Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
An update on the US labor market. Analysts forecast the economy to have added about 77,000 jobs in September (paywall), a significant drop from previous months, in the wake of several severe hurricanes. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.4%.
A verdict in a tragic Japanese overwork death. A Tokyo court decides the fate of advertising giant Dentsu, which is accused of labor practice violations after a young employee committed suicide in 2015. The verdict will follow yesterday’s news that an NHK reporter died from similar circumstances.
Tropical storm Nate hits Mexico. It’s expected to undergo “rapid intensification” in the Caribbean that could turn it into a hurricane by Sunday, when it could reach the US Gulf Coast between Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.
While you were sleeping
Netflix hiked its prices to pay for more original content. Investors approved the move—which increases the cost of most plans by $1 to $2 a month—and Netflix’s stock jumped close to 4%. The company plans to spend $7 billion on programming next year, up from $6 billion this year.
Donald Trump reportedly plans to decertify the US-Iran nuclear deal. The US president is expected to announce next week that the landmark deal is not in the national interest (paywall). That would force a reluctant US congress to resolve the issue of sanctions within 60 days.
Russia stole NSA cyber defense data from a contractor’s home computer. The breach, which was allegedly facilitated by Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky, also contained information about how the US hacks foreign computer networks (paywall). Kaspersky denied any link to the intrusion.
Producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of decades of sexual harassment. The New York Times (paywall) reported that a number of young female employees were propositioned and subjected to unwanted physical contact. Weinstein, who is taking a leave of absence, said in a statement that he “came of age in the ’60s and ’70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.”
The National Rifle Association came out in support of a possible ban on “bump stocks.” The devices were used by the Las Vegas gunman to convert semi-automatic rifles into rapid-fire weapons. The NRA suggested a regulatory review, which might forestall a more restrictive approach from Congress.
Quartz obsession interlude
Sarah Todd on Kazuo Ishiguro’s division of domestic labor. “Lorna, despite her own busy schedule, would for this period do my share of the cooking and housework. In this way, so we hoped, I’d not only complete more work quantitatively, but reach a mental state in which my fictional world was more real to me than the actual one.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
When finance firms flee / Separatists get cold feet / Freedom has its costs
Matters of debate
The surveillance state won’t save us from mass murder. In one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world, shooter Stephen Paddock wasn’t flagged for bringing 19 weapons to the Las Vegas Strip.
Google’s headphone jack-less phone proved Apple right. A year after the launch of the iPhone 7, it turns out we’ll have to live with dongles.
Westerners’ dystopian vision of China is pretty backward. The worn narratives of China’s horrible smog and lack of freedom ignore the context and nuance of a rapidly developing nation.
Surprising discoveries
Mattel cancelled its plans to launch an AI device for kids. Children’s health and privacy advocates fiercely opposed the product (paywall).
Russia may ban selfies by soldiers. The defense ministry is tired of social media posts that disclose sensitive military information.
A Nobel laureate left science because he was fed up with academia. “I resent running out of research money,” Jeffrey Hall said in an interview.
There’s now a robot you can eat. It’s made out of entirely edible gelatin and glycerin materials.
Ford’s new CEO won’t get into a driverless car just yet. “The trust isn’t real high,” said Jim Hackett.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, edible bots, and jack-less smartphones to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android.