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What to watch for today
US impeachment hearings are back. The House judiciary committee takes over from intelligence and asks legal scholars if president Trump’s actions on Ukraine constituted criminal behavior. Separately, a federal appeals court ordered Trump’s banks to comply with subpoenas and hand over his financial records to Congress.
Day 2 of NATO’s 70th anniversary summit begins. Secretary general Jens Stoltenberg praised the “agile” alliance ahead of a family photograph and three-hour meeting of 29 leaders. They’re expected to discuss cyber attacks and the challenge posed by China. Trump meets the leaders of Germany, Denmark, and Italy.
South America’s Mercosur trade bloc meets in Brazil. The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay will almost certainly be discussing Trump’s surprise move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the common market’s two largest members.
While you were sleeping
China criticized the US UIGHUR Act of 2019.
Beijing
against the Uygur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response Act, which was approved by the House of Representatives yesterday, 407 to 1.
United Airlines passed on Boeing. The airline inked a deal with Airbus for 50 jets that will be used for transatlantic travel, marking the flight of yet another US airline to the European planemaker. The purchase will replace its fleet of Boeing’s 757-200s starting in 2024.
The UN launched an urgent appeal for $29 billion. It said record numbers of people would need some form of emergency assistance next year on account of protracted conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Venezuela, as well as extreme weather events.
Australia repealed medical evacuations for refugees. Prime minister Scott Morrison had said the law that allowed sick asylum seekers, held in offshore detention centers, to be treated on the mainland was a “national security” risk.
Nintendo teamed up with Tencent to launch the Switch in China. The Japanese and Chinese firms said the popular console will go on sale next week in the world’s largest market for video games. Tencent will bolster the gaming lineup with titles made by Chinese developers.
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Dementia might not be preventable, but it could be detected earlier. That’s the promise of the Mobile Toolbox project, which wants to measure populations’ cognitive health in the least invasive way possible—through the time already spent on a smartphone. Quartz reporter Katherine Ellen Foley investigates as part of this week’s field guide on disrupting dementia.
Quartz obsession
Do you have a black belt in management? Six Sigma, the technique for eliminating defects in manufacturing, used to be a de rigueur credential for CEOs—available through an easy, breezy 134-hour, $12,649 course. The technique helped propel General Electric to its position as the most valuable company in the world in 2000. But times have changed: GE, and Six Sigma, are on the decline. Train your mind with the Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
Winning is going out of fashion. At least in the arts, with four tying for the prestigious Turner Prize, and two for the Booker.
Slow activism is suited to our times. Greta Thunberg took four weeks to get to the climate conference in Madrid.
Morning routines are a sham. They present false promises of supercharged productivity.
Surprising discoveries
The NRA was able to run an anti-Michael Bloomberg ad on Bloomberg.com. Human-created flaws coded into the ad-serving system allowed it to appear.
Americans are pretty class-conscious. A new study found that participants were well able to judge social status, just from hearing people speak.
Emmanuel Macron used toddler psychology on Trump. The French president got his US counterpart to support NATO by pretending he wanted the opposite.
Riding a white horse has a very special meaning in North Korea. When Kim Jong Un goes up a sacred peak, it symbolizes decision time.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, team prizes, and white horse sightings to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android, and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Adam Rasmi and Rashmee Roshan Lall.