Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

Khashoggi, Bush Funeral, France Protests | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, December 4, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Tuesday Evening Briefing]( By JEAN RUTTER AND HIROKO MASUIKE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Drew Angerer/Getty Images 1. “This is conduct that none of us in America would approve of in any way.” That’s Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, reacting to a classified briefing by Gina Haspel, the C.I.A. director, about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. The session [left senators more certain than ever]( that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, ordered the journalist’s death. Above, Ms. Haspel at the Capitol. The senators’ assessment puts them at odds with the White House, which has refused to blame Saudi Arabia’s leadership. But there was no consensus about next steps, after a [stinging vote last week]( to consider cutting off U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen. Separately, John Bolton, the national security adviser, said that [President Trump would still meet with Kim Jong-un]( despite North Korea’s lack of progress on ending its nuclear program. _____ Leah Millis/Reuters 2. The campaign arm for House Republicans [was hacked during the 2018 midterm campaign]( a spokesman for the organization said. The hack exposed thousands of sensitive emails from senior aides at the National Republican Congressional Committee. It isn’t clear who was behind the breach, [first reported by Politico](. Above, at a committee event in March. The techniques used in the hack suggested the breach was carried out by “a sophisticated actor,” our reporters learned. Top national security leaders [had warned before the elections]( that Russia was engaged in a “pervasive” campaign to sow discord and influence American voters. _____ Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock 3. Stocks fell after a tweet by President Trump cast doubt on a truce in the U.S.-China trade war. [The S&P 500 dropped more than 2 percent](. Above, at the New York Stock Exchange. The Trump administration and Beijing said over the weekend that they would [pause the trade war for 90 days]( while the two sides tried to reach a formal trade deal. But Mr. Trump’s tweet on Tuesday seemed to undercut the promise of that agreement. “I am a Tariff Man,” the president tweeted. “We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs.” Separately, the yield curve — the difference between the interest rates on short- and long-term Treasury bonds — [was at its narrowest level]( since 2007, which some experts see as a recession warning signal. _____ David Vincent/Associated Press 4. President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced it [would suspend the fuel tax increase]( that set off three weeks of intense protests across France by the so-called Yellow Vest movement. Above, a protest in Le Mans in western France. The tax increase, which has been put off for six months, amounted to 25 cents a gallon. It proved to be a tipping point for a country that has some of the highest taxes in Europe, particularly galvanizing people in small villages and towns who have been grappling with stagnant salaries and steep utility costs. Anger over the tax added to wider discontent with Mr. Macron, who the working class views as a [president of the rich](. Here are some figures that explain [France’s wealth gap](. And our fashion critic explains the origins of the “[gilet jaune]( the fluorescent yellow hazard vest that has become synonymous with the protest. If the protests continue, travelers in France may want to consider [these safety tips](. _____ Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press 5. They’re writing a new climate rule book. Diplomats from 195 countries are in Poland to hammer out new guidelines to help cut fossil fuel emissions. Our climate team looks at [some of the questions they’ll be grappling with](. The stakes are high, our reporter writes: In an agreement signed by world leaders in Paris in 2015, countries agreed to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. Above, a power plant in central Poland. But plans written so far [are insufficient]( raising the risks of heat waves, floods, the collapse of polar ice caps and other potential calamities. _____ Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times 6. Former President George Bush will be [celebrated in a national funeral service]( in Washington tomorrow morning. President Trump designated Wednesday as a [National Day of Mourning]( ordering “all executive departments and agencies” closed. The U.S. stock markets will close, the Supreme Court has postponed arguments and most mail service will be suspended. Former President George W. Bush, Mr. Bush’s son, will deliver a eulogy at the service, which President Trump and all the other living former presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — are expected to attend. A gathering of five presidents in the same place, at the same time, is rare: There have been only [five since 1991](. Mr. Bush is lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. [We explain what that means](. Among [the mourners]( Gina Haspel, the current C.I.A. director; and two former directors, John O. Brennan and George Tenet; and Mr. Bush’s service dog, Sully, above. _____ Wayne Lawrence for The New York Times 7. “Our porch was the gathering place.” That simple architectural fixture [has played an outsized role in African-American culture]( across the U.S., making strangers into neighbors and channeling family stories from one generation to the next. Our writer and photographer visited black homeowners across Detroit, who shared their memories of meaningful life moments playing out on that signature structural backdrop. _____ Guo Media 8. Steve Bannon and a Chinese billionaire have joined forces. Since Mr. Bannon was pushed out of the White House last year, he has had dozens of meetings [with a fugitive Chinese billionaire]( Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok. [Mr. Guo]( has been accused of bribery, fraud and money laundering, which he denies, and is wanted in China. He’s also a fierce critic of Beijing who claims to have evidence of corruption at the highest levels of the Chinese government. Mr. Bannon, left, has come to view China as a military and economic threat to the U.S. Together, the unusual pair have a common, if lofty, objective: bringing down the Chinese Communist Party. _____ Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times 9. An ancient statue may be a step closer to home. After a decade-long legal battle, Italy’s highest court ruled that the Getty Villa outside Los Angeles [must give Italy back “Victorious Youth,”]( above, a 2,000-year-old bronze statue of a young athlete. The work was discovered by Italian fishermen in 1964. Historians theorize that it was made in ancient Greece and lost in the Adriatic Sea after being stolen by ancient Romans. But the Getty vowed to fight to keep it on display. “We will continue to defend our legal right to the statue,” the museum’s lawyer said. _____ Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. 10. Finally, just in time for National Cookie Day, our holiday baking coverage is in full frenzy. Our Cooking team has collected our [35 best holiday cookie recipes]( and gives tips on [how to decorate them](. (Your Evening Briefing writer admits to a weakness for pecan tassies.) Skip the measuring cups, our experts say, and bake by weight, not volume. They offer [recommendations for all the best tools]( including mixers, pans and decorations, and the [best baking cookbooks of 2018](. Have a sweet 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? 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