Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump chairs the UN Security Council meeting. It’s unclear whether the topic will be Iran, as the US president seems to believe, or broader questions of weapons proliferation, as his staff has promised.
Google will admit its privacy mistakes to the US Senate. The search giant’s chief privacy officer Keith Enright will deliver a written testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee. Google came under fire last month for tracking the movements of millions of iPhone and Android users even when they opted out of it.
The Fed hikes rates for the third time this year. Investors are widely expecting the benchmark interest rate to increase by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 2% to 2.25%. Chairman Jerome Powell is sure to face questions about the consequences of Trump’s trade war and the White House’s influence over central-bank policy decisions.
While you were sleeping
US lawmakers set a date for Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote. The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled the vote for 9:30am ET on Friday, less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court nominee and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of sexual assault, will testify in front of the panel. Senator Dianne Feinstein blasted the move, saying, “Republicans don’t even need to hear her before they move ahead with a vote.”
Pope Francis defended the deal between the Vatican and China. In his first public comments on an agreement signed in Beijing over the weekend, he clarified that the pope—not Beijing—will appoint bishops, but candidates will be proposed by Chinese authorities and members of local Catholic communities. He acknowledged that both sides made compromises and that members of the underground Chinese church “will suffer” as a result.
The Indian Supreme Court upheld the country’s biometric ID project. The five-judge bench ruled that India’s controversial Aadhaar project can still be required for enrollment in government welfare programs, but imposed some restrictions on how the personal data of millions of citizens can be used. Banks and other private companies can no longer use Aadhaar for their verification requirements.
CBS appointed Richard Parsons as interim chairman. The former chairman of both Time Warner and Citigroup replaces Leslie Moonves. Moonves was forced to step down from his joint roles as CBS chairman, president, and chief executive this month amid allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
Mexican marines raided and disarmed the police force in Acapulco. Two police officers accused of homicide were arrested, and the entire force in the former resort town is under investigation amid suspicions it was infiltrated by gangs. The state police and military will now patrol the city, which has one of the highest murder rates in Mexico.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Layla McCay on the rise of hyper-local neighborhoods. “For a further glimpse at our potential urban future, we can look at Tokyo’s new plan for looking after Japan’s super-aging population. It is constructing Daily Activities Areas (DAAs), which are geographical boundaries similar to high-school catchment areas in which older adults may easily go about conducting their daily activities. These could be interpreted as villages within the city, ensuring that people can walk to their grocery store, library, post office, health clinic, social club, and other such local amenities.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
“Innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply to job interviews. Brett Kavanaugh’s liberty isn’t at stake—he’s just a guy who’s up for a job.
Facebook’s trust rankings are untrustworthy. Reputation testimonials are often just as fake as the fake news (paywall) they’re meant to validate.
Teaching Arabic in schools could combat radicalization. A new report from France recommends offering more Arabic language classes so that students can learn in a secular setting.
Surprising discoveries
A woman on Vietnam’s The Bachelor confessed her love to a fellow contestant. The dramatic rose ceremony resulted in the two leaving together, rejecting the show’s central character.
Vaccination rates in rich Los Angeles schools are as low as South Sudan’s. LA parents are filing for “personal belief exemptions,” while South Sudanese ones are dealing with a civil war.
Bees love the buzz of urban life. Their country cousins are living in a bee wasteland created by insecticides.
Scientists are trying to solve the mystery of blinking. Researchers believe we have the medial prefrontal cortex to thank for ensuring the world doesn’t go dark.
The goddess of love lives off the coast of Brazil. A new species of reef fish has been named the Aphrodite anthias for its striking pink-and-yellow neon colors.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, urban honey, and love confessions 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 Annabelle Timsit and edited by Sarah Todd.