Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
France holds a day of tribute for terrorism victims. President Francois Hollande will give a speech in Paris in the nation’s first major memorial event (link in French) honoring those lost in attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, Bastille Day festivities in Nice, and Charlie Hebdo magazine.
World leaders descend on New York City. The final Clinton Global Initiative meeting kicks off, as well as the United Nations General Assembly. The fate of the world’s 21 million refugees is on the UN’s agenda, while arrivals of global diplomats and politicians will likely cause “the worst traffic jam” possible for midtown Manhattan.
Twitter allows longer tweets. If all goes to plan, starting today the social media service will stop counting ancillary items—including photos, GIFs, user handles, and more—as part of its 140-character limit.
Over the weekend
Male actors playing women won at the Emmy Awards. Jeffrey Tambor won lead actor in a comedy for his portrayal of a transgender woman in Amazon’s Transparent. Louie Anderson won best supporting actor in a comedy for playing a mother in FX’s Baskets. Tatiana Maslany, an actual woman, won lead actress in a drama for BBC America’s Orphan Black.
An explosion rocked downtown Manhattan. Authorities are still investigating the blast that injured 29 people in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood Saturday night, as well as a suspicious device that was found several blocks away. Officials maintain there is “no evidence” of connection with international terrorism.
German anti-immigration populists entered government. For the first time, Alternative für Deutschland got enough votes to gain representation in Germany’s state parliament. In Russia, Putin’s United Russia is well ahead in that country’s parliamentary elections.
A post-recall Samsung scrambled for cash. Samsung’s recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones—thanks to multiple reports of the product catching fire—has left the company desperate for cash. The South Korean giant has sold off its entire stake (paywall) in several other tech companies to pay for costs associated with the recall.
An Iranian para-cyclist died during a race. Bahman Golbarnezhad crashed on a mountainous slope in Saturday’s C4-5 road race and died in the hospital. An investigation has begun, and the Rio Paralympics’ closing ceremony held a moment of silence in his memory.
A US airstrike damaged the temporary peace in Syria. The US and Russia brokered a truce in the war-torn country last week in order to move forward on a joint campaign against extremist groups. But a mistaken airstrike carried out by the US, meant for the Islamic State but hitting Syrian government forces instead, angered Russia and caused the latter to call an emergency UN meeting.
Quartz obsession interlude
Gwynn Guilford on how Trump’s child care plan leaves women further behind. “By providing paid leave for women but not men, the Republican candidate’s plan perpetuates the idea that a father, not a mother, should sacrifice time with his new baby to keep working. “When the government values women’s child care labor more highly than men’s, it gives businesses no reason to treat men and women equally in the workplace.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China and the US need a new plan for North Korea. Current strategies for dealing with the country’s nuclear threats are clearly not working.
Behind the debate of Trump and Clinton’s health lies a real problem. In the US, rich white people are still invariably healthier than low-income minorities.
Apple’s jet black iPhone is insanely scratch-prone. Review videos show the phone’s surface can be torn up by rubbing a penny against it for a few seconds.
Surprising discoveries
At no other point in time have so many Americans been so rich. According to new research from the Boston Consulting Group, the number of US households with more than $5 million in investable assets just crossed the 1 million mark.
Music makes beer taste better. A new study confirms what pubs and concert venues have perhaps always known.
Are you smarter than Janet Yellen? People can put their ability to manage the economy to the test with a new online game developed by students at the Fed’s San Francisco branch.
A goldfish got a life-saving surgery. An Australian woman paid $500 for emergency surgery for her pet goldfish. Veterinarians extracted a single black pebble from the fish’s throat, saving its life.
A psychologist says one in five CEOs are psychopaths. If true, that could put the proportion similar to that of a prison population.
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