Charlottesville anniversary, Apple’s new Titan, stranded soybeans

[Quartz Daily Brief]( Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today and over the weekend A decision on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Representatives from Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan will meet on the sea’s shore in Kazakhstan to [finalize an agreement]( (paywall) governing the oil-rich sea’s status, including whether it is in fact a sea or a large lake. Turkey presents a “new economic model.” Ankara’s [plan for reform]( comes as the lira continues to [plummet to fresh record lows](. The currency’s decline against the dollar worsened amid an escalating dispute with the US over the detention of an American pastor. Washington braces for a far-right rally. One year after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, “[Unite the Right 2]( will take place outside the White House on Sunday. While you were sleeping Tesla’s former engineering chief returned to Apple. [Doug Field has rejoined his former company]( reportedly to work on “Project Titan,” Apple’s self-driving car initiative. At Tesla, he was in charge of ramping up Model 3 production, but CEO Elon Musk took over when the company missed its first-quarter delivery goals. Ford sales crashed in China. The US automaker said sales in the world’s largest car market fell 32% in July from a year earlier, following a dismal first half. The main problem is [Ford’s lack of new models](. China issued six warnings to a US Navy plane. CNN, on board the US plane flying over the disputed waters claimed by China, reports that the[crew was warned by the Chinese military]( to “leave immediately and keep out.” CNN got a view of airfields and power plants on islands which used to be sandbars and shoals. New Zealand banned plastic bags. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said retailers would be given six months to phase out the single-use carriers, or face fines. Over 40 countries worldwide have [imposed bans on plastic bags](. WeWork raised $1 billion in debt from SoftBank. The shared-office startup [also disclosed that]( (paywall) losses tripled in the first half of the year as it continued to rapidly expand, while revenue doubled. SoftBank already invested $4.4 billion in equity in WeWork last year. Quartz Obsession interlude Tim Fernholz on how the Space Force took over Washington. “Space is vital to US national security and military power, even if very little of what you might consider ‘warfighting’ goes on there now. America’s orbiting military computers are an incredible asset, providing communications and surveillance on a scale that its adversaries can’t rival (to say nothing of how important they are to the US economy).” [Read more here.]( Matters of debate Donald Trump is not an isolationist. The president is engaging with the world, but in an unsettling, [unexpected way]( (paywall). Short sellers may be right about Elon Musk. His financial plans [are becoming weirder and weirder]( (paywall), which doesn’t typically signal a solid investment. Soccer’s most important skill isn’t a skill at all. When it comes to scoring, [the location of a shot on goal]( is far more important than who takes it. Quartz announcement Feminism doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In this episode of [Quartz News]( Isabella Steger travels to South Korea to explore the symbiotic relationship between the global #MeToo movement and local feminist revolutions around the world. Surprising discoveries 70,000 tons of soybeans are stranded at sea. The [Peak Pegasus]( cargo ship failed to make it before US-China tariffs began, and has been stuck in the Pacific since July. Macau will soon be the world’s richest place. The IMF says by 2020 the casino hub’s economy will [knock Qatar off the top spot]( (paywall). Stormy Daniels’s lawyer is thinking about running for president. [Michael Avenatti]( will address a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa, where past speakers have included Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A major innovation in batteries is here. A US startup’s lithium-metal battery has [doubled the energy]( the batteries can carry. An elderly Taiwanese man rigs 11 phones on his bike to play Pokemon Go. “[Uncle Pokemon]( as he is known, says he plays the game to fend off Alzheimer’s disease. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, stranded soybeans, and Pokeballs 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 Jill Petzinger and Akshat Rathi and edited by Eshe Nelson. Enjoying the Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here to sign up.]( If you click a link to an e-commerce site and make a purchase, we may receive a small cut of the revenue, which helps support our ambitious journalism. See [here]( for more information. To unsubscribe from the Quartz Daily Brief, [click here](.