From The Times: Your Thursday Briefing

View in [Browser] | Add [nytdirect@nytimes.com] to your address book. Thursday, December 8, 2016 [The New York Times] [Morning Briefing] Thursday, December 8, 2016 [NYTimes.com »] [Bana al-Abed, who with the help of her mother had been posting on Twitter about life in Aleppo, Syria. As government forces move into rebel-held parts of the city, several news organizations have embraced the feed as a window into the conflict.] Bana al-Abed, who with the help of her mother had been posting on Twitter about life in Aleppo, Syria. As government forces move into rebel-held parts of the city, several news organizations have embraced the feed as a window into the conflict. Thaer Mohammed/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images [Your Thursday Briefing] By SEAN ALFANO Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: • Next stop: Iowa. President-elect Donald J. Trump will hold a rally in Des Moines tonight, a day after tapping the state’s governor, [Terry Branstad], to be ambassador to China. Mr. Branstad calls himself an “old friend” of the Chinese leader, President Xi Jinping. Also on Wednesday, Mr. Trump nominated Oklahoma’s attorney general, [Scott Pruitt], to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Pruitt has helped lead a legal battle against President Obama’s climate change policies and is viewed as an ally of the fossil-fuel industry. What’s it like to interview for a role in the Trump administration? We spoke with a few recent job hopefuls [about their experiences]. • Glimpses into the inauguration. The president-elect [has been discussing plans] for the Jan. 20 celebration with Mark Burnett, who produced “The Apprentice,” Mr. Trump’s reality TV show. Mr. Burnett has suggested that Mr. Trump fly to the Washington ceremony by helicopter and that he hold a parade on Fifth Avenue in New York. But other members of Mr. Trump’s inner circle say the event will be “simple.” • California fire inquiry. As officials continue investigating the warehouse blaze that killed 36 people in Oakland, [we’ve][sent][a team of reporters there] to answer questions about the cause of the fire and what the tragedy says about gentrification in the city. We’ll be sharing updates on what we find and have set up an email address for readers to help us track down information: [oaklandfire@nytimes.com]. • Dylann Roof trial begins. Jurors are hearing testimony in the federal death penalty trial of the avowed white supremacist accused of killing [nine black congregants at a church in Charleston], S.C. “I watched my son come in this world and I watched my son leave this world,” Felicia Sanders, a survivor of the attack whose son was killed, told the jury on Wednesday. • “The intel on this wasn’t 100 percent.” That was Edgar M. Welch, who the police say fired a weapon inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington pizzeria that has faced online attacks over false news articles claiming that it was at the center of a child sex slave ring. No one was hurt in the episode. “I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way,” [he told our reporter]. • A child’s tweets about Syrian war. “We are trapped under bombs.” That’s one post from the Twitter account of [a 7-year-old girl in Aleppo], Bana al-Abed, who has captured global attention with notes about bombs, death and despair. But there are questions about the authenticity of the posts. Separately, Syrian government forces appear to be [pushing deeper into rebel-held parts of the city]. Business • Airbnb has faced regulatory battles in cities like New York, San Francisco and Barcelona, Spain. [But in New Orleans], the online room-rental company appears to have found a partner willing to compromise. • Earlier, we mentioned a professor’s grim assessment of fixing income inequality, which involved all-out thermonuclear war. [Portland, Ore., is taking a different approach]: Lawmakers have voted to impose an additional 10 percent in taxes on companies whose chief executives earn more than 100 times the median pay of their rank-and-file workers. • Rest in peace, gadgets. Our tech columnist says the age of must-have devices (think Walkmans, iPods or Fitbits) [is over]. Why? The smartphone has proved to be the elusive “Thing That Does Everything,” he writes. • U.S. stocks [were up] on Wednesday. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets]. Noteworthy • One last rescue. Our [360 video] takes you aboard the Bourbon Argos as it conducts its final rescue mission of the year, aiding African migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. • Remarkable recovery. A patient whose colon cancer had spread to her lungs may hold the key to [new treatment options for thousands of people]. Celine Ryan’s unusual genetic makeup allowed an experimental treatment that used cells from her own immune system to successfully target a mutation scientists called “undruggable.” Today, she has no signs of cancer. • Ruffled feathers. Canada is one of the world’s major bird habitats, but the country has never adopted a bird as a national symbol. [A contest held by][Canadian Geographic magazine] led to the nomination of the gray jay. The choice was not popular. • Recipe of the day. Don’t wait until Friday to enjoy some comfort food, try [chicken cutlets with mushroom dressing]. Back Story If you look at bank notes across the world, you most often see portraits of men. But images of women are beginning to proliferate. This year, the U.S. said it would put the abolitionist and former slave Harriet Tubman [on the $20 bill]. Argentina added a female guerrilla leader who fought Spanish colonialists on the back of [its new 10 peso note]. Colombia honored a [female painter and an anthropologist]. New Swedish bank notes show [the actress Greta Garbo] and [the][Wagnerian soprano Birgit Nilsson]. And Scotland selected [the novelist Nan Shepherd and Mary Somerville, a trailblazing scientist]. Poland, in a less contemporary choice, selected Dobrawa, a 10th-century Bohemian princess credited with bringing Christianity to her people, for a [commemorative note]. Today, [Canada will announce] the first woman other than royalty to be featured solo on a bank note. A survey [conducted] in May suggested that Nellie McClung, a women’s rights activist, was the most popular choice, but she is not among the five finalists. The Toronto Star is rooting for Emily Pauline Johnson, who celebrated her Mohawk heritage in her poetry. [Its editorial,] invoking Ms. Johnson’s aboriginal name, concludes: “Ideally, all these women should be featured on bank notes. But if it must be just one, we vote for Tekahionwake.” Patrick Boehler contributed reporting. _____ 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