Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
The Nobel Prize in economics is announced. The winner will be revealed at 11:45am local time in Sweden.
Mike Pompeo meets China’s top diplomat. Their discussions will focus on reducing trade and military tensions, and come after the US secretary of state visited Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang to discuss holding a second Trump-Kim summit “as soon as possible.”
The Bank of Israel could raise interest rates for the first time in seven years. The central bank had stopped holding monthly rate meetings in recent years because there was nothing to announce. This will also be the last committee meeting under governor Karnit Flug, whose term ends Nov. 12.
Some North American businesses shut down for holidays. Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving while the US marks Columbus Day. Notably, Columbus, Ohio—the US’s most populous city named after the explorer—will not observe the federal holiday for the first time.
Over the weekend
Chinese anti-graft authorities detained Interpol president Meng Hongwei. The world’s top police official, who was reported missing to French authorities by his wife last week, is being investigated for “suspected serious violations of state law” by China’s National Supervisory Commission. Interpol said he resigned from his post on Sunday.
Brazil’s presidential election will head to a run-off. Far-right Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party fell short of an outright majority with 46% of the vote, triggering a second round of elections on Oct. 28 when he will face leftist candidate Fernando Haddad, who trailed him with 29% of the vote.
A Saudi dissident journalist was allegedly murdered in the Istanbul consulate. Turkish officials said Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who had criticized Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed after he entered the consulate seeking documents for his upcoming marriage. The Saudi government denied the accusation.
SpaceX made its first ground landing on the US West Coast. The company launched and landed the used Falcon 9 rocket at a California air-force base on Sunday night. Up until then, all of its ground landings have taken place in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn into the US Supreme Court. With 50 votes in favor and 48 against, Kavanaugh was confirmed by the slimmest margin in American history since 1881.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Jenni Avins on Melania Trump’s colonial fashion on her Africa tour. “On a short safari in Kenya, she wore a crisp white button-up shirt, khaki jodhpurs, knee-high riding boots, and a blazing white pith helmet… The headgear was standard-issue for 19th century British officers in India and Africa, making it a potent symbol of colonial rule. They’ve long since been abandoned, making them nearly cartoonish in their connotations today.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Gig workers are the new proletariat. The ever-present threat of technology (paywall) means they can’t do anything but work to survive.
Snoop Dogg is the life coach the world needs. The rapper’s relatable approach to self-care is easier to implement than aspirational competitors like Gwyneth Paltrow.
Turn off push notifications for better mental health. Your only notifications should contain relevant, time-sensitive information worthy of interruption.
Surprising discoveries
A meteorite worth $100,000 was used as a doorstop for 30 years. The Smithsonian helped uncover its interstellar origin.
Venomous funnel-web spiders can kill cancer tumors. Their melanoma-neutralizing peptide has almost no negative effects on healthy cells.
Luxury panic rooms are all the rage in the Hamptons. Billionaires are fearful of the MS-13 gang that has been spotted an hour’s drive away.
Witches are making a comeback on TV. Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Bewitched are all getting rebooted.
Trinity College Dublin gave a prized literary award to one of its janitors. The winner says she finds her daily labors more conducive to writing than sitting at a desk all day.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, astronomical doorstops, and pith helmets 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 Alice Truong and edited by Isabella Steger.