Your Thursday Briefing

Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Theranos View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, September 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Thursday Briefing]( By DANIEL VICTOR [President Trump sought to assert command on Wednesday after an unsigned Op-Ed in The Times claimed that “unsung heroes” in the administration were putting country before president.]( President Trump sought to assert command on Wednesday after an unsigned Op-Ed in The Times claimed that “unsung heroes” in the administration were putting country before president. Doug Mills/The New York Times Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Who wrote the Op-Ed? • It’s the question almost everyone in Washington (and beyond) wants to know. [President Trump erupted in anger]( on Wednesday after The Times published a stinging Opinion piece by an unidentified senior official saying that a “quiet resistance” in the administration was working to thwart the president’s “worst inclinations.” The article, which said the president’s problems were rooted in “amorality,” raised questions about his capacity to govern. [Read the Op-Ed here](. Mr. Trump denounced the essay, calling it “gutless,” and the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, issued a statement about its author saying, “This coward should do the right thing and resign.” • The Opinion pages of The Times are managed separately from the newsroom. The Op-Ed editor, James Dao, said the material was [important enough to merit anonymity]( which the department rarely grants. “The Daily”: The anonymous senior official • What the unsigned Op-Ed says about efforts to resist the president. Listen on [a computer]( an [iOS device]( or an [Android device](. Supreme Court confirmation hearings are on track • Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a second day on Wednesday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, [dodged questions about presidential powers to thwart the Russia investigation and obstruction of justice](. Democrats grilled the nominee over [his knowledge of two disputed episodes from the George W. Bush era]( Republicans’ infiltration of computer files belonging to Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, and a warrantless surveillance program created after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But Judge Kavanaugh avoided any blunders that would damage his standing with Republicans. [Watch video]( from the hearing, and catch up on what we learned about his stance on [abortion, guns and presidential powers](. • The nominee appears to have a clear path to confirmation by the end of the month. [Our politics team]( will have live coverage when the hearings continue at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Tech leaders face questioning • Regulation of social media is coming. That was one message lawmakers had for Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, as the two [testified]( Capitol Hill on Wednesday](. “Congress is going to have to take action here,” said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, during hearings about the moderation of online content. “The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.” • Republicans accused Twitter of being [biased against conservatives]( a point Mr. Dorsey denied. But he and Ms. Sandberg largely avoided taking sides in highly political debates. Arrest warrants issued over nerve agent attack • Britain has charged [two Russian intelligence officers with attempted murder]( after the poisoning in March of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England. Prime Minister Theresa May announced that British intelligence services had identified the men, who used the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, as officers of Russia’s military intelligence service. “We decisively reject these insinuations,” Russian officials responded. • British investigators described [a needle-in-a-haystack investigation]( involving more than 11,000 hours of video from ports, train stations, shop windows, car dashboards and roads. Business • Theranos, the Silicon Valley start-up that pledged to revolutionize lab testing to detect diseases, is [shutting down](. • Warner Brothers and its corporate siblings, HBO and Turner Broadcasting, introduced plans to [increase the number of women and people of color]( involved in their movies and TV shows. • Nike’s first ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, the former N.F.L. quarterback who led player protests, is [set to run tonight]( on NBC during the league’s first regular season game. • U.S. stocks [were mixed]( on Wednesday. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets]( today. Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. • Make your iPhone photographs even [more](. • Here’s how to [break the taboo]( on talking about money. • Recipe of the day: Roy Choi’s [carne asada]( is perfect for taco night. [A creative take on a venerable classic.]A creative take on a venerable classic. Marcus Nilsson for The New York Times; Food stylist: Brian Preston-Campbell. Prop stylist: Angharad Bailey. Noteworthy • A major victory for gay rights in India The country’s Supreme Court [struck down a]( on consensual gay sex]( today, killing one of the oldest laws of its kind in the world. [Indian activists celebrating today after the Supreme Court struck down a colonial-era law against gay sex.]Indian activists celebrating today after the Supreme Court struck down a colonial-era law against gay sex. Divyakant Solanki/EPA, via Shutterstock • Where has Steve Perry been? The former Journey frontman who walked away from stardom is [returning in October]( with a solo album, “Traces,” that breaks 20 years of silence. He told us about the personal tragedy that moved him to create music again. [Finding and losing the love of his life led Steve Perry back to the recording studio after two decades.]Finding and losing the love of his life led Steve Perry back to the recording studio after two decades. Brad Ogbonna for The New York Times • Modeling in the #TimesUp era New York Fashion Week [begins today]( and all eyes are on [how the industry has adapted]( after multiple scandals involving sexual assault and harassment. While some attitudes have shifted at the top of the fashion pyramid, change hasn’t always trickled down. [Here’s more from this week’s Style section](. • When teachers are first responders “Their PTSD can be as serious as what you see in soldiers,” an expert said of teachers after a school shooting. “But unlike soldiers, none of them signed up for this, and none of them have been trained to cope with it.” Our Magazine looks at [the suffering of public servants]( accustomed to placing students’ needs above their own. • U.S. Open builds to a climax Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka became [the first Japanese players]( to reach the semifinals of the same Grand Slam tournament, and Anastasija Sevastova, “[a girl from the middle of nowhere]( will face Serena Williams in the last four tonight. Follow [our tennis coverage here](. • A new J.R.R. Tolkein book debuts on top “The Fall of Gondolin,” written in 1917 and pieced together by the author’s son over decades, debuted at No. 1 on our [hardcover fiction best-seller list](. You can [find all of our best-seller lists here](. • Best of late-night TV [Trevor Noah was unswayed by the argument]( in the anonymous Times Op-Ed that using the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump would be too messy: “It’s like there’s a sign that says, ‘In case of emergency, break glass,’ but then these guys are like, ‘I mean, we could break the glass, but then there would be glass everywhere.’ ” • Quotation of the day “I always tell the kids I love them, even if they’re miserable and cursing me out.” — [Rachel Harris]( a school safety agent in the Bronx who is part of a pilot program to defuse conflicts. • The Times, in other words Here’s an image of [today’s front page]( and links to our [Opinion content]( and [crossword puzzles](. • What we’re reading George Gustines, a senior editor for graphics and video, recommends [this Vulture article]( “Abraham Riesman offers a thorough summary and timeline about a very angry segment of the comic-book audience. ‘Comicsgate,’ he writes, ‘is a loose confederation of tweeters and YouTubers who make it their business to yell about how much they hate the “social justice warriors” who are, in their eyes, ruining their favorite medium with leftist politics.’ ” Back Story Hours after losing to Chris Evert in the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 1975, Martina Navratilova sat in [a secret meeting with F.B.I. agents]( where she declared her intention to defect from Czechoslovakia. “I wanted my freedom,” Ms. Navratilova told reporters at a [news conference]( on this day 43 years ago. She was 18. The Czech tennis federation, under the Communist government’s rule, had exerted control over its young star’s schedule, finances and even her playing style. They had threatened to keep her from that year’s U.S. Open, saying she had [become too “Americanized.”]( Ms. Navratilova had not yet won any of her 18 Grand Slam singles titles. “I just felt that if I want to become No. 1, which I want to, that I couldn’t do it under the circumstances at home,” she told reporters. She became the world No. 1 in 1978, and an American citizen in 1981. Ms. Navratilova was among the first openly gay professional athletes, but she said she waited to become a citizen before coming out, fearing the news [might disqualify her](. Ms. Navratilova now has dual citizenship, after [regaining her Czech nationality]( in 2008. By then, she had earned 59 Grand Slam doubles and singles titles. Aodhan Beirne wrote today’s Back Story. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays and [updated all morning](. Browse [past briefings here](. [Sign up here]( to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. To receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, [sign up here](. Check out our full range of free newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Morning%20Briefing%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. Sponsor a Subscription Inspire a future generation of readers by contributing to The New York Times [sponsor-a-subscription program](. For every subscription granted through contributions to this program, The Times will provide a digital subscription to one additional student. FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Sign Up for the [Evening Briefing newsletter »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning 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