US jobs report, ICAN’s Peace Prize, edible robots

[Quartz - qz.com]() Quartz Daily Brief sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today and over the weekend Madrid grapples with the Catalonia crisis. Prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s cabinet [convenes today]( to discuss the fallout from last weekend’s Catalan referendum. Anti-independence groups are planning protests in Madrid and Barcelona this weekend. The White House is poised to rollback birth-control coverage. The president [is expected to issue]( (paywall) new rules as early as today on a federal requirement that employers include coverage for birth control on their insurance plans. A company could be exempt from the rule “based on its religious beliefs” or “moral convictions.” Tropical storm Nate hits Mexico. The storm, which killed 20 people in Central America on Thursday, arrives in the [Yucatan Peninsula]( today. It it undergoes “rapid intensification” in the Caribbean, it could turn it into a hurricane [by Sunday]( when it’s expected to reach the US Gulf Coast. It’s US jobs report day. Analysts predict the economy added [about 77,000 jobs in September]( (paywall), a significant drop from previous months, in the wake of several severe hurricanes. However, the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.4%. Sponsor content by Xerox Project: SET THE PAGE FREE. Bestselling author of the acclaimed Jack Reacher series Lee Child collaborates with 13 other world-famous creative talents to tell the [story of the modern workplace.]( Check out his story to see how he creates suspense. Stay tuned for exclusive project updates, videos and chapters. [Advertisement] While you were sleeping The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a coalition of 100 plus NGOs. The Norwegian Nobel Committee gave [the medal]( to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, as it throws its weight behind the United Nations’ attempt to pass a [treaty to ban nukes](. Japan’s Dentsu was fined for “death by overwork.” The ad agency must pay 500,000 yen ($4,400) after a Tokyo court found it had forced employees to work illegal [excess overtime](. A Dentsu worker committed suicide in 2015, after working 105 hours overtime, which the labor ministry ruled as “karoshi”—literally being worked to death. Moscow urged Trump to stick with the Iran deal. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov made the appeal after reports yesterday that Trump planned to [de-certify the landmark deal]( (paywall) as soon as next week. That would force a reluctant US Congress to resolve the issue of sanctions within 60 days. Abenomics met Yurinomics. [Yuriko Koike]( the Tokyo governor who recently formed a new party to challenge prime minister Shinzo Abe in this month’s elections, [unveiled her manifesto](. Dubbed “Yurinomics,” it may include a tax on corporate cash reserves and a freeze on Abe’s proposed consumption tax increase. It also includes a vow to [eliminate hay fever](. The US vowed to block imports made by North Korea workers. The customs department made the statement after a probe by the Associated Press found that seafood processed by [North Korean laborers in China]( was then exported abroad—meaning Americans who buy it could be inadvertently contributing to Kim Jong-un’s coffers. Quartz obsession interlude Thu-Huong Ha on the reason Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel literature prize. “Throughout his works Ishiguro manages a deft creep—slowly, yet precisely and painfully, making your stomach turn—through a ‘mist of forgetfulness,’ as he might say. His fiction gives readers a pervasive sense of something felt but not known, or something once known, but lost.” [Read more here](. Matters of debate The Soviets taught the Americans how to use science for propaganda. [After Sputnik’s launch]( the US realized the value of non-military scientific achievements to advance its hegemony. Google’s headphone jack-less phone proved Apple right. A year after the launch of the iPhone 7, it turns out we’ll [have to live with dongles](. The Nobel Peace Prize should only be given to dead people. That would [avoid the problem]( (paywall) of recipients betraying their principles—as many accuse Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi of doing. Message from our Partner Explore new ways of working at Life@Work. [Life@Work]( is a two-day immersion for culture leaders and influencers to learn from one another's cutting-edge organizational practices. Join professionals from Airbnb, Microsoft, WeWork, Uber, Etsy, and others (including Quartz!) in transformative workshops and other opportunities to connect. Life@Work will take place on October 17 and 18 in Brooklyn, and you can use the code [QuartzReader]( for 20% off. Surprising discoveries Russia may ban selfies by soldiers. The defense ministry is tired of social media posts that [disclose sensitive military information](. Blame Neanderthals for your sunburn. Genes of our ancestors from 30,000 years ago [still have an impact]( on how we tan, our hair color, and our circadian rhythms. Hippos are dying out because of demand for their teeth. The [demand for hippo teeth]( escalated after a 1989 ban on the international trade of elephant ivory. The Saudi king travels with a golden escalator. On his recent Russia visit, king Salman bin Abdulaziz [brought 1,500 people]( a golden escalator, furniture, and carpets. There’s now a robot you can ingest. It’s made out of entirely [edible gelatin and glycerin]( materials. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, factor 50 suncream, and Ishiguro novels to hi@qz.com. You can follow us[on Twitter]( for updates throughout the day or download[our apps for iPhone]( and[Android](. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( Want to receive the Daily Brief at a different time? [Click here]( to change your edition. To unsubscribe entirely, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10011 | United States