Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The 2016 Rio Olympics take a bow. The US currently leads the pack with 95 medals, followed by the UK and China. Sunday’s closing ceremony will feature Norwegian pop star Kygo, and possibly retired Brazilian soccer legend Pelé. Brazil’s interim president, Michel Temer, who was booed at the opening ceremony, is not expected to attend.
Indonesia changes its benchmark interest rate. For the sake of efficiency, the country’s central bank will start using its seven-day repurchase rate instead of its 12-month reference rate.
John Deere releases earnings. Analysts are not too optimistic about the impact of weak commodity prices and sluggish farm income on the world’s biggest agricultural-equipment manufacture. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates both decreased their stock holdings in the company.
While you were sleeping
The UN accepted some blame for Haiti’s cholera crisis. UN peacekeepers sent to help Haiti recover from the 2010 earthquake brought the disease with them from Nepal, according to a new report. Ten thousand Haitians died in the outbreak.
Ryan Lochte may be caught in a lie. Brazilian police denied Lochte’s account of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio, instead accusing the US swimmer and his friends of having fought with security guards after vandalizing a gas station. Video footage seems to back that up.
Self-driving Uber cars will hit Pittsburgh’s streets sooner than expected. The company’s first autonomous custom Volvo XC90s will be launched later this month. The vehicles will be supervised at first by humans in the driver’s seat, Bloomberg reported.
The US Justice Department said it will no longer use private prisons. Prison reform advocates cheered the decision, which will affect 13 US prisons. Officials said private prisons don’t provide the same caliber of correctional services and programs.
Twitter shut down 360,000 accounts for promoting terrorism. The company said its daily suspensions of terrorist-related accounts have spiked 80% since last year and announced new quality-control tools for users.
Quartz markets haiku
Stocks rise, dollar
Falls. But all we talk about
Is Ryan Lochte
Quartz obsession interlude
Ananya Bhattacharya on Asia nurturing the next generation of drone pilots. “While in the US, commercial drone fliers and the FAA continually bump heads, many Asian countries have long welcomed governmental and commercial use. There, drones are making their way into a slew of commercial industries—agriculture, entertainment, law enforcement. Drones are frequently used for data collection, mapping, and tracking. In Singapore, drones even wait on tables at restaurants and bars.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
It’s not okay to lie to your mom. Ryan Lochte’s robbery whopper shows it’s better to just fess up.
There’s no such thing as the good old days. Nostalgia has a dark side that is particularly dangerous for vulnerable groups.
Supporting gender equality means saying you’re a feminist. Standing for a cause isn’t standing against someone else, and feminism isn’t synonymous with man-bashing.
Surprising discoveries
You can now buy a WWII tank. The Normandy Tank Museum is auctioning off thousands of military items, including more than 40 armored vehicles, after failing to attract enough visitors.
Bigfoot is big business. A company that investigates sightings of the creature—he’s been “seen” seven times in 45 years—was just valued at $10 billion.
Sea anemones could help restore hearing. The proteins that make it possible for anemones to hear again might be able to do the same for humans.
Rio’s Olympic swimming pool was flawed. Currents resulting from a design error may have boosted the performance of athletes in high-numbered lanes.
Algorithms are being used to tackle inequality in Africa. Data from high-resolution satellite imagery, such as which areas are lit up at night, are being used to track and predict poverty.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, drone pilot applications, and Bigfoot sighting stories to hi@qz.com You can download our iPhone app or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.