🌍 X bans and free salmon

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Elon Musk’s fight with Brazil hit a head. The Supreme Court in Brazil stood by its decision to ban the use of X in the country, where the social media platform has 21 million users.

Volkswagen’s first-ever plant closure in Germany is looming. Such a move, aimed at shoring up the company’s finances, would cause a ruckus among the automaker’s powerful unions.

Weight loss drugs could prevent COVID-19 deaths. A new study of semaglutide — the active ingredient in Wegovy — found that the drug cut the risk of dying from the disease by about 34%.

The great grandson of the man who founded Chrysler wants the brand back. Frank B. Rhodes Jr. wrote an open letter to Stellantis’ CEO outlining his plans for a “Phoenix-like” rebirth.

Shell’s oil exploration team is shrinking. The British petro giant is slashing 20% of its workforce that searches for oil and gas in an effort to make its operations much less expensive.

Typhoon Shanshan blew planes off the runway in Japan. The system weakened to a tropical storm this weekend, but its damage has been widespread and deadly.

Quotable: Investors want much more than more

Nvidia’s “failure to get even bigger has allowed a sliver of doubt to creep in.” — Richard Windsor, founder of research company Radio Free Mobile

Windsor was referencing the AI chip giant setting its third-quarter revenue guidance at $32.5 billion, below the top end of analysts’ estimates. Nevermind that Nvidia had just beat second-quarter earnings projections and hit new revenue records — investors’ need for AI growth, it appears, is truly insatiable.

Quartz’s Britney Nguyen asked analysts why the AI appetite is never ending. Here’s what they said.

Pop quiz: The most unionized places in the U.S.

Yesterday was Labor Day in the U.S., and labor unions are having somewhat of a comeback. Approval ratings for organizing are near a 60-year high, and Big Auto, Big E-commerce, and Big Coffee have all faced pressure from workers.

But the prevalence of unions isn’t uniform across the country. In which metro area are the most workers organized?

A. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Find the answer in Will Gavin’s slideshow, or read on to the bottom of this email.

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Surprising discoveries

A speaker on Boeing’s Starliner is emitting a peculiar pinging. It’s probably nothing, but what if it’s something?!

People can get married on the blockchain. As you might expect, it’s definitely not legally binding.

The future of wine in the U.S. is growing in Virginia. A man nicknamed “the Hermit of Linden” is part of the reason why.

Google is making new AI technology that can diagnose tuberculosis using smartphone voice recordings. Coughs contain a lot of clues.

Salmon on the U.S. West Coast are going where no salmon has gone in the past century. A dam removal project near the California-Oregon border will open up a passageway.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, space speakers, and salmon travel agents to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.

The correct answer to the pop quiz is A., Buffalo-Cheektowaga, N.Y.