Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Merkel and Putin talk Trump, tariffs, and a troublesome pipeline. The Russian president will visit the German chancellor on Saturday, with an agenda that includes the controversial gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. They’re also likely to discuss the US trade war (paywall) and the ripple effects of US sanctions against Turkey.
Hurricane watch in Hawaii. Tropical storm Lane continues to intensify on its path towards the islands. Weather watchers expect it will be upgraded to a hurricane on Friday and reach category 3 status over the weekend.
Deere’s latest earnings. The farm-machinery company expects sales to be up around 35% year-on-year in its latest quarter. Investors are keen to hear how US trade tariffs on aluminum and steel have affected the bellwether machine maker.
While you were sleeping
Elon Musk opened up. The Tesla boss told the New York Times (paywall) that the stress of trying to hit production goals made it “the most difficult and painful year of my career.” Separately, he denied allegations by an ex-employee that Tesla spied on workers; the same whistleblower claimed that a drug trafficking ring operated out of the group’s Gigafactory in Nevada.
The Pentagon said China is “likely” training to strike US targets in the Pacific. Its annual report to Congress highlighted China’s increased military spending and development of a fleet of long-range bombers—including ones with a nuclear capabilities.
Apple said user data was safe after an Aussie teen hacked its network. A 16-year-old from Melbourne broke into Apple’s mainframe and reportedly downloaded 90GB of secure files. An Apple spokesperson said Friday that the hack was “contained” without customer data being compromised.
The world’s biggest pork supplier raced to contain a swine-fever outbreak. China ordered WH Group to shut one of its main slaughterhouses after a second outbreak of African Swine Fever in two weeks. Unlike swine flu, African Swine Fever doesn’t affect humans.
Angry Birds’ creator had a rough second quarter. Rovio’s operating profit fell to $7 million, from $16 million in the same quarter a year ago. It blamed declining revenue from its 2016 Angry Birds movie, but was generally chirpy about growth in its gaming division.
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
Recycling is counterproductive. It’s ineffective, inefficient, expensive, and legitimizes single-use items.
Could SpaceX help fund a Tesla takeover? That’s one of the possibilities floated (paywall) in the revealing New York Times interview of Elon Musk.
The Catholic Church desperately needs its own #MeToo moment. The latest child-abuse scandal is a call for more to speak up.
Surprising discoveries
The best zoos house the best escape artists. A healthier, happier animal is more likely to devise a creative exit.
Humans pay through the nose, literally. Companies have figured out how to manipulate our sense of smell to keep us buying.
A Danish teenager discovered a WWII plane, complete with the pilot’s remains. He was looking for buried family artifacts with a metal detector.
IKEA underestimated Indian demand. The opening of its first store in the country led to two-hour queues and traffic jams.
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, money-making scents, and sturdy spaghetti 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.