Your Thursday Briefing

North Korea, California, Kodak | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, January 11, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Asia Edition [Your Thursday Briefing]( By CHARLES MCDERMID Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Pool photo by Kim Hong-Ji • “I am giving a lot of credit to President Trump.” That was President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, tactfully redirecting praise to Mr. Trump for a thaw with North Korea that has brought a broader agreement to improve ties. Mr. Moon [warned that Pyongyang would face stiffer sanctions]( if it resumed weapons tests. But the North’s top negotiator rejected any attempt to discuss the nuclear issue during talks on Tuesday. He said Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons were not directed at South Korea, China or Russia, but were “aimed solely at the United States.” _____ • In Southern California, at least [15 people were killed and more than two dozen]( by mudslides unleashed by heavy rain. The authorities said two dozen people were still missing and 300 were stuck in their homes. The disaster was the direct result of recent wildfires that stripped hillsides and made the earth unstable. “Although we knew that this was coming you couldn’t help but be amazed at the intensity of the storm,” the Santa Barbara sheriff said. _____ • In Washington, [President Trump called U.S. courts “broken and unfair”]( the morning after a [federal judge ordered the administration]( to restart an Obama-era program that program shields undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as minors from deportation. And Mr. Trump declined to commit to being [interviewed by the special counsel on Russia]( backing off a promise he made last year. “I’ll speak to attorneys,” he told reporters. _____ Ocean Infinity, via Associated Press • No plane, no fee. A new search has started to solve one of greatest aviation mysteries: [the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370]( nearly four years ago on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people aboard. Under a deal with the Malaysian government, a U.S.-based company could receive as much as $70 million if it finds the plane’s debris or two data recorders within 90 days. If it can’t, it will receive nothing. _____ Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • Another senior Chinese general has come under investigation for graft. [Gen. Fang Fenghui is suspected of giving and taking bribes]( a state-run news outlet said, adding that he “abandoned the mission of the party and degenerated politically, becoming economically rapacious,” And the [Times Magazine]( mystery of Guo Wengui]( above, the exiled billionaire whistle-blower who from a Central Park penthouse has exposed a phenomenal web of corruption in China’s ruling elite — if, that is, he’s telling the truth. _____ Todd Heisler/The New York Times • It’s here, [our annual list of 52 places]( to inspire travelers. This year’s list includes popular spots like New Orleans, and lesser-known gems like Gansu, in China, and Sao Tome and Principe, on Africa’s West Coast. Here’s how [we compiled the list](. This year we are sending one writer to visit each and every place. We got [13,000 applications]( — now meet the lucky traveler: [Jada Yuan]( above. You’ll have all of 2018 to get to know her. Business • India eased [rules on foreign investment](. The changes could lead Apple and other companies to significantly expand their retail presence there. The government also said it would allow up to 49 percent of Air India to be bought by foreign airlines. • Toyota and Mazda are said [to have picked Alabama]( for a new $1.6 billion assembly plant. The Japanese automakers said it is expected to employ about 4,000 people and open by 2021. • In Japan, carmakers and suppliers [are scrambling to catch up]( as the world warms to battery-powered vehicles. • Kodak, the iconic U.S. photography firm, went bankrupt in the shift to digital images. Now, it’s [betting its future on KodakCoin]( with an initial coin offering to help photographers sell their work. • SpaceX launched an American satellite into space, [then something went wrong](. • Most U.S. stocks [were lower](. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Lynn Bo Bo/European Pressphoto Agency • Myanmar charged two Reuters journalists who were covering the plight of Rohingyas with obtaining state secrets. They could face 14 years in prison. [[The New York Times]( • In Pakistan, at least two people were killed as hundreds of protesters, enraged over the murder of a young girl, clashed with the police. [[The New York Times]( • Iran suspended the death sentence for drug-related crimes, a move that could spare 5,000 lives. [[The New York Times]( • In Australia, the suicide of Amy “Dolly” Everett, a 14-year-old girl who was once the face of Akubra hats, has spurred an anti-bullying campaign. [[ABC]( • Libya said it rescued at least 279 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, but 100 more were feared dead. [[The New York Times]( • The main Catalan separatist parties reached a deal to keep Carles Puigdemont as the Spanish region’s leader, even though he is in self-imposed exile in Belgium. [[The New York Times]( • In Nepal, a woman died in the cold after she was forced to sleep in a hut because she was menstruating and considered impure. [[The New York Times]( • An 85-year-old man in Tianjin, China, put himself up for adoption to avoid living in a nursing home. [[Sixth Tone]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. • Eight tips to help keep your [travel expenses down](. • Fiber’s good for you. [Here’s why](. • Recipe of the day: For a fish dinner, try [halibut with brown butter, lemon and sage](. Noteworthy Kyle Johnson for The New York Times • Tonya Harding is back. [And she’d like an apology](. The new movie, “I, Tonya,” tells the disgraced figure skater’s side of the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan scandal. • Despite promises of reform, FIFA, the nonprofit soccer organization, [paid its top executives]( nearly $10 million last year — more than some of the biggest companies in the world. • And our food writer, who was raised in Hawaii, traveled back home [to trace poke, the raw fish dish]( to its source. Back Story Caitlin O'Hara for The New York Times In the 1850s, a U.S. Army lieutenant exploring the Grand Canyon made one of history’s less accurate predictions, saying the area had no financial value and that his “party of whites” [would probably be the last to visit](. Far from it. In 1919, the year the Grand Canyon became a national park, it had [more than 44,000 visitors]( and today it receives [six million a year](. The canyon’s path to national park status [began in the 1880s]( when Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana introduced several bills, but to no success. Later as president, he made it a forest reserve. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed parts of it a federal game reserve and then established it as a national monument on this day in 1908. Five years earlier, on his first visit to Arizona (then still a territory), Roosevelt said he could not attempt to describe the Grand Canyon and [implored people to preserve it](. “You cannot improve on it; not a bit,” he said. Like Roosevelt, the environmentalist John Muir was left at a loss for words by the canyon’s beauty, [writing in 1902]( that no artist could do justice to its colors: “And if paint is of no effect, what hope lies in pen-work? Only this: some may be incited by it to go and see for themselves.” Jennifer Jett contributed reporting. _____ 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]( [European]( and [American]( mornings. And our Australia bureau chief offers [a weekly letter]( adding analysis and conversations with readers. You can sign up for these and other Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Asia Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018