Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Spain votes on forming a new government. Acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy isn’t likely to win the needed parliamentary votes to end political gridlock, leaving the frail country bracing for its third general election in December.
The FBI releases its report on Hillary Clinton. The US bureau plans to make public the findings of its investigation of the Democratic presidential nominee’s email server. The report, sent to the Justice Department in July, recommended no charges against Clinton.
The Venice Film Festival kicks off in skittish Europe. The world’s oldest film festival has regained top billing after premiering several Academy Award winners last year. Celebrities are flocking there under heightened security.
While you were sleeping
The EU slapped Apple with $14.5 billion in Irish taxes. The European commission’s antitrust regulator ruled that the tech company owes the Irish government $14.5 billion in back taxes. CEO Tim Cook wrote an open letter saying it will have “a profound and harmful effect” on investment and jobs in Europe.
SpaceX found a taker for its previously flown rockets. The European satellite giant SES will be the first company to launch a satellite using a “flight proven” rocket, another step in Elon Musk’s bid to disrupt the launch access market.
Ten thousand workers joined a class-action wage lawsuit against Chipotle. The initial complaint, accusing the beleaguered US fast-food chain of forcing workers to do unpaid overtime after they’d clocked out, was filed two years ago. The suing workers represent nearly a quarter of the company’s workforce.
Migrant camp numbers in France reached a record high. Aid group Auberge des Migrants counted more than 9,000 people in a slum camp (paywall) in the port city of Calais, up from 7,000 in early July. France and Britain, where many aim to reach, plan to meet in Paris about augmenting security.
Google is reportedly testing out a ride-sharing service to rival Uber. In May the company began a pilot program in San Francisco (paywall) that allowed commuters to use its Waze mapping program to connect with each other, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Quartz obsession interlude
Thu Huong-Ha on how today’s two biggest role models for young readers are total wusses. “Pre-pubescent loser Greg Heffley is irreverent, whiny, and mediocre in school. He has few moral scruples, and his main activities are sarcasm and complaining. Hardly the kind of friend you’d want for your kids, or even for yourself, yet he’s one of the most popular characters in fiction.” Reed more here.
Matters of debate
Trump has made hate speech normal. The US Republican nominee’s legacy will be giving people permission to make baseless, bigoted comments in public without fear of repercussion.
Bitcoin’s enemies benefit the most from its existence. Big banks are leveraging its innovations, even as infighting among its users jeopardizes the currency’s future.
Moving to a new city will not make you happier. Starting over in a new town just makes your life different, not better.
Surprising discoveries
Climate slums are a thing. US legislation that makes flood insurance expensive is hurting affected inland working-class neighborhoods more than rich coastal areas.
The US senate has a candy stash. Stocking a drawer full of sweets in one of the chamber’s 100 desks is a tradition dating back to 1965.
Tasmanian devils are fighting off their horrific face cancer. The animals are becoming immune to the cancerous facial tumor common to their species.
Sixty percent of South Asia’s groundwater is too contaminated to use. Salinity and arsenic are making groundwater in a major regional river basin undrinkable and unusable for irrigation, researchers found.
Vladimir Putin was caught trespassing. Not the one who runs Russia. Police officials in West Palm Beach, Florida caught a man by the same name refusing to leave a supermarket.
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