From The Times: Your Friday Briefing

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. Friday, November 18, 2016 [The New York Times] [Morning Briefing] Friday, November 18, 2016 [NYTimes.com »] [Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed President Obama to Berlin on Friday ahead of talks with European leaders.] Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed President Obama to Berlin on Friday ahead of talks with European leaders. Alexander Koerner/Getty Images [Your Friday Briefing] By SEAN ALFANO Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • Trump turns to a fellow outsider. As President-elect Donald J. Trump focuses on building his foreign policy team, he has offered the post of national security adviser to [Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn], a top official said. General Flynn, an ally of Mr. Trump’s during the campaign, was previously fired by President Obama as chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency. As an adviser, he has helped shape the president-elect’s view that the U.S. is at “world war” with Islamist militants. • More transition news. Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet this weekend with someone who once called him a “phony”: [Mitt Romney], the 2012 Republican presidential nominee. The meeting comes as Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, [Jared Kushner], seeks a way to join the administration without violating anti-nepotism laws. • What does “America First” mean? The slogan used by Mr. Trump to describe his philosophy on governing is being put to the test. [We look at the challenges] the president-elect faces on Iran, North Korea and Syria and in Europe. Meanwhile, [President Obama is meeting] with European leaders today in Berlin and will then head to Peru for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting. • Economic advice for the incoming president. “Build something awe-inspiring,” [our columnist tells Mr. Trump], and encourages him to use the Depression-era New Deal public works as a road map. Separately, [Mr. Trump said on Twitter] Thursday night that he helped save a Ford plant from leaving for Mexico. The company, though, never planned to move the factory. • A tale of two nations. Our reporters and photographers spent the past week [gauging the feelings of Americans]. “They returned with a portrait of a country at odds with itself,” our magazine editor says. Our graphics team took a different approach: [They created two maps] that represent the divide between Republicans and Democrats. • Finding hope after hate. You may have read this week about [a recent wave] of reports of bias-based attacks. But the violence has been countered by [acts of public support and solidarity], as in the case of an Iraqi family in Maryland after they found a threat taped to their door. • Potential agricultural breakthrough. Scientists announced a discovery that could increase [the world’s food supply]. Using genetic engineering to tinker with photosynthesis, they were able to boost a plant’s productivity as much as 20 percent. One scientist said gains of 50 percent were possible. Business • Social media’s role in U.S. politics, and the fake news sometimes used to sway voters, is now in the spotlight, but other nations have been [dealing with the problem for years]. [Chatbots releasing false information on Twitte]r were used to disrupt political discussions in the U.S., a new study found. • In memoriam: [Ruth Baron Ziff], 92, a sociologist and trailblazer in the male-dominated advertising world of the 1950s. Her work influenced the famous “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” toilet paper commercials. • Worried about what you can’t control? [Our personal finance columnist] offers ways to cope with anxieties over the economy and politics. • U.S. stocks [were up] on Thursday. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets]. Noteworthy • Chasing pirates on the Amazon. Piracy is a growing menace in South America. [Join][a police force on a patrol] in Brazil. • New at the movies. We review “[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them],” a footnote to the films based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. “This time out the wizard isn’t a boy on the verge of manhood but a man idling in boyhood,” our critic writes. Navigating the teenage years is at the heart of “[The Edge of Seventeen].” The comedy, our critic says, “can hold its own” with movies like “Clueless” that have raised the bar for teenage films. • A lost world is found. [Archaeologists hit the jackpot] this fall in the Black Sea. The discovery of a sunken medieval ship led to finding dozens more shipwrecks off Bulgaria’s coast. “We can expect some real contributions to our understanding of ancient trade routes,” one researcher said. • The American Thanksgiving. The country will celebrate one of its most cherished holidays next week. Fifteen families showed us the dishes they make that speak most eloquently about their traditions. Their stories, our food editor writes, tell “[the story of who we are].” • Recipe of the day. Make tonight a taco night. Try versions with [fish] or [pork]. Over the weekend, brush up on [how to cook brussels sprouts]. Back Story Brazil is celebrating an important holiday on Sunday, though it’s one that may be unfamiliar outside the country: Black Consciousness Day. [Slavery existed in Brazil until 1888], making it the last country in the Americas to abolish the practice. More than five million slaves were sent to Brazil through the Atlantic trade, compared with about 300,000 in mainland North America, according to one of the most thoroughly researched [academic estimates]. Today the nation has more residents of African heritage than any other country outside Africa. The population has historically been underrepresented in government, but a rise in citizens identifying as black or mixed race is helping to chip away at economic and educational inequalities. Black Consciousness Day was established in 2003, featuring the “[Freedom Walk]” — parades around the country meant to show the size of the black population. The date, Nov. 20, was set for the anniversary of the death of [Zumbi dos Palmares], one of the great black heroes of the Americas. He led a small kingdom founded by runaway slaves. He was killed by the Portuguese in 1695, after they overran his republic. But the power of his story has only grown as the country embraces its African roots. A researcher with the Afro-Brazil Museum in São Paulo sees more progress ahead: “[We Brazilian blacks are finally learning to be black].” _____ Correction: Because of an editing error, a version of [Thursday’s briefing] incorrectly stated that temperatures in Death Valley can exceed triple digits. The temperatures can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, not triple digits. Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and [updated on the web all morning]. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [briefing@nytimes.com]. You can [sign up here] to get the briefing delivered to your inbox. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK] [Twitter] [@nytimes] Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »] | Sign Up for the [Morning Briefing newsletter »] ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's NYT Now newsletter. [Unsubscribe] | [Manage Subscriptions] | [Change Your Email] | [Privacy Policy] | [Contact] | [Advertise] Copyright 2016 The New York Times Company | 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018