Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
A years-long copyright debate comes to a head in the EU. European Parliament ministers will vote on whether an overhaul of the bloc’s copyright rules goes to the next stage. The changes have pitted Google, Facebook, and other tech giants against publishers, media groups, and recording artists.
Mike Pompeo leaves for North Korea. The US secretary of state is under pressure to get concrete results on the country’s denuclearization plan during his Friday meeting. Nothing has moved forward since the summit in June, and reports suggest Kim Jong Un has not halted his program.
A peek into the Federal Reserve. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year at its June meeting and signaled two more increases by year’s end. Minutes from that meeting, due at 2pm today, should shed light on its rationale.
While you were sleeping
China said the US is “opening fire on the world” with its tariffs. Beijing warned it will respond the instant the Trump administration’s taxes on $34 billion of Chinese imports go into effect, which should happen at 12:01am ET on Friday. Trump has said he’ll drastically escalate the trade conflict if China retaliates.
Glencore announced a $1 billion share buyback to soothe investors. Shares in the world’s biggest commodity trader plunged earlier this week after the US Department of Justice launched a probe into its business in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Venezuela. The buyback program starts today.
ZTE named its new top managers. The embattled Chinese smartphone maker has tapped Xu Ziyang, the former head of its Germany business, to be the new CEO. It has also appointed a new CFO and CTO to comply with the US mandate that it overhaul its leadership (paywall) to get the supplier ban lifted.
Kim Dotcom lost his latest appeal against US extradition. A New Zealand court upheld the decision that he can be extradited to stand trial for copyright infringement and fraud. The charges relate to his (now defunct) file-sharing website Megaupload.
UK authorities confirmed another Novichok poisoning. Britain’s home secretary has called an emergency cabinet meeting in London today, after a man and women somehow came into contact with the same nerve agent that poisoned former Russian spy Sergei Skripal four months ago. The couple is in critical condition.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Stacy Conradt on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “At the turn of the century, any dishes containing peanut butter were considered delicacies due to the relatively high cost of obtaining a jar… [Julia Davis Chandler] recommended making ‘bread fingers’ by coating thin layers of bread with peanut butter and currant or crab-apple jelly. ‘The combination is delicious, and, so far as I know, original,’ she wrote.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
We’re alone in the universe. Researchers calculated the most likely scenarios that would bring about other intelligent life in the observable universe, and the results are bleak.
The customer is no longer always right. We are increasingly at the mercy of services (paywall) that rate us as consumers.
“Occupied” indicators for public bathrooms should be mandatory. They would remove the stress of assessing whether someone’s inside.
Surprising discoveries
Spotify’s Drake obsession is driving some users away. They’re tired of seeing his face plastered all over the app’s browse section.
China has a licensed version of “Saturday Night Live.” The show has zero political satire—a staple of the US original.
The northern white rhino might be saved from extinction. Scientists have created in-vitro embryos using eggs from a southern white rhino and preserved sperm from a northern white.
There’s a crazy plan to tow an iceberg from Antarctica to fix Cape Town’s water crisis. The iceberg could supply up to 30% of the South African city’s annual needs.
The US Postal Service put the wrong Statue of Liberty on a stamp. It now owes the artist behind it $3.5 million for copyright infringement.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, PB&J sandwiches, and copyright-infringing stamps to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Jill Petzinger and edited by Lianna Brinded.