Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Dilma Rousseff travels to New York. Brazil’s embattled president will attend a UN signing ceremony for the Paris climate agreement in the midst of impeachment proceedings back home. While she’s traveling, vice president Michel Temer—whom Rousseff has accused of leading a coup against her—is in charge.
Microsoft tries to maintain its momentum. The software company reports quarterly earnings amid a dramatic resurgence under CEO Satya Nadella. Analysts expect higher profits and revenues as cloud computing services offset weak PC sales.
The European Central Bank has some ‘splainin’ to do. The ECB is unlikely to unveil additional stimulus measures after cutting its benchmark rate to zero last month. But president Mario Draghi will be keen to convince investors that the bank still has more cards to play if inflation and growth remain in the doldrums.
The British royals host Barack and Michelle Obama. Drones are banned from the UK capital while the US president and first lady are in town. The Obamas have a full schedule in London, including a press conference with prime minister David Cameron, lunch with Queen Elizabeth (it’s her 90th birthday!), and dinner with Will and Kate.
While you were sleeping
The US Treasury shuffled its currency deck. Abolitionist icon Harriet Tubman will replace president Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill; founding father and Broadway icon Alexander Hamilton is staying on the $10 bill after all. The decision didn’t please everyone: Tubman’s $20 is still many years away.
Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik won a lawsuit against the government. Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011, sued the government for violating his human rights by keeping him in solitary confinement. The court ruled that his isolation constituted “inhuman treatment.“
Three men are facing jail time for Flint, Michigan’s water crisis. The city and state employees were accused of evidence tampering to hide the presence of lead in the water supply, among other criminal charges. Even tiny amounts of the metal can lower IQ and cause neurological problems in children.
Scientists honed in on an undiscovered planet in our solar system. The massive Planet Nine is thought to have a huge orbit that takes about 20,000 years to complete. US researchers said they’ve used data from the Cassini probe to eliminate all but a few possible locations of our mysterious celestial neighbor.
The EU accused Google of breaching competition laws. The tech giant faces antitrust charges and massive fines for bundling services like search and Gmail with the Android mobile operating system. Regulators say Google is squeezing out rivals and stifling competition.
Quartz markets haiku
The foolish goat strains
to reach the sweet mountain grass
along the cliff’s edge
Quartz obsession interlude
Lily Kuo on a satirical Instagram account on the dangers of voluntourism. ”Savior Barbie also highlights the point that advocates and experts working on the continent have been observing for years—well-intentioned but naive volunteerism.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China loves Donald Trump–and for good reason. The isolationist billionaire is preferable to Hillary Clinton, who has criticized the country’s human rights record.
Racial profiling of US muslims is the new normal. The recent Southwest Airlines incident is just the tip of the iceberg.
Saudi Arabia is wielding a $750 billion threat against America. It has threatened to divest all assets if a 9/11 lawsuit goes forward.
Surprising discoveries
A Chinese man went shopping with eight robot maids. They carried his belongings in an ostentatious display of wealth.
Men behave differently when they think about earning less than their wives. A threat to masculinity could impact the US presidential race.
Fewer people eat chocolate, so Hershey’s is turning to meat jerkey. Flavors will include black cherry barbecue.
Researchers created a metal foam that pulverizes bullets. It works like bubble wrap, collapsing air pockets upon impact.
London has $248 billion in underground gold. The sprawling vaults contain a fifth of all gold held by the world’s governments.
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