Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The EU rules on Apple’s tax arrangements with Ireland. The EU’s antitrust regulator is expected to find (paywall) that the arrangements violate state-aid rules, and order Apple to pay a certain amount back to Ireland. The decision may exacerbate controversy about European probes targeting American companies.
A powerful typhoon hits Japan. Typhoon Lionrock is projected to strike the northern Tohoku region, which experienced major damage in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Prime minister Shinzo Abe is cutting short his trip to Kenya to be back in the country before the storm hits.
Justin Trudeau begins his weeklong trip in China. Talks during the Canadian prime minister’s visit will likely yield pacts related to business and the environment, but experts don’t expect much movement toward a free trade deal.
While you were sleeping
Rescue workers saved thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean. In one of the busiest days of life-saving in recent years, Italy’s coastguard and the EU’s border agency brought about 6,500 individuals, mostly from Somalia and Eritrea, to safety as they fled from Libya in unseaworthy boats. Favorable weather and a calm sea are encouraging dangerous journeys by migrants.
Mondelez ended its bid to buy Hershey. The company behind Cadbury and Oreo said it’s no longer attempting to purchase the Pennsylvania-based candy maker, two months after Hershey rejected its $23 billion offer. Had the deal gone through, Mondelez would have become the largest confectioner in the world.
Kim Jong-un reportedly killed two officials. South Korean media cited unnamed sources stating the dictator executed the nation’s agriculture and education ministers this month. The purges, if they indeed took place, follow a string of defections of North Korean diplomats to other countries.
The world’s favorite candy man died. Gene Wilder, who played the titular character in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, passed away at age 83 from complications from Alzheimer’s. His work, which also includes films with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor, reached a new generation after internet users turned his condescending glare into a ubiquitous meme.
Quartz obsession interlude
Marc Bain on why American kids are all about leggings. “Kids are rejecting structured garments and wearing only soft, unrestrictive clothing. These demands about clothes aren’t exactly new—young people have complained about bothersome clothes for ages—but earlier generations of children begged to wear jeans instead of more formal dresses or trousers. Today’s children are looking for something that’s even more casual and comfy than traditional denim.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Mormon women can be feminists, too. They have a long history of challenging the church’s “patriarchal order,” even at the risk of excommunication.
Go ahead and Google your symptoms. WebMD is still no replacement for a real-life doctor, but online research can help us feel a little more in control (paywall).
Bring back communal bathing. Public bathhouses could help cure the loneliness of contemporary urbanites.
Surprising discoveries
Smiling may not make us happier after all. A major replication project questions the theory, which dates back to Charles Darwin’s era.
Bugs are wriggling their way into our condiments. Mealworms could soon be an ingredient in margarine and vegetable oil.
More parents are calling vaccines for kids “unnecessary.” In 2013, 87% of US pediatricians say they had parents decline vaccinations, up from 75% a decade earlier.
Scientists think they know what killed our ancient ancestor Lucy. Scans of her skeleton suggest that she fell about 12 m (40 ft) from a tree.
iPads are as good as sedatives at calming kids before surgery. Parents and nurses even prefer tablets to drugs.
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