Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
More cabinet resignations over the Brexit deal. After rejecting an invitation from British prime minister Theresa May to be her new Brexit negotiator, environment secretary Michael Gove could resign. Enraged lawmakers have walked out after she delivered a “Hotel California” (paywall) exit arrangement from the European Union, and efforts are building to bring a no-confidence vote (paywall).
A Belt-and-Road rival at APEC. US vice president Mike Pence will announce a US-driven “private-sector” model on Saturday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Papua New Guinea, aimed at combating Beijing’s international investments. US-China relations have been fraught in this week’s Asia gatherings (paywall), with Pence continually condemning China’s business moves.
A vote on the kilogram. The General Conference on Weights and Measures will gather in Versailles, France, to revise the definition of the kilogram in terms of a unit of energy, rather keeping it pegged to an iridium-and-platinum cylinder, as it has been since the 19th century.
Hong Kong’s pride march. The city’s LGBT community will be out on Saturday afternoon after a year that saw gay expat couples win spousal-visa rights. A challenge by a gay civil servant over his right to spousal benefits is still proceeding. But some lawyers worry another suit—over civil partnerships—might fail. The city is due to host the Gay Games in 2022.
Viacom’s fourth-quarter report. The US conglomerate is expected to show earnings of 95 cents per share and $3.34 billion in revenue. Mission Impossible: Fallout should boost the company’s finances, though investors will be curious to see how domestic content and cable TV profits weigh against international expansion.
While you were sleeping
The Khmer Rouge’s killings were ruled a genocide. Nuon Chea, 92, and Khieu Samphan, 87, two of the last living leaders of Pol Pot’s brutal communist regime, were found guilty of genocide in a historic and controversially expensive trial. More than 80,000 people attended the hearings seeking justice for more than 1.7 million Cambodians who died under Khmer rule in the 1970s. Both men are already serving life sentences.
The Camp Fire death toll rose to 63. Officials in northern California announced that more than 600 people remain missing from the US’s deadliest wildfire in a century. A separate wildfire in southern California has killed at least three. Together, they’ve burned more than 200,000 acres and brought a smoky haze to the Bay Area, leading to school closures.
The US mistakenly revealed sealed charges against Julian Assange. The disclosure came in an unrelated case (paywall) and it’s not clear what the charges are. Under the Trump administration, prosecutors have been looking whether Wikileaks could be charged over its 2010 publication of diplomatic cables. And special counsel Robert Mueller has been exploring the whistleblowing site’s use of hacked Democratic National Committee emails.
Florida’s US Senate race will have a manual recount. A five-day machine recount confirmed Republican Ron DeSantis’s victory in the governor’s race, but outgoing governor Rick Scott’s margin over incumbent Democratic senator Bill Nelson was small enough to trigger a hand count (paywall) for the congressional seat. State election authorities are supposed to certify the results by Tuesday.
David Hockney’s enigmatic pool painting set a record. Christie’s auctioned Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) for $90.3 million—more than $30 million higher than a Jeff Koons Balloon Dog sculpture that previously held the auction record for a living artist.
Obsession interlude
Chocolate chip cookies taste like they’re timeless, but they were actually invented just prior to WWII by a brilliant restaurateur. A simple comfort food that could be shipped to troops overseas, it quickly became the classic cookie. But some say its inventor, Ruth Wakefield, had even better recipes. Something’s fresh at the Quartz Obsession.
Conversation starters
“The discovery problem is a big one and using AI is essential for a platform like Pinterest, who are on the receiving end of millions of searches each month. Effective search is paramount and a content-based business cannot survive nowadays unless it is delivering fresh and relevant content to the right audience at the right time – before the introduction of AI, this was a tricky equation to solve.”
—Dawn Airey, CEO at Getty Images, commenting on: How Pinterest uses AI to capture our imaginations
“Nebula is both a great use of blockchain technology and a step forward for patient control of their biometric data. By contrast to 23andMe, Nebula lets you get sequenced, and then have granular control of who can BUY your data FROM YOU! This is how it should be: patients in charge of their own information, and empowered to share in the financial value that their information produces. I’m delighted to be an advisor of theirs!”
—D.A. Wallach, recording artist and investor, commenting on: Nebula Genomics, with free DNA sequencing, opens for business
“This trend may be a result of many new diets taking place not only with millennials, but also baby boomers. From low carb to keto to intermittent fasting, to pre-packaged and prepared meals, to low calorie alternatives, there is a breadth of options to be considered. Consumers that are overweight and obese (now accounting over 30% of Americans) are seeking alternatives to be healthier, and perhaps smaller turkeys are a start in that direction.”
—David Yakobovitch, AI trainer at Galvanize, commenting on: Millennials are disrupting Thanksgiving with their tiny turkeys
Surprising discoveries
A 19-carat pink diamond just became the most expensive of its kind. Jeweler Harry Winston bought it for US$50 million at auction, reflecting the increasing scarcity of high-quality colored diamonds.
Iceland’s president regrets saying he wishes he could ban pineapple pizza. Gudni Johannesson instead pushed his desire to see a world where “everyone put[s] seafood on their pizzas.”
Japan’s new cybersecurity minister has never used a computer. The admission from Yoshitaka Sakurada, who’s supposed to keep Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics safe from hackers, came during a hearing.
NRA employees no longer get free coffee. The National Rifle Association’s budget problems also resulted in less spending on advertising for the US midterm election.
New York’s iconic Grand Central Terminal is set to sell for about $35 million. That’s less than plenty of other New York City properties—including several private residences (paywall).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, free coffee, and uncontroversial pizza toppings 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.