US stimulus postponed, Van Halen tributes, a dinosaur saved

Plus: how to do reparations [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Donald Trump won’t negotiate a new fiscal stimulus package. From [a desolate White House]( the US president [ordered his administration to leave it]( until after the election. This issue may come up, [through a plexiglass barrier,]( in the vice-presidential TV debate today. Meanwhile, [Trump adviser Stephen Miller]( also has Covid-19. Leaders of Greece’s neo-Nazi party were convicted. Large crowds gathered outside the court in Athens, where judges found 68 defendants guilty of running a criminal organization after a five-year trial. They’re all [members of the Golden Dawn party]( that won 18 seats in the Greek parliament in the aftermath of the debt crisis. Getting an H-1B visa for the US is about to get really really hard. The [new interim final rule]( (IFR) will narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” to include fewer types of degrees, raise the level of wages that H-1B workers should be paid, and shorten the length of visas for some contract workers. Facebook banned Qanon conspiracy accounts. [The company is removing pages, groups and Instagram accounts]( connected to [the utterly baseless theory]( about president Trump and Satan-worshiping pedophiles. Facebook is deploying its Dangerous Organizations Operations team, but it won’t be an easy task. Tributes are pouring in for Eddie Van Halen. “Heaven will be electric tonight,” [said Lenny Kravitz](. Rock legend Van Halen, [who died of cancer at the age of 65]( is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and also had huge crossover success by [working with Michael Jackson](. Sponsor content by Oliver Wyman Forum Mobility has never been more vital for business. How and why people travel has taken a sharp turn during the pandemic. From where to locate talent to reopening offices, transportation now factors into business leaders' decisions more heavily than ever. [Read previous issues of Ready or Not here & subscribe](. Obsession interlude: Because China More powerful—and more disliked globally than ever. Measured by GDP, China isn’t the world’s most powerful economy. That crown still belongs to the US. [But in a new poll]( conducted by the Pew Research Center, a median of 48% of people in 14 countries identified China as the world’s leading economic power, outstripping the US. Among the eight European countries surveyed, plus the UK, more than half considered China to be the world’s most powerful economy, highlighting the growing importance of [EU-China economic relations]( even as the bloc grapples with how [to bat for liberal democratic values]( while dealing with Beijing. [A line chart showing the median percent in 14 countries who consider China or the US the world's dominant economic power.] But being viewed as powerful is not the same as being liked. In fact, a majority in each of the 14 countries Pew surveyed now view China negatively. China’s standing plummeted especially sharply between 2019 and 2020, likely due to Beijing’s [heavy-handed crackdown on Hong Kong]( growing awareness of its [campaign of repression]( in Xinjiang; and a widespread perception that China handled the coronavirus pandemic poorly. We’re tracking all the reasons global perceptions might change in our [Because China obsession](. Dashboard confessional [An animated gif of Ross Gellar from the TV show Friends struggling to carry a couch up the stairs, with the caption Pivot!!!] Giphy There is no simpler way for the average person to analyze a large dataset than the pivot table. Perhaps the most powerful tool in the spreadsheet wizard’s toolbox, the pivot table allows anyone to summarize thousands of rows of data in just a few clicks. Our [history and explanation of the tool]( will help you understand why Steve Jobs thought pivot tables were the “coolest thing ever.” Dive into this week’s field guide on [navigating the data deluge]( for an essential list of Covid-19 data resources and tutorials to help you fully understand the torrent of data points provided by the pandemic. ✦ If you’re thinking about a pivot in which news sources you subscribe to, perhaps a [free trial of Quartz membership]( will help your decision. Message from our Partner What factors will challenge China's growth? We asked GlobalWonks’ expert network. One senior policy researcher says the biggest threat is 'being cut off from key technologies dominated by the US, semiconductors and computer chips top the list. So they are keen to develop their own alternatives.' [Read more]( or ask a question with a [client demo](. How to do reparations Illustration by Jamiel Law As the US continues to debate compensating Black Americans for slavery, [Quartz’s latest special project]( looks at [how reparations would actually work](. This series examines the economic, logistical, and ethical questions underpinning reparations policies to understand how they might be eventually put into practice, from the [responsibility corporations have]( to make up for a history of racism, to [what the UK owes]( its former colonies. What China hopes to gain from Africa. Join us on Oct. 8 from 9:30-10:30 am US eastern time for our [virtual event]( about China’s influence on African economies. In this event, Quartz Africa editor Yinka Adegoke welcomes leading thinkers to explain China-Africa relations and provide resources on how you can stay up to date on this area of the global economy. Surprising discoveries Are those fancy fresh raspberries from Chile? [Or just the freezer?]( There’s a new ugliest jersey in sports. The [Rapha-Palace cycling jersey]( is so bad that it’s briefly good again then quickly, utterly, and terminally terrible. A dinosaur was saved from extinction. Gunnersaurus, the mascot of Arsenal Football Club, was rescued from unemployment when a star player offered to [cover the creature’s wages](. While another was auctioned for a tidy sum. The main event at Christie’s impressionist art auction was the sale of a 40-foot dinosaur fossil [for nearly $32 million](. A Taipei nightclub hosts events for people with autism. Organizers say it helps members of the community [feel safe and relaxed](. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, inclusive nightclub invites, and inexpensive fossils 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 and Max Lockie. 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