Today's Headlines: Jeff Sessions Confirmed as Attorney General, Capping Bitter Battle

[Supreme Court Nominee Calls Trump’s Attacks on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’]( | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. | [Unsubscribe]( [The New York Times]( [Most Popular]( | [Video]( | [Today's Headlines]( Thursday, February 9, 2017 IN THIS EMAIL [NYT] [World](#worldNews) | [U.S.](#nationalNews) | [Politics](#politicsNews) | [Business](#businessNews) | [Technology](#technologyNews) | [Sports](#sportsNews) | [Arts](#artsNews) | [N.Y./Region](#nyregionNews) | [Fashion & Style](#dailyFeatureNews) | [Today's Video](#videoNews) | [Obituaries](#obituaries) | [Editorials](#editorialsNews) | [Op-Ed](#opinionNews) | [On This Day](#onthisdayNews) | [CUSTOMIZE »]( [Get The Times for as low as 99¢.]( Top News [Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday after he was confirmed. His nomination had been fiercely opposed by Democrats.]( [Jeff Sessions Confirmed as Attorney General, Capping Bitter Battle]( By ERIC LICHTBLAU and MATT FLEGENHEIMER The Alabama senator survived a near-party-line vote after a racially charged nomination battle that crested with the procedural silencing of Senator Elizabeth Warren. [Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, right, met with Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, at the Capitol on Wednesday.]( [Supreme Court Nominee Calls Trump's Attacks on Judiciary 'Demoralizing']( By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS President Trump escalated his feud with the courts over his travel ban, saying the judges had failed to grasp concepts even "a bad high school student would understand." [Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, in the Capitol on Wednesday.]( [Shutting Down Speech by Elizabeth Warren, G.O.P. Amplifies Her Message]( By MATT FLEGENHEIMER Senate Republicans halted her remarks after she criticized a colleague, Jeff Sessions, before his confirmation as attorney general, by reading a letter from Coretta Scott King. For more top news, go to [NYTimes.com »]( [Get the Morning Briefing in Your Inbox]( What you need to know to start your day, delivered Monday through Friday. [Sign up »]( ADVERTISEMENT Editors' Picks [Jacqueline Kennedy visiting the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia with David Ormsby Gore, in sunglasses, in 1967. He proposed a few months later; she said no. Her letter to him detailing why will soon be auctioned.]( WORLD [Letters From Jacqueline Kennedy to the Man She Didn't Marry]( By STEVEN ERLANGER Newly discovered letters from Mrs. Kennedy to Lord Harlech, whose heart she broke, explain her decision to marry Aristotle Onassis. OPINION | The Stone [It's Black History Month. Look in the Mirror.]( By GEORGE YANCY By surviving, African-Americans became far more American than those who withheld the nation's founding promise. QUOTATION OF THE DAY "If ever I can find some healing and some comfort - it has to be with somebody who is not part of all my world of past and pain. I can find that now - if the world will let us." [JACQUELINE KENNEDY]( in a recently discovered letter to David Ormsby Gore, a friend who had proposed marriage, explaining her decision to marry Aristotle Onassis instead. [] Today's Videos [[Video] Video: Spicer Responds to King Letter on Sessions]( Asked about a letter that Coretta Scott King wrote regarding Jeff Sessions in 1986, the White House press secretary said he "would respectfully disagree with her assessment of Senator Sessions then and now." [[Video] Video: Anatomy of a Scene | 'The Lego Batman Movie']( Chris McKay narrates a sequence from his film. [] World [Syrian rebels backed by Turkey attacked Islamic State positions last month in Aleppo Province.]( [Battle to Retake Syrian City Turns Into a Geopolitical Test of the War]( By ANNE BARNARD A race is on to reclaim Al Bab from Islamic State extremists. Whether the rival forces ringing the city will cooperate or kill one another is unclear. [Mikhail Tolstykh, right, a leader of the Russian-backed separatist army, in 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine. Mr. Tolstykh was killed on Wednesday in an explosion in his office.]( [As Ukraine Rebel Chiefs Die Far From Front, the Blame Ricochets]( By ANDREW E. KRAMER Kiev and Moscow have denied any role in the latest separatist death, of Mikhail Tolstykh, or in previous killings of rebel leaders away from the front lines. [Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary who was born in New York, gave up his American citizenship in 2016, Treasury Department records showed.]( [Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary, Drops Dual U.S. Citizenship]( By KATRIN BENNHOLD The former London mayor and "Brexit" advocate, who was born in New York, had long complained about still having to pay American taxes. For more world news, go to [NYTimes.com/World »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] U.S. [[Multimedia Feature] Multimedia Feature: Before the Wall: Life Along the U.S.-Mexico Border]( By AZAM AHMED, MANNY FERNANDEZ and PAULINA VILLEGAS Scenes along both sides of the border, as President Trump prepares to build a wall between them. [A Painstaking Mission to Save Atlanta's Colossal Civil War Painting]( By ALAN BLINDER As part of a $35 million plan, the city is moving the Atlanta Cyclorama across town - no easy feat for a 130-year-old painting longer than a football field. [Oakland's fire chief, Teresa Deloach Reed, has been on leave in the weeks after a fire at a warehouse in the city killed 36 in December.]