Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

Sessions, Pence, Oscars | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, January 23, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Sessions, Pence, Oscars: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND DAVID SCULL (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s [the sign-up]( Good evening. Here’s the latest. Tom Brenner/The New York Times 1. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned last week [as part of the inquiry by the special counsel, Robert Mueller,]( into Russian meddling in the election. That’s a first for a member of President Trump’s cabinet. Mr. Sessions, above center, is a key witness to two of the major issues Mr. Mueller is investigating: the campaign’s possible ties to the Russians and whether the president tried to obstruct the investigation. And we learned that James Comey, the former head of the F.B.I., was also interviewed by Mr. Mueller’s office last year. They discussed his memos detailing his interactions with Mr. Trump. ____ Tom Brenner/The New York Times 2. Democrats say they had to strike a deal with Republicans [to end the government shutdown]( after they realized it was a political miscalculation. But the party’s left wing accused the leadership of capitulating to the G.O.P. on a mere promise from Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, to allow debate on a measure to protect young immigrants known as Dreamers. Above, a protest in support of the Dreamers in Washington. The backlash underscores the challenges facing Senator Chuck Schumer and other centrist Democrats. Here’s some of the best [writing from across the political spectrum]( on the shutdown. ____ Grigore Ciubotaru, via Associated Press 3. An earthquake in the middle of the night prompted a [tsunami alert for Alaska]( British Columbia and Washington State, as well as a tsunami watch all the way down to the border of Mexico and even Hawaii. Luckily, there was no major tsunami or damage. “We live in a very prone earthquake and tsunami area, and it’s a beautiful place, but that’s what you have when you live in paradise,” the mayor of Kodiak, Alaska, said at a 4:30 a.m. news conference. Above, evacuees at the local high school. ____ Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images 4. Vice President Mike Pence was in Jerusalem, where he visited the Western Wall, above. His visit [served to burnish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s credentials]( as an international player. In this week’s Times Magazine, former Israeli officials brought us inside the decades-long effort [to kill the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat](. No target thwarted, vexed and bedeviled the Israeli intelligence services more than Mr. Arafat, who died in 2004. ____ Stephen Lance Dennee/Associated Press 5. At least two students were killed and 17 other people were injured in a [shooting at a high school in Benton, Ky.]( The authorities said the gunman was a 15-year-old student at the school. He was taken into custody. The students killed, a boy and a girl, were also 15. Above, parents picked up their children after the episode. It was the second school shooting in the U.S. this week. ____ Tolga Akmen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 6. A new report found that e-cigarettes that contain nicotine can be addictive — and that teenagers who use the devices may be at higher risk of smoking regular cigarettes. It’s the most comprehensive [analysis of existing research on e-cigarettes]( to date, and it cited conclusive proof that the devices are safer than traditional smoking products and may help smokers quit. But it stopped short of declaring e-cigarettes are safe, noting that there were no long-term scientific studies of the devices’ addictive potential or health effects. Above, vaping in London. ____ Adam Dean for The New York Times 7. New U.S. tariffs are taking direct aim at [Chinese solar panels and South Korean washing machines](. But the effects will be felt in multiple countries, illustrating the difficulty of targeting specific industries in the complex world of global trade. (Above, a solar panel factory in China.) President Trump is set to speak to world leaders gathered this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and he could drop hints of whether more trade barriers are to come. You can find all of our [Davos coverage here](. ____ Rena Laverty/European Pressphoto Agency 8. “The military has not yet come up with fiber as strong as you.” That was [Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, speaking to one of the nearly 140 victims]( who have testified at the sentencing hearing of Dr. Larry Nassar, the former U.S.A. Gymnastics team doctor who pleaded guilty to sex crimes. Judge Aquilina has emerged as an unusually fierce advocate for the victims, who include several prominent Olympic gymnasts. Originally, 88 of them had planned to speak; that number grew to 158 as the courtroom was transformed into a cathartic forum. ____ Joao Silva/The New York Times 9. In memoriam: [Hugh Masekela, above, the South African trumpeter]( singer and activist whose music became symbolic of the country’s anti-apartheid movement even as he spent decades in exile. He was 78. And [Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular science fiction author]( known for “The Left Hand of Darkness.” She was 88. ____ Fox Searchlight Pictures 10. Finally, this year’s [Oscar nominations were announced](. “The Shape of Water,” above, the art-house fantasy by Guillermo del Toro, led the pack with 13 nominations, including for best picture. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Dunkirk” also emerged as strong contenders. Here are the major [snubs and surprises](. And now, you be the judge: [Fill out your own Oscar ballot here](. 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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