Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The UK parliament returns from summer holidays… Prime minister Theresa May now has less than seven months (pawall) to negotiate a deal before the country is scheduled to leave the European Union, or risk a no-deal Brexit.
…And Labour meets to discuss its anti-Semitism policy. The UK political party, which is being criticized for failing to crack down on anti-Semitism among its members, will decide whether to adopt the internationally recognized definition of the term set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney gets grilled by MPs. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the bank’s rate hike last month, but he’ll likely also be asked about how long he plans to stay in his post.
Brett Kavanaugh’s US Supreme Court confirmation hearings begin. Republican and Democratic senators are expected to question Kavanaugh about contentious past cases, in particular Roe v. Wade, which made abortions legal 45 years ago.
While you were sleeping
Argentina imposed a temporary tax on exports. The move, along with other austerity measures like halving the number of government ministries, should persuade the IMF to speed up disbursements of a $50 billion bailout package for the country, which is caught in a currency crisis. Finance minister Nicolas Dujovne will also meet with IMF chief Christine Lagarde today in Washington.
The New Yorker disinvited Steve Bannon. The magazine had invited the former Trump aide to speak at the New Yorker Festival in October, but other invited speakers such as Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey, and Patton Oswalt said they would pull out over Bannon’s presence.
Colin Kaepernick is the new face of Nike. The American football star, who famously refused to kneel to the national anthem in 2016, remains unsigned ahead of the beginning of the NFL season on Thursday, but is one of the stars fronting the brand’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. Nike is also a major NFL sponsor.
Japan was hit by another major typhoon. Jebi, the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years, made landfall (paywall) in Tokushima prefecture, with over hundreds of flights and bullet trains canceled. The country’s western part has been battered by typhoons this summer, leaving hundreds dead mostly from landslides.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Lynsey Chutel on how Namibian farmers’ shoes became hip. “Originally designed for farmers and settlers who had to trudge for hours over harsh, dry scrubland of southern Africa, veldskoene (Afrikaans for “bush shoes”), are finding a new home in the cupboards of young urbanites in Africa and around the world.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Don’t go on a Vietnam food tour named to honor Anthony Bourdain. The late chef was ambivalent about the ways mass travel can change the nature of the places he so loved.
Stopping companies from reporting quarterly is not the solution. It would only make information less transparent (paywall) by favoring investors who already have good access to management.
The US Supreme Court’s existence is becoming harder to justify. The top court is supposed to operate above politics, but we know how justices will vote (paywall) based on which president appointed them.
Surprising discoveries
AI can predict a city’s obesity levels by analyzing its buildings. Using satellite images, Google Street View, and health data, researchers trained an algorithm to estimate obesity rates without examining its inhabitants.
A Japanese yogurt drink is getting noticed thanks to Netflix. More people are showing interest in Yakult—wildly popular in Asia—after viewers spotted it (paywall) in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Chinese kids got a surprise on their first day back to school. A nursery in Shenzhen arranged a performance of female pole-dancers for its students.
The 10,000-step daily goal we live by is totally arbitrary. The popular setting for wearable fitness tech originated with a Japanese marketing campaign in the mid-60s.
Russia’s biggest Beatles fan died. Kolya Vasin represented a generation of people who grew up behind the Iron Curtain but were nevertheless passionate about Western rock music.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, Beatles albums, and yogurt drinks 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 Isabella Steger and edited by Alice Truong.