Good morning, Quartz readers! Gmail has been down for many users. Following reports of outages all over the world, Google confirmed thereâs a problem with several of its apps, and said that it has been investigating. Gmail has been the worldâs mo
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Hereâs what you need to know
Gmail has been down for many users. Following reports of outages all over the world, [Google confirmed]( thereâs a problem with several of its apps, and said that it has been investigating. Gmail has been the worldâs most popular email service since 2012, when it overtook Microsoftâs Hotmail.
Huge fires are raging across the Bay Area. [Thousands of people have been evacuated]( and more than 100 homes destroyed by several uncontrollable blazes in northern California, each sparked by lightning. There is also extensive damage to Californiaâs oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods.
Michigan is reportedly preparing a major settlement for Flint. [According to the Wall Street Journal]( (paywall), state officials are set to give residents of the city, whose water has been tainted with lead for years, a total of $600 million later this week to settle thousands of civil claims.
Portland police declared a riot for the second consecutive night. [They fired pepper balls and set off smoke devices]( to control a crowd of around 200 people who had gathered near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building. The US city, which has a small Black population, has remained on the frontline of protests for racial justice.
A Russian opposition leader is unconscious in hospital with suspected poisoning. A spokeswoman for Alexei Navalny, a high-profile critic of president Vladimir Putin, said [she believed his tea had been contaminated](. His flight had to make an emergency landing in Siberia.
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Obsession Interlude: Person of interest
[Mary Nichols, California Climate Change Chief of the Air Resources Board, speaks during the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit in San Francisco, California, September 9, 2009.]
Reuters/Kim White
To seamlessly navigate a [Quartz obsession]( it helps to know whom to follow. Hereâs one key figure shaping [the climate economy](.
Mary Nichols is the worldâs [most powerful environmental regulator]( youâve never heard of. The Yale-trained lawyer serves as the chair of the California Air Resources Board. From her perch presiding over air quality regulations in the worldâs [fifth largest economy]( she has influenced climate policy in more than a dozen US states that have adopted Californiaâs strict vehicle emission standards, which go beyond federal requirements. China, too, has [modeled its carbon-trading scheme]( on Californiaâs.
Go deeper [into the fate of fossil fuels]( and keep an eye on [Quartzâs Climate Economy obsession](.
The coup dâetat in Mali
[Colonel-Major Ismael Wague, centre, spokesman for the soldiers identifying themselves as National Committee for the Salvation of the People, speaks during a press conference at Camp Soudiata in Kati, Mali, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020.]
AP Photo/Arouna Sissoko
Maliâs president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita [resigned this week,]( hours after he was detained by military officers following months of mass protests against corruption and escalating insecurity in the country, where Islamic militants have been active since 2012, writes Chidinma Irene Nwoye. Calling themselves the âNational Committee for the Salvation of the People,â the mutineers [called on]( Maliâs civil society and political movements to join them in creating conditions for a political transition.
For more coverage of the continentâfrom [Nigeriaâs new startup hubs]( to Zimbabweâs compensation to [displaced white farmers]( to the [Quartz Africa Weekly Brief](.
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Charting foreign populations in countries around the world
One in 10 people living in OECD countries were foreign nationals in 2018. [Many are no longer there](. Covid-19 is pushing immigrant workers out of their adopted homes and pulling them back to their homelands.
This is a global trend. Quartz Things reporter [Youyou Zhou]( digs into data from Japan, China, the UK, Germany, and Canada to show how a global recession and a global pandemic make it unlikely for immigration to resume at that scale anytime soon. The question is how long countries can afford to lose immigrants.
A tragic timeline
Beijing has lost patience with the Hong Kong government. The new national security law transformed the city overnight from a relatively free place to one where itâs possible to be arrested for shouting a slogan. This is how it happened:
April 17: Beijingâs liaison office in Hong Kong declares that it[has full authority to weigh in]( on Hong Kongâs affairs, going against two decades of legal precedent.
May 28: [Chinaâs legislative body approves the decision]( to draft a national security law for Hong Kong.
June 18: While[Hong Kong remains in the dark]( about the lawâs provisions, it is heavily marketed in the city as a good thing that will only affect a few people.
June 30: President Xi Jinping signs the law. Hong Kong residents read its language for the first time hours before it goes into effect. Turns out,[it covers everybody on earth](.
Read the full timeline of events that led to this moment as part of our field guide on [Hong Kongâs global fight](.
⦠Becoming a member directly supports the work we doâincluding those who report on the unfolding situation from Hong Kongâand gives you access to every bit of it. Join us for [50% off your first year]( by using code âSUMMERSALEâ.
Weâre obsessed with laam caau
Burning down the house. Laam caau (pronounced âlahm tsow,â with the âowâ sounding like âhowâ) is a strategy that a sizable fraction of Hong Kong protesters believe is the only method that gives them a fighting chance against their formidable authoritarian foe, the Chinese Communist Party. Imagine the little guy gripping on to a fearsome opponent as they wrestle to the death, with the two of them eventually tumbling off a cliff and crashing down in mutual destruction. One might describe it as an âif we burn, you burn with usâ philosophyâitâs a risky approach and may well backfire, but protesters feel they have no choice. [The Quartz Obsession invites you to make a wager](.
Quartz announcement
What quarantine side effects are you feeling? Probably cabin fever. Us too. Instead of screaming into the void about it, weâve got a cure that will take you off the clock and into the outdoors. If you're in the US, [enter our sweepstakes]( for a chance to win our prize package filled with everything you need to chart your own outdoor adventure.
Surprising discoveries
Itâs time for your government-mandated walk. Germany is debating a law to require dogs to be walked [twice daily](.
Chinese sci-fi films are getting new rules, too. Chinaâs Communist Party [encourages filmmakers]( to âhighlight Chinese values.â
Your phone can help pick locks. It can record audio at a level of detail high enough to produce a [working copy of a key](.
Citibank made a costly decimal-point error. It accidentally sent a hedge fund $175 million [instead of $17.5 million]( and is trying to get the money back.
No, but thanks anyway. You can get beer [flavored with Dunkaroos](.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, proper beer, and smartphone-proof locks to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by[downloading our app]( on iOS and[becoming a member](. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Susan Howson, and Max Lockie.
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