Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

Roy Moore, Iran, General Electric View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, November 14, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Tuesday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND DAVID SCULL Good evening. Here’s the latest. Alex Brandon/Associated Press 1. “I had no recollection of this meeting until I saw these news reports.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, [showed selective recall on the Trump campaign’s Russia contacts]( but insisted, “I have always told the truth.” The Justice Department is looking into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate Hillary Clinton. [Our correspondent says that doing so would shatter norms]( established after Watergate. Also revealed: [Donald Trump Jr. had multiple online conversations with WikiLeaks]( which released a trove of Democrats’ emails during the campaign. The communications began before the election and continued through much of this year. _____ Al Drago for The New York Times 2. Senate Republicans merged two high-stakes battles, seeking to [end the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate]( as part of their tax plan. Their reasoning: Given the option, fewer people would sign up for insurance, reducing the government’s expenditures on subsidies. And that money, they think, could address the deficit and/or increase benefits for the middle class. Above, Senator Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Finance Committee. _____ Brynn Anderson/Associated Press 3. A House committee held a hearing on sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, while questions continued to swirl about Roy Moore’s Senate bid in Alabama. National Democratic groups are starting to deploy resources [to shore up Mr. Moore’s challenger, Doug Jones]( above center. But they’re doing so very quietly, aware of the political risks if they’re seen as meddling. Can the election be postponed? Can Mr. Moore be removed from the ballot? We have answers to the [big questions about Mr. Moore’s bid](. And we discussed it [on our podcast “The Daily.”]( _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times 4. “It’s been very epic.” That was President Trump assessing his 12-day tour of Asia. He’ll be back in Washington on Wednesday. As one of our reporters put it, Mr. Trump treated the trip as a test of his own charisma and stamina, but it’s [unclear what he actually achieved]( on major issues like trade and North Korea. One success: Three U.C.L.A. basketball players detained in China on suspicion of shoplifting left for the U.S. after [Mr. Trump appealed to President Xi Jinping](. _____ Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times 5. Sunday’s earthquake near the Iran-Iraq border has become the deadliest of 2017. The toll has risen to at least 530 dead and 7,460 injured in Iran. On the Iraqi side of the border, at least eight people were killed and hundreds hurt. [Our Tehran bureau chief is on the scene](. President Hassan Rouhani visited the hardest-hit area and promised aid and low-interest loans to developers to rebuild. He called the disaster “painful for all Iranians.” _____ Spencer Platt/Getty Images 6. Have you taken your medicine? In the future, your doctor may already know. [The first digital pill has won approval]( from the F.D.A. Medication embedded with a sensor “has the potential to improve public health,” a Harvard medical instructor said, but another called it “a biomedical Big Brother.” In other big medical news, the nation’s leading heart experts [have redefined high blood pressure]( by measures that apply to nearly half of all Americans. Above, a free clinic in Olean, N.Y., in June. _____ Juan Arredondo for The New York Times 7. We also looked at the global debate over taxing sugary drinks. The idea is gaining momentum; such levies have been enacted in 30 countries, including India, Britain and Thailand. But [in Colombia, proponents have been threatened](. The stakes are high: Latin America has surpassed the U.S. as the world’s biggest soft-drink market. _____ Marco Bertorello/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 8. Italy is in the midst of an existential crisis. Commentators are blaming everything from cultural stagnation to corruption to immigration for what some say is its lowest point in 60 years — a humiliation, wrapped in a tragedy, enveloped in an apocalypse. That’s [Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup]( for the first time since 1958. The legendary goalie Gianluigi Buffon, above as the final whistle blew, retired from the national team after the match. _____ Benjamin Norman for The New York Times 9. Spoiler alert: The statue above, seen in Washington Square Park in New York City, is not what it seems. [Johan Figueroa-González, an artist from Puerto Rico]( began installing himself on the Washington Arch in the spring. He makes the transformation from mere mortal to living statue over two hours — a process he carries out in plain sight. Now that temperatures have dipped, he’s planning a new act: The Living Snow Globe. _____ CBS 10. Finally, [Joe Biden went on “The Late Show”]( to promote his new memoir, “Promise Me, Dad,” which tells of how he dealt with the death of his son Beau in 2015. [Our critic says]( it’s a raw and moving account of his grief, but also a political book. There are rumors that Mr. Biden will run for president in 2020, and he didn’t dispel them in his appearance. The other late-night hosts riffed on the allegations involving teenage girls lodged against the Alabama senate candidate. “Roy Moore defines himself completely by the Bible,” Trevor Noah said. “Except for the parts about ‘Thou shalt not be gross.’” Have a great night. _____ Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss [Your Morning Briefing]( posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays. Want to catch up on past briefings? [You can browse them here](. If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app [from iTunes]( or [Google Play](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Evening%20Briefing%20Feedback). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT Sponsor a Subscription Inspire the future generation of readers by contributing to The Times’s [sponsor-a-subscription program](. For questions, email sponsor@nytimes.com or call [1-844-698-2677](. 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