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Donald Trump will reveal his nomination for the Supreme Court by the end of the week. “We’re looking at five incredible jurists… women that are extraordinary in every way,” the US president told supporters at a rally in Ohio yesterday. The late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state in the US Capitol on Friday.
The 75th United Nations General Assembly kicks off. On the mother of all Zoom calls, for 12 hours a day until Friday, the coronavirus pandemic is top of the agenda. That’s against a backdrop of increased calls for international cooperation.
The UK is imposing new coronavirus restrictions. As infections rise exponentially once more—largely driven by younger people—bars in England will close at 10pm, although the hospitality industry says it’s not to blame. Remote working is back, while the Bank of England ruled out negative interest rates.
Michael Jordan formed a NASCAR team. The basketball legend also hired Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in the field. “I see this as a chance to educate a new audience and open more opportunities for Black people in racing,” Jordan said.
At least 90 stranded whales have died off the coast of Australia. A team of around 40 rescuers is trying to help nearly 200 more pilot whales that found themselves in shallow waters off Tasmania, but many of them are “relatively inaccessible.”
Who won the TikTok challenge?
The ink on the TikTok-Oracle deal isn’t yet dry, but all parties involved are claiming victory.
- The US government: The current US president didn’t quite get the sale he was looking for, but is already signaling a willingness to frame it as a victory over China—a useful talking point on the campaign trail.
- The Chinese government: Beijing, though, is presenting it as “crucial progress,” and ByteDance has indicated it’s still 100% involved.
- Larry Ellison: Oracle’s chairman is the world’s seventh richest person, one of the few prominent Silicon Valley leaders to publicly back Donald Trump, and the real winner of the deal, which offers Oracle a much-needed win.
Charting RBG’s voting record
With the death of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the US Supreme Court may have lost its least business-friendly member.
But despite her position on the chart, she was hardly anti-business. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear an argument about Facebook’s digital privacy practices, but it’s not clear yet whether it will come before the court before Ginsburg’s replacement will have joined the bench.
The Home Office Handbook
There is no prescription for creating a perfect home office, but there are ways to experiment with new configurations to do our best work. Dig into the details:
1️⃣ It takes work to set up a space that’s conducive for working.
2️⃣ We need to make over not just our physical spaces, but our outlook as well…
3️⃣ … and seize the opportunity to embrace new ways of working.
4️⃣ Being able to work remotely is fast becoming a core competency.
5️⃣ A home office offers a testing ground for figuring out how, where, and when we do our best work.
Creating a joyful home office entails a physical and mental makeover, but there’s no single prescription for everyone’s living situation. Our latest field guide provides answers for how to improve your home office setup. And if you haven’t yet, please become a member today and let our (home) offices go to work for you.
Obsession interlude: Future of work
The flexibility of remote work has been a boon to many, but teleworking’s contributions to income inequality could be felt for years to come.
When IMF economists looked at workers’ ability to telework in 35 countries, they found that roughly 100 million people—15% of the workforce in those places—would struggle with being able to do their specific jobs online or with accessing the internet. The ability to telework also varied dramatically from country to country: More than half of households in most developing countries don’t have a computer at home.
There’s something about “Jerusalema”
The South African song “Jerusalema”—recorded by producer Master KG and featuring vocals by Nomcebo—was released in December of 2019, but this month, a viral video by a dance troupe helped it become the world’s most Shazam-ed song. If you haven’t heard it yet, you’re missing out.
Surprising discoveries
Don’t drop litter in Thailand (or anywhere, for that matter). Officials might send it to your home, and nobody wants more junk mail.
Angry spectators shut down an opera in Madrid. There was not enough space for safe distancing in the cheap seats.
An old TV kept knocking out a Welsh village’s broadband. Engineers discovered that it emitted signal interference, and the owner was mortified.
The British baking show gets medieval. The British Library is setting up a competition for very old-fashioned cakes.
Golfers don’t need finesse to win the US Open. “Bomb and gouge” is the right tactic.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, cakes from the Dark Ages, and a new TV to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Susan Howson, and Max Lockie.