Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Brazil’s election. Jair Bolsonaro is widely expected to defeat left-wing opponent Fernando Haddad for the presidency in a second-round vote on Sunday. Despite Bolsonaro’s worrisome ideals, polls indicate that bills have come due for Haddad’s Workers’ Party, roundly criticized (paywall) for years of corruption, economic mismanagement, and allegiance to dictators.
Georgia’s election. French-Georgian politician Salome Zurabishvili will likely ride the ruling party’s support to win the presidency on Sunday in the nation’s final direct-ballot vote. The election has been rife with scandal in recent weeks, including claims of judiciary meddling and sanctioned murder.
Ireland’s election. Interest in the country’s presidential election has been trending at notable highs ahead of Friday’s vote. Oddsmakers and early polls indicate TV personality and entrepreneur Peter Casey is closing the gap on incumbent Michael D. Higgins, though Higgins is expected to ultimately outlast his five opponents.
Europe turns back its clocks. Daylight Saving Time will possibly see its last run in the EU on Sunday, with many member nations dropping the practice. That means winter days will be a bit brighter, with the UK as the obvious exception.
While you were sleeping
A slew of earnings reports. Alphabet and Amazon missed revenue goals, but the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq all rebounded from the week’s downward slide. Snap continued its losses, while Twitter, Intel, Western Digital, Expedia, and Chipotle beat market predictions—all contributing to a post-bell stock rush.
US officials found another mail bomb. A suspicious package turned up at Robert De Niro’s restaurant, addressed to former US vice president Joe Biden. This expands the intended hit list to 10 targets.
The UK fined Facebook. Despite new EU rules that would have permitted a £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) penalty, Facebook paid a mere £500,000 ($640,000) for its part in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Jumpei Yasuda returned to Japan. After more than three years of torture and solitary confinement enforced by Syrian militants, freelance journalist Yasuda recounted the horrific conditions of his capture. He boarded a flight for Narita Airport this week.
Miguel Díaz-Canel is heading to Pyongyang. Foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez recently confirmed to media that Cuba’s president will also add China, Laos, and Vietnam to his upcoming travel schedule. It’ll be the first such visit since Fidel Castro’s in 1986, though Díaz-Canel last met Kim Jong Un in 2015 as Cuba’s vice president.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Leah Fessler, Khe Hy, and Oliver Staley on the art of delivering feedback: “We really do want to know how we’re doing. We want to know it often, we want it personalized, we want it conversational, and, perhaps surprisingly, we want it in the morning. But we also fear it, for good reason. Poorly delivered feedback can wreak havoc. At its best, it stirs confusion. At its worst, it breeds fear, resentment, and revenge.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
China is far away from mending its broken ties. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge doesn’t mean much with restrictive border posts oppressing mainland citizens.
Megyn Kelly’s “blackface” comments show her true colors. The Today host and former Fox News personality is a habitual racist who has never been a good fit for NBC News.
Even China doesn’t deny its concentration camps. By acknowledging the internment of predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities, the People’s Republic is attempting to legitimize (paywall) its expanding policies.
Surprising discoveries
Uber and Lyft are making streets deadlier. University of Chicago researchers estimate that since 2011, the ride-hailing services caused up to a 3% increase in US traffic deaths.
Norwegian Air is still in the green. The carrier’s $150 long-haul flights helped it secure 1.3 billion kroner ($156 million) in third-quarter net profits and a 33% revenue increase.
Dolphins modify their speech to get around noisy humans. Simpler, piercing calls at much higher frequencies were analyzed in three months’ worth of recordings.
Coffee shops looks the same everywhere. Cities like Mumbai, São Paulo, Seoul, Paris, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Lagos are all starting to adopt New York’s generic look.
Pokémon Go is a good app for getting fit. The super-popular augmented reality game does a rather fantastic job at getting millions to actually go outside and exercise.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, fed-up dolphins, and generic joe 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 McKinley Noble and edited by Susan Howson.