Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Samsung replaces its exploding phones. US users can either pick up a new Galaxy Note 7 or ask for a refund or a different device. The device was recalled because of its unfortunate tendency to catch fire.
The United Nations holds a conference on antimicrobial resistance. The General Assembly in New York will deliberate on the medical, economical and security consequences of superbugs. The international body has convened on health issues only three time before: on the HIV crisis in 2011, chronic illnesses in 2011, and Ebola in 2014.
The Federal Reserve votes on whether to raise short-term interest rates. And the Bank of Japan will report on its deflation-fighting campaign.
While you were sleeping
Rodrigo Duterte said “f—k you” to European Union lawmakers. The president of the Philippines called the EU hypocrites for criticizing his extrajudicial killings and other extreme measures. His crackdown on crime and drugs has led to over 2,000 executions in two months.
George Soros pledged $500 million to help refugees. He says the private sector must step in to solve problems the government hasn’t been able to. The billionaire investor will funnel the money into existing companies, startups, and businesses founded by migrants.
The US released regulations for self-driving cars. In an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the president Barack Obama outlined the new rules established by the Department of Transportation, arguing that speedy innovation should not come at the cost of safety.
It emerged that Donald Trump took $258,000 from his charity. He used it to settle lawsuits in his for-profit businesses. This not only violates tax law, but also defeats all expectations in philanthropy.
Around 4,000 refugees were evacuated from a Greek Island. A fire tore through an overcrowded camp on Lesbos after refugees staged a protest, asking authorities to speed up the asylum application process.
Quartz obsession interlude
Steve LeVine on the media calling Donald Trump out on his lies. “In a way, the media is atoning for the original sin of embracing Trump, who himself understood their ‘lust for riveting stories,’ as a report by the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University put it. The industry embraced a similarly sudden change in tone during its reporting on the Vietnam War, when a tradition of accepting the US government’s point of view in conflict abroad gave way to an urgent skepticism, and in the throes of the Watergate scandal, when reporters piled on US president Richard Nixon, who ultimately resigned.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Private finance could save the planet. Former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says we can unlock the $90 trillion needed for green investment over the next 15 years by incentivizing the private sector to buy in.
The explosion in New York City is a reminder not to exaggerate the terrorism threat. The incompetence of the attack shows that violent extremism has become “the monopoly of the utterly unimpressive.”
The end of “Brangelina” is not a failure. Romantics may mourn the end of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s union, but the idea of lifelong marriage desperately needs an overhaul.
Surprising discoveries
Donald Trump Jr.’s comparison of refugees to Skittles wasn’t particularly original. It may have originated with a Nazi who was hanged at Nuremberg.
Toyota is making clean energy from dirty sewage. The carmaker is converting human waste to hydrogen to fuel powerful zero emissions cars.
A feline thespian is on the loose in Moscow. A touring theater company has lost the “stunningly handsome” cat that plays a crucial cameo in their play. Let’s hope he’s just been out “gallivanting,” like the character he plays.
A skeleton sees the light after 2,100 years. Divers have found a human skeleton at the Antikythera shipwreck site off the coast of Greece.
California is regulating cow farts. The state’s dairy farmers have to lower methane emissions by 40 percent by 2030, under an anti-climate change measure.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, handsome cats, and bovine flatulence cures to hi@qz.com. You can download our iPhone app or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.