Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UK finds out who will lead its government. Voting has closed, Theresa May will step down, and Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will be named the new head of the Conservative party. That winner—and it’s likely to be Johnson—becomes Britain’s prime minister, and will commence operations on Downing Street on Wednesday.
China slaps stainless steel. Duties on imports of stainless steel billets and hot-rolled stainless steel plates from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and the EU will go into effect today, as China’s government attempts to undo damage it says was caused by dumping—when an import is sold at a lower price than a domestic version of the same product.
Voting begins to confirm Spain’s PM. Socialist Pedro Sánchez hopes to hold onto his seat as acting prime minister, but far-left party Podemos is withholding its support over government appointments. Although Sánchez will probably lose the first vote today, he has another chance to gain a simple majority in a second vote on Thursday, by which time Podemos and the Socialists are more likely to have made a deal.
While you were sleeping
Equifax will pay data breach victims $700 million. The credit-reporting company said it would settle with those affected by its enormous 2017 data breach, establishing a groundbreaking precedent that could impact consumer data regulations.
Britain’s Liberal Democrats got a new leader. Jo Swinson was elected in an unexpected landslide, and becomes the first woman to lead the party, which has been enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to anti-Brexit messaging. Her acceptance speech stressed that “Britain deserves better than Boris Johnson.”
Puerto Rico staged one of its biggest protests ever. Tens of thousands of people blocked miles of highways to pressure Governor Ricardo Rosselló to resign after leaked texts revealed his profanity-laced attacks on rivals and a separate probe exposed his administration’s cozy relationships with special interests.
Microsoft invested $1 billion in human-like AI. The computer giant is now partnered with OpenAI, a company whose founders include Elon Musk, in the quest to create artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike AI programs built for specific tasks, AGI would be able to take on any problem human minds can ponder.
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It’s time to reboot the Hollywood franchise. Summer is traditionally when movie studios release their biggest, most-expensive, most crowd-pleasing films. This week, our in-house Hollywood expert, reporter Adam Epstein, takes a look at the film industry’s reliance on these kinds of movies and charts what we can expect in the months and years ahead, starting with today’s state-of-play memo.
Quartz Obsession
Skinny jeans just won’t quit. The profile we love to hate (and hate to take off) has been a status symbol for years now, but its growth has slowed, while sales of wide-leg jeans are picking up. Since this particular denim style is overdue for an overhaul, trend-watchers are expecting skinny jeans’ grip on the market to slack. Get the skinny at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Changing the name of the 737 Max won’t fool anyone. Boeing may have its hopes, but travelers are smarter than that.
Evidence shows you’re not open-minded. But please, feel free to categorically deny it.
Apple would rather its next leader replicate Tim Cook than Steve Jobs. Heir apparent Jeff Williams is known for his even temper and efficiency.
Surprising discoveries
An uncontacted Amazon tribe appeared on video. Indigenous activists behind the camera say it proves that people in the rainforest need protection.
France found a missing submarine after 51 years. Relatives of the 52 sailors on board have been waiting to find the final location of their loved ones since 1968.
Google pays random people to scan them. Insiders think the data will be used to perfect facial recognition on the upcoming Pixel 4.
The Milky Way ate another galaxy. New evidence suggests that we cannibalized stars and dust from our smaller neighbor 10 billion years ago.
The Dutch have built a floating dairy farm. On a river running through Rotterdam sit 32 cows, fed by soccer field trimmings and potato peels, tended to by robots.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, face scans, and seasick heifers 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 and Susan Howson.