Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Recode Daily: Terrorism strikes Barcelona, Trump dumps another business council

Plus, Sheryl Sandberg and Tim Cook provide some good news, you can’t stop the pivot to video, and the eclipse conspiracy.

A woman cries as she phones after a van plowed into the crowd, killing one person and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured.
A woman cries as she phones after a van plowed into the crowd, killing one person and injuring several others on the Rambla in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. Police were clearing the area after the incident, which has left a number of people injured.
Pau Barrena / AFP / Getty Images

A van driver deliberately zigzagged through a crowded pedestrian street in Barcelona yesterday, killing at least 13 people and leaving 80 injured. It was the worst terrorist attack in Spain since 2004, and the sixth time that assailants have used vehicles as deadly weapons in a European city. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault. [The New York Times]

21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch criticized Donald Trump for his Charlottesville comments: “I can’t even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis,” Murdoch wrote in a private but widely distributed email. Murdoch’s stance gives him distance from his father Rupert, as well as his own Fox News unit. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg donated $100 million worth of Facebook stock to her favored nonprofits and charities; Sandberg’s contributions are becoming an annual tradition. And yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would make separate donations of $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League; Apple will also match employee donations to human rights groups on a two-for-one basis until Sept. 30. [Kurt Wagner / Recode]

President Trump scrapped plans to convene a council of corporate executives focused on improving U.S. infrastructure. The unnamed 15-member panel was supposed to focus on improving broadband access nationwide; the decision comes after the collapse of two other White House advisory boards. But tech has apparently not totally bailed on Trump yet — the American Technology Council will continue its work. [Tony Romm / Recode]

Digital publisher Mic laid off 25 staffers from its news and editorial departments — specifically the people who don’t work on video. Site publisher Cory Haik presaged the restructuring last week in an op-ed for Recode. It’s called a “pivot to video” — and here’s why publishers are going to keep doing it. [Peter Kafka / Recode]

Here are four key questions that will shape the outcome of Uber’s latest financial mess. While early investor Benchmark is suing ex-CEO Travis Kalanick and the board searches for his replacement (stay up to date with Recode’s storystream), deep-pocketed suitors are circling for a piece of the $70 billion ride-sharing startup. [Theodore Schleifer / Recode]

Top stories from Recode

The New Yorker and The Economist magazine covers blast Trump.

Media is not holding back.

Not everyone is a Facebook. Small companies are thriving even while surrounded by tech giants.

Takeaways from the success of Anker, Roku and Airbnb.

Can bike-sharing services take cars off the road?

LimeBike President Brad Bao talks about what has to happen first on Too Embarrassed to Ask.

This is cool

I am not saying the eclipse isn’t going to happen. I’m just saying there are two sides to every story.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Podcasts
Anthropic just made AI scarierAnthropic just made AI scarier
Podcast
Podcasts

Why the company’s new AI model is a cybersecurity nightmare.

By Dustin DeSoto and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
The Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track youThe Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track you
Politics

Chatrie v. United States asks what limits the Constitution places on the surveillance state in an age of cellphones.

By Ian Millhiser
Future Perfect
The simple question that could change your careerThe simple question that could change your career
Future Perfect

Making a difference in the world doesn’t require changing your job.

By Bryan Walsh
Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol