Your Thursday Evening Briefing

Khashoggi, Afghanistan, Abuse | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, October 18, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Thursday Evening Briefing]( By JEAN RUTTER AND HIROKO MASUIKE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Sabah, via Associated Press President Trump [told The Times]( he believed that Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi journalist, was dead. He also expressed confidence in intelligence reports pointing to high-level Saudi involvement. The news came as Saudi Arabia was considering [blaming a top intelligence official]( Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, for the killing, according to three people with knowledge of the plans. Mr. Assiri is a high-level adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But blaming him could help deflect scrutiny from the crown prince. Turkish officials leaked one of the most striking pieces of evidence yet: [a photograph]( above, of one of the crown prince’s companions entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul the day Mr. Khashoggi disappeared. And, in the U.S., [Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin]( withdrew from the investor conference in Riyadh next week, amid mounting criticism for his plans to attend. _____ Associated Press 2. Two top Afghan leaders in Kandahar Province were assassinated in [a devastating attack that narrowly missed the top American commander]( in the country, Gen. Austin Miller. Accounts suggested it was an inside job. Above, General Miller, center left, at a security conference in Kandahar. The attack came just two days before national elections that have already been marred by violence; at least 10 candidates and dozens of their supporters have been killed. Adding to the tension: The U.S. has held quiet talks with the Taliban, [blindsiding the Afghan president](. _____ Sam Hodgson for The New York Times 3. Roman Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania said they had received [federal grand jury subpoenas]( in a Justice Department investigation of sexual abuse in the church. The dioceses said they were cooperating. Above, Hays, Pa. Two months ago, Pennsylvania’s attorney general released a scathing grand jury report charging that bishops and other church officials had covered up the [sexual abuse of more than 1,000 people]( over a period of more than 70 years. _____ Andrew Harnik/Associated Press 4. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that has played a leading role in moving U.S. courts to the right, was planning a closed-door “training academy” for federal law clerks that required pledges of secrecy and loyalty. Above, the foundation’s headquarters in Washington. Legal experts said the effort to train and influence law clerks raised serious ethical questions. Applicants were asked to promise to keep the program’s teaching materials secret and pledge not to use what they learned “for any purpose contrary to the mission or interest of the Heritage Foundation.” After our Supreme Court reporter asked about those requirements, the foundation deleted them. And after we published [our article]( it suspended the program. _____ Lexey Swall for The New York Times 5. As a businessman, President Trump expressed interest in a project to redevelop the F.B.I. headquarters in Washington, shown above. As president, he has been [involved in the project in a different way]( — and Democrats are asking whether it has anything to do with his nearby hotel. It’s the latest flash point in the running debate over whether Mr. Trump’s business holdings create conflicts of interest with his duties as president. _____ Audra Melton for The New York Times 6. Confederate leaders [carved into a vast granite mountainside]( are the signature attraction of Stone Mountain Park, Georgia’s most-visited tourist destination. To some, including Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor, the monument is a blight, symbolizing racism and hatred. Ms. Abrams, who is the first black woman in the U.S. to win a major party’s nomination for governor, has called for the site to be removed. Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, says the carving represents a proud Southern heritage. Mr. Kemp, who is white, vowed to protect it from “the radical left.” The site, our Atlanta correspondent writes, is “a gargantuan reminder of how the past continues to haunt a state that is hurtling toward the future.” _____ Scott McIntyre for The New York Times 7. He’s an activist-minded progressive. He supports higher corporate taxes and greater gun control, calls for the impeachment of President Trump and wants Medicare for all. Andrew Gillum is the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida. He’s running to be the first black governor of the nation’s largest swing state, and he’s positioning himself as an outsider. But in a seeming contradiction, Mr. Gillum is also a consummate politician. He maintains close ties to lobbyists, one of whom is a top campaign adviser. He explains it this way: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” _____ Premier Exhibitions 8. A bowler hat, its neat grosgrain bow intact. A chubby bronze cherub, one foot torn away. A cracked and crusty leather valise. These are among [5,500 items recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic]( hauled up from two miles below the surface in international waters off Newfoundland. Investors with three hedge funds have banded together to pay[$19.5 million]( to buy the collection, outbidding a group of British museums backed by the National Geographic Society and James Cameron, who directed the 1997 movie “Titanic.” The objects are “[time capsules]( that take you back to 1912,” one bidder said. The new owners have not announced plans, but said they would keep the collection together. _____ Jared Soares for The New York Times 9. Amazon is staying quiet about which of 20 finalists it will choose for its second headquarters, but that isn’t stopping online bettors, [who currently favor Northern Virginia](. And the clear front-runner in the region, some analysts say, is Crystal City, above, an older office area across the Potomac River from Washington. It boasts good transit, diverse residents, a friendly business climate and a single developer holding lots of land. At stake: $5 billion in investment and up to 50,000 high-paying jobs, according to the company. Amazon says it will announce its decision by the end of the year. Also in economic news: China is about to release new G.D.P. figures. Economists expect [6.6. percent growth]( in the period that ended in September. One economist said the stronger-than-expected performance was probably a result of a rush of shipments to the U.S. just before new tariffs were imposed. _____ via Delta Air Lines 10. Finally, Esoteric snacks made by tiny companies are [showing up on airline service carts](. United is serving its morning passengers maple wafers — bags of crunchy little cookies from a family-owned Atlanta bakery that were a nice touch on a recent flight to Burlington, Vt. Delta is serving a small-batch pretzel mix, above. And next month, American Airlines will pass out snacks from Lorissa’s Kitchen, a maker of grass-fed beef jerky. Byrd’s, United’s new cookie supplier, was making 200 million cookies a year before the airline started offering them. Now it bakes 1.9 billion. The demand can be too much of a good thing. “Many of the companies haven’t been quite ready to offer their products on such a large scale,” an airline spokeswoman said. Have a refreshing evening. Correction: Wednesday night’s [briefing]( misspelled the surname of the star of the original 1978 version of “Halloween” and the new remake. She is Jamie Lee Curtis, not Curtiss. It also incorrectly characterized the enormousness of Pando, the vast grove of root-connected aspens in Utah. The forest is the world’s most massive organism, not the largest. (That distinction goes to Oregon’s so-called [Humongous Fungus]( which occupies an area the size of three Central Parks.) 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? 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