Your Weekend Briefing

Michael Cohen, Mick Mulvaney, Brexit View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Sunday, December 16, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Weekend Briefing]( By INYOUNG KANG AND SARAH ECKINGER Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. Stephanie Keith for The New York Times 1. The crimes of Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, above, were a “veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct,” according to the New York judge who [sentenced Mr. Cohen to three years in prison](. It was a startling fall for Mr. Cohen, whose hopes for a position in the White House ended with a scandal involving hush-money payments to an adult-film star and a former Playboy model before the 2016 election. Mr. Cohen’s sentence is the first substantial prison term in a case stemming from the special counsel’s investigation into possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign. Separately, [Maria Butina, a Russian who schmoozed with Republican presidential candidates]( and networked with top officials of the National Rifle Association, pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a foreign agent. The plea casts a spotlight on the conservative Americans Ms. Butina worked with, as she effectively acknowledged that her activities went beyond personal conviction: They were part of an organized effort backed by Russian officials. Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our [news quiz](. And [here’s the front page of our Sunday paper]( [the Sunday Review]( from Opinion and our [crossword puzzles](. ____ Doug Mills/The New York Times 2. The White House shake-up continues. President Trump [named Mick Mulvaney, his budget director]( above, as acting White House chief of staff, temporarily halting the parade of possible candidates for the position vacated by John F. Kelly. Mr. Trump’s Twitter announcement came a week after his first pick for the job, [Nick Ayers, publicly turned him down](. Mr. Kelly and [Ryan Zinke, the interior secretary]( both plan to leave the White House by the end of the year. Mr. Zinke’s departure, which was also announced on Twitter, comes amid numerous ethics investigations into his business dealings and policy decisions. If you’re having trouble keeping track of all the turnover, [here’s a breakdown of who’s been hired — and fired — thus far]( at the top of the administration. ____ Joe MacGregor/NASA IceBridge 3. It took an all-night negotiating session, but representatives from nearly 200 countries reached a [deal to keep the Paris climate agreement alive](. Among the requirements: uniform standards for measuring emissions and detailing policies, a clarified process for countries to get back on track, and a renewed call to cut emissions before talks in 2020. The meeting in Poland capped the end of a week in which scientists warned of [persistent warming in the Arctic]( and a Times investigation uncovered a covert [effort by the oil industry to aggressively rewrite U.S. emissions rules](. But there was also a bit of good news: [Coral reefs]( which have been harmed by warming oceans, have become more resilient to extreme warmth. Though the Great Barrier Reef was severely damaged in 2016, the corals that survived became more resistant. “It’s one enormous natural selection event,” one expert said. ____ Francois Lenoir/Reuters 4. Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, above, [survived a party confidence vote]( but her celebration was likely short-lived. Her Brexit plan still lacks the number of votes in Parliament to pass, and she has little chance of winning concessions from Europe. (On Tuesday, [she got stuck in her car]( on her way to meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, in what many saw as an apt metaphor.) Mrs. May headed home this weekend from a [summit meeting in Brussels](. She left with no clear path forward. [This graphic]( shows what could happen with her Brexit deal. ____ Christian Hartmann/Reuters 5. Determined “Yellow Vest” protesters in France turned out for the fifth consecutive weekend, but the [demonstrations were relatively muted in Paris]( above, where the bitter cold, weariness from weekly protests and President Emmanuel Macron's concessions may have deterred some of the crowds. Last week, Mr. Macron [promised tax cuts and wage increases to mollify the protesters]( after more than a month of violence that left eight people dead. A deadly shooting at a Christmas market in Strasbourg on Tuesday at first led some to wonder if the panic was related to the Yellow Vests; it was later [declared an act of terrorism](. Continuing unrest has roiled the country and clouded [Mr. Macron’s efforts for economic revival]( as protesters speak out about social inequality. The mass demonstrations have hampered economic activity and hurt the country’s image with investors and tourists. “It’s a catastrophe for business,” Bruno Le Maire, the finance minister, said. “It’s a catastrophe for our economy.” ____ Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times 6. Economic troubles were also at the forefront of Chinese leaders’ concerns this week. The [economy there has slowed sharply]( in what many are calling the worst downturn since the global financial crisis in 2008. It is perhaps the biggest challenge yet for President Xi Jinping, who faces renewed political [pressure to reach a trade deal with the U.S.]( with a more tempered approach. Revelations that the [Marriott data breach was part of a Chinese intelligence-gathering effort]( further complicated the Trump administration’s plans to target China’s trade, cyber and economic policies. And the [detention of a top Chinese tech executive]( in Canada and the subsequent [arrests of two Canadians]( in China signaled a serious escalation of the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Our correspondent has an [overview of the recent rise in trans-Pacific tensions]( and what could happen next. ____  7. They know where you were last night. And they’re selling that knowledge to advertisers and even hedge funds interested in consumer behavior. The ubiquitous smartphone and sharper technology are facilitating an industry of snooping on people’s daily habits. [Enabling location data on apps]( reveals people’s travels in startling detail, according to a database reviewed by The Times. ([See for yourself.]( “Location information can reveal some of the most intimate details of a person’s life — whether you’ve visited a psychiatrist, whether you went to an A.A. meeting, who you might date,” said Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, who has proposed bills to limit the collection and sale of such data, which are largely unregulated in the U.S. You can also [take steps]( to curtail tracking on your own device by changing the settings. ____ Mark Trent 8. “By seventh grade my friend and I were stealing her mom’s Oxycontin or Xanax. Everyone knew I had a prescription for something.” A photojournalist documented his friend in [West Virginia, the state with the country’s highest death rate from opioid addiction](. The journey took him through six years of friendship, laughter, desperation, love, loss and death. “The lives of these people, like all lives, are more than their lowest points,” our correspondent writes in this second installment of our series on opioid addiction. (If you missed the first installment, you can read it here: [How do you recover after millions have watched you overdose?]( ____ NBC 9. Pete Davidson was largely absent from “Saturday Night Live” after he [published an Instagram post]( that elicited widespread concern about his safety and well-being. He did not participate in any of the live comedy sketches on the episode, [which was hosted by Matt Damon,]( above, but he appeared briefly to introduce a musical performance by Miley Cyrus. ____  10. Finally, don’t miss our [weekend reads](. This week, we spoke with Ellen DeGeneres, who is contemplating leaving daytime TV; traveled to Chilean Patagonia, where a rugged landscape revealed riches wildlife lovers; and examined how the debate over “Baby It’s Cold Outside” has reached a boil as the #MeToo reckoning continues. For more suggestions on what to watch and listen to, check our recommendations from [Watching]( and our [music critic’s latest playlist](. Have a great week. Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. You can [sign up here]( to get our Morning Briefings by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or [here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Weekend%20Briefing%20Feedback). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. 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