Your Monday Briefing

Sears, N.F.L., Meghan Markle View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, October 15, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Monday Briefing]( By CHRIS STANFORD [The tall pilings of a house on 36th Street in Mexico Beach, Fla., helped it survive Hurricane Michael relatively unscathed.]( The tall pilings of a house on 36th Street in Mexico Beach, Fla., helped it survive Hurricane Michael relatively unscathed. Johnny Milano for The New York Times Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Saudi Arabia rejects U.S. threats The kingdom is [pushing back against President Trump]( who promised “severe punishment” if the Saudis were found to have been responsible for the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of Prince Mohammed bin Salman. If Saudi Arabia “receives any action, it will respond with greater action,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday, citing the oil-rich country’s “influential and vital role in the global economy.” Turkish officials say that a team of Saudi agents killed Mr. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and columnist for The Washington Post who was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul nearly two weeks ago. • News analysis: Mr. Trump has resisted pressure to postpone or cancel arms sales to Saudi Arabia. What’s unusual, [our chief White House correspondent writes]( is how openly the president has prioritized a contract potentially worth tens of billions of dollars over the possible death of a dissident. • The missing journalist: Mr. Khashoggi had both an affinity for Islamist political movements and close ties to the Saudi royal family — until they were cut by Prince Mohammed. [Read our profile](. • American pastor is freed: Andrew Brunson, who was detained in Turkey for two years, [met with]( Trump at the White House]( on Saturday after being suddenly released. The president denied any connection between the liberation and Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance. Among storm’s ruins, one house remains Hurricane Michael destroyed nearly every beachfront house on a block in Mexico Beach, Fla., last week, but one came through nearly untouched. [The story behind what]( owners call the S]( P]( is one about building in a hurricane-prone Florida, and about how construction regulations failed to imagine the catastrophic destruction of the Category 4 storm. “We wanted to build it for the big one,” one of the owners said. “We just never knew we’d find the big one so fast.” • The aftermath: Thousands of residents in Florida’s Panhandle [might not have their electricity restored for weeks](. Wisconsin’s lessons for Democrats Scott Walker, the state’s Republican governor, is seeking a third term, and the Democratic Party is looking for a way to [make an economic]( even though the]( are already strong](. • Trump and the Bible Belt: The president often paints a rosy picture of his support nationally, but his descriptions of [undying bonds are particularly true in parts of the South](. “The Daily”: The state of the midterms (and the country) Control of Congress is at stake. The House seems to be headed in one direction, the Senate in the other. Listen on [a computer]( an [iOS device]( or an [Android device](. Canada embraces marijuana market On Wednesday, after 95 years of prohibition, the country will become the second in the world (after Uruguay) to legalize cannabis. Much of the focus has been on logistics — setting up laws for where people can smoke and buy the drug, figuring out how the police will test drivers, and drafting workplace policies. And companies have been jockeying for a piece of the multibillion-dollar industry. • The cultural effect: Canadians have a reputation for being polite and slightly reserved. [Could legalization change that]( [A cannabis factory in Lincoln, Ontario.]A cannabis factory in Lincoln, Ontario. Lars Hagberg/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Business • Sears, the pioneering retailer that later struggled to adapt to how Americans shop, [filed for bankruptcy protection early today](. • President Trump, seeking to counter China’s growing geopolitical influence, [is embracing a major expansion of foreign aid]( that will bankroll infrastructure projects in Africa, Asia and the Americas. • Several big banks are set to report their earnings this week, starting with Bank of America today. It’s [one of the headlines to watch](. • U.S. stocks [were up]( on Friday. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets]( today. Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life. • Following your passions is good, and good for you. [Here’s how to get started](. • If you’re moving into a new home, check out these [decorating tips](. • Recipe of the day: Try [braised tofu in caramel sauce]( a vegetarian take on a Vietnamese classic. Over the Weekend • Pope Francis [canonized]( Óscar Romero of El Salvador]( who was killed in 1980 by a right-wing death squad, and Pope Paul VI, who is credited with leading the modernization of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s. • President Trump [called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis “sort of a Democrat”]( in an interview on “60 Minutes.” The president said he didn’t know whether Mr. Mattis would be the next major departure from his administration. • There were dueling protests in Boston ahead of a trial today that will decide [whether Harvard has racially balanced its classes]( for years and discriminated against Asian-American applicants. • In an election in Germany, voters [abandoned the conservative allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel]( in droves, giving the biggest boost to a rising liberal force: the pro-refugee Greens. • A snowstorm in the Himalayas [killed at least eight climbers in Nepal](. • Violent clashes outside a Republican club in Manhattan, involving a far-right group and anti-fascist activists, [spurred calls for an investigation](. • In the N.F.L., the New England Patriots defeated the previously unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs. [Here’s a look at Sunday’s games](. • The Boston Red Sox [tied the American League Championship Series]( against the Houston Astros on Sunday at one game apiece. Game 3 of the National League series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers is tonight. • “Venom” [was No. 1 at the North American box office]( for the second straight week. “First Man,” about Neil Armstrong’s path to the 1969 moon landing, debuted to a softer showing. Noteworthy • British royal couple is expecting [Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting their first]( in the spring, Kensington Palace announced today. The couple arrived in Sydney this morning for an Australian tour. [Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day in May.]Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day in May. Pool photo by Frank Augstein • The Greats Each year, T Magazine publishes an issue that celebrates cultural figures who have inspired us. Each has created something singular, be it a performance or an aesthetic, and they have all, in some way, helped steer the cultural discourse. First up: [We interviewed Solange]( who has inspired a new model for the modern pop artist. [Solange in 2017. She won a Grammy Award last year for Best R B Performance.]Solange in 2017. She won a Grammy Award last year for Best R&B Performance. Charles Sykes/Invision, via Associated Press • Quotation of the day “The brain is by far the most complex piece of highly excitable matter in the known universe by any measure. We don’t even understand the brain of a worm.” — [Christof Koch]( the chief scientist and president of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, explaining some of the challenges involved in artificial intelligence design. • 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 Kim Severson, our food correspondent, recommends “[A Working Class Death]( from Proximity magazine’s True blog: “This is another example of why novelists are often the best people to walk us through life. Here, the Montana writer Carrie La Seur offers a beautiful essay about her father’s last hours that says everything about class, parenting and death.” Back Story In October 1990, the U.S. was fretting about an invasion across the Mexico border — but it was one no wall could stop. The interlopers? “Killer bees,” a particularly aggressive honeybee whose arrival in the U.S. [was first recorded near the border town of Hidalgo, Tex.]( [Bees at a research center in Texas.]Bees at a research center in Texas. Jerrold Summerlin/Texas Cooperative Extension, via Associated Press The bees, bred in Brazil from African and European stock in hopes of increasing honey production, had escaped decades before and had been breeding and moving northward ever since. While swarms [occasionally attack people]( with gruesome and [even fatal results]( Hidalgo itself has embraced them. The town celebrates its brush with fame with [an enormous killer bee statue]( and it is getting a local hockey team known as the [Killer Bees](. (It has had other Killer Bees teams in the past, but they left the hive.) By the way, their [sting isn’t any more potent]( than a European bee’s; it’s just that they tend to sting in swarms. Today’s Back Story was written by John Schwartz, a native of Texas. _____ Correction: Because of an editing error, [Friday’s Morning Briefing]( misstated the given name of an Interpreter columnist. She is Amanda Taub, not Amy. 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). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT Sponsor a Subscription Inspire a future generation of readers by contributing to The New York Times [sponsor-a-subscription program](. 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