Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Israel’s parliament votes on dissolving itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a 21:00 GMT deadline to form a new government. If the bill wins final approval, Israel would be forced to host a new general election.
Fashion brands report earnings. PVH (Calvin Klein) has been focusing more on Asia and Europe as it faces competition from online retailers and fast-fashion brands. Abercrombie & Fitch has shown promise of a comeback, but no major brokerage has yet rated it “buy.”
American and Chinese news anchors debate. Trish Regan from Fox Business and Liu Xin from China’s state media will talk tariffs and technology on Regan’s show.
While you were sleeping
Protesters went on strike as Sudan’s transition to democracy stalls. Negotiations between military rulers and the civilian opposition over the composition of Sudan’s new government have come to a standstill. If the sides don’t reach an agreement by tomorrow, opposition leaders say they’ll call for an indefinite strike.
Mackenzie Bezos pledged to give away her billions. The novelist was one of the 19 billionaires who signed onto The Giving Pledge on Tuesday, committing to donate most of their money to charity. Bezos’s ex-husband Jeff, notably, has not signed the pledge.
The European Union scrambled to fill top jobs after a topsy-turvy election. Emmanuel Macron tried to torpedo Angela Merkel’s pick to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European commission. Macron has sought to form a new left-wing ruling coalition after Merkel’s center-right party lost votes in the weekend’s elections.
Two UN staffers were arrested in an organized crime sweep in Kosovo. Authorities say they arrested 19 police officers and nine civilians on charges of bribery, smuggling, and abuse of power, and seven others for obstructing police work. The UN didn’t say why its workers were arrested, but said they were taken to a hospital “for treatment of injuries.”
The fintech world saw another major takeover. Global Payments announced a $21.5 billion deal to buy its rival Total System Services—the third big acquisition in the payments industry this year. The new company will serve 3.5 million merchants and 1,300 financial institutions in 100 countries.
Membership
The influencer economy. Reporter Hanna Kozlowska dives into the world of influencers and microinfluencers—the people being energetically courted by brands to promote their products and services on social media. We also have interviews with former Greek finance chief Yanis Varoufakis and educator Esther Wojcicki. Over at Private Key, reporter Matt De Silva talks bitcoin bargain hunting.
Quartz Obsession
Cauliflower masquerades as steak and moonlights as rice. It’s vegan, paleo, and low carb. Crunchy when raw, it can be boiled into a mush, or roasted to perfection. It may just be all things to all people, and its popularity has rice producers in an uproar and farmers planting more of it than ever.
Matters of debate
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Aladdin shows Disney still doesn’t get the Middle East. Harmful tropes and a confusion of cultures make the live remake almost as problematic as the original.
Steak could stand in the Impossible Burger’s way. Engineering an alternative to whole-muscle cuts might prove…impossible.
Are Hollywood studios obligated to take a political stance? While producers and writers call for production boycotts in abortion-banning states, media companies have remained pointedly silent.
Surprising discoveries
The world’s rivers are swimming in antibiotics. Tainted waterways could contribute to the rise of antibacterial-resistant superbugs.
Ancient supernovae might have made humans walk upright. Cosmic radiation meant more lightning-sparked forest fires, which led our ape ancestors to descend from the trees, according to a radical study.
A man smuggled 4,700 leeches in his carry-on bag. A security dog sniffed them out, but the question remains: Who counted them?
Elephant seal dialects have all but disappeared. Decades ago, seals in isolated colonies made distinctive calls, but after years of intermingling they’ve lost their regional accents.
A pigeon saved a German driver from a €105 speeding ticket. The animal swooped in front of a traffic camera just in time to cover the motorist’s face and hide their identity.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, leech-sniffing dogs, and well-timed pigeons 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 Nicolás Rivero, Susan Howson, and Sarah Kessler.