Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
North Korea may test another nuclear bomb. The US has deployed a radiation-sniffing aircraft to Okinawa, after satellite images showed a launch site “primed and ready” for the country’s sixth nuclear weapons test.
Mike Pence heads east. Starting Saturday, the US vice president will visit South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia, as part of a tour to discuss economic policies. Tensions may be high in Indonesia due to US assertions about trade abuses as well as Trump’s immigration policies.
Turkey decides whether to give Erdogan more power. A pivotal referendum will decide whether the country will end its parliamentary system in favor of an executive presidency. If president Recep Tayyip Erdogan succeeds, he will wield near-absolute power.
While you were sleeping
JPMorgan’s quarterly profits soared 17%. The bank exceeded expectations with revenue of nearly $26 billion, thanks to higher interest rates that boosted trading activity.
The US dropped a massive bomb in Afghanistan. The 21,600-pound, non-nuclear MOAB is the biggest ordnance used in combat since the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. It was dropped on an ISIL tunnel complex.
The UN condemned Chechnya’s torturing and killing of gay men. Chechnya’s treatment of homosexuals was deemed a violation of international human rights laws by a five-person UN panel. Chechen officials have denied wrongdoing by claiming that gay people don’t exist in their country.
A Chinese consortium bought AC Milan. Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi finally managed to sell the famed football club for €740 million ($788 million), after months of delays. Chinese businessman Li Yonghong, who lost financing from a state-owned fund at the last minute, secured more than €300 million in financing from hedge fund Elliott Advisors.
NASA found preconditions for life on one of Saturn’s icy moons. Data from the Cassini probe showed Enceladus has the crucial elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. The discovery pushes the moon to the top of the list of places most worth searching for life beyond Earth.
Quartz obsession interlude
Leah Fessler on the common thread between scandals at United and Thinx: “Each of these scandals arises from the same predicament: When companies place material success and self-interest over the essential values distinguishing them from competitors, things tend to head south. Fast.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Bombs fall, chaos reigns / But fear not: We can all move / to Saturn’s ice moon.
Matters of debate
Myanmar’s human rights abuses aren’t all on Aung San Suu Kyi. The military deserves much of the blame.
Donald Trump always believes the last person he’s spoken with. It’s a trait that explain his recent policy reversals.
Turkey is on the verge of a tyranny. A referendum could make Erdogan an elected dictator.
Surprising discoveries
Scientists found a shrimp that kills fish with a sonic blast. Synalpheus pinkfloydi, named after the classic rock band, can create a sound louder than a rock show.
Instagram’s clone of Snapchat is now more popular than Snapchat. Instagram Stories has amassed 200 million daily users in eight months.
An eight-year-old stole his parents’ van after learning to drive on YouTube. He and his four-year-old sister drove to McDonald’s.
Researchers have created an AI lounge singer. The nameless bot is no Mel Tormé, but it was trained on only 35 minutes of audio.
United’s newest headache: scorpions on a plane. A passenger was stung after the arachnid fell out of an overhead bin.
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