Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Shinzo Abe meets Vladimir Putin. Japan’s prime minister will talk to Russia’s president on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, as the two countries’ icy diplomatic relationship gradually warms up. They are expected to discuss closer economic ties and their long-running dispute over the Kuril Islands.
The US jobs report comes out. Economists expect to hear that the US gained a solid-if-not-stellar 180,000 jobs in August, suggesting a steadily improving economy. Last week, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen suggested a good jobs report might trigger an interest-rate rise. Investors are watching hopefully.
The G20 summit in China. The city of Hangzhou has been given a huge makeover as China prepares to host the gathering of global leaders for the first time. The G20 will be Barack Obama’s last major summit as president, and he’s expected to press other leaders to spend more to boost the global economy.
It’s Labor Day weekend in the US. If you’re in the US, have a good one! And if you’re not, forget about trying to reach your US colleagues this Monday.
While you were sleeping
Hurricane Hermine made landfall in northern Florida. The category one hurricane—the first to hit the state in 11 years—brought gusts of up to 80 mph (130 kph), and caused massive power outages in Tallahassee early on Friday morning. The flood waters are expected to increase breeding sites for mosquitos and exacerbate Florida’s Zika problem.
Melania Trump sued the Daily Mail. The wife of the US Republican presidential nominee is seeking $150 million in damages from the British tabloid, after it echoed a book’s allegations that she worked as an “escort” in the 1990s. The Mail posted a retraction, but Trump’s lawyer says that won’t affect her lawsuit.
China looked into the Didi-Uber deal. The commerce ministry said it had opened an antitrust investigation into the recent purchase of Uber’s China business by Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing company. The ministry says Didi didn’t file an application to approve the merger, while Didi says the deal was too small to need one.
Rocket Internet was more like a squib. Germany’s startup incubator reported a loss of $688 million and a 60% drop in revenue in the first half of 2016 from the same period the year before. It blamed the decline on write-offs and the costs of splitting off some subsidiaries.
Google killed its “build-your-own” smartphone project. The search giant has discontinued Project Ara, an effort to create phones with interchangeable batteries, cameras, and other parts, so consumers could upgrade them piecemeal rather than buying whole new phones. Turns out, people just like buying new phones.
Quartz obsession interlude
Dave Gershgorn on how a Japanese farmer put Google’s artificial intelligence to work. ”The tale of the cucumber farmer is a humanizing story for a large internet company touting its cloud services, but it does show why open source systems are important… Posting code for free online democratizes the field of artificial intelligence, meaning anyone with a computer and some time can learn how give their machine a brain.”
Read more here.
Matters of debate
A guilt-based vacation policy is a terrible idea. No one really has “unlimited” time off.
Artificial intelligence can’t be unbiased. Any AI will carry the flaws of the humans who create it.
Whenever Trump says “great,” he means “white.” His immigration plan is all about protecting white power.
Surprising discoveries
A 12-year-old boy has become the youngest Ivy League student ever. Jeremy Schuler says classes at Cornell University are “kind of easy so far.”
Israel’s national airline can vote in Hong Kong. Thanks to an antiquated electoral system that lets corporations choose lawmakers, companies like El Al, Qatar Airways, Vanuatu National Travel, and a “chicken biscuit” maker get a vote in this weekend’s legislative elections.
A Mormon presumed dead in 2004 may be alive in North Korea. Japanese media reported that David Sneddon, who was thought to have died in China, is in fact married with children in North Korea and even tutored Kim Jong-un.
Millennials say they want to eat less meat, but can’t be bothered. They’re on track to eat just as much as older generations.
Bob Ross’s famous curly hair was really a perm. The “Joy of Painting” host was forced to keep it as part of his brand.
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