Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Malaysia’s prime minister tries to cut a new deal in China. Mahathir Mohamad is meeting with Chinese officials, including president Xi Jinping, on a five-day trip that starts Friday. The newly elected prime minister is hoping to cancel infrastructure contracts with China worth more than $20 billion that his predecessor had agreed to.
Merkel meets Putin to talk Trump. The Russian president will visit the German chancellor on Saturday, with an agenda that includes Ukraine, Syria, and natural gas. Analysts expect the pair to also discuss the US trade war (paywall), including the ripple effects of Trump’s sanctions against Turkey.
Hurricane watch in Hawaii. Tropical storm Lane continues to intensify on its path to the archipelago. Weather officials expect it will be upgraded to a hurricane on Friday and reach category 3 status over the weekend.
The Asian Games kick off. The opening ceremony for the 18th Asian Games, jointly hosted by Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia, will start Saturday at 7pm local time. Esports will debut as a demonstration event this year and become a medal event in 2022. More than 10,000 athletes from 45 countries will partake in the games, which will end on Sept. 2.
While you were sleeping
Google employees pushed back against a censored search engine. A letter signed by more than 1,000 employees (paywall) says the company’s plans to re-enter China and abide by its censorship rules raise “urgent moral and ethical issues.” Employees are also demanding transparency about Google’s work in the country.
Elon Musk gave his first interview since tweeting about taking Tesla private. The CEO told the New York Times his tweet was an attempt at transparency. He also described the stress he’s been under as the electric-car maker tries to meet its production goals. “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” Musk said (paywall).
Sandy Hook conspiracy blogs started to disappear from the internet. Automattic, the parent company of Wordpress, recently rewrote its policies to bar blogs on its platform from “malicious publication of unauthorized, identifying images of minors.” Earlier this week, the New York Times published an article about how conspiracy theories have flourished on Wordpress (paywall).
Trump’s $90 million military parade got postponed. The Pentagon said the event to honor veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I will be delayed until at least 2019. Costs for the parade, originally scheduled for Nov. 10, ballooned from earlier estimates of $10 million to $30 million.
Respect poured in for the Queen of Soul. Musicians, politicians, and fans paid tribute to Aretha Franklin, who died at 76. The legendary singer’s 60-year recording career made her an icon of empowerment, the first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the greatest singer of all time, according to Rolling Stone.
Quartz Obsession interlude
A special series by Quartz and the Texas Observer examines the fight for water in a warming world. “Managing a river shared by two countries is challenging enough. Add to that historically volatile relationships, booming populations, longer and more intense droughts driven by climate change, and the growth of industries dependent on the river for water, and you have—well, you basically have the river-border between Texas and Mexico.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Elon Musk illustrates the paradox of power. He understood people on the way up, but his behavior at the top indicates he’s lost touch.
Recycling is counterproductive. It’s ineffective, inefficient, expensive, and legitimizes single-use items.
Give open offices another chance. With collaborative areas and enclosed spaces, the concept often works beautifully.
Surprising discoveries
A Danish boy discovered a WWII plane, complete with the pilot’s remains. The teenager was looking for buried family artifacts with a metal detector.
Humans pay through the nose, literally. Companies have figured out how to manipulate our sense of smell to keep us buying.
IKEA underestimated Indian demand. The opening of its first store in the country led to two-hour queues and traffic jams.
The best zoos house the best escape artists. A healthier, happier animal is more likely to find a creative exit.
Mathematicians solved the dry-spaghetti problem. To break a noodle exactly in half, you need to twist as well as bend.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, mall scents, and noodle fragments 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 Alice Truong and edited by Isabella Steger.