Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A long-awaited report on the UK’s role in the 2003 Iraq invasion. The Chilcot committee has been investigating the foreign policy debacle for seven years—longer than Britain actually fought in Iraq. Its findings could further tarnish (paywall) the legacy of former prime minister Tony Blair.
Ban Ki Moon visits China. The UN secretary-general begins five days of meetings with Beijing officials as China conducts military drills in the South China Sea. Tensions have been rising ahead of a July 12 decision by an international tribunal over a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines.
The US Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its June 14-15 meeting. The central bank held rates steady amid worries about a sharp slowdown in hiring the previous month. The notes could shed light on how concerned it was about the domestic economy, and how much Brexit factored into its decision.
While you were sleeping
Twitter added a Facebook veteran to its board. Bret Taylor was previously the chief technology officer at Facebook, and was also at Google. With BET CEO Debra Lee being another recent addition, Twitter’s board now looks radically different from the one that allowed the company to stagnate in recent years.
Theresa May got closer to becoming the next UK prime minister. The UK home secretary dominated the first round of voting to choose David Cameron’s successor, winning the backing of a majority of Tory MPs. May now must convince the rank and file, who could object to her anti-Brexit stance.
Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of bribing the US attorney general. He suggested Clinton told Loretta Lynch that she would keep her as attorney general should she win the presidency. His accusation came after the FBI recommended that no charges be pursued against Clinton for the use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
A cellphone video appeared to show a black man being fatally shot by police in Louisiana. Protesters gathered in Baton Rouge last night after the graphic video circulated on social media. The video was recorded by a bystander as Alton Sterling was tackled by officers and then shot (paywall). Two officers were placed on leave following the incident.
Quartz markets haiku
Last time the pound was
This low against the dollar
Dire Straits topped the charts
Quartz obsession interlude
Tim Fernholz on the real reason Elon Musk is bringing Tesla and SolarCity together. “The writing on the wall is clear: Solar City needs a new way to capture the excess power of its solar plants, or its customers will dry up. One way to capture excess power? Batteries that store the extra power within the home for use later. And Tesla is in the middle of building an enormous factory to produce arguably the most advanced batteries in the world.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Vladimir Putin’s interests align with Donald Trump’s. Russia’s attempts to back right-wing populists have found the perfect candidate.
Africa is really tired of white savior memoirs. The latest best-seller is by a Scottish actress who spent a gap year in Zambia.
US immigration policy is badly outdated. It’s focused on economic migrants from Mexico, with scant thought given to everyone else.
Surprising discoveries
A burger-flipping robot wants to make cooks obsolete… A San Francisco startup (natch) is also hiring a solitary human manager.
…And a robotic butt is helping to detect prostate cancer. It’s training doctors for a very different kind of digital technique.
A singularly unlucky man keeps getting killed in terrorist attacks. Or so it seems from the hoax photos that the news media keep falling for.
Russia’s notorious children’s ombudsman finally went too far. He asked the survivors of a horrific boating accident: “So, how was the swim?”
Marijuana has gotten really complicated. In Washington state, traditional “flower” makes up less than half of sales alongside edibles, pre-rolls, tinctures, and capsules.
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