Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman slammed Microsoft. The executive is tired of AI companies scraping data from the social media platform without permission.
The U.S. stock market tumbled. That’s because the labor market is slowing down, and investors are worried the Federal Reserve has waited too long to cut interest rates.
Walmart issued an employee relocation mandate. The retail giant will require thousands of workers to move to its main office hubs — or lose their jobs.
Meta proved AI hype is still real. And its stock rally added billions to Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth.
Elon Musk’s Texas company town got a private school. Ad Astra School in Bastrop, Texas is accepting applications. Separately, Don Lemon sued Musk.
A landmark AI law finally arrives
The European Union greenlit the first major AI law in the world. It will regulate the development, use, and application of artificial intelligence. Its goal is to ensure AI systems used and developed in the EU are safe and trustworthy, and the law will also have a major impact on U.S. tech companies.
“With the AI Act, Europe emphasizes the importance of trust, transparency and accountability when dealing with new technologies while at the same time ensuring this fast-changing technology can flourish and boost European innovation,” said Mathieu Michel, Belgian state secretary for digitalization.
Quartz’s Britney Nguyen has the story.
No one wants a couch in this economy
The home furniture market is tanking. It actually hasn’t been this bad since the Great Recession, according to online furniture seller Wayfair’s CEO. Usually that’s a sign of bad times for the economy, but that’s not necessarily the case this time around.
Indeed, home furniture says a lot about the economy. While we’re thinking of couches, chairs, tables — oh my! — here’s Quartz’s home goods reading list.
🛋️ Ikea’s big bet on the American market
🛋️ Home improvement projects boomed in the pandemic. But people regret some interior design choices
🛋️ Back to school season means the same online furniture, listed for five different prices
🛋️ Design furniture for your micro apartment
Friday markets haiku
Down, down goes the Dow
afar are interest rate cuts
on a distant shore
A day after rallying due to the Fed’s softened tone on interest rates, stocks plummeted yesterday as unemployment grew faster than expected.
More from Quartz
✈️ Spirit Airlines earnings show that it is running out of runway
🏀 ESPN’s and Warner Bros. Discovery’s joint live sports streaming service finally has a price
❤️🩹 Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound could cut heart failure risks
👶 The Biden administration wants airlines to let kids sit next to their parents for free
🧂 Snackers are feeling salty, leaving chocolate sales melting
℞ Eli Lilly CEO says Zepbound shortage could end ‘very soon’
Surprising discoveries
Johnny Cash is the first musician to get a statue in the U.S. Capitol. Cash has walked the line to statue status, and the large bronze sculpture will be unveiled in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall in September.
An Italian Olympic gymnast is sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano. Silver medalist Giorgia Villa can be seen posing with wheels of cheese on her Instagram.
An Olympic Stadium track is made of recycled shells. The company that designed the track, Mondo, and a group of fishermen gathered shells of bivalve mollusks from the Mediterranean Sea.
The Army Corps of Engineers beach rebuilding program from the 1960s will probably last forever. The longest-running project started on Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina in 1965, and climate change means the Army Corps will probably keep endlessly pumping sand to revive deteriorating shorelines.
There are only 309,000 public pools in the U.S. — but 10.4 million private ones. Private pools are entwined with the story of racism in America; they boomed in white suburbs in the 40s and 50s as whites retaliated against racial integration.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, Wayfair couches, and clam shells to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Laura Bratton and Morgan Haefner.