( [Oakland Knew of Illegal Housing at Warehouse Before Deadly Fire]( By THOMAS FULLER and JULIE TURKEWITZ Documents released by the city show that the police, fire and building departments were called to the warehouse dozens of times before a fire killed 36 people in December. For more U.S. news, go to [NYTimes.com/US »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Politics [Harold T. Martin III's house in Glen Burnie, Md., in October. He was indicted on Wednesday on charges of stealing highly classified information.]( [Government Contractor Indicted in Theft of Top-Secret Documents]( By ADAM GOLDMAN Prosecutors said Harold T. Martin III stole an array of information, including material on counterterrorism operations, a foreign intelligence target and the launch of a satellite. [The military aide responsible for carrying the briefcase of nuclear codes must be near President Trump at all times, including at his home at Trump Tower in Manhattan.]( [Why the Defense Dept. Is Looking to Lease Space in Trump Tower]( By HELENE COOPER The search for space follows a tradition of finding a place close to the commander in chief for his top military aides, including the ones who carry the nuclear codes. [President Trump during a meeting with county sheriffs in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Tuesday.]( [Texas Democrats Angered by Trump's Remark on Destroying Senator's Career]( By MANNY FERNANDEZ and DAVID MONTGOMERY A comment by President Trump has cast a spotlight on the seizing of suspects' property before they have been convicted of a crime. For more political news, go to [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [] Business [The Anthem Health Insurance headquarters in Indianapolis. On Wednesday, a Federal District Court judge blocked the company's proposed $48 billion merger with rival Cigna.]( [Judge, Citing Harm to Customers, Blocks $48 Billion Anthem-Cigna Merger]( By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and LESLIE PICKER For the second time this year, a federal judge has sided with the Justice Department to derail a merger of two huge health insurers. [Lionsgate's Bets Pay Off as Studio Makes a Big Comeback]( By BROOKS BARNES Lionsgate's films, including "La La Land" and "Hacksaw Ridge," received 26 Oscar nominations, and the company reported strong earnings on Tuesday. [A bank branch in Rome in December after voters rejected reforms proposed by the government. Investors worry that debt problems in Italy and Greece could put additional strain on the euro.]( [Worries Grow Over Euro's Fate as Debts Smolder in Italy and Greece]( By LANDON THOMAS Jr. Even as global stock markets climb, concerns are building that debt problems in Greece and Italy will put additional strain on the euro. For more business news, go to [NYTimes.com/Business »]( [] Technology [After meeting with President Trump, Brian Krzanich, left, Intel's chief executive, said the company would invest $7 billion to finish a factory conceived in 2011.]( [Intel, in Show of Support for Trump, Announces Factory in Arizona]( By VINDU GOEL The world's largest chip manufacturer, which opposes President Trump's immigration order but backs his tax and regulatory plans, will invest $7 billion to finish a factory conceived in 2011. State of the Art [Why Silicon Valley Wouldn't Work Without Immigrants]( By FARHAD MANJOO To get the very best people in the world, tech companies must look beyond American shores. [360 Panorama creates fantastic circular panoramas.]( [Of Thousands of Apps Tested, These Endured]( By KIT EATON For the final installment of App Smart, a look at apps that have true staying power, either by being fabulously useful, well designed or best in class. For more technology news, go to [NYTimes.com/Technology »]( [] Sports [N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman during All-Star Weekend. He is seeking more information on C.T.E.]( [The N.H.L.'s Problem With Science]( By JULIET MACUR The league's onerous demand in a class-action suit on head injuries seems to show little regard for medical privacy and accepted scientific facts. [Florida guard Canyon Barry, Rick Barry's son, shooting underhanded in a game in December. He has been honing the technique since he was in high school.]( [Like Father, Like Son, Like Granny? A Case for Underhand Free Throws]( By TIM CASEY Canyon Barry, a son of Rick Barry, who perfected the shot decades ago, is following in his father's footsteps at the free-throw line. But getting others to try it isn't easy. [Coach Doc Rivers, right, with DeAndre Jordan during the Clippers' win over the Knicks on Wednesday. Like Phil Jackson of the Knicks, Rivers is his team's executive mastermind.]( [Chaos Greets Doc Rivers in His Return to the Garden]( By HARVEY ARATON Like Phil Jackson and the Knicks, Doc Rivers is at a crossroads with the Clippers. But the troubles of the Clippers are mostly confined to the court. For more sports news, go to [NYTimes.com/Sports »]( [] Arts [Ivan Fischer conducting a rehearsal of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.]( [An Orchestra Triumphs Over Trump's Travel Ban]( By MICHAEL COOPER The Budapest Festival Orchestra has continued its American tour, intact, after finding one of its musicians temporarily barred from the United States. [The Africa Center, on Fifth Avenue.]