Today's Headlines: Iran Gains Ground in Afghanistan as U.S. Presence Wanes

[Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow]( | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. | [Unsubscribe]( [The New York Times]( [Most Popular]( | [Video]( | [Today's Headlines]( Sunday, August 6, 2017 IN THIS EMAIL [NYT] [World](#worldNews) | [U.S.](#nationalNews) | [Politics](#politicsNews) | [Business](#businessNews) | [Technology](#technologyNews) | [Sports](#sportsNews) | [Arts](#artsNews) | [N.Y./Region](#nyregionNews) | [Magazine](#dailyFeatureNews) | [Today's Video](#videoNews) | [Obituaries](#obituaries) | [Editorials](#editorialsNews) | [Op-Ed](#opinionNews) | [On This Day](#onthisdayNews) | [CUSTOMIZE »]( Top News [Iran Gains Ground in Afghanistan as U.S. Presence Wanes]( By CARLOTTA GALL Tehran's accelerating campaign to exert influence threatens to undo 16 years and half a trillion dollars' worth of American efforts to forge a stable democratic Afghan government. [Vice President Mike Pence appears to be cementing his status as President Trump's heir apparent, promoting himself as the conduit between Republican donors and the administration.]( [Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow]( By JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEXANDER BURNS Donald J. Trump's presidency may only be warming up, but in public and private, Republicans are maneuvering for his job, whether or not he runs for re-election. [Tractors at Southeast Mahindra, an assembly plant and distribution center for the Indian manufacturer Mahindra, in Chattanooga, Tenn.]( [When Foreign Companies Are Making, Not Killing, U.S. Jobs]( By PATRICIA COHEN The Chattanooga region has become a magnet for investment from overseas, helping drive Tennessee's unemployment to a record low. For more top news, go to [NYTimes.com »]( [Get California Today in Your Inbox]( The news and stories that matter to Californians (and anyone else interested in the state). Delivered Monday through Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Editors' Picks [Kwon Chol-nam, a North Korean defector, in his room in Seoul, South Korea. Mr. Kwon wants to return the North and is openly asking the South to repatriate him.]( WORLD [North Korean Defector, 'Treated Like Dirt' in South, Fights to Return]( By CHOE SANG-HUN Disenchanted with life in capitalist South Korea, Kwon Chol-nam is asking to be repatriated, an impossibility under current law. OPINION | Opinion [Should I Help My Patients Die?]( By JESSICA NUTIK ZITTER Last year, California allowed medical aid in dying. As a palliative care specialist, how am I supposed to deal with it? QUOTATION OF THE DAY "You have to ride a horse to know whether it's the right mount for you. I have tried, and the South is not for me." [KWON CHOL-NAM]( a defector from North Korea who finds life in Seoul intolerable but is not allowed to go home. [] Today's Videos [[Video] Video: A Ride for the Red Planet]( Step inside this Mars rover concept vehicle created as part of the Kennedy Space Center's "Summer of Mars" campaign to celebrate advances in exploration of the planet. [] World [The former border post between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland in Carrickarnon.]( [On Irish Border, Worries That 'Brexit' Will Undo a Hard-Won Peace]( By SARAH LYALL Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic stand to lose shared membership in the European Union, and reinstating a hard border would have psychological and practical implications. [Nikki R. Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, speaking to the Chinese ambassador, Liu Jieyi, before a Security Council vote on a new sanctions resolution that increased economic pressure on North Korea.]( [U.N. Security Council Imposes Punishing New Sanctions on North Korea]( By RICK GLADSTONE The resolution, intended to punish North Korea over its nuclear militarization, could reduce the country's already meager annual export revenue by $1 billion. [The fence in Tijuana that runs along the border with the United States. As the border hardens under the Trump administration, many Central American migrants are seeking asylum in Mexico.]( [A Flawed Asylum System in Mexico, Strained Further by U.S. Changes]( By KIRK SEMPLE As the United States hardens its border, Mexico has become a goal for Central American migrants. But its asylum program is overwhelmed. For more world news, go to [NYTimes.com/World »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] U.S. [The offices of Parallel18, a start-up accelerator in San Juan, P.R. The venture is part of a wave of entrepreneurialism among young people, some of whom have left good jobs on the mainland to cast their lot back home.]( [As Others Pack, Some Millennials Commit to Puerto Rico]( By LIZETTE ALVAREZ Young Puerto Ricans are coming back to the island or staying put - with an entrepreneurial spirit that upends a narrative of dependency. [The campus of Princeton University, where 9 percent of students are black. The school's admissions process was the subject of a Department of Education investigation after a complaint by Asian-American applicants.]