Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Global leaders gather in Peru. Barack Obama visits the APEC summit on his last foreign trip as president, but will cut a reduced figure with Donald Trump’s shadow looming large. A Chinese plan for a new trade deal could be discussed as members search for an alternative to the seemingly doomed TPP pact.
EU home affairs ministers mull over counter-terrorism measures. One would involve setting up an electronic pre-authorization system for travelers, similar to US Electronic System for Travel Authorization. They’ll also get an update on the European Passenger Name Record database, which they agreed to earlier this year.
US and Chinese soldiers have a barbecue. After six days of joint military drills, which took place during a period of political tension during the US presidential transition, around 200 soldiers from the two countries will end the week with some grilled meat and a closing ceremony.
While you were sleeping
Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger with SolarCity. More than 85% of investors backed the deal, and that’s excluding Elon Musk. Since Solar City’s shareholders have already OK’d the merger, the combination of the solar panel installation firm and electric-car and battery maker is expected to close in the next few days.
The English Premier League sold its TV rights in China for $700 million. According to the AP the buyer is online streaming service PPTV, a division of China’s Suning retail group (which bought the Italian club Inter Milan in June). Covering 2019-2022, the deal is worth more than 10 times the league’s current contract with Super Sports Media Group.
Obama and Merkel avoided the “T word.” The US president and German chancellor warned against Twitter sloganeering, the decline of facts in modern politics, and the folly of trying to return to pre-globalization economics—all without mentioning Trump’s name.
Three astronauts blasted off for the International Space Station. American Peggy Whitson, Russian Oleg Novitsky, and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet will spend six months orbiting the planet. Whitson, the future ISS captain, will be the oldest woman ever in space.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ashley Rodriguez on why Amazon and Netflix are paying on-screen talent so much up-front. “Netflix, in particular, has kept an iron grip on the global rights to most of its programming, rarely releasing it outside of the platform, which means actors don’t get their usual cut of other revenue streams that would have come down the road.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Behavioral economics can explain Donald Trump and Brexit. People prefer uncertainty, even when their prospects are worse.
Running won’t help you get fit. It doesn’t do much to reduce fat or build strength, and harms joints in the process.
Staying off Facebook is the key to happiness. People who quit the social network for a week reported improved satisfaction with their lives.
Surprising discoveries
Japan is hiding a treasure trove of propaganda kimonos. They showed nationalist images depicting close ties to Nazi Germany.
US-born pandas are struggling to adjust in China. They prefer American food and understand English better than Mandarin.
Your next bike helmet might be made of paper. The EchoHelmet, which uses a honeycomb structure, could be perfect for bike shares.
Lockheed Martin is building firefighting drones. The self-flying quadcopters use infrared and visible light to pinpoint blazes.
There’s a temporary tattoo that works like a stethoscope. It tracks your cardiovascular health, and could also make speech recognition more accurate.
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