Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Shareholders vote on the $62 billion Takeda-Shire acquisition. Some members of the founding family of Takeda Pharmaceutical, which owns 10% of the company, are opposed to the blockbuster purchase of Ireland’s Shire PLC. Two-thirds of shareholders are needed to approve the deal.
The EU asks Facebook, Twitter, and Google for “fake news” reports. The internet giants will be required to file monthly reports on Russian disinformation campaigns ahead of the EU election next May.
A state funeral for the 41st US president. Financial markets and postal deliveries will be halted as politicians from the US and around the world pay their respects to George H. W. Bush, who died on Friday at the age of 94. Donald Trump will attend but is not slated to speak.
While you were sleeping
Trump sent stocks plunging when he proclaimed himself “Tariff Man.” Major indices fell more than 3% on fears that the US-China trade truce could disintegrate, along with worries about rising interest rates. The US president tweeted that he would impose new tariffs if the US and China could not reach a trade agreement.
Russia “partially unblocked” Ukraine ports. After seizing two naval vessels and triggering an international crisis, Moscow has restored access to two Ukrainian cities that it had blockaded. Russia is now allowing some Ukrainian ships through the Kerch strait, but only after significant delays.
The United States threatened to withdraw from a nuclear treaty. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said Moscow had 60 days to comply with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The US claims Russia’s SSC-8 missiles violate the ban on medium-range nuclear missiles, signed in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Hackers breached the Republican Party. The National Republican Congressional Committee said an intruder—thought to be a foreign actor—had access to sensitive emails for several months in the run-up to the 2018 election. None of the material has been released publicly.
Boeing is helping China get restricted satellite technology. The American founders of startup Global IP warned Boeing that the Chinese government was bankrolling their company, and eventually began interfering in the project, the Wall Street Journal reported (paywall). The ownership of Global IP is now disputed.
Obsession interlude
The CB radio was once a disruptive technology. As Hollywood glamorized the trucking industry, the open communication medium surged in popularity in the US and abroad. Even today, no technology exactly replaces it. Read more in today’s Quartz Obsession.
Quartz membership
Want to know what’s going on in trucking? Ask a trucker. Finn Murphy wrote the memoir “The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road,” but he’s also spent a lot of time pondering the future of the industry he loves. We caught up with him to discuss everything from automation to wages to his love of really long podcasts. Check out other parts of our trucking deep dive here.
Matters of debate
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Perennials will change the workplace. Older workers will become the largest group in the US workforce by 2024; they already outnumber teens by a two-to-one margin.
Every business is a tech business. Even companies founded before the internet age should be putting tech talent in the C-suites.
Aspiration keeps the ultra-wealthy unsatisfied. Millionaires and billionaires each think they need three times more wealth to be truly happy.
Surprising discoveries
A nine-year-old decriminalized snowballs. Dane Best convinced his Colorado town’s council to repeal an archaic law—and pointed to his brother as his intended target.
Only 15% of Trump merch is made in the US. The remainder doesn’t even list countries of origin.
California’s fires released a year’s worth of emissions. The entire state produced 76 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2016.
The world’s best female footballer was asked to celebrate by twerking. Aga Hegerberg shut down the sexist request as she became the first woman to receive the Ballon d’Or.
Two black holes became one. Scientists are now picking up the gravitational ripples of a stellar merger from five billion years ago.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, snowballs, and black holes to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Susan Howson and Adam Pasick.