Good morning, Quartz readers!
The Daily Brief is taking a break on Friday, July 5. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday, July 8.
Here’s what you need to know
Google’s environmental plans are being stifled by its own AI endeavors. The tech company is dealing with unsustainable energy demands and it is pushing its carbon footprint up.
Microsoft agreed to pay over $14 million to women and disabled workers to settle a discrimination suit. The filing made with the California Civil Rights Department accused the tech giant of retaliating against workers who used protected leave.
Australia has an egg shortage and it’s impacting breakfast at McDonald’s. The fast food chain is trimming its breakfast hours to help it curtail the bird flu-impacted supply constraint.
Alaska Airlines’ flight attendants stand to get a wage boost for helping passengers onboard. Talks of the “boarding pay” bump come after 20 months of back-and-forth bargaining.
Skydance’s merger talks with Paramount are back on. Should a deal take place, Skydance would fork out roughly $1.75 billion for National Amusements.
Inflation isn’t stopping America’s party
Higher prices aren’t keeping Americans from their independent right to spend billions of dollars on food and drinks to commemorate July 4th, with the holiday projected to garner some $9.4 billion in sales.
A large swath of retailers, including Aldi, Target, and Walmart, are staying open for the federal holiday. But Costco, and its beloved $1.50 hotdog combo, will be off the menu, as the retailer closes for the red-white-and-blue Independence Day.
If you had to guess which party staple inflation has affected the most this year, could you? Your options are:
A. Hot dogs
B. Beef
C. Tomatoes
D. Beer
Find out the answer here, and what you can expect from gas prices, and why you may not see Joey Chestnut at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest.
Formula 1 used to be far from mainstream
As the highest class of international racing for open-wheel, single-seater cars, F1 is worth more than $18 billion and stands to accelerate even more as a bonafide entertainment business, as the Euro-born sport becomes more popular in China, the United States, and elsewhere. But F1 also faces its challenges, from new driving tech to new electrification pressures.
In the third episode of the 8th season of the Quartz Obsession podcast, Jalopnik writer Ryan Erik King navigates a few high-speed laps around the past, present, and future of Formula 1 racing with host Rocio Fabbro in F1: The global race to the future.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora
👓 Or, read the transcript
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Surprising discoveries
A massive salamander-like creature may have existed before the dinosaurs. The sharp fanged beast is said to have dominated the water ahead of the arrival of dinosaurs on land.
The influencer dry spell is upon us. The days of clawing to social media superstardom may be limited, as the means to “make it” become harder to come by.
Humans aren’t the only surgical wizards. Florida carpenter ants are said to have been performing life-saving amputations on comrades.
Walmart’s drones need to watch out for bullets. Some gun owners are shooting at the delivery devices because they think they’re spying on them.
When the going gets rough, retailers are turning to product rebrands. Dubbed, “upflation,” some chains are changing how they market certain items, including full-body deodorant.
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Our best wishes on a safe Fourth of July holiday. Send any news, comments, influencing tips, or full-body deodorants to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Francisco Velasquez and Morgan Haefner.