Your Wednesday Briefing

View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, June 14, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By PATRICK BOEHLER Good morning. Here’s what you need to know: Eric Thayer for The New York Times • “An appalling and detestable lie.” The U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, started his testimony [before the Senate Intelligence Committee]( with an emotional appeal, angrily denying the suggestion that he colluded with Russians during the 2016 election. But during the hearing, he declined to answer central questions about his or President Trump’s conduct. Separately, Senate leaders said they had reached an agreement to impose [new sanctions against Russia]( which would put the White House in an uncomfortable position. _____ Andrew Testa for The New York Times • In a sleepy town in the Norwegian Arctic, an American-funded radar system is being built to [spy on Russia’s expanding fleet of nuclear submarines](. The project has already infuriated the Kremlin, which is seeking to assert itself in the region as climate change opens up shipping routes and resources. “Norway has to understand that after becoming an outpost of NATO, it will have to face head-on Russia and Russian military might,” Russia’s ambassador said. “Therefore, there will be no peaceful Arctic anymore.” _____ Thibault Camus/Associated Press • Theresa May, the British prime minister, confirmed that talks on her country’s departure from the E.U. [would start next week](. Mrs. May spoke in Paris, on her first overseas trip since losing her parliamentary majority in last week’s election. Back home, talks with the Democratic Unionist Party on [establishing a minority government]( continue. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, told Mrs. May that [Europe’s “door remains open.”]( They then watched a friendly soccer match, in which [France defeated England]( 3-2. _____ Laszlo Balogh/Reuters • In Hungary, lawmakers approved a new law requiring [nongovernmental groups to disclose foreign funding](. Rights groups say the measure, by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, aims to stigmatize groups, including those backed by the billionaire George Soros, as unpatriotic. Mr. Orban said the rules would help prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The E.U. has had little success in challenging Mr. Orban’s campaign against Western influence. Separately, the European Commission [began a legal case against Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic]( over their refusal to share the burden of hosting migrants who arrive on the bloc’s southern shores. _____ Mikka Pirinen for The New York Times • Finland is getting ready to [entomb its nuclear waste at the bottom of a steep tunnel]( that winds for three miles through granite bedrock. The repository, called Onkalo, is expected to cost about 3.5 billion euros over the century or so it will take to fill it. It will be the world’s first permanent disposal site for commercial reactor fuel. _____ Business Boryana Dimitrova Katsarova for The New York Times • Europe will finally abolish cellphone roaming charges tomorrow, but our correspondent notes that officials in Brussels [spent a decade addressing a problem that is not a daily concern for many Europeans](. • The European Commission [released draft legislation]( that could threaten London’s status as [Europe’s financial capital]( after “Brexit.” • Uber’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, [will take a leave of absence]( as the company seeks to recover from a series of scandals stemming from its bad-boy culture. And a board member [resigned over a sexist remark](. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Toby Melville/Reuters • More than 200 London firefighters are battling a major fire at a tall apartment block in the west of the city, amid fears that people are trapped inside. [[The New York Times]( • An American college student held by North Korea for more than a year, Otto Warmbier, has been returned to the U.S. in a coma. [[The New York Times]( • Enda Kenny stepped down as Ireland’s taoiseach, or prime minister. Leo Varadkar’s first address to Parliament as his successor is expected this afternoon. [[Irish Times]( • Greece declared a state of emergency on Lesbos to expedite relief efforts after an earthquake jolted the island on Monday. [[The New York Times]( • The bizarre resignation of Brussels’s mayor is only the latest in a series of corruption scandals that have sowed doubt about the health of democracy in Belgium. [[The New York Times]( • At least 17 construction workers have died and many others faced abuse while building stadiums for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, according to a Human Rights Watch report. [[The New York Times]( • Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer star, denied tax fraud allegations after prosecutors in Spain accused him of evading 14.7 million euros in taxes by funneling business through an offshore company. [[Reuters]( Smarter Living Chris Granger • Recipe of the day: Make time for a deeply flavored Sicilian stew of [chicken, salami and olives](. • Finding environmentally friendly apparel can be a challenge. [Here’s a guide]( to smarter choices in fabrics and clothing. • Taking a walk down memory lane can be healthy. (Caution: [sentimental songs and videos ahead]( Noteworthy Nadia Shira Cohen for The New York Times • The life of Gianluca Tonelli, an Italian equine veterinarian, changed 20 years ago when he first tried New York pastrami. Now [he is on a quest to share its delights in Tuscany](. • In the U.S., a Roman Catholic cardinal who welcomed gays to Mass is part of a group of bishops [changing the church’s attitude to homosexuality](. • “Snowflake” has become America’s catchiest political insult of the year. But [our writer finds]( that people who use it seem to be aggrieved themselves. • Finally, our chief fashion critic [predicts clothing trends]( that could be on store racks near you soon. Expect stripes, denim and exotic bloom. Back Story One hundred and forty-one years ago this month, [Edward Alexander Bouchet]( made history by becoming the first African-American to earn a doctorate from an American university. He received his doctorate in physics at Yale University in June 1876. He was the sixth person of any race to receive a doctorate in physics in the nation. (He was apparently not, as previously thought, [Yale’s first African-American graduate]( Bouchet was born in 1852 in New Haven, Conn. His father, a deacon who migrated north from South Carolina, worked as the valet for a judge. During his time at Yale, he did research on optics and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. After earning the degree, Mr. Bouchet taught chemistry and physics at the School for Colored Youth, a Quaker institution in Philadelphia, for 26 years. Today, [the Bouchet Society]( founded at Yale and Howard universities, recognizes scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education. This year, a plaque honoring Mr. Bouchet was [unveiled on the Yale campus](. “It’s pretty inspiring to think that [Bouchet] got his Ph.D. so long ago, when racism was a million times more worse and more ingrained than it is now,” one physics major told The Yale Daily News. Karen Zraick contributed reporting. _____ This briefing was prepared for the European morning. We also have briefings timed for the [Australian, Asian]( and [American]( mornings. 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