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What to watch for today
A draft Brexit deal comes into focus. Senior EU and British negotiators say a draft could be published as soon as today after prime minister Boris Johnson reportedly caved to an EU demand for Northern Ireland to stay in the European customs union.
A high-level US entourage heads to Turkey. Led by vice president Mike Pence, the diplomatic team will meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to negotiate a cease-fire between Ankara and Syrian Kurdish forces. Erdoğan has already rejected the idea.
Europe takes aim at another US tech giant. EU regulators are expected to tell chipmaker Broadcom (paywall) to stop barring customers from buying chips from rivals, pending an investigation of alleged anti-competitive behavior. The fight is set to go all the way to the European Court of Justice.
Netflix looks to rebound. The streaming giant announces its third-quarter earnings as competition is set to intensify, thanks to Apple and Disney. Netflix stock crashed after losing US subscribers last quarter, but a blockbuster season of Stranger Things could turn those numbers around.
While you were sleeping
Democratic hopefuls focused attacks on Elizabeth Warren. In the longest debate yet, the spotlight was on the Massachusetts senator, not on Joe Biden, who’s been fending off allegations around his son’s work with Ukraine and China. During the debate, the Washington Post reported Bernie Sanders will be endorsed by influential first-term lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Police and Catalan protesters clashed for a second night. People angry at the long sentences handed out on Monday to politicians who organized an independence referendum in 2017 gathered in the streets to hold vigils and sing the region’s anthem, with some hurling firecrackers at police.
The US House passed legislation to support Hong Kong. The bills, which include an act requiring the US to annually certify that authorities are respecting the city’s human rights, now head to the Senate. Meanwhile, jeering lawmakers forced Hong Kong’s leader to abandon her annual address to the new legislative session.
Kim Jong Un sent a signal of defiance. Images of the North Korean leader riding a white horse on the revered Mount Paektu suggest a policy shift or major operation could be coming, North Korean experts say. Denuclearization talks with the US, and efforts to get sanctions lifted, have stalled.
NASA unveiled a new spacesuit design. The new outfits look similar to the agency’s current puffy white suits but have key upgrades to make it easier for astronauts to put them on, walk on rugged terrain, and stay outside their ships for longer.
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Apple has a bit of a growth problem. The company is generating a ton of money every quarter—nearly $54 billion in the last reported quarter alone!—but it seems to have hit a plateau in terms of expanding revenues. These 12 charts outline the latest trends and upcoming challenges as Tim Cook nears a decade behind the wheel of the tech giant.
Quartz Obsession
It was a welcome mat for the internet. As the first easy-to-use web browser, Netscape Navigator quickly became the dominant portal to the World Wide Web after it was released in October of 1994. Its $3-billion valuation kicked off the first Silicon Valley IPO rush just a year later. The Quartz Obsession does a search for the last vestiges of our first favorite browser.
Matters of debate
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Facebook should get out of the politics business. Facebook’s decision to allow false campaign ads is proof that it’s not responsible enough to profit from elections.
Disney is going to win the streaming wars. Nostalgia sells, and that’s what Disney is offering customers.
We’re all climate-change deniers. There are at least three types of climate-change denier—and most of us are at least one.
Surprising discoveries
Clear is a color. Xerox, the venerable documents solutions company, has named clear—as in transparent—its first-ever color of the year.
Lean In found “the biggest systemic barrier to gender parity.” Women, particularly those of color, get stuck getting their first promotion to manager.
The divorce court of the future is an AI. A growing number of services use artificial intelligence to mediate disputes and divide estates following a spousal split.
The world’s biggest Ouija board mysteriously materialized. The creator of the 294-square-meter board worked on it in secret for a year.
Apple’s graphics have ancient roots. Designer Susan Kare found inspiration in everything from hieroglyphics to street signs.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, clear faxes, and questions for giant ghosts to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Tripti Lahiri and edited by Isabella Steger.