Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump meet. After his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week, the South Korean president flew to the US where he’s expected to discuss with Trump how to move toward a formal declaration of the end of the Korean War.
Trade war escalation. At midnight ET, the US will add new tariffs (paywall) on $200 billion in Chinese imports as Donald Trump seeks trade concessions from Beijing. In response, China will hit US exports with counter-tariffs of its own.
FIFA announces the world’s best soccer players. Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, and Mohamed Salah are the finalists for the Best FIFA Football Awards, with Lionel Messi missing out for the first time since 2006. Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan, and Brazil’s Marta are the nominees for the women’s award.
Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing begins. The 81-year-old entertainer faces up to 10 years in prison for each of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He’s been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 60 women.
Over the weekend
The Vatican reached a historic deal with China. The Church agreed to recognize seven bishops appointed by Beijing, part of a provisional agreement under which both sides will have a say on who becomes a bishop. The deal could help pave the way for the eventual reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two governments, which were broken off in 1951.
A train began testing Hong Kong’s autonomy. The high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and Guangzhou in mainland China opened to the public. Critics say that Chinese law enforced on the train and in the station in Hong Kong violates the autonomy guaranteed to the former UK colony since its return to Chinese control.
The Maldives’ opposition candidate claimed election victory. No official results have been announced yet, but Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said he has unseated strongman Abdulla Yameen. The election was widely seen as a test of the Indian Ocean’s relationship with its large neighbors, with Yameen favoring closer ties with China and Solih with India.
A second woman alleged sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh… Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale University with the Supreme Court nominee, told The New Yorker that Kavanaugh pulled down his pants and exposed himself to her. The Senate Judiciary Committee is due to hear from Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault when both were in high school, on Thursday.
…And Kavanaugh plans a defense with calendars. His legal team plans to submit calendars (paywall) belonging to the judge from summer 1982 that do not show plans consistent with Ford’s accusations. They acknowledged, however, that the calendars do not disprove Ford’s allegations.
Terrorists attacked a military parade in Iran. Tehran accused Iran’s US-backed rivals of instigating the attack in the city of Ahvaz, which killed at least 29 people. Iran summoned the UK, Dutch, and Danish envoys after the attack as it said those countries hosted some members of the terrorist group allegedly behind the attack.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Edmund Heaphy on the resilience of “lad culture” in the UK. “As academics track the #MeToo movement… it might be a bit perplexing to find that British lad culture—a not-so-distant cousin of US fraternity culture—seems to be as pernicious as ever. It’s not pernicious simply because sexual harassment is so prevalent in the UK—though figures suggest that more than 20% of women have experienced some type of sexual assault since they were 16—but because even those who should know better fail to draw a connection between the two.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Apple’s new iPhones are bad for women. By effectively phasing out single-handed use of phones, users will be devoting fuller attention to their devices.
There’s a dark side to American prisons switching to ebooks. The cost of e-readers falls on inmates or their families, while many popular titles are unavailable in digital formats.
You should be glad to sit in the middle seat. With flying cheaper and safer than ever, people should stop clinging on the false idea of a “glamour age of travel.”
Surprising discoveries
Cows prefer to set their own schedules, too. After installing milking robots, one Icelandic farm saw its 80 cows produce 30% more milk.
Galileo tried to trick the Inquisition. A newly discovered letter shows the 17th-century astronomer edited his words to sound less strident about Copernican theory.
A Japanese space exploration mission landed two small rovers on an asteroid. It’s the first to ever visit a “C-type” asteroid, one that scientists believe includes significant amounts of carbon and water as well as metals.
Spotify is creating playlists based on people’s DNA. The streaming platform is collaborating with Ancestry to suggest songs based on the cultures your ancestors came from.
Hong Kong women are being swindled huge sums of money by fake lovers. The record is a 66-year-old who lost $23 million to someone posing as a British engineer on a dating site.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, DNA-based playlists, and verified dating profiles 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.