Good morning, Quartz readers!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Elon Musk’s election-pledge lottery is not quite a lottery. His pro-Trump political action committee has been pre-selecting winners of its $1 million drawings.
Berkshire Hathaway has a massive piggy bank. The investment company is sitting on a $325 billion cash pile.
Perplexity seeks to silence the haters with its election site. The company claims its model’s history of making things up is in the past.
These election freebies are the real deal, though. Voters can get free donuts, pizza, and more after casting their ballots.
A once-a-month Ozempic version could be on its way. Novo Nordisk, the company behind the drug, is working on a version that would ease up its currently weekly regimen.
Beloved restaurant not beloved enough
A lot of restaurants might be reaping the benefits of Americans’ increased indulgence in eating out, but TGI Fridays is not one of them. The sit-down dining chain just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Customers paused visits to its locations after the COVID-19 pandemic began, but they never ended up coming back. Recovering that traffic was a challenge only made more difficult by changing consumption patterns and labor unrest.
What will it take for TGI Friday’s to regain its financial footing? Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez digs into the news that has been pending for a while.
Bees kneecap Meta nuclear capabilities
Meta needs the incredible power of a nuclear reactor to energize its AI data centers. But it encountered something even more powerful at the site where it wanted to build one: bees.
Rather than deal with the environmental headache of working around the rare bee species living on the land, Mark Zuckerberg and company will have to find another place to put its data center. It’s yet another complication in the already-complicated world of AI infrastructure development.
How did the company break the news to its worker bees? Quartz’s Britney Nguyen has all the buzz on the developments.
MORE FROM QUARTZ
💰 This is who the billionaire class is supporting this election
🎸 George Harrison’s guitar, Elton John’s piano, and other high-dollar auctions this week
🔁 Nvidia is about to replace Intel in the Dow
📈 Nvidia is also growing so fast it’s spiking this company’s stock by proxy
🚪 Jamie Dimon’s wife is door-knocking for Kamala Harris
❌ American computer chip companies are cutting off China
SURPRISING DISCOVERIES
Job-screening AI models overwhelmingly like white guys. Researchers say that the technology amplifies existing biases in hiring processes instead of ameliorating them.
Roman officials are boxing in tourists. Visitors to the city’s Trevi Fountain have been forced to toss coins into a makeshift plywood pool amid repairs.
Cryptocurrency owners love other kinds of gambling, too. A recent working paper suggests that owners of the digital currency are far more likely than others to use betting apps.
Juan Soto is about to take a big no. 2. The Yankees outfielder is a free agent and expected to sign the second-largest contract in American sports history.
Mount Fuji is unveiling a scary new look. Its peak has gone snowcap-less for the longest period in recorded history.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, technology giant-defeating bees, and once-precedented giant sports contracts to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Kevin Ryan.