel and aluminum from Turkey. This morning, a Turkish court rejected an appeal for the release of a jailed American pastor at the center of the spat between Ankara and Washington.
A transgender candidate won a Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Christine Hallquist’s victory in the Vermont Democratic primary made her the first trans candidate for governor from a major party. She was previously the CEO of the Vermont Electric Cooperative.
Twitter suspended Alex Jones’s account—for a week. The Infowars founder cannot post for seven days after sharing a video calling on his supporters to get their “battle rifles” ready. The platform was fiercely criticized for not following Apple, Facebook, and YouTube’s bans of the conspiracy theorist.
A former Microsoft and Yahoo exec will lead Y Combinator China. The US startup incubator that seeded companies like Airbnb and Dropbox is coming to China. Tech veteran Qi Lu will head up the accelerator’s first full-fledged international effort.
The death toll rose to 37 in Italy’s bridge collapse. Rescuers were still combing the rubble for survivors on Wednesday morning, 24 hours after a section of a highway bridge in Genoa collapsed. The government blamed Autostrade, the company that owned the bridge, and moved to strip its toll concession.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Jennifer Robison on why parents need best friends at work. “Managers can help navigate work issues. Spouses can help think through family stuff. But only a best friend at work can do both, with an abiding concern for the person struggling to sort it all out.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
There are no guaranteed gains from free trade. Liberal-minded policymakers need better solutions to address the losses that come from globalization.
Sexbots could make marriages stronger. The new technology could free up couples to focus on love, not sex.
Misogyny is causing a gender gap in PhDs in China. Women fear entering a doctoral program will make it harder to get married.
Surprising discoveries
Southwest Airlines says horses can fly. Its new policy says you can have one comfort cat or dog—or a miniature horse if it’s assisting you physically (paywall).
New Zealand is battling an avocado crime wave. Criminals are stripping trees of fruit under the cover of night as a shortage sends prices skyrocketing.
An 81-year-old will compete at the Asian Games. Malaysia will send bridge player Lee Hung Fong, along with 11-year-old skateboarder Ian Nuriman Amri.
A new section of the Berlin Wall was discovered. Locals stumbled upon it during a walking tour of the German capital.
The US Civil War helped tattoos become mainstream. Soldiers got inked to help the army identify their bodies.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, black-market avocados, and tiny horses 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 Sam Rigby and edited by Jason Karaian.