Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
India’s top court hears a plea. The family of Talib Hussain allege he’s been tortured by police while being held in detention on a fake rape charge. Hussain, a social activist, has agitated for justice in a case regarding the gang-rape and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl in January in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Argentina’s senate votes on an abortion law. The measure would decriminalize abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. If passed, the country would become the first in Latin America to legalize the procedure, in a region that has some of the most restrictive laws in the world.
Ebola vaccinations begin in eastern Congo. An experimental vaccine made by Merck will be deployed against a new outbreak. It was first used, successfully, for another outbreak that was declared over last month.
Earnings from Prudential and CVS. The UK insurer will post half-year earnings (paywall), and investors will keep watch for updates on the break-up of its UK and international operations. CVS, which just closed a $69 billion deal with health insurer Aetna, will report second-quarter results that have likely benefited from higher sales of prescription drugs.
While you were sleeping
Elon Musk wants to take Tesla private. He said that being public has led to distractions, incentives for short-term thinking, and attacks by investors. His announcement came shortly after news that Saudi Arabia has amassed a large stake in the carmaker, suggesting its sovereign wealth fund could finance the transaction. Tesla’s stock surged.
The US said it will begin imposing 25% duties on $16 billion in Chinese imports on Aug. 23. The fines will affect nearly 280 product lines, and follow the 25% duties on $34 billion in Chinese goods that began early last month. Chinese state media warned against “wantonly” increasing tariffs.
China’s exports surged last month. They rose 12.2% from a year earlier, beating forecasts and up from a 11.2% gain in June, despite the new US tariffs (a weaker yuan helped reduce the sting). Meanwhile China’s trade surplus with the US barely dipped.
Malaysia’s former prime minister was charged with three counts of money laundering. A court in Kuala Lumpur read out the charges to Najib Razak, who last month was also charged with abuse of power and criminal breach of trust. The charges relate to the alleged multibillion-dollar looting of state investment fund 1MDB during his time in office.
Snap reported a sharp rise in revenue. The parent of Snapchat said revenue climbed 44% year-over-year in the second quarter. But Snapchat’s daily active user base declined for the first time, falling 2% compared to the previous quarter. The company blamed the fall on a rocky redesign of the app.
Disney fell short of expectations but notched a strong quarter. Though both earnings and sales missed the predicted mark, the parks, studio, and broadcast units all saw big gains year-over-year, with two films hitting the $1 billion mark. The media giant’s forthcoming streaming service is expected to become Netflix’s biggest rival.
Quartz Obsession interlude
Annabelle Timsit on how yogurt fueled the rise of civilization. “Some historians believe that the Book of Job’s description of the land of Israel as ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’ refers to yogurt, and the book’s author links yogurt consumption to Abraham’s longevity and fecundity. Genghis Khan fed his army yogurt, based on the belief that it instilled bravery in his warriors—or so the legend goes.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Publish your climate change study during a hot summer. When the context is right, more people will be open to accepting that global warming is at least a possibility.
Excellent teams have “cultural brokers.” Members who can relate to all sides of a diverse team can facilitate cross-cultural interactions.
Performative journalists help fuel Trump’s campaign. To his supporters, this kind of theater reinforces everything the US president says about the “fake news media.”
Surprising discoveries
Female heart patients do better with female doctors. Women present heart attack symptoms differently, and are statistically more likely to die if treated by a male doctor.
Television could be ruining your sex life. TV owners have a 5.7% lower likelihood of having done the deed in the past week than those without.
A weapons stockpile was found under a school in Tokyo. Hundreds of guns and swords from World War II had been buried along with grenades, bullets, and cannonballs.
Ghost peppers could help boost fire-ravaged ecosystems. Coating seeds in their capsaicin (the spicy bit) keeps rodents from eating them, and gives new trees a fighting chance.
Brexit could disrupt the British sandwich. An interrupted supply chain could mean two slices of bread without much in between.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, spicy seeds, and cultural brokers to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Steve Mollman and edited by Isabella Steger.