( [Affirmative Action Policies Evolve, Achieving Their Own Diversity]( By VIVIAN YEE The practice in college admissions has evolved from race-based quotas of decades ago into a range of approaches that only occasionally produce the desired results. [Campaigning in a union election at a Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., where a large majority of workers are African-American, took on racial overtones.]( [U.A.W. Accuses Nissan of 'Scare Tactics' as Workers Reject Union Bid]( By NOAM SCHEIBER More than 60 percent of the roughly 3,500 voting employees opposed the union. The result underscored organized labor's continued difficulties in the South. For more U.S. news, go to [NYTimes.com/US »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Politics [Michael Anton, right, the head of communications for the National Security Council, wrote has written extensively on what President Trump offers conservatives.]( [They're Building a Trump-Centric Movement. But Don't Call It Trumpism.]( By JEREMY W. PETERS A group of renegade thinkers is attempting what many fellow conservatives have said is impossible: making the intellectual case for the ultimate anti-intellectual. [Officials from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday. This year's annual ministerial meeting is being held in Manila.]( [All Eyes Are on Tillerson and North Korean Counterpart at Asean Meeting]( By GARDINER HARRIS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in the same room as North Korea's foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, on Sunday, and the world will be watching. For more political news, go to [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [] Business [The Phoenix complex in downtown Beloit, Wis. ]( [In Weary Wisconsin Town, a Billionaire-Fueled Revival]( By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON Diane Hendricks and her late husband saw opportunity in Beloit, a decaying industrial town. Now, she dreams of turning it into a mecca for start-ups. [Joel Dreyfuss in his home on the Upper West Side in New York, New York.]( Retiring [Writing the Script for Your Next Act]( By CLAUDIA DREIFUS Some are hanging on to what they loved about their day job, while trying something new, different and perhaps adventurous. The Upshot [The Transformation of the 'American Dream']( By ROBERT J. SHILLER It wasn't originally about owning a beautiful home and a roaring business. It meant freedom, mutual respect and equality of opportunity. For more business news, go to [NYTimes.com/Business »]( [] Technology [How This U.S. Tech Giant Is Backing China's Tech Ambitions]( By DAVID BARBOZA Qualcomm is providing the money, expertise and engineering to help drive Beijing's master plan to create its own technology superpowers. [Dan Schulman, chief executive of PayPal, taking a selfie after his company's initial public offering in July 2015.]( Fair Game [The Accounting Tack That Makes PayPal's Numbers Look So Good]( By GRETCHEN MORGENSON The digital payment giant doesn't count the stock grants it gives to employees as an expense. This makes its earnings look prettier to Wall Street. [Tyler Williams's job is to create fun activities for Zappos's 1,500 employees.]( [Engineering Happiness at Zappos]( By PERRY GARFINKEL His job is to design activities that keep employees smiling - and loyal to the company. For more technology news, go to [NYTimes.com/Technology »]( [] Sports [Antonio Argüelles, 58, of Mexico, took to the North Channel on Thursday, trying to become the first Latin American, the seventh person ever and the oldest to complete the Oceans Seven, seven arduous channel crossings.]( [In a Swimmer's Two-Year Quest, a Final 21-Mile Challenge]( By ADAM SKOLNICK On Thursday, Antonio Argüelles, 58, of Mexico set out to cross the North Channel in his attempt to complete the Oceans Seven. [Brooks Koepka during the first round of the Bridgestone Invitational. A persistent autograph seeker unnerved him.]( [When Pro Golfers Confront Threats Off the Fairways]( By KAREN CROUSE A break-in at a rental home, a prowler outside, a stalker in pursuit. Episodes like these have top players fearing they are more vulnerable to crime. [Dutee Chand of India competing in the 100 meters at the Asian championships in July. Born with a condition in which her body produces a high level of testosterone, she has waged a years-long fight to compete as a woman.]( Sports of The Times [What Qualifies a Woman to Compete as a Woman? An Ugly Fight Resumes]( By JULIET MACUR The governing body of track and field has until the end of September to furnish evidence on whether high levels of testosterone give athletes like Dutee Chand an unfair advantage. For more sports news, go to [NYTimes.com/Sports »]( [] Arts [Michelangelo really could've used one of those: Julie Mehretu in her temporary studio, at a decommissioned church in Harlem.]