Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Cohen Sentencing, Brexit, China Trade | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, December 12, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By JEAN RUTTER AND MARCUS PAYADUE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times 1. Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, [was sentenced to three years in prison]( in part for his role in a scheme during the 2016 campaign to buy the silence of two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. Prosecutors also announced they [had struck a deal with the tabloid publisher]( American Media Inc., which played an important role in keeping those women silent. In federal court in Manhattan, the judge said Mr. Cohen, above, had committed a “veritable smorgasbord” of crimes involving deception and “motivated by personal greed and ambition,” each of which “standing alone warrant serious punishment.” Mr. Cohen’s sentencing involved a guilty plea in a second case as well, filed by the special counsel, Robert Mueller. Mr. Cohen admitted that he lied to Congress, failing to divulge the extent of Mr. Trump’s involvement in negotiations during the campaign to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. “I blame myself for the conduct which has brought me here today,” Mr. Cohen told the court, “and it was my own weakness and a blind loyalty to this man that led me to choose a path of darkness over light.” _____ Daniel Leal-Olivas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 2. Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister, survived a no-confidence vote against her leadership, called by lawmakers in her party who are angry at how she has handled the country’s troubled departure from the European Union. Mrs. May, above, won the support of 200 Conservative lawmakers, while 117 voted against her, a close margin. The sizable opposition could further imperil her Brexit efforts, experts said. After the vote, Mrs. May spoke of her “renewed mission”: “delivering the Brexit that people voted for, bringing the country back together and building a country that truly works for everyone.” Here is a guide to [how the process unfolded](. Separately, a shooting at a market in Strasbourg, France, [was an act of terrorism]( officials said. The police were conducting an intensive search for the gunman, who killed at least two people and wounded 12 others. _____ Erin Schaff for The New York Times 3. Representative Nancy Pelosi is nearing a deal with dissident Democrats [that would limit her to four years as House speaker]( Democratic officials told our reporter. The move is a clear effort to soothe Democrats eager for a new generation of leadership. Ms. Pelosi, 78, center, won an internal party vote this month to be nominated as speaker, a post she held from 2007 to 2011. But a small group of defectors has been threatening to withhold their support when the new Congress convenes next month. Separately, our fashion critic decodes the powerful message [telegraphed by Ms. Pelosi’s bold choice of outerwear]( leaving a meeting with the president: a flame-orange overcoat that buttons left of center. _____ Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 4. As China softens on trade, the U.S. is playing hardball. China has begun to make good on some concessions, but the Trump administration is wary — and [plans to ratchet up the pressure]( on Beijing’s trade, cybersecurity and economic policies. Adding to the urgency of the planned crackdown, U.S. investigators traced the Marriot hack that exposed the data of around 500 million guests [back to a Chinese intelligence-gathering effort]( that also breached health insurers and security clearance databases. But President Trump complicated the narrative, saying he’d be [willing to intervene]( in the U.S. case against Meng Wanzhou — the Huawei executive arrested in Canada on accusations that she violated sanctions against Iran — if that would help close a trade deal with China. Ms. Meng, above, has been [released on bail]( awaiting extradition to the U.S. Compounding tensions, Beijing has said that [a Canadian former diplomat]( detained in China worked for an organization that was not legally registered, but didn’t divulge any specific accusations or even officially confirm his arrest. Some experts see the case as retribution for Ms. Meng’s arrest. But China has [a long history]( of holding foreigners for undisclosed reasons. _____ Erin Schaff for The New York Times 5. Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, traveled this week to Bahrain, a U.S. ally in the Middle East — but not on official business. He was there hoping to land a consulting contract with the government, which has a record of human rights abuses. [Mr. Giuliani has been drumming up business]( from governments around the world for a firm he owns called Giuliani Security and Safety. He’s not a government employee and is not subject to government ethics rules. And he has said his efforts are unrelated to — and don’t capitalize on — his representation of the president. But Mr. Giuliani’s various interests can lead to confusion over the nature of his role. And foreign officials who have reason to want to get in or stay in the Trump administration’s good graces could view hiring Mr. Giuliani’s firm as a good way of doing so, according to ethics watchdogs. _____ Eric Risberg/Associated Press 6. An artists’ utopia known as the Ghost Ship became the site of one of the nation’s deadliest structural fires in December 2016. Most of the 36 people who died were attending a party on the second floor of the converted warehouse in Oakland, Calif., above, and were unable to escape down a makeshift staircase. Max Harris lived at the Ghost Ship, in exchange for chores and collecting the rent. [Now he is in jail, facing trial for the deaths]( — including some of his close friends. He studies Zen Buddhism, keeps the Jewish Sabbath and prays to his Christian God, our writer found, with the hope that something positive might come of the families’ grief. _____  7. “The default is never ‘you are the physician.’” Doctors, lawyers and other professionals who are people of color [told us about the steps they take]( to bolster their credibility — because they supposedly do not, as one physician says she was told, “look the part.” Unconscious assumptions about race were in the spotlight this fall, after flight attendants [questioned the credentials of a black doctor]( while she was trying to treat a passenger in distress. Some professionals, above, told us they speak in low tones, hoping to be less intimidating. Others wear their work IDs front and center. A lawyer in South Carolina said he avoided informal clothing on his firm’s casual Fridays. “At times I have had to show my license to my own clients before they believed that I was the attorney working on their case,” he said. _____ Jonah Markowitz for The New York Times 8. Sesame Street [is tackling the issue of homelessness](. In a story line that begins this week, a Muppet character whose family faced hunger in past episodes has lost her home. Lily’s family shuttles between shelters, stays with relatives and is taken in by a community center. Homeless and formerly homeless parents helped early childhood experts develop the scripts. Above, Lily on the set. The story reflects a reality: In New York City, the setting of Sesame Street, one out of every 10 students was homeless in the past school year. _____ Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times 9. Ellen DeGeneres is more complicated than you might think. In person, [our writer learned over two days of interviews]( she is more blunt, introspective and interesting than she comes across on her long-running hit TV show. As she prepares to release her first comedy special in 15 years, Ms. DeGeneres, above, is considering a much bigger change: retiring from the show that bears her name. She’s been receiving conflicting advice from her wife, the actress Portia de Rossi, and her older brother, the comedian Vance DeGeneres — and has already changed her mind more than once. _____ The New York Times 10. Finally, beautiful year, or painful dissonance? A self-shredding artwork. Global anti-gun protests by students. The Kavanaugh hearing. Test your endurance for 2018 all over again [with a game from our Styles team]( that juxtaposes the fun, serious, absurd and tragic news of the last 12 months. Have an eventful evening. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing. 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