Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The US marks the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in 2001 when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while a fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Donald Trump will attend a ceremony (paywall) in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; in New York, there will be a ceremony at Ground Zero.
US-Canada trade negotiations pick back up. Officials will meet again on Tuesday to discuss revamping the NAFTA trade agreement. Trump made a deal to bilaterally renew the trade accord with Mexico last month, and Canada is hoping the two separate deals can be reconciled before the end of September.
Argentina’s central bank meets. Investors will be keen to hear the central bank’s monetary policy statement (paywall) today in light of turmoil in the peso. The market is also monitoring the ongoing talks between the IMF and Buenos Aires over the terms of a $50 billion bailout program.
While you were sleeping
The southeast coast of the US braced for Hurricane Florence. More than 1 million people faced mandatory evacuation orders in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia as the storm, packing 140-mph winds, edged closer to Category 5 strength on Tuesday.
Russia kicked off its biggest military exercise since the Cold War. The Kremlin’s largest show of force since 1981 will feature about 300,000 troops and more than 1,000 aircraft, with military contingents from China and Mongolia joining in. The Chinese Defense Ministry insisted the joint exercise is not “directed against any third party.”
The White House wants to make it easier to release methane into the air. According to documents seen by the New York Times, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to significantly relax rules (paywall) that force energy companies to monitor and repair methane leaks. The powerful greenhouse gas often leaks from oil and gas wells.
A big semiconductor deal was announced. Japan’s Renesas said it had agreed to buy US rival IDT for $6.7 billion to boost its autonomous car technology. It bought another US chipmaker, Intersil, for $3.2 billion last year.
Samsung upped its competition with Apple in India. The South Korean tech giant opened its biggest mobile store in the world in the tech hub of Bengaluru on Tuesday. India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market and a major battleground for global smartphone brands.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Robert David Hart on what happens when a machine botches your surgery. “This is not an abstract discussion. Defining both ethical and legal responsibility in the world of medical care is vital for building patients’ trust in the profession and its standards. It’s also essential in determining how to compensate individuals who fall victim to medical errors, and ensuring high-quality care.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk ought to buy their local papers. Doing so would provide stability to much-needed institutions—and improve both their images.
Restaurants should charge for no-shows. Asking people for their credit-card details when making a reservation allows small, independent restaurants to survive.
It’s possible (and dangerous) to be over-inclusive. By looping in too many people to emails and projects, companies put the quality and timeliness of employees’ work at risk.
Surprising discoveries
Amsterdam engineered a bee comeback. An investment in flowering plants, green rooftops, and “insect hotels” has improved the diversity of the city’s bee species by 45% since 2000.
You don’t have to poop every day. The optimal number of bowel movements can be as few as three per week.
You can re-live the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore. The hotel that hosted the summit offers a “Path to Peace” package so guests can walk in the leaders’ footsteps (paywall).
WiFi moves faster than the speed of sound. Noise-canceling headphones can now outpace noise itself.
A soccer match will be broadcast in black and white. The first 25 seconds of an England vs. Switzerland game will be shown in monochrome in a gesture against racism.
Correction: Yesterday’s Daily Brief noted that the SpaceX launch would take place during the day on Monday. In fact, the rocket launched successfully at 12:45 am ET.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, honeybees, and supersonic headphones 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 Sarah Todd.