( [Loss of Director Is the Latest Setback for the Africa Center]( By COLIN MOYNIHAN The organization acknowledged on Wednesday that Michelle D. Gavin, its much-heralded director, had quietly left more than three months ago. [A scene from ]( The Carpetbagger [What Would You Say on the Oscar Stage?]( By CARA BUCKLEY Subjects of films focusing on immigration probably won't get much of a chance to speak on the big night. So we asked them what they would tell viewers. For more arts news, go to [NYTimes.com/Arts »]( [] New York [Police officers and detectives investigating a shooting at the playground at the Mitchel Houses, in the South Bronx, in October.]( [New York Police Take on a Problem Decades in the Making: Overloaded Investigators]( By BENJAMIN MUELLER and AL BAKER The department is sending 75 new investigators to the Bronx to ease detectives' enormous caseloads - often twice as heavy as their peers in Manhattan. [Chris Bain, president of the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, standing in front of the Baxter House in Port Washington, N.Y., on Tuesday. The historic building burned on Sunday.]( [Something Rotten in East Egg? After Historic House Burns, Locals Wonder]( By JAMES BARRON The Revolutionary War-era Baxter House, now a charred ruin, was in disrepair and caught in a tug of war between preservationists, local officials and the owner. [Asia Khoja placing flowers given to her by church members at her new home in Union City on Tuesday.]( [For Volunteers in New York, a Tumultuous Wait for a Refugee Family]( By LIZ ROBBINS A task force at Rutgers Presbyterian Church agreed months ago to sponsor a family of Syrian Kurds, only to find them caught up in a maelstrom of presidential politics and court delays. For more New York news, go to [NYTimes.com/NewYork »]( [] Fashion & Style [Raf Simons at the end of his January 2016 show in Paris for his namesake label. Mr. Simons is now at the helm of Calvin Klein, where his aim is to reinvigorate the iconic label.]( [Can Raf Simons Reinvent American Fashion?]( By MATTHEW SCHNEIER One of the most respected designers of his generation has come to New York to reboot Calvin Klein, and the fashion world is cheering. [Where Have You Gone, Angelina Jolie? Celebrities Vanish From Fashion's Front Row]( By RUTH LA FERLA Shrinking budgets and the specter of overexposure have reduced the ranks of megastars lending their wattage. [Employees hang out in front of Only NY on the Lower East Side.]( Critical Shopper [The Children of Supreme]( By JON CARAMANICA Three Lower East Side stores (Only NY, Labor and Good Company) may be launchpads for a new post-Supreme, post-cool cool. For more fashion news, go to [NYTimes.com/Fashion »]( []Obituaries [Tzvetan Todorov during an interview at the Washington Square Hotel in New York in April 2001.]( [Tzvetan Todorov, Literary Theorist and Historian of Evil, Dies at 77]( By SEWELL CHAN A prolific Bulgarian-French scholar, Mr. Todorov published widely on the moral consequences of colonialism, racism and genocide. [William Melvin Kelley in Paris in a 1968 photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson.]( [William Melvin Kelley, Who Explored Race in Experimental Novels, Is Dead at 79]( By WILLIAM GRIMES The author of "A Different Drummer" and "Dunfords Travels Everywheres" was compared to Faulkner and Joyce. [Joost van der Westhuizen played for South Africa during the 1995 World Cup final against New Zealand.]( [Joost van der Westhuizen, South African Rugby Legend, Dies at 45]( By HUW RICHARDS Van der Westhuizen, who played scrumhalf and retired in 2003, scored 38 tries for South Africa, still the scoring record for his position. For more obituaries, go to [NYTimes.com/Obituaries »]( [] Editorial Editorial [After Mr. Trump's Din, the Quiet Grandeur of the Courts]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Oral arguments on the president's travel ban reminded America what the rule of law looks like. [Egyptian students, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohamed Morsi, demonstrating outside Cairo University in 2014.]( Editorial [All of Islam Isn't the Enemy]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The groups called the Muslim Brotherhood do not deserve to be designated as terrorists. [Councilman Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn, right, and Oliver Harwood, supporters of the plastic bag fee.]( Editorial [Albany Smothers a Plastic-Bag Law]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The New York State Legislature bowed to the plastic bag industry in voting to strike down a city law that would improve the environment. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] Op-Ed [Senator Elizabeth Warren at the Capitol on Wednesday, a day after Republicans voted to prevent her from reading a letter by Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor.]( Dispatch [Elizabeth Warren Was Told to Be Quiet. Women Can Relate.]( By SUSAN CHIRA Being silenced, or being one of the few women in the room, can be both inhibiting and enraging. Op-Ed Contributor [Bill Frist: The Case for Keeping America's AIDS Relief Plan]( By BILL FRIST It's helped reduce instability and improve the country's global image. Op-Ed Contributor [Putting Clients Second]( By JOHN C. BOGLE The Trump administration is moving to overturn a rule whose premise seems unarguable: that investment advisers should put their clients first. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] ON THIS DAY On Feb. 9, 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces. 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