Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US Supreme Court’s last session. On the last day of its current term, the bench is set to issue rulings on contentious issues including partisan gerrymandering and the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Updates on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran is expected to announce that its uranium stockpiles have exceeded the limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal. This could mark the beginning of the end of the accord, after the US withdrew last year.
Xi Jinping makes his first visit to Japan as president. Ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka this weekend, the Chinese leader 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.
Nike swooshes along. The apparel giant is expected to post a rise in quarterly sales, driven by new product launches and growing demand among women, but the trade war and weaker sales in China could weigh on earnings.
While you were sleeping
Democrats duked it out on prime-time TV. At the first of two 10-person debates in Miami, senator Elizabeth Warren, currently enjoying a surge in popularity, and New York mayor Bill de Blasio were the only candidates who said they supported government-run health care. The candidates even dueled in Spanish.
Donald Trump criticized Indian tariffs. The US president called the levies on US goods “unacceptable,” ahead of a meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo also met with Modi recently.
Mark Zuckerberg pledged to tackle deepfake videos. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Facebook chief said the company is mulling rules to police AI-manipulated videos, though was short on details. The social media giant has come under fire after an altered video of Nancy Pelosi appearing drunk went viral.
H&M restocked its shelves. The fast-fashion group said its June sales were up 12%, in part thanks to a shift to online buying, causing its stock price to jump by nearly 10%. The Swedish company earlier posted a quarterly profit of $485 million.
Private equity dealmaking reached new heights. It has swelled to its highest level (paywall) since before the 2008 global recession, and there’s no sign of slowing: buyout firms have nearly $2.5 trillion in unspent funds primed for investment.
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Our week-long investigation into traveling intelligently continues today with tips on using ATM machines without getting dinged by exorbitant fees, and why it makes most sense to use credit cards as much as possible when spending abroad.
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Matters of debate
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Morocco is the next country in line for a revolution. Almost half of the population in the monarchy want radical political change.
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. Users don’t seem to care until 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.
Ancient Europeans may have lived alongside birds that were 12 feet tall. A fossilized femur that once belonged to a gigantic bird was recently found on the Black Sea coast.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are pen pals. The two have exchanged 12 letters since last year; Kim has sent eight of them.
The world has a Candy Crush addiction problem. An executive from the company that created the smartphone game said more than 9 million people play it for at least three hours a day.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, game-addiction cures, and diplomatic missives to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Adam Rasmi and edited by Jason Karaian.