🌎 The Fed awakens

Plus: Using oil prices to pay for climate action. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here]( [Quartz]( June 16, 2022 [View in browser]( Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know The US Federal Reserve increased the interest rate by 0.75%. It’s the most [significant increment]( in nearly three decades—but current circumstances [are very different from 1994](. The WHO will rename monkeypox strains. Scientists have been asking that references to west and central Africa be [removed from the virus’s name]( to avoid stigma. Tesla hiked US prices…The [increase]( follows a surge in commodity prices. Meanwhile, new data revealed [nearly 70%]( of automated vehicle crashes in the US in the past 10 months involved a Tesla. …as Musk seeks to avert a Twitter crisis. The Tesla CEO [appealed to end]( a 2018 agreement with the SEC that assigned him a “[Twitter sitter](.” Musk is expected to take questions [from Twitter employees]( about his bid to buy the tech company at a meeting today. Millions of Americans are facing a dangerous heat wave. The [extreme weather event]( is the latest to descend upon the US, where floods shut down a Montana [water treatment plant]( and a Michigan [baby formula plant](. Lego unveiled plans for its first US factory. The Danish toy company will invest more than [$1 billion]( in a renewable energy-powered site scheduled to open in 2025. A leading trans health organization says hormone therapy is safe from age 14. [The guidelines]( put the possible start of the therapy two years earlier than previously advised. FIFA is announcing the 2026 World Cup host cities today. North America [will host the event](, and 23 cities—three in Mexico, three in Canada, and 17 in the US—are among the possible game sites. Sponsor content by Galaxy Fund Management A free online Crypto-cademy course just launched. Ready to learn about digital assets, Web3, and DeFi directly from your inbox? [Check out Crypto-cademy from Galaxy Fund Management today.]([Advertisement] [Learn more]( What to watch for The World Trade Organization is currently getting together for its first high-profile meeting in almost five years. On the table is a [TRIPS waiver]( that would remove patents for covid vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. Public health advocates say [patents]( have been a huge obstacle [in the way of vaccine equality](, yet pharmaceutical companies, worried the waiver would lead to loss of profits, say it would compromise future investment in drug development. A modified version of the proposal, one that, among other restrictions, limits the waiver to vaccines, is on the table. Advocates for access to medicine say the scope is so narrow it would be effectively useless for the current crisis and a bad precedent for future ones. Negotiations were supposed to end on Wednesday but were [extended for an extra day]( to facilitate reaching an agreement, though there is no guarantee of success. The cost of staying in Russia [A collection of logos that belong to international companies that have not exited Russia] Nearly 1,000 corporations have left Russia since it invaded Ukraine, but more than 400 major companies remain, from [restaurant chains to clothing brands to airlines](. Companies operating in Russia face growing uncertainty about Russia’s economic prospects as the conflict draws on. For firms no longer there, leaving has proved to be a good financial choice, according to [a study released last month](. Despite concerns over lost revenue and asset write-downs, equity gains have, for most companies, [far surpassed the cost of exiting Russia](. Paying for climate action with high oil prices At first glance, once-in-a-decade oil prices could be an incentive to drill more. But the opposite is happening: Exxon, Chevron, and their peers are using windfall profits to pump up their stock prices and pay dividends to shareholders (despite desperate exhortations from the White House to invest them in drilling). Seen through a climate lens, these high prices could end up being a boon: 🔋 [Record-breaking gasoline prices]( are [blunting the sticker shock]( of electric vehicles, and could speed their adoption. 🤞 Higher sales revenue from oil and gas means [a tax windfall for fossil fuel-producing US states](, which could use it to fund programs that clean up legacy pollution and future-proof their economies for when they inevitably hit the end of their natural fossil fuel supply. 🚌 Maybe, just maybe, car drivers will make the switch to public transit, where available. ✦ Love stories like these? Support our journalism by becoming a Quartz member. Sign up today and [take 40% off](. Quartz most popular 🤝 [South Africa is becoming Europe’s alternative to Russian coal…]( 🤝 […And Russia is now India’s second largest crude oil supplier]( 💸 [Americans are finally pulling back on spending]( 🎶 [Starbucks employees’ two favorite benefits are Spotify and mental health support]( ✅ [How do you know when a project is finished?]( 🐍 [A presidential hopeful in Kenya is running on a cannabis and snake venom platform]( Sponsor content by Galaxy Fund Management A free online Crypto-cademy course just launched. Ready to learn about digital assets, Web3, and DeFi directly from your inbox? [Check out Crypto-cademy from Galaxy Fund Management today.]([Advertisement] [Learn more]( Surprising discoveries China deleted a report about detecting aliens. Its enormous Sky Eye telescope either did or did not [see something up there](, because—see?—telescopes are just like us. The Black Death’s origins were solved. That settles [one pandemic mystery]( at least. Earthworms aren’t a friendly monolith. The [particularly energetic ones]( can do more harm than good. Nature has its own superglue. Mistletoe can produce a [versatile, powerful adhesive]( if you rub it, but a [kiss can be deadlier]( if you mean it. Netflix is casting for a real-life Squid Game show. Sometimes it’s OK to just [let a success be a success](, and leave it at that. 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. Send any news, comments, chill worms, and Batman quotes to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—[become a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Amanda Shendruk, Tim McDonnell, Annalisa Merelli, Susan Howson, Julia Malleck, and Sofia Lotto Persio. 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