Your Friday Briefing

Bannon, Weather, Macron | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, January 5, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Friday Briefing]( By ANDREA KANNAPELL AND INYOUNG KANG Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Jon Chol Jin/Associated Press • Skepticism of North Korea’s sudden overture to Seoul [abounds in]( Korea]( where memories of failed efforts at a Sunshine Policy remain fresh and fears run high of further empowering the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un. Above, North Koreans massed to pledge to carry out his agenda on Thursday. The U.S. and South Korea agreed to postpone joint military exercises until after next month’s Winter Olympics. Our veteran White House correspondent examines [how the opening tests South Korea’s relationship with the U.S.]( In Japan, Prime Minister [Shinzo Abe]( that North Korea posed the biggest threat]( to the country since World War II. _____ Carlos Barria/Reuters • President Trump escalated his attack on a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive, which [relies heavily on commentary from his former strategist, Stephen Bannon](. Above, the two nearly a year ago. Mr. Trump’s legal team demanded that the author and publisher halt the release of the account and apologize or face a possible lawsuit. Meanwhile, his administration announced [the suspension of]( all security aid to Pakistan]( in a sign of its frustration with the country’s refusal to confront terrorist networks operating there. _____ • Computer security experts have [discovered two major security flaws]( in the microprocessors inside nearly all of the world’s mobile devices, personal computers and servers running in cloud networks. But there is no evidence that hackers have taken advantage of the vulnerability — so far. _____ [Tashi Wangchuk at home in Yushu, China, in 2015. He was charged with inciting separatism after appearing in a New York Times documentary that same year.]  • A Tibetan businessman who tried to halt the erosion of his native culture and language [defended himself in a Chinese court]( against a criminal charge of fanning resistance to Chinese rule. He faces up to 15 years in prison. His defense lawyers said the prosecution’s case rested largely on a video documentary published by The Times in 2015, which was shown during the trial. ([Watch it here.]( _____ ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Coral bleaching, in which reefs become extremely fragile, was virtually unheard-of before the 1980s. But [a new study shows the phenomenon has grown so frequent]( that reefs can no longer recover between severe cases. It is perhaps one of the most vivid signs of the effects of global warming, which has steadily pushed up ocean temperatures. Insurers are set to pay out [a record $135 billion to cover losses from natural disasters in 2017]( according to the world’s largest reinsurer, which cited widespread flooding in South Asia and the costliest U.S. hurricane season ever. _____ Erik Jacobs for The New York Times • Climate change [may be partly to blame]( for the destructive “bomb cyclone” striking the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. [Our video explains]( the peculiar storm’s mechanics. [Our live briefing has the latest]( on the heavy snow and icy winds that have closed schools and disrupted travel. Business Lucas Jackson/Reuters • The Dow Jones industrial average [roared past 25,000 points]( for the first time, amid a stunning, two-year rally, leading our columnist to consider [how investors should prepare for the inevitable correction](. Other U.S. stocks [were up]( too. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. • The Trump administration will [allow new offshore oil and gas drilling]( in nearly all U.S. waters, giving the energy industry almost unfettered access to Pacific waters near California, the Atlantic waters near Maine and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. • China’s internet giants [Alibaba and Tencent]( under pressure from users]( to offer better data protection and more privacy guarantees. • Russia and Venezuela have floated [plans to create homegrown virtual currencies]( that would put them outside the global financial and banking system. • Aurora Innovation, a year-old U.S. start-up, will [supply self-driving technology to the Volkswagen Group and Hyundai]( two of the world’s largest car companies. In the News • A Japanese comedian is under fire for wearing “blackface” to imitate the African-American actor Eddie Murphy, highlighting the problematic depictions of race that often surface in the country’s mainstream media. [[The New York Times]( • A Vietnamese tycoon accused of revealing state secrets was arrested in Hanoi after being deported from Singapore. He could face the death penalty. [[Bangkok Post]( • Architectural evidence of Indonesia’s Soviet-inspired past are sprinkled around Jakarta, a counterpoint to warnings from hard-line Islamists of a Communist resurgence. [[The New York Times]( • President Emmanuel Macron of France proposed new legislation to combat “fake news,” which would allow the authorities to seek the blocking of websites and require sites to be more transparent on paid content. [[Reuters]( • The U.S. Justice Department is strengthening enforcement of marijuana laws, potentially undermining full legalization in six states, most recently California. [[The New York Times]( • There remains no evidence for Iranian leaders’ claim that foreign meddling instigated recent broad protests, but history does offer reasons for such suspicion. [[The New York Times]( • You may have heard that New York City’s subway is falling apart. In the latest installment of our series investigating its problems, our magazine writer argues that the city must rebuild it to survive. [[The New York Times Magazine]( • A 19,000-pound Chinese space station is expected to fall out of the sky in March. But you’ll probably be fine. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Craig Lee for The New York Times • This weekend, bake the ultimate make-ahead treat: [cinnamon rolls](. • Follow these [New Year’s resolutions for better health](. Noteworthy Matthew Abbott for The New York Times • The restaurant Saint Peter, in Sydney, [exemplifies Australia’s inventive approach]( to its extraordinarily varied, high-quality seafood. • Andy Murray withdrew from the [Australian Open](. A hip problem has kept the three-time major winner out of competitive tennis since Wimbledon in July. • “Loopy as it may sound, on principle I believe major public museums should have universal free admission.” Our art critics [weighed in on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s decision]( to end pay-as-you-wish for out-of-state visitors, beginning in March. Back Story Associated Press Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began on this day in 1933, more than 60 years after it was first proposed. Calls for a major thoroughfare connecting San Francisco to Marin County, to the north, began after the city’s population increased tenfold during the Gold Rush. Before [the bridge was painted]( its iconic [international orange]( architects also considered a proposal from the U.S. Navy for a striped design that would make the structure more visible to ships and airplanes. The distinct reddish-orange hue was chosen to complement the bridge’s natural surroundings: the hills, the fog and the San Francisco Bay. The city hired the engineer Joseph Strauss to build the 1.7-mile-long bridge, the longest and tallest of its kind at the time. The bridge opened four years later to great fanfare. [The Times called it]( “one of the greatest engineering structures of man,” and Mr. Strauss penned a poem, “[The Mighty Task Is Done]( for the occasion. “The bridge is a triumphant structure, a testimony to the creativity of mankind,” [the historian Kevin Starr wrote in 2010]( offering “enduring proof that human beings can alter the planet with reverence.” _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Browse past briefings [here](. This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. We also have briefings timed for the [Australian]( and [American]( mornings. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. 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