Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

Justice Department, Wildfire Victims, Markets | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, November 20, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Tuesday Evening Briefing]( By JEAN RUTTER AND HIROKO MASUIKE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Karsten Moran for The New York Times 1. President Trump wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton and James Comey in April, our journalists learned, but the White House counsel warned him the move could lead to impeachment. The encounter was one of the most blatant examples yet of how Mr. Trump views the typically independent Justice Department as a tool to be wielded against his political enemies The episode has taken on significance as Donald McGahn, the White House counsel, left his post and Mr. Trump appointed a relatively inexperienced political loyalist, Matthew Whitaker, as his acting attorney general. The president has continued to privately discuss the matter, we learned, including the possible appointment of a second special counsel to investigate Mrs. Clinton, above, and Mr. Comey, the former F.B.I. director. Separately, President Trump [declared his loyalty to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince]( and said that the prince’s culpability in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi might never be known. The statement contradicts the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies as well as ample circumstantial evidence. And a federal judge ordered the administration to [resume accepting asylum claims]( from migrants, no matter where or how they entered the U.S. The ruling is at least a temporary setback to President Trump’s attempt to clamp down on a wave of Central Americans crossing the southern border. _____ Jason Henry for The New York Times 2. Seven hundred names. The Camp Fire has killed at least 79 people and burned through more than 150,000 acres of Northern California. But the true scale of the human catastrophe will not be clear until search crews finish turning through thousands of burned homes and businesses. [Nearly 700 people are listed as missing]( and experts fear that the final number of deaths could reach well into the hundreds. Above, in Paradise, Calif. “I just want answers,” said the daughter of a man missing since Nov. 12. “If he did pass away, at least that would let me know what happened to him.” Here are ways to [check and update the list of missing people](. When survivors finally rebuild, they may face a new problem. Insurers are becoming [reluctant to renew some homeowners’ policies]( as wildfires in California keep getting worse. _____ Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times 3. A shooting at a Chicago hospital [left a police officer, a doctor and a pharmacy employee dead]( according to the authorities. The gunman also died. Above, a memorial. Chicago has had more homicides in recent years than any other U.S. city, with more than 500 so far this year. But the shooting at Mercy Hospital rattled the city, our Chicago correspondents write, both because of its public nature and because it targeted professionals who are called on to help when others are hurt. [Here are their takeaways]( from the episode. _____ Spencer Platt/Getty Images 4. Stocks fell for a second day, [wiping out 2018’s market gains](. They were led by a [sell-off in technology stocks]( amid fears of increased regulations. Facebook, Apple and Amazon are all down more than $250 billion from their respective peaks. Weak earnings from the American retailer Target triggered worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy. Investors were concerned about the broader U.S.-China trade war as well, fears that also dragged down markets abroad. Above, the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks often act as an early warning system, picking up subtle changes before they appear in the economic data, [our business reporter writes](. Our personal finance columnist has advice [for what to do as markets fall](. _____ Franziska Barczyk 5. Four decades of science journalism. The Times published its first weekly section on health and science this month in 1978. On the cover: “Doomsday Debate: How Near Is the End?” The essay described a “heated controversy” among scientists and concluded that “total human extinction is not necessarily as distant a possibility as many of us would choose to think.” To mark the anniversary, our science editors [asked 11 questions on the most pressing issues]( in science. (How did we get to be human? Will we survive climate change?) And they included some [that are better left unanswered.]( (What’s in a black hole?) _____ Tom Brenner/The New York Times 6. Michigan State University’s former president [was charged with two felonies]( accused of lying to the police about her knowledge of sexual abuse committed by Dr. Lawrence Nassar. Lou Anna Simon, above, [resigned her role in January]( amid claims that the university allowed Dr. Nassar to prey on young women, including many gymnasts, under the guise of medical care, despite warning signs and complaints She could face up to four years in prison on each of the felony charges. At sentencing hearings this year, scores of Dr. Nassar’s patients, including Olympians, described the abuse and its lasting impact. He is now serving what is effectively a life sentence in prison. _____  7. China is on a worldwide building spree, a modern-day counterpart to the Marshall Plan, the U.S. reconstruction program after World War II that laid the foundation for America’s enduring military and diplomatic alliances. Except China’s strategy — building a vast global network of trade, investment and infrastructure — [is even bolder, more expensive and riskier](. And at home, China is building more complex products — like computers, TVs and cars — as part of [the next phase of its economic evolution](. Read more in the latest installment of [a special series]( “China Rules.” _____ Toshifumi Kitamura/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 8. Who is Carlos Ghosn? Nissan’s chairman, who was arrested in Tokyo on Monday and accused of financial misconduct, had a storied rise and a sudden fall. Mr. Ghosn created the alliance of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi and has been credited for rethinking how the vehicle manufacturers compete in a global market. He also enjoyed unusual celebrity for a businessman: A series of manga comic books chronicled his life, and his employees swarmed him for autographs. Above, he appeared on a news program. Now prosecutors in Japan are investigating claims that Mr. Ghosn underreported his taxable income by half for several years. France’s economy minister said he was “[no longer in a position capable of leading Renault]( because of his troubles in Japan. And Nissan said it was planning to remove Mr. Ghosn as chairman when its board met later this week. _____ Brett Simison for The New York Times 9. Thanksgiving cooks, you might want to [think twice about brining that turkey]( this year. For nearly two decades, food writers have suggested you plunge your bird into a bucket of flavored salt water for a day or two. The promise was an end to dryness. But like the length of a trouser leg, turkey fashion shifts. Interviews with the big players in food media over the past few weeks suggest that the wet, salty turkey has lost its appeal among many of the people who once did the most to promote it. We apologize. _____ Esther Aarts 10. Finally, we’re rounding up our favorite books of 2018. The editors of The New York Times Book Review [selected the year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction](. On the list are “Dopesick,” Beth Macy’s harrowing account of the opioid epidemic, and Rachel Kushner’s new novel, “The Mars Room.” For history buffs, there’s the monumental biography “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” by David W. Blight. And for lovers of poetry, a landmark translation of “The Odyssey” by Homer. Have an enlightening 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](. 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