Intense heatwave, Didi Chuxing IPO, returned Picasso

Plus: What are we going to do with all this plexiglass? [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Score [some non-intimate swag]( by forwarding to a friend (more on that below) Here’s what you need to know Canada reported dozens of heatwave-related deaths. Temperatures topped an [unprecedented 120 degrees]( in Lytton, British Columbia yesterday—most people [don’t have AC](, either. Time is running out for survivors in Surfside, Florida. US president Joe Biden visits the scene of [the collapsed-building disaster]( tomorrow. China has eliminated malaria. [Certification from the World Health Organization]( comes just over a decade after the Chinese government committed to eradicating local infections. The World Bank issued an even rosier outlook for China. It now predicts the country’s economy will [grow 8.5%]( this year, although progress in vaccinations will be key. India is pursuing more criminal cases against Twitter. Police [charged the company]( for allegedly promoting child pornography and “[hurting sentiments](,” after a map showed disputed regions outside its borders. South Africa’s ex-president was sentenced to 15 months in jail. Jacob Zuma had been found [guilty of contempt](. If nothing else, it’s [good marketing for chicken](. Sponsor content by Fidelity Investments Stock have too high a price? Buy a slice. Trade fractional shares with Fidelity and own a slice of your favorite companies with as little as $1. [Learn more]( Stocks by the SliceSM at Fidelity. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC. What to watch for Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing lists on the New York Stock Exchange today, and is [expected to raise more than $4 billion]( in one of the biggest tech IPOs this year. The debut will test investors’ appetite for the unprofitable ride-hailing industry, and for Chinese tech champions in the face of rising China-US tensions. Some areas of speculation: How will shares perform? Last week, Chinese online grocer Missfresh met a [muted Nasdaq]( at its debut, a sign of concerns about the fierce competition among Chinese tech firms. This doesn’t bode well for Didi, which also lives in [the shadow of Beijing’s antitrust scrutiny](. How much can Uber make? Uber [has a 12% stake in Didi](, so the better the response to the latter’s IPO, the more Uber can profit, even though the rivalry between the two companies will only intensify if Didi has the cash to expand globally. Charting US restaurant worker pay Tables are filling up again in US restaurants, but restaurant employment itself lags behind. In May, 186,000 jobs were created in food services and drinking places, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which means employment in the sector is still down 12% compared to pre-pandemic levels. While some employers are raising wages to entice workers back, others are offering one-time bonuses, a signal that businesses—which are balancing pent-up demand with a lack of staff—perceive the employee shortage as a temporary problem. Some experts argue that wage growth is [about the same as it would have been]( if the recession had not occurred. [A line chart showing the steadily decreasing wages for US leisure and hospitality employees from 2008 (below $11 an hour) to 2020, where it dips slightly, then sharply reaches towards $20 an hour in the last quarter] What are we going to do with all this plexiglass? [plexiglass upcycled] Connor Shinn/Iowa State University The transparent, shatter-resistant material spent much of 2020 being in impossibly high demand. Now, as parts of the world snap back to normalcy, facilities managers are puzzling over what to do with their stockpiles of plexiglass. Industrial design students at Iowa State University have spent the past semester grappling with this problem, [creating jewelry, desk accessories, and even furniture]( from acrylic partitions they found around campus (that handy organizer above is the work of student Connor Shinn). Fashion designers are no stranger to upcycling, but industrial designers typically strive to meet the consumer expectation of fresh-out-of-the-box perfection. We’ll need to appreciate the beauty of imperfect design to save materials like plexiglass from the landfill. ✦ While the students at Iowa State keep you from losing sleep over the plexiglass fate, Quartz can keep you from losing sleep just in general. We’ve devoted an entire week to learning about [sleep in the age of anxiety](. [Get 40% off a membership using code SLEEPWEEK]( and sign up for our [free Weekly Obsession email newsletter]( for even more content. Handpicked Quartz (Psst. 👇 We took the first story out from behind our paywall because we think everyone should read it.) 🦠[How to track where the Delta variant is spreading fastest in the US]( 🌴 [The Surfside building collapse and what we know about the climate risks Miami faces]( 🇿🇦 [The Delta variant and vaccine failures push South Africa back into lockdown]( 🛂 [The vaccine most widely used in Africa and India isn’t part of Europe’s vaccine passport]( 👍 [SpaceX’s satellite rideshare rocket carries the industry’s next era]( 😎 [How to keep your house cool during a heatwave without making climate change worse]( Surprising discoveries Greece recovered stolen works by Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian. A builder confessed to the crime seven years after what became known as “[the theft of the century](.” “I’m not dead!” Trace amounts of the bacteria that [causes the plague]( were found in a 5,000-year-old human skull. US female Olympians will wear Kim Kardashian West’s underwear line. The [official Skims apparel]( also includes pajamas and loungewear. Scientists spotted not one, but two black holes swallowing neutron stars. [Check that one]( off the list. A mouse feared extinct for 150 years was hiding under an assumed name. Researchers discovered Australia’s missing Gould’s mouse is [genetically the same]( as the Shark Bay mouse. SHARE TO EARN SWAG Coffee cups, tote bags, free membership, and more. Refer the Quartz Daily Brief to friends, family, and coworkers to earn all of these premium prizes. [Share the Daily Brief today]( and start reaping the rewards. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, previously undetected cosmic events, and Monty Python jokes to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Jane Li, Michelle Cheng, Anne Quito, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber. 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