Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Donald Trump is in Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. The president’s MAGA rallies have sought to energize the Republican base before Tuesday’s midterms, a referendum on his first two years that opponents are hoping will produce enough of a “blue wave” (paywall) for Democrats to take back the House.
The US measures service-sector performance. After rising in September to its highest level since 2008 on the back of tariff preparation and local government spending, economists forecast another strong reading from the non-manufacturing index, which provides insight into the country’s overall economic health.
SoftBank reports its earnings… Investors have questions for CEO Masayoshi Son (paywall) about the company’s $100 billion Vision Fund, which is backed by Saudi money. SoftBank shares sank after journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered last month in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.
… and the UN reviews Saudi Arabia’s rights record. The murder will also hang over the United Nations Human Rights Council’s periodic review of Riyadh’s policies. Austria and Switzerland are asking about the Saudi investigation into Khashoggi’s death, while the UK is asking about curbs on freedom of expression. Countries are also raising the arrests of women’s rights activists this year.
Over the weekend
Renewed US sanctions on Iran took effect. Iran’s energy, shipping, and banking sectors are already reeling from a financial crisis. The US has given eight countries, including India and China, exemptions (paywall) from the sanctions.
China repeated its commitment to free trade. Chinese president Xi Jinping defended globalization, and promised to do more to open the country’s economy at the start of a major trade expo in Shanghai today. Xi and Trump will discuss trade tensions over dinner on the sidelines of this month’s G20 meeting.
The US and South Korea began a small military drill. Joint exercises were suspended after the summit with North Korea in June. On Friday, Pyongyang warned it could restart development of its nuclear program if the US didn’t end its campaign of “maximum pressure” and sanctions.
Berkshire Hathaway reported a $928 million stock buyback. Warren Buffett’s company said it made its first buyback since 2012 in August, a possible signal that Buffett can’t find anything else worth buying at the moment.
Obsession interlude
The ancient art of origami is helping scientists and engineers shape the future. The principles of paper-folding have paved the way for amazing breakthroughs, like ingestible robots. Come into the fold at the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
‘Oumuamua could be alien space junk. The suspiciously thin interstellar object might be a rock, or it could be alien-engineered.
No one can predict the result of US midterms. Neither polls nor pundits can accurately forecast the outcome of a political system gone haywire.
Mohammed bin Salman is reminiscent of Saddam Hussein. The US should learn from the mistakes it made (paywall) backing another Middle Eastern leader.
Surprising discoveries
Young women are crowdfunding Kyrgyzstan’s space program. The hope is to launch a mini-satellite next year.
A newly discovered sauropod species was way off course. Fossils of the massive dinosaurs popped up in a part of Argentina that would have been a desert at the time.
A man swam around Great Britain. In the quest for a world record, Ross Edgley spent five months at sea, ate 500 bananas, and lost part of his tongue.
New iPhones cost twice as much as you think. With cases, care plans, and accessories, a $999 phone could gobble up $2,000 pretty quickly.
Extreme crunch is the new ASMR video trend. The sound of people chowing down on raw vegetables triggers a sensory response in some people and encourages healthy eating.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, phone cases, and crunchy veggies 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 Devjyot Ghoshal.