Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Michael Cohen, North Korea, India View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, February 27, 2019 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By REMY TUMIN AND MARCUS PAYADUE Good evening. Here’s the latest. Erin Schaff/The New York Times 1. “He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat.” That was Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, painting [a scathing picture of the president’s motivations and inner circle]( in testimony before the House Oversight Committee. Mr. Cohen said that Mr. Trump directed him to lie about [hush payments to a]( film]( and that Mr. Trump knew well in advance about a WikiLeaks email release damaging Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Those and other elements of his testimony could create [new legal issues for Mr. Trump](. The hearing had moments of revelation and substance, but it was also marked by fiery exchanges. [Here are a few of them](. That wasn’t all the House did today: The committee took an extended recess to help pass [the first major gun control law]( in decades, requiring background checks for all gun buyers. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times 2. As his former lawyer testified in Washington, President Trump met with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, in Vietnam. Mr. Trump had a [one-on-one exchange with Mr. Kim]( in downtown Hanoi before sitting down for dinner, above, with top aides from both countries. Formal talks were to take place today (Thursday morning local time), with Mr. Cohen’s excoriating characterizations of Mr. Trump still echoing from the other side of the world. A ceremony to sign a “joint agreement” between the two leaders was scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon, raising expectations for a diplomatic breakthrough. In an unusual act, the White House [barred four American journalists]( from witnessing the Trump-Kim dinner. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, cited the “sensitivities” of the meeting and “shouting” at a previous appearance by Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim, when reporters were trying to ask about the Cohen testimony. Photographers descended on Hanoi to capture the scene, [including our White House photographer](. _____ Str/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 3. Pakistan’s military said it shot down two Indian fighter jets that had entered its airspace and captured a pilot, escalating the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and [raising concerns that they could be veering toward another war](. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India now faces a political crisis ahead of coming elections. Lawmakers from 21 opposition parties issued a statement condemning how he handled the current “Pakistani misadventure.” In an Op-Ed, a Pakistani novelist argues that [warmongers in the two countries are using social media to fan hostilities](. “My generation of Pakistanis have fought for the right to speak,” she writes. “We are not afraid to lend our voices to that most righteous cause: peace.” _____ John Moore/Getty Images 4. Thousands of immigrant children said they were sexually abused in U.S. detention centers, the Justice Department revealed this week. The government [received more than 4,500 complaints in the past four years]( with a rise during the Trump administration’s family separations. Records detail allegations that adult staff members had fondled and kissed minors, watched them shower, and raped them. Some reports were of abuses by other minors. Above, a boy from Honduras in a detention facility in 2014. The news came as [House Democrats issued subpoenas]( to three cabinet officials over the administration’s policy of separating migrant families at the southern border. _____  5. For the first time, a black woman will be mayor of Chicago. The job will go to either Lori Lightfoot or Toni Preckwinkle, [the top vote-getters on the most crowded ballot in the city’s history](. Their runoff is set for April 2. [Ms. Lightfoot]( above right, was the chairwoman of a panel assigned to look at police accountability in the city, and she produced a scathing report accusing the department of systemic racism. [Ms. Preckwinkle]( above left, is a political insider who stands out as a leading progressive on issues like criminal justice reform and affordable housing. _____ Veasey Conway for The New York Times 6. The Republican operative whose illicit voter-turnout effort in North Carolina’s midterms led the state to order a new election was indicted in connection with absentee voter fraud — in previous votes. L. McCrae Dowless Jr. was among five people [charged in the case](. Mr. Dowless faces the gravest counts, including felonious obstruction of justice. The newly unsealed indictments are tied to the 2018 primary, when Mr. Dowless helped Mark Harris advance to the now discredited midterm election, and the 2016 election, when he worked for a different candidate. _____ Josep Lago/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 7. At the giant MWC Barcelona mobile show, attention is on foldable phones, above, and ultrafast wireless networks — not Huawei, the Chinese telecom company that is battling U.S. accusations of spying. Of the more than 100,000 attendees and 2,400 companies at the event, most ignored the Trump administration’s efforts to spread suspicion of Huawei. In fact, Huawei had the biggest and most popular booth, which looked like a sprawling indoor city that took up half of a convention hall, our tech reporter said. [Check out the latest developments in the industry]( including a smart mower, a social humanoid robot and the latest in 5G technologies. _____  8. Cashew cream quesadillas, beet burgers and fruit-based sorbet. Oh, and hold the cheese sticks. That’s what happens when day care and early-childhood education centers [go vegan](. A handful scattered across the country have done so. The results: first a bit of chaos, and in one case a mini-revolt. But eventually, acceptance of the healthier, environmentally friendly options. _____ Colleen Hayes/NBC 9. For years, television excelled at reflecting on shameless narcissism. But recently, a few shows have taken a different approach: how adults (re)learn empathy and respect. Like the mold of educational children’s shows, human decency is the premise. [One of our television editors explores this idea]( through shows like “The Good Place,” above, “Russian Doll” and “Barry,” in which the struggle for goodness drives the plot. “It’s almost as if, having tired of the many ways TV itself has contrived to break bad,” she says, “the writers sought to show that going back to basics can be equally effective.” _____ Michael Nagle for The New York Times 10. Finally, we end with a tribute to America’s first lady of letters. Toni Morrison released [a new book of essays]( “The Source of Self-Regard,” and James McBride, who reviewed it for The Times, voiced his gratitude for her influence on America and the healing power of her words. “She is not one nation. She is every nation,” he wrote. Invoking Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, he called Ms. Morrison “our greatest singer,” and this book “perhaps her most important song.” We hope you find some harmony this evening. _____ Correction: Due to an editing error, an item in yesterday’s briefing misstated the president to whom Susan Rice served under. It was President Barack Obama, not President George W. Bush. 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](. NEED HELP? Review our [newsletter help page]( or [contact us]( for assistance. 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