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What to watch for today
A ruling on Indonesia’s election challenge. Last month Prabowo Subianto, who failed in his bid to unseat Joko Widodo as president, challenged the vote tally. Today a court will rule on the dispute, with tens of thousands of security personnel standing by in Jakarta in case of unrest.
Xi Jinping makes his first visit to Japan as president. Ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka this weekend, the Chinese president will meet prime minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he shared a famously icy handshake in 2014. Bilateral relations have since improved, thanks partly to Trump’s “America first” policies.
US Democrats duke it out on prime-time TV. The first of two 10-person debates starts in Miami at 9pm local time. Elizabeth Warren is the heaviest hitter of the bunch, with front-runner Joe Biden appearing in the next round.
While you were sleeping
Trump questioned the fairness of the US-Japan defense pact. Under the arrangement, the US may station troops in Japan and will come to its defense in the event of an attack. Japan, however, “doesn’t have to help us at all,” he complained on Fox.
Huawei lost a trade secrets case against in the US. The Chinese electronics giant had sued CNEX Labs, a semiconductor designer based in California, of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees. A CNEX attorney described the lawsuit as “bullying and intimidation.”
The NSA over-collected call records again. The US National Security Agency’s surveillance program came under renewed scrutiny following news that last October it gathered records on calls and text messages sans authorization. That followed a controversial case of over-collecting in 2015.
The European Commission took on Broadcom. The regulator told the US chipmaker to stop certain anticompetitive practices while opening a formal antitrust probe, alleging the company uses its market dominance to curtail competition in the chips used in modems and set-top boxes.
The FAA spotted a new potential risk with the 737 MAX. The issue means it will be at least July 8 before Boeing conducts a certification test flight for the grounded plane. In May the US Federal Aviation Administration said approval could happen as soon as late this month.
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Matters of debate
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Verification means nothing. Checking credentials on social media should involve a more nuanced system that’s less polarizing.
Ban all e-cigarettes. Vape companies have created a new generation of nicotine users and must be stopped.
Big Tech is as persuasive as a cult leader. But users don’t seem to care until they’re shown exactly how they’re being manipulated.
Surprising discoveries
Toy Story 4 was beat by a 20-year-old anime film at the Chinese box office. Cult classic Spirited Away made double what the Pixar blockbuster did.
Germany imposed speed limits on the Autobahn. Authorities worry that a blistering heatwave will create dangerous cracks on the normally free-wheeling highway.
A tiny British museum got half a million unexpected guests. They tuned in from China to a livestream tour, with viewers very curious about Victorian culture.
Chevy may roll out a $100,000 pickup truck. While sales across most of the automotive industry have slumped, pickups just keep on truckin’.
Russia made an owl-shaped drone. The disguise is meant to fool enemy troops while the aircraft guides artillery strikes down onto their heads.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cult classics, and owl drones 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 Steve Mollman and Susan Howson.