Good morning, Quartz readers!
Starting today, we are offering an afternoon complement to the Daily Brief called the Quartz Obsession. Five days a week, the interactive email will dive into a single topic, taking you into the most fascinating corners of the global economy.
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What to watch for today
Trump heads to the UN General Assembly. The US president will host a pre-UNGA event on Monday. Its subject? Reducing wasteful expenditure at the UN—an interesting topic, given Trump’s criticism that America gives the world body too much money. Later this week, US officials will make their case for tougher sanctions on North Korea.
Hurricane season continues to nail the Caribbean. Maria was upgraded to hurricane status Sunday by the US National Hurricane Center. The storm’s path will likely collide with many Western Caribbean islands previously devastated by Hurricane Irma, which could disrupt ongoing recovery efforts.
Stranger Things and Westworld face off at the Emmys. Netflix has a chance to take home its first award thanks to odds-on favorite Stranger Things, though HBO could reign supreme with Westworld. Saturday Night Live leads the pack with 22 nominations. The show’s satirization of the 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath led to its best ratings in seven years.
Over the weekend
Donald Trump did an about-face on the Paris Accord…or did he? An EU official claimed on Saturday that Trump was considering not pulling out of the agreement (paywall). The White House denied changing its stance, as did national security adviser HR McMaster (paywall). Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, however said that the US might stay “under the right conditions.”
Suspects were arrested in connection with the London Tube bombing. The UK lowered its terror threat level from “critical” to “severe” following the arrests of an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old on Saturday. A home in Surrey connected to the 21-year-old was searched, and ISIL has claimed responsibility for the attack that injured 30.
NASA researchers returned from “Mars.” Six scientists returned to civilization Sunday after living at the summit of a remote Hawaiian volcano for eight months, subsisting off canned and freeze-dried food while their every moment was monitored. NASA will use the data collected to help vet potential candidates for multi-year missions to the planet, which it hopes to reach in the 2030s.
A stampede near a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh killed three people. A woman and two children died as displaced migrants scrambled for supplies dropped off by relief trucks. The crisis in neighboring Myanmar, whose army has been accused of waging a deadly, brutal campaign against the minority Rohingya Muslims, has sent an estimated 409,000 refugees across the border.
Two Equifax executives step down. Both chief information officer David Webb and chief security officer Susan Mauldin are leaving following a massive security breach that compromised the sensitive data of 143 million people. Equifax has two congressional hearings on the horizon as it continues to deal with the fallout.
Quartz obsession interlude
Siyi Chen on being a Chinese journalist working in the West. “Did the world really need to hear another story about China’s horrible smog and lack of freedom and democracy? Aren’t we tired of the rhetoric that dominates Western narratives about China—and couldn’t we, as a community familiar with the realities of both American and Chinese values and educational systems, change the narrative?” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The average couple should only have sex once per week. Beyond that, sex causes more stress than pleasure.
Equifax should be treated like a utility. US companies are terrible at keeping customer data secure, and should be overseen by a government regulatory body.
The Emmy voters’ snub of Insecure was a mistake. The HBO comedy received zero nominations, despite being politically astute, and far wittier than some other contenders.
Surprising discoveries
China’s camel milk industry is thriving. One can sells for the equivalent of $18 USD.
People forget about natural disasters quickly. A new study finds that extreme weather events have a fleeting effect on climate change views.
500 million people in China talk to an AI-powered language app. iFlytek, a $12 billion dollar Chinese company, makes it easier to converse across languages.
HBO should be insecure about its Emmy crown. Netflix is on track to surpass the network in total nominations over the next several years.
Cash is clogging up toilets in Geneva. Four separate incidents of shredded 500-euro notes jamming up toilets have been reported in the Swiss city.
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