Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

QAnon, Manafort, Trump | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 1, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By JOUMANA KHATIB AND MARCUS PAYADUE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Tom Brenner/The New York Times 1. “Stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now.” On Twitter, President Trump took the extraordinary step of asking Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, to [end the special counsel’s investigation of Russian interference]( in the 2016 election and Russian links to his campaign. Some lawyers called the directive obstruction of justice, but Mr. Trump’s lawyers said he was delivering an opinion, not an order. Mr. Trump also compared the treatment of the notorious mobster Al Capone to [the case of Paul Manafort]( Mr. Trump’s onetime campaign chairman, who is on trial as a result of the special counsel’s investigation. The special counsel has [shaken up Washington’s lobbying industry]( forwarding three cases involving powerful Republican and Democratic Beltway figures to prosecutors handling the case against Mr. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen. _____ CHINATOPIX, via Associated Press 2. The trade war with China continues apace — and may get worse. Some factions in the Trump administration, eager to [drive China back to the bargaining table]( are pushing to increase tariffs on Chinese goods to 25 percent, up from 10 percent. More than $200 billion worth of products would be affected, and President Trump has continued to double down on his threats since talks with Beijing fell apart in May. _____ Tom Brenner/The New York Times 3. Two more pieces of news from the administration: Officials are considering [sharply reducing the number of refugees]( allowed to resettle in the U.S. One plan would set a cap of 25,000 for next year — more than a 40 percent drop from this year’s limit. Stephen Miller, above, a senior policy adviser, has created allies who are ready to sign off on deep cuts. And the White House cleared the way for sales of health care policies that Mr. Trump said would provide “much less expensive health care at a much lower price.” True enough. They also have [far fewer benefits]( — no prescription drugs, say, or no maternity care. And they would not have to cover people with pre-existing conditions. _____ Chris O'Meara/Associated Press 4. Alex Jones, the Infowars founder, headed to court in Austin, Tex., to [face a lawsuit filed by parents of children killed at Sandy Hook](. They argue that his false claims that the shooting was an elaborate hoax constitute defamation. He is trying to have the case dismissed, claiming his right to free speech. Many of the other bogus theories his media platform has spread target President Trump’s perceived adversaries and reflect opinions held by his political base. At a Trump rally in Florida on Tuesday, above, QAnon — possibly best described as a stew of conspiracy theories — had a big presence, on T-shirts and signs. Here’s a [guide to the group and what it believes](. _____ Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock 5. Apple is poised to become the first public company [worth more than $1 trillion](. That’s a relief for many observers, who saw Facebook’s earnings report last week send stocks tumbling and raise old fears about whether tech companies are losing steam. But clearly, our columnist writes, the [tech giants are doing just fine](. At the other end of the spectrum, Condé Nast, the media company behind magazines like The New Yorker and Vogue, [plans to sell three publications](. The company lost $120 million last year despite attempts to cut costs. _____ George Steinmetz for The New York Times 6. One of our most-read articles today is [a history lesson](. Thirty years ago, we had the chance to halt the onset of climate change. We knew everything we needed to know, but the only thing standing in the way was ourselves. This week’s Magazine is devoted to the story of what we knew starting in 1979, and how close we came to solving the problem. _____ [Anders Carlson-Wee at a seminar in New Hampshire in January. His poem in The Nation drew backlash for its use of black vernacular and led to an apology from the magazine’s poetry editors.]Jeff Hall 7. “We are sorry for the pain we have caused.” A poem in The Nation caused an uproar on social media, leading [the magazine’s editors to apologize]( for its “disparaging and ableist” language. The piece was roundly criticized for its attempt at black vernacular, as well as a line in which the speaker makes reference to being “crippled.” The poet, above, expressed remorse, too: “Treading anywhere close to blackface is horrifying to me, and I am profoundly regretful.” _____  8. Remember Mischa Barton? What about Dina Lohan? Our critic discovered [Cameo]( an app that allows you to hire B-list stars (like Perez Hilton, above) to record personalized messages to send to your friends or have as a keepsake. It’s a new development in celebrity-fan relationships, our critic writes. And it’s a reminder that famous people are willing to do a lot more for money than you might assume. _____ Lance Rosenfield for The New York Times 9. Meet Cody Wilson, the man behind the [push for 3-D printed guns](. Late Monday, a judge blocked his attempt to publish instructions for making so-called ghost guns. The weapons are mostly plastic, don’t have serial numbers and are largely untraceable. Lawmakers and politicians see the weapons as an unchecked threat. To Mr. Wilson, above, the fight is less about guns than about renegotiating the relationship between citizens and the state. Mr. Wilson called his efforts to share the instructions “a pretty mainline American idea.” _____ Illustration by Claire Milbrath 10. Finally, if you’ve been hearing worrying calls about inflammation and free radicals, you’re not alone. That’s the [wellness-industrial complex at work](. It peddles useless products to help detoxify your life — and help you find health and happiness along the way. But don’t be fooled, our writer says. That’s not medicine. So maybe hold off on stirring that pinch of activated charcoal into your yogurt. Have a great evening. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. Want to catch up on past briefings? [You can browse them here](. 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](. FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Get more NYTimes.com newsletters » | Sign Up for the [Morning Briefing newsletter »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Evening Briefing 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