🌏 The new iPhone will think for you

Good morning, Quartz readers!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The newest iPhone is here — and then some. Besides unveiling its new flagship mobile device, the computer giant says that iPhone 16 users will have access to its Apple Intelligence AI tech.

Elon Musk is going to shoot at Mars. Rockets, that is — he says that he plans to launch an uncrewed SpaceX vehicle toward the planet within two years.

Air Canada (ACDVF) is on strike footing. The airline plans to more or less shut down if its pilots do a work stoppage as union negotiations come to a head.

Bill Gates never wants to retire. The Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder says that life without work “sounds awful.”

Donald Trump swore that Meta (META) co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said he won’t vote for a Democrat in 2024. Meta said its CEO has revealed no such presidential ballot plans.

Political conservatives love telecoms like no one else

YouGov did a favorability poll of different media companies and broke out the results along partisan lines, comparing the love they get from liberals and conservatives.

Although the results by channel weren’t exactly a surprise (liberals like MSNBC, conservatives like Fox News), the fandom of the companies that carry those channels — DirecTV, Spectrum (CHTR), Dish Network — skews decidedly rightward.

Quartz’s Bruce Gil looked through the poll’s crosstabs and picked out which media brands are beloved by which ends of the political divide.

Americans stepped off the gas when it comes to EVs

After a period of explosive growth, electric vehicle sales have begun advancing a little more slowly. Ernst and Young research says the portion of U.S. car-buyers interested in swapping their gas cars for EVs sank from 48% in 2023 to 34% this year.

But that doesn’t mean those consumers are swinging fully in the other direction. Instead, hybrid vehicles have become a hot category as the auto energy transition continues apace.

Quartz’s William Gavin looks at the state of the car market and explains why EVs have suddenly lost so much favor on America’s dealer lots.

MORE FROM QUARTZ

🛫 A guy who won big off GameStop meme stock trades might get a JetBlue board seat 

🛒 Big Lots ‘has incredible potential’ but will have to file for bankruptcy anyway

👜 A $150,000 purse, $550,000 earrings, and other fancy baubles hitting auction blocks this week

🤢 Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are tainting Roche’s new diabetes drug and tanking its share price

🚗 Elon Musk denied a WSJ report that Tesla will license xAI tech for its cars’ self-driving capabilities

👷 Boeing machinists’s new union contract says they’ll get more of a say on safety steps

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

Russia tested its espionage methods on Arctic Norwegians. Whether they know it or not, the residents of Kirkenes get a front seat to all sorts of new spy tricks.

Mexico City has a vigilante army defending its trees. The force, nearly half a dozen members strong, liberates roots from concrete and fixes faulty branch trims.

There’s a pair of dimes out there worth $1 million. One of two such coins missing the San Francisco mint’s “S” stamp might soon fetch $500,000.

There’s only two Shakers left pursuing the group’s utopian ideals. They live in a sturdily furnished house originally built to sleep 70 people.

Orange juice futures are trading at triple their levels a couple years ago. A drought in Brazil — the worst in 50 years — is dramatically shrinking citrus crops.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, hybrid car recs, and Air Canada flight vouchers to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Morgan Haefner.