1MDB drama, GM-Honda deal, acne advantage

Good morning, Quartz readers!

What to watch for today

Rosmah Mansor appears in court. Malaysia’s former first lady will face charges for infringing an anti-money laundering law. Her husband, Najib Razak, has been hit with 32 charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of power and criminal breach of trust in connection with the alleged pilfering of the 1MDB state development fund.

The Paris Motor Show revs up. The biennial show this year has a strong lineup of production-ready electric vehicles from Germany’s luxury carmakers, among them the Mercedes-Benz EQC compact SUV. Also on display: the new $5.6 million Bugatti Divo hypercar.

Constellation Brands reports on its second quarter. In August, the alcohol conglomerate surprised many by pouring $4 billion into Canopy Growth, one of the marijuana startups emerging in Canada. Investors await word on how the bet is paying off.

While you were sleeping

GM teamed up with Honda on autonomous cars. Honda will invest $2.75 billion in Cruise Automation, the US giant’s self-driving-vehicle unit. In May, SoftBank said it would invest about $2.25 billion in Cruise, which is now valued at $14.6 billion.

The US responded to China’s “debt-trap diplomacy.” The senate passed legislation changing the way the federal government lends money to developing countries, consolidating several agencies into the US International Development Finance Corp. The $60 billion agency is intended largely to respond to China’s growing influence around the world.

Trump’s mockery of Christine Blasey Ford drew Republican criticism. Maine senator Susan Collins said Trump’s attack was “just plain wrong,” while her Arizona colleague Jeff Flake called it “kind of appalling.” Trump poked fun of Ford Tuesday night for forgetting details of an alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

A prominent Saudi critic went missing. Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after visiting Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul for paperwork, leaving friends and relatives worried about his safety (paywall). The journalist and commentator has been an outspoken critic of Saudi leadership.

CBS placed Vincent Favale on leave. The move follows allegations the senior vice president of talent used sexual and homophobic language. Last month former chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves was booted following a series of allegations of sexual harassment.

Quartz Obsession interlude

Dan Kopf on Vietnam’s exceptionally globalized economy: ”If there is a turn against globalization, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the economy of Vietnam. In 2017, Vietnam’s trade as a percentage of GDP reached over 200%. This is the highest level for any country with over 50 million people in the World Bank’s data, which goes back to 1960.” Read more here.

Matters of debate

The Fed is assuming the next financial crisis will be like the last one. The central bank’s view of US economy seems too good to be true.

Farms should embrace automation. Organic practices do not scale and will not feed the world at an affordable price point.

It’s OK to feel left out at work sometimes. FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is seeping from social media into corporate culture.

Surprising discoveries

A Nobel Prize winner didn’t merit a Wikipedia entry. Donna Strickland, who just won in the physics category, was deemed too unimportant for an entry as recently as May.

Students with acne get better grades. It makes them more likely to prioritize studying over socializing.

Winston Churchill predicted lab-grown meat back in 1931. The soon-to-be British prime minister said it would happen by 1981.

Only 16 nations in Africa have ever received a sitting US president. The other 70% have never been so honored.

There are now emoji for mangoes, mooncakes, and mosquitos. They are among the 70 new emoji released by Apple for its latest version of iOS.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, food predictions, and farm robots 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 and edited by April Siese and Steve Mollman.