Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Spain celebrates National Day. Amid confusion over the autonomous Catalonia region possibly declaring independence, military marches in Madrid will be larger than usual, and units from the national police are expected to participate in them for the first time in over 30 years. Spain has threatened to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy.
Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg does damage control in DC. The chief operating officer will meet lawmakers investigating Russia’s Facebook ads and will give the company’s first public interview from a senior executive involved in the probe. Sandberg will also discuss racially inflammatory ads with members of the congressional black caucus.
Wall Street reports earnings. JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup kick off third-quarter earnings season (paywall), with Bank of America and Wells Fargo following suit on Friday. Big banks have signaled trading revenues will be down by 15% to 20% since this time last year.
While you were sleeping
Donald Trump threatened to challenge NBC’s broadcast license. The US president was angry over an NBC News report about a meeting at the Pentagon over the summer. According to the report Trump said he wanted to see nearly a tenfold increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal, surprising security leaders and prompting secretary of state Rex Tillerson to refer to Trump as a “moron” after the meeting.
Colombia’s peace deal with the FARC rebel group got some legal protection. A constitutional court in Bogota ruled that the 2016 accord cannot be modified for 12 years, meaning the next three governments must comply with it. That protects the deal from potential changes should right-wing opponents of president Juan Manuel Santos take power after next year’s elections.
Hamas reached a political reconciliation deal with its Palestinian rival Fatah. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh shared the news in a statement today without providing further details. In 2007 the Western-backed Fatah party lost control of Gaza to Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the West and Israel. More details could be released today in Cairo.
Facebook released an affordable VR headset. The Oculus Go, which works without a phone or PC, will be available in early 2018 for $199. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the entry-level price is an effort to get a billion people in virtual reality.
California will allow driverless cars without a human at the wheel. The proposed rule changes could take effect as early as June 2018 (paywall), and are designed to make the state competitive with Arizona and Florida, which have looser regulations. There are currently 285 driverless vehicles and 996 “backup” drivers on California roads.
Quartz obsession interlude
Zheping Huang on how news from China depends on anonymous local journalists. “Most foreign news organizations in mainland China rely heavily on Chinese nationals to navigate the country’s complex bureaucracy, flag important developments, and find people willing to be quoted in a foreign paper. But China bans its citizens from working as full-fledged journalists for these publications. Instead, they are only allowed to offer ‘assistance,’ after they sign employment contracts with agencies affiliated with the Chinese foreign ministry.” Read more here.
Markets haiku
Trump market context: / “Unprecedented” rally / minus six others
Matters of debate
“Intelligent” means different things in different cultures. IQ tests created in predominately white, Western societies can make global comparisons problematic.
SoftBank’s master plan is aimed at a robotic future. The seemingly random investments by Masayoshi Son’s $100 billion Vision Fund (paywall) all have a common thread.
Apple’s diversity chief isn’t focused on race. “[T]here can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blond men in a room and they’re going to be diverse too,” says Denise Young Smith.
Surprising discoveries
A fake story about Google buying Apple briefly roiled the stock market. The Dow Jones article was meant to be used internally as part of a technology test (paywall).
The Swiss sewage system is clogged with gold. Researchers estimate flecks of gold that together are worth $2 million are discarded by refineries and Swiss watch firms.
Leonardo da Vinci’s last painting once sold for $60. Salvator Mundi will be offered for an estimated $100 million at an auction next month.
A court in Australia recognized an unsent text message as a valid will. Instructions included “put my ashes in the back garden,” along with a smiley face.
New Zealand police apologized for posting a meme about traffic deaths. “When you have to tell someone their family has died” was accompanied by a GIF from The Office.
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