Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

Brett Kavanaugh, Colin Kaepernick, Amazon | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, September 4, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Tuesday Evening Briefing]( By JOUMANA KHATIB, STEPHEN REISS AND SANDRA STEVENSON Good evening. Here’s the latest. Doug Mills/The New York Times 1. It was the first day of confirmation hearings for [Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment]( to the Supreme Court, and it started with a bang. Senate Democrats moved angrily to adjourn to consider tens of thousands of pages of documents released the night before the hearing. They were joined by crowds of protesters, who cried out their support. President Trump’s potential legal troubles were a recurring theme, but Republicans praised Judge Kavanaugh and expressed confidence he will be confirmed. The hearings continue through the week. _____ Scott Cunningham/Getty Images 2. Even after news that Colin Kaepernick had signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Nike and become a face of its “Just Do It” campaign, [his silence is deafening](. The former quarterback started kneeling in protest during the national anthem before N.F.L. games in 2016, and other players soon joined him. Their protest caused a huge outcry, dividing fans and the league owners, captivating celebrities and athletes and motivating President Trump to persistently tweet his anger over it. But Mr. Kaepernick is letting his social media savvy — and a total rejection of interviews — spin the message. _____ Ted S. Warren/Associated Press 3. $1,000,000,000,000. Amazon became the second American company [to reach a market value of $1 trillion](. Apple hit that milestone last month, but with Amazon, our reporter writes, the path has been much more complicated. Amazon has [revolutionized how people shop]( — and taught retailers some hard lessons along the way. But there’s also been a rise in its brick-and-mortar operations. _____ Drew Angerer/Getty Images 4. Other tech giants are under scrutiny over the coming midterm elections. [Executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google will testify]( the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about their preparations to thwart foreign influence campaigns and disinformation. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s C.O.O., above. The power their platforms wield over public discourse is enormous. Temporarily barring Alex Jones of Infowars — who regularly spreads lies, conspiracy theories and inflammatory attacks against political enemies — [drastically reduced his reach](. Over the summer, Facebook announced the discovery of hundreds of fake pages and user accounts on its site. Can you tell the difference between a genuine Facebook post and one that was part of an influence campaign? [Try your hand with our quiz.]( _____ Mahmud Turkia/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 5. Another worry for Facebook: In Libya, [it has become a platform]( “keyboard warriors” who stoke violence. In the capital, where violence has broken out between rival militias in recent days, some combatants picked up rocket launchers. Others headed online. “Keyboard warriors,” as Facebook partisans are known in Libya, issued boasts, taunts and chilling threats online as their counterparts attacked from the ground. Some Facebook users even provided direct coordinates for targeted attacks. Facebook insists it is policing its Libyan platform, but illegal activity is rife. _____ Sarah Rice for The New York Times 6. Voters in Massachusetts head to the polls today. Here’s our [guide of what to watch]( and be sure to check back for live results. Separately, the White House and President Trump are [rattled by a forthcoming book]( that portrays the administration as an out-of-control operation: “crazytown,” in the reported words of the chief of staff, John Kelly. According to the book, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said “the president acted like — and had the understanding — of a ‘fifth or sixth grader.’” That’s among the most explosive claims in “Fear,” by Bob Woodward, due out next week. The Times obtained a copy. _____ Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times 7. A replacement for John McCain: [John Kyl, a former Arizona senator, will fill the seat]( though he has committed to serving only until the start of the next Congress, in January. Mr. Kyl has been helping Judge Brett Kavanaugh through the confirmation process. In tapping him to fill it, Gov. Doug Ducey has effectively put the stature of Mr. McCain’s seat ahead of the political imperative of keeping it in Republican hands, our reporter writes. And in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, above, announced [he would not seek re-election](. “This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime,” he said. _____ Jonathan Bachman/Reuters 8. Tropical Storm Gordon is heading for the Gulf Coast and is poised to become the first hurricane to strike the continental United States this year. It’s expected to intensify into a Category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall along the Gulf Coast late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Forecasters don’t anticipate the kind of damage that Hurricane Harvey caused a year ago, but the governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have all declared states of emergency. We’ll have [live updates about the storm](. _____ Uli Seit for The New York Times 9. News from the U.S. Open: Sloane Stephens, the defending champion, lost in the U.S. Open quarterfinals to Anastasija Sevastova, above, on Tuesday. Karolina Pliskova will take on Serena Williams this evening. Check back for [live updates and results](. And in case you missed it, [Roger Federer lost last night]( to John Millman. He blamed the heat. (Yes, it’s still hot.) _____ Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press 10. Finally, after 13 years, Dorothy’s [ruby slippers have been found](. One of the famous pairs Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” was stolen from a museum in Grand Rapids, Minn. Without fingerprints or surveillance video, the authorities were stumped. At one point a private donor even offered a $1 million reward. The F.B.I. announced Tuesday that the stolen slippers had been found, but did not reveal any suspects in a case that captivated fans. As one put it: “There isn’t anything else that does more to evoke the power of belief.” Have a great night. _____ 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? 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