Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
US tech giants are grilled by Congress. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify about their attempts to fight misinformation that could influence US elections. The senate intelligence committee rejected Google chief legal officer Kent Walker as a witness, saying he was not sufficiently senior.
Pompeo heads to Pakistan. The US secretary of state will meet with the country’s new foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in a dispute over US military funding. Qureshi has argued that the money had already been spent to defend Pakistan and US troops from the Taliban and other militants.
UK homebuilders release earnings. Barratt Developments and Berkeley will release quarterly results, as analysts look for the impact of Brexit (paywall). Meanwhile, German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Bayer will report second-quarter earnings that will include its acquisition of Monsanto.
While you were sleeping
A new tell-all painted an ugly picture of the White House. Journalist Bob Woodward—of Watergate fame—reported that alleged staffers hid paperwork from Trump to “protect the nation,” flagrantly disregarded orders, and were unable to keep the president truthful in even mock interviews. Woodward quoted some of Trump’s closest chiefs calling their boss “an idiot” and a “dumbbell” with the mind of “a fifth or sixth grader.”
The Bank of England’s leader indicated he may stay on through Brexit. Mark Carney is currently scheduled to leave his bank governorship in June of 2019, but commented to Parliament (paywall) that he is “willing to do whatever else I can.” While his actions have been often criticized, Carney’s also been hailed as a voice of reason after the Brexit vote.
Brett Kavanaugh began dramatic confirmation hearings. The Supreme Court nominee appeared before Congress amid interruptions from Handmaid’s Tale-dressed protesters. Democrats protested a hasty release of 42,000 pages of pertinent documents, and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California chided Kavanaugh on guns and privacy.
Amazon briefly hit the $1 trillion mark. The e-commerce giant had a fleeting moment when shares climbed to $2,050.50, before dipping back down, but the honor of becoming the second US company to attain a 13-figure value lasts forever, although the number is largely just a psychological milestone.
Video games won’t be in the Olympics. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said that esports won’t be accepted while the industry is spearheaded by “killer games” that focus on combat, which violates Olympic principles. The recent shooting in Florida at an esports event hasn’t helped the industry’s image.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Marc Bain on how a boycott over Nike isn’t likely to hurt the swoosh: “Nike, of course, is also a global brand; while the US is its biggest and most important market, it makes up less than half of total sales, meaning most Nike customers probably don’t have strong feelings about Kaepernick either way.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China’s economy will be hamstrung by demographics. The full effects of the one-child policy will cause the economy to collapse (paywall) not long after it overtakes that of the US.
Fandom is a hotter commodity than music. The recording industry capitalizes on engagement and spectacle rather than tunes, or even the artists themselves.
Fracking isn’t generating actual cash. The controversial process is making US oil rich again, but may be the source of a looming economic crisis.
Surprising discoveries
Gig economy. Even the incoming CEO of Goldman Sachs has a side gig—”DJ Sol” was spinning a Sunday afternoon set (paywall) this weekend.
Infrastructure and obesity are related. The relationship between a city’s infrastructure and its inhabitants’ weight can now be determined using satellite images from Google.
Amazon hopes to put stars in the cloud. Chile’s vast trove of astrodata could boost the company’s cloud computing business and change data mining as we know it.
Female monkeys reject malesplaining. Even when male monkeys demonstrate useful knowledge, females would rather trust other, more community-centric females.
Click three times and wish. The FBI has finally found a pair of million-dollar ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz—stolen in 2005 from a Minnesota museum.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, executive side gigs, and missing shoes 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 and edited by Ephrat Livni and Susan Howson.