Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Pelosi, Yemen, Les Moonves | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, November 28, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By JEAN RUTTER AND MARCUS PAYADUE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Erin Schaff for The New York Times 1. House Democrats [began to choose their leaders and rules]( for the next Congress, which begins in January. Representative Nancy Pelosi, above, easily won the Democratic nomination to be speaker of the House — but 32 Democrats voted no. She will need to win over some of those defectors for the final floor vote on Jan. 3, and that could be enough time for a serious challenger to emerge. Ms. Pelosi, 78, who has led House Democrats for more than 15 years, was optimistic. “We go forward with confidence and humility,” she said after the vote. And in a sign of the strength of a new generation of members, Hakeem Jeffries, 48, of New York was chosen to lead the Democratic caucus. _____ Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times 2. “We are seldom free to work with unblemished partners.” That’s Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in a statement released just before a classified briefing he and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave to senators. They defended the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia — and urged the senators not to withdraw support from the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The Senate is expected to vote soon on a measure to force the withdrawal of U.S. military efforts in Yemen, except those directly targeting Al Qaeda. Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Mattis have called for a cease-fire. Peace talks between the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels are scheduled for early December in Sweden, but the two sides remain far apart. _____ Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press 3. Les Moonves was pushed out as the head of CBS after 12 women accused him of sexual harassment or assault. But those accusations didn’t directly cause Mr. Moonves’s fall, [our reporters have learned](. He feared that only one woman could bring him down. “If Bobbie talks, I’m finished,” a friend recalled him saying. Our reporters examine how he tried to silence her, why that ultimately led to his downfall — and how those efforts could cost him $120 million in severance. _____ Mel Evans/Associated Press 4. How did a push to legalize pot become a debate about race? New Jersey legislators have linked a proposal to clear hundreds of thousands of past criminal convictions [to an effort to legalize recreational marijuana](. Defendants would be eligible to have their records cleared if they have had no convictions in 10 years. Supporters say strict drug laws have long unfairly targeted minorities: A black New Jersey resident is [three times more likely]( to be arrested on marijuana-related offenses than a white resident, a recent study found. Above, in Trenton. “There would be no way that I would support legalization of marijuana without expungement,” said the head of the Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. _____ Allison Farrand for The New York Times 5. President Trump campaigned on a promise of an industrial comeback. After his election, he told workers in Ohio that the jobs were “all coming back.” So when General Motors announced this week that it was idling five North American plants, it felt to some workers like a betrayal. But at a Chevrolet factory in Lordstown, Ohio, above, that will soon be shuttered, our reporter found a number of workers who [blamed G.M. for that unfulfilled promise]( not Mr. Trump or his administration’s trade policies. “I believe that no matter tariff or not, G.M. will continue to take our cars out of this country because it’s cheaper to do it and ship it back,” said a Trump supporter. _____ Laura Boushnak for The New York Times 6. Want to spend your vacation sleeping in a bunker, listening to gunfire and explosions? The War Hostel Sarajevo in the Bosnian capital [offers just that experience](. The manager, above, a former tour guide, said he realized that many tourists were there to engage with the glorious city’s agonies during Bosnia’s 1992 to 1995 war. “I decided to give people what they wanted,” he said. The hospitality industry calls this “dark tourism” — a niche but growing global market focused on places where terrible things happened. _____ Alex Hofford/EPA, via Shutterstock 7. Mystery surrounds the birth of two babies in China. A Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, above, claims to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies. He [defended his work]( at a conference in Hong Kong, saying it was both safe and ethical. But his claims have raised thorny questions. Dr. He revealed his research only after the babies were born this month. And it appears he didn’t seek approval from Chinese regulators. A moderator at the conference asked him, “Why so much secrecy around this?” As genetic technology advances, critics are warning of a slippery slope. [The birth of gene-edited children]( is alarming for practical, ethical and theoretical reasons. First and foremost are safety concerns. Then there is the ethical quandary that editing could be used to create babies with desired skills or physical features — with potentially frightening consequences. _____ Doug Chayka 8. Adopt late. Slow down. Our personal tech columnist is moving to the Opinion section at the beginning of the year. In a farewell column, he reflects on changes in the industry and offers tips for [navigating the future of technology](. The tech industry in 2018 is bigger, more pervasive and far more dangerous than it was when he started in the job only a few years ago, he writes. And our private tech choices matter, because they can alter economies and societies. _____ Monica Almeida for The New York Times 9. Do the Oscars still matter? The Academy Awards can frustrate fans and often miss the mark, but that’s why they’re relevant, argues our new [Carpetbagger columnist]( who will be covering the awards season. Oscar nominations provide a freeze-frame of a year in Hollywood, he writes, telling us about our cultural blind spots and revealing our biases, like a tendency to take male-led stories more seriously. Also important: The attention around them has helped movements like #OscarsSoWhite, TimesUp and #MeToo gain notice. _____ Nicole Awai 10. Finally, what should a monument look like? The national debate over removing Confederate statues inspired a New York City nonprofit to ask artists to [imagine new monuments](. One submission: a poster with the phrase “We are all people” in many languages. Another artist designed a manhole cover, above, shaped like a man’s head and torso — a tribute to Christopher Columbus, not on a pedestal but at a viewer’s feet. The designs will be displayed in five cities in the U.S. and Canada next year, ending on the High Line in Manhattan in October. Have a memorable evening. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing. 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