Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
Ireland’s blasphemy referendum. In a second major referendum this year, after the country voted in May to legalize abortion, the Catholic nation will decide today whether to overturn rules against insulting God. Ireland is also choosing a new president, a largely symbolic role.
The last US economy report before the mid-terms. GDP growth numbers due today won’t come in as strong as the previous quarter, but are still expected to be very good. Forecasts range from a low of 2.13% to a high of 3.9%.
Elections in Brazil and Georgia. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who has expressed sexist and homophobic views, is widely expected to defeat his left-wing opponent in the nation’s final presidential vote on Sunday. Also on Sunday, Georgia’s presidential election, which has been rife with scandal, is expected to end in a win for the candidate backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
A slew of Japan-China deals. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s state visit to China is expected to end Saturday with the two nations announcing a raft of business agreements. Abe has pledged to lift Japan’s usually tense relations with China into a “new era.”
Asia’s biggest pride event. Tens of thousands will participate in Taiwan’s annual pride parade this Saturday, ahead of a November referendum on same-sex marriage that activists hope will fuel momentum to enact marriage equality, stalled after a landmark ruling.
Europe turns back its clocks. Daylight Saving Time will see what might be its last run in the European Union on Sunday. Millions of people have expressed fatigue with the finicky practice, prompting plans to abolish the seasonal switch.
While you were sleeping
Trump is weighing sealing the southern border. The New York Times reported (paywall) that the president is considering stopping crossings at the southern border, including for asylum applicants, as a caravan of migrants approaches. It would be another sweeping use of executive power to play to his anti-immigration base.
US markets rallied. 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. Asia’s markets didn’t follow suit.
A Florida mail facility is the focus of the pipe-bomb investigation. Some of the suspicious packages mailed to a number of high-profile Democrats are believed to have been dispatched from a mailing center near Miami. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Maxine Waters were among the targets.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Greece. There were no immediate reports of injuries but tremors were felt miles away in Italy.
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
Trump’s unpredictability won’t make friends of China and Japan. There are too many sticking points for a real rapprochement, from tech tensions (paywall) to disputed islands.
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.
It’s a terrible time to win $1.5 billion. More money means more problems, especially right now.
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’s making money on dirt-cheap flights. The carrier’s $150 long-haul tickets helped contribute to its $156 million profit in the third quarter.
Dolphins modify their speech to get around noisy humans. Simpler, piercing calls at much higher frequencies help them cut through ocean clamor.
Coffee shops look the same everywhere. Cities like Mumbai, São Paulo, Seoul, Paris, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Lagos are all starting to adopt Brooklyn’s generic look.
Pokémon Go is actually a fitness app. The popular augmented-reality game does a fantastic job of getting millions to go outside and exercise.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, air tickets, 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 Tripti Lahiri and edited by Alice Truong.