Crypto heist, prison diplomacy, polar bear weapons

Plus: The IPCC report, visualized. [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Send it to a friend who’s [the best at listening](. Here’s what you need to know Hackers stole $600 million in a huge cryptocurrency heist. They took [thousands of digital tokens]( from blockchain site Poly Network, which admitted to a vulnerability in its system. AMC will accept bitcoin at its movie theaters. The company [has become a meme stock]( this year, and [its share price jumped again]( following CEO Adam Aron’s cryptocurrency announcement. Chinese authorities jailed a Canadian man for 11 years. [Michael Spavor]( was arrested on charges of spying in Dandong soon after Canadian police detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who is fighting extradition to the US, in 2018. Joe Biden washed his hands of Afghanistan. “They’ve got to fight for themselves,” [the US president said]( of Afghans, as the Taliban gradually takes over the country once again. Scandal-hit New York governor Andrew Cuomo is stepping down. Kathy Hochul will become the US state’s [first female governor](, following Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment allegations. The UK will relax travel rules for COP26 attendees. Prime minister Boris Johnson wants in-person discussions at [the global climate summit](, scheduled to take place in Glasgow in November. Sponsor content by American Express Get 24/7 support from a Business Card specialist. American Express Business offers a line of Cards packed with features and benefits to help take your business further—because with needs like yours, you need a Card built for business. Terms apply. [Learn more from American Express.]( What to watch for The world’s largest phone makers launch a fleet of new smartphones. OK bear with us, it’s a heady couple of days: Samsung, the world’s #1 phone manufacturer, is expected to [unveil two new folding phones]( today. Meanwhile, Xiaomi, which [just surpassed Apple]( to become the world’s second largest phone-maker, announced a [long-awaited new addition to its high-end Mi Mix series](. The newly demoted Apple will probably [launch its own new phones]( in September. There’s more. Tomorrow, budget smartphone brand Honor will announce [its first new phone since it split off from Huawei]( (which was #1 until [US-led trade restrictions torpedoed its sales]( last year). Much of Huawei’s market share went to Xiaomi—so Honor’s new release will be its attempt to [claw some of those customers back](. Visualizing the IPCC report The most important takeaways from the 4,000-page Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this week are easily summarized. Global warming is caused by human greenhouse gas emissions, and the impacts range from very bad to catastrophic. While much of it is written in inscrutable scientific jargon, if you want to understand the scientific case for man-made global warming, look no further. We’ve reviewed the data, summarized the main points, and created an interactive graphic showing a “heat map” of scientists’ confidence in their conclusions. The terms describing statistical confidence range from very high confidence (a 9 out of 10 chance) to very low confidence (a 1 in 10 chance). Check out [our full visualization](. [A gif of the Quartz IPCC chart visualization tool that shows paragraphs color coded and then zooms into one.] How to learn something new online Sure, you could just fire up YouTube, but adding a bit of structure can make the difference between a few wasted hours and a truly transformative experience. 1️⃣ Decide why you want to learn this thing, and write that motivation down. 2️⃣ Set a goal for yourself. Be specific about what you want to achieve and when, breaking long-term goals into smaller chunks. ✦ Setting the goal is the easy part; the rest of our [member-exclusive How To email]( can help you achieve the rest. Get that email, other ones, and [40% off a membership]( with code QZEMAIL40. Quartz announcement Small businesses are the backbone of the global economy. But individually, they are contending with rapid change that’s disrupting their livelihood, including tech innovation and rapidly evolving consumer expectations and behaviors. How will they keep up? What lessons have they found most useful, and what advice do they have to share? Sponsored by American Express, our series [Built for Small Business]( explores these questions and more. [Read more]( Handpicked Quartz 🙈 [The US Senate’s infrastructure bill passed with a privacy problem for crypto]( 🚲 [Electric cargo bikes could deliver your next package]( 💸 [The US anti-poverty and environment plan costs as much as Germany’s entire GDP]( ☠️ [Stop waiting for a “cyber Pearl Harbor”]( 🦅 [Why refusing the Covid-19 vaccine is “un-American”]( 🚑 [The pandemic is giving WeWork a new lifeline]( Surprising discoveries China’s migrating elephants are heading home. Over the course of the animals’ [months-long trek](, 150,000 people have been evacuated to avoid conflict. Africa accounts for just 1% of new car sales in the world. Car loans tend to have [very unfavorable terms](, if they’re available at all. There’s exactly one way to tickle a rat. It mimics their play, and helps [make them happier]( and more willing test subjects. Polar bears sometimes use rocks and ice to take out prey. How else are they going to [kill a 2,500 lb walrus](? Hermit crabs get turned on by plastic garbage. Such pollution [releases a chemical]( that may make the crustaceans “sexually excited.” SPREAD THE WORD Over 500k readers and counting. You already know why half a million people read the Daily Brief, so why not spread the word? [Share the Daily Brief today]( and get rewarded. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, tickling strategies, and “Welcome home, elephants!” signs 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, Susan Howson, Tim McDonnell, Amanda Shendruk, and Liz Webber. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. 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