Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Jack Ma unveils a succession plan. Alibaba said its cofounder will remain executive chairman of the Chinese ecommerce giant through an extended transition period. Ma, with a personal fortune estimated around $40 billion, earlier told the New York Times he planned to focus on philanthropy in education—but Alibaba disputed its report that he was retiring immediately.
CBS loses its CEO. The US media company’s board of directors is expected to announce the departure of Les Moonves, the longtime CEO facing allegations of sexual misconduct. Moonves has conceded making mistakes but denied any abuse of power. The deal around his departure could also set the company up for a sale.
SpaceX aims to return to space. Elon Musk’s rocket maker hopes to pull off its first flight since Aug. 5, the high-tempo company’s longest break between launches this year.
The world observes Suicide Prevention Day. It’s an important reminder of the good that comes from asking for help.
Over the weekend
Serena Williams lost a tennis championship, but made a point. The 23-time grand slam winner fell in straight sets to Japan’s Naomi Osaka. But Williams alleged sexism by an umpire who penalized her during the match.
North Korea kept its most-threatening missiles hidden. The hermit kingdom’s display of military might was more understated this year as it celebrated its 70th birthday with a parade where long-range missiles were conspicuously absent.
The US-China trade war got messier. New data released Saturday show China’s trade surplus with the US hit a record level, and Donald Trump pressed Apple to shift manufacturing from China to the US.
Nationalists fell short of expected gains in Swedish voting Sunday. The parliamentary election remained too close to call, with the center-left Social Democrats in the lead. The nationalist anti-immigration Sweden Democrats appeared to have won about 18% of the vote, less than they’d polled in recent years (paywall).
New York regained a subway stop. The Cortlandt Street station, destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, finally reopened after 17 years of recovery and repair.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Nikhil Sonnad on the genius of the world’s most difficult text editor: “The new cult of simple software is making us less productive. Simple tools get in the way of our thinking by making assumptions about what we want to do, and by putting the ease of getting going ahead of optimizing productivity. By contrast, using a tool like Vim makes me more expressive. It reduces the friction between what’s in my head and what I can make happen on the computer.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The US economy could still have a lot of room to run. Even after nine years of expansion, there are echoes of the mid-90s and the growth and prosperity that followed.
Low-emission vehicles should get conspicuous green license plates. Giving electric and hydrogen cars bright green plates—as Norway, Canada, and China already do—spurs their adoption.
Schools fail children because they’ve been designed for the jobs created by the Industrial Revolution. Neuroatypical students especially struggle with the structure and method of modern education.
You make better choices when you feel busy all the time. A busy mindset can increase people’s self-control by boosting their feeling of self-importance.
Companies should be allowed to access employees’ personal emails and home computers. A New York investment firm is being sued for allegedly monitoring personal communications.
Surprising discoveries
Heat days are the new snow days. Extreme temperatures mean that schools are cancelling classes and student activities.
An artificial intelligence system correctly predicted comatose patients would awake. The AI was right that at least seven patients—who human doctors in Beijing said had no hope—would regain consciousness within a year.
Homicide is the third-leading cause of workplace deaths. Some experts say murder in an attempt to cover up fraudulent activity is more prevalent than we imagine.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, succession plans, and underappreciated software 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 Kevin J. Delaney.