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Here’s what you need to know
Tesla’s stock is turning around. Its share price is up after selling more EVs than expected in the second quarter of this year.
Qatar Airways posted its biggest profit ever. The airline is thriving as its rivals struggle to grapple with supply chain issues.
The U.S. government gave Moderna $176 million. It’s funding the development of a bird flu vaccine for humans, after the H5N1 virus infected three people in the U.S. in May.
A Microsoft partnership raised national security concerns. The Pentagon is worried about Microsoft’s $1.5 billion deal with a United Arab Emirates AI firm that’s linked to China.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders want pharma giants to lower weight loss drug prices. The U.S. president and senator called out Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly for the high costs of Wegovy and Ozempic.
The U.S. Federal Reserve said interest rate cuts are on hold. Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank wants to see inflation cool off more before cutting its benchmark rate.
Grubhub is catching the big fish
Bigger isn’t always better, at least when it comes to who’s delivering your takeout. While DoorDash and Uber Eats dominate the market for food delivery, Grubhub is on the come up.
The food delivery market exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. And though Chicago-based Grubhub currently holds less than 10% of the food delivery market, it’s recently secured major contracts. That includes deals with Starbucks, Albertsons, and Amazon. Its success is part of a growing trend in the takeout delivery space, in which smaller players are succeeding over big wigs.
That doesn’t mean food delivery giants aren’t doing their darnedest to maintain their dominance. Uber Eats and DoorDash are still vying for partnerships with retailers. But less flexibility and higher fees mean they may not always succeed. Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez has the story.
The Supreme Court is being conflict-avoidant
The Supreme Court is exercising its right of indecision. The high court said yesterday that it won’t hear a case that would determine the future of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the country’s labor rights enforcement agency. Also this week, SCOTUS declined to rule in two cases between southern states and social media that would set a precedent for how the First Amendment is applied in the digital age.
Here’s Quartz’s reading list on the cases:
⚖️ SCOTUS declined to hear a case that could have destroyed OSHA
⚖️ The Supreme Court won’t decide Big Tech’s free speech fight with Florida and Texas
⚖️ Supreme Court arguments over social media laws and free speech are defining social media itself
⚖️ SCOTUS arguments on social media laws featured some really strange comparisons
More from Quartz
🛻 General Motors posted its best sales since 2020
💸 Trump Media got another big cash infusion
📺 Novo Nordisk is going all out on TV ads
🤑 Robinhood is scheming its next crypto play
❌ American Airlines flight attendants failed to reach a union deal
🚜 John Deere is laying off hundreds because farmers aren’t buying equipment
Surprising discoveries
Greece is introducing six-day work weeks. It’s going in a different direction from other European countries experimenting with a four-day work week as it grapples with a dearth of skilled workers and an aging population.
A loose bear was jumping fences in Los Angeles. The 5- or 6-year-old female black bear was captured after roaming free through LA’s suburbs for 24 hours.
Wimbledon is the single biggest annual catering operation in Europe. Fifty tons of strawberries and over 102,000 scones were served at last year’s global tennis tournament.
At least a third of American workers have signed NDAs. And some non-disclosure agreements can last forever, The Cut reports.
Vintage CD players are a good investment. We’re in a similar environment to the 1990s “pre-vinyl-revival era,” and CDs and players are going to get more expensive soon.
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, bear catchers, and old ABBA CDs to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Laura Bratton and Morgan Haefner.