Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The iPhone 7 hits store shelves, sort of. Apple’s entire inventory of the “jet black” iPhone 7 and the larger iPhone 7 Plus has already sold out in online pre-ordering, so only a few devices in other colors will be in stock on the first day of in-store sales.
European Union leaders regroup post-Brexit in Bratislava. European Council president Donald Tusk is hoping to steady the ship and calm tensions, days after Luxembourg’s foreign minister called for Hungary to be kicked out of the EU.
Russia’s central bank is expected to cut interest rates. Economists predict a half-point rate cut, down to 10 percent, when the bank meets today. Governor Elvira Nabiullina has said the bank will keep monetary policy “moderately tight.”
While you were sleeping
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall blew up. Battery cells in the company’s latest smartphone have been exploding for weeks. Samsung had started a voluntary recall of the device previously, but on Thursday finally issued a formal recall requiring US customers to return the affected phones to the company.
The Bank of England held firm on interest rates. And the FTSE 100 had its best day for two weeks. There’s still a decent chance the central bank will cut rates again in November or December, from the current record low of 0.25 percent.
China launched its second space lab. The Tiangog-2, or “Heavenly Palace,” is part of Beijing’s push to have a full space station by around 2022. Two astronauts will spend thirty days on it, doing unspecified tests.
A Texas jail owes $1.9 million to the family of Sandra Bland, who died behind its bars in 2015. Bland’s death brought national attention to how black women are treated in law enforcement custody. Her family’s settlement in the wrongful death lawsuit also included reforms to the jail’s procedures.
Donald Trump shared a letter from his doctor on daytime television. The presidential candidate has high cholesterol and is overweight but otherwise in “excellent physical health,” according to the one-page letter Trump shared in an interview on the daytime talk show “Dr. Oz.”
Barack Obama created the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine sanctuary. The US president established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument about 150 miles off the New England coast. Fishing, mining, and drilling are now prohibited in the area, which has been called the “Yellowstone of the Atlantic.”
Quartz markets haiku
One point four billion
Is a lot of dough. Even
if you’re Nebraskan.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on why Silicon Valley is losing the self-driving car race. “While the valley’s most hallowed high-tech names, the self-described industry disruptors—Apple, Google, Tesla, Uber—have attracted most of the attention, they appear to be flailing at execution, and hyping their capabilities. The names to beat, at least at this juncture, are supposedly dowdy incumbent carmakers such as GM, BMW and Volvo.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Questions on college applications about criminal history discourage prospective students. “Banning the box” gives felons a second chance.
Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment was a stroke of branding genius. The clever, catchy name turned the tables on Donald Trump.
We want our leaders to be vulnerable—until they are. The capacity to show weakness is a leadership strength, but we are quick to rebuke any visible frailty.
Surprising discoveries
If you have a fear of flying, imagine yourself in an airplane crash. Psychology shows that “disaster scripting” can help desensitize you.
There is no such thing as ugliness. Over time and across cultures, the concept has different connotations.
Some words sound the same in every language. An analysis of two-thirds of the world’s languages found that certain basic words are associated with similar sounds.
Playing video games can help you control your dreams. People who have immersed themselves in virtual reality are able to better direct and remember their dreams.
There is a school to learn how to become a weed sommelier. Refined potheads can now take classes on the nuances of different strains of marijuana and how to pair each with food.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, disaster scripts, and weed-food pairings to hi@qz.com. You can download our iPhone app or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.