( [In an Unused Harlem Church, a Towering Work of a 'Genius']( By HILARIE M. SHEETS Julie Mehretu, a MacArthur Foundation "genius," is executing a monumental new commission for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. [The filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow in Detroit.]( [A White Director, the Police and Race in 'Detroit']( By JOHN ELIGON Is Kathryn Bigelow the right filmmaker to tell the story of "Detroit," about three horrifying deaths in 1967? She says doing nothing is not an answer. [Anna Halprin, in a 1942 portrait by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy featured in the exhibition ]( [Renegades and Radical Bodies in 3 New York Exhibitions]( By GIA KOURLAS As New York museum exhibitions featuring Anna Halprin, Robert Rauschenberg and Rei Kawakubo attest, radical bodies are sites of transformation. For more arts news, go to [NYTimes.com/Arts »]( [] New York [A fruit stand at 96th Street on the Upper West Side.]( [The Secret Life of the City Banana]( By ANNIE CORREAL Millions of bananas arrive every week in New York City. It takes a lot to get them from the boat to the bodega. [An empty storefront on Third Avenue and East 70th Street.]( Big City [Amid Store Closings, Businesses Protest a City Tax on Rents]( By GINIA BELLAFANTE The City Council wants to drop a charge for some Manhattan store owners paying $250,000 a year in rent, but the mayor isn't going along. [The father-and-son team of Nikola, left, and Goran Veljic, far right, talking to couples outside the Office of the City Clerk in Manhattan.]( [Need a Wedding Photographer? Try the City Clerk's Office]( By VIVIAN WANG Several entrepreneurial photographers are offering their services in and around the steps of the City Clerk's Office, where people from all over the world go to get married. For more New York news, go to [NYTimes.com/NewYork »]( [] Fashion & Style [After more than 25 years as a gossip writer, the author Jeannette Walls left behind her old life when her memoir, ]( At Home With [Jeannette Walls Settles Down Far From the Noise of New York]( By RUTH LA FERLA The author of "The Glass Castle" spent years covering celebrities. When her book became a huge hit, she "skedaddled" to Virginia and didn't look back. [A Hollywood Party Planner Who Isn't Instagram-Obsessed]( By MARIELLE WAKIM For clients like Jeffrey Katzenberg and Reese Witherspoon, Yifat Oren orchestrates events that are, at $2,000 a guest, expensive but discreet. [Stephen George, chief executive of Surkus, left, and Briana Siaca, a member, center, at the Marmara hotel in Midtown Manhattan.]( [Need Models for Your Party? There's an App for That]( By BEN WIDDICOMBE Surkus lets buzz seekers hire aspiring models and other attractive people to attend their promotional events. For more fashion news, go to [NYTimes.com/Fashion »]( [] Travel [The boat dock at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y. One of the hotel's infinite charms is how steadfast it is.]( Pursuits [Mohonk's Farm-to-Table Rebirth]( By STEVE REDDICLIFFE The executive chef at the venerable Hudson Valley resort infused a "dependable" menu with purely regional flavors. The results are delicious. Summer Firsts | Brooklyn [Francine Prose on Finding Art on a Coney Island Scary Ride]( By FRANCINE PROSE For the author, an amusement-park trip as a young girl led to a ride on the Spook-a-Rama and later to a prized Diane Arbus photo of the same ride. [Hiking a steep trail above Seward Highway and the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet.]( 36 Hours [36 Hours in Anchorage]( By CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON The dramatic location of this sprawling Alaskan city, between mountains and saltwater, means adventure is always nearby. For more travel news, go to [NYTimes.com/Travel »]( [] Magazine Feature [Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age]( By TAFFY BRODESSER-AKNER The agonies of being overweight - or running a diet company - in a culture that likes to pretend it only cares about health, not size. [Larry Zottarelli, who recently retired from the Voyager flight crew.]( Feature [The Loyal Engineers Steering NASA's Voyager Probes Across the Universe]( By KIM TINGLEY As the Voyager mission is winding down, so, too, are the careers of the aging explorers who expanded our sense of home in the galaxy. [Noura Jackson]( Feature [She Was Convicted of Killing Her Mother. Prosecutors Withheld the Evidence That Would Have Freed Her.]( By EMILY BAZELON By the time Noura Jackson's conviction was overturned, she had spent nine years in prison. This type of prosecutorial error is almost never punished. For more from the Sunday magazine, go to [NYTimes.com/Magazine »]( [] Editorial [President Trump meeting with the National Association of Manufacturers at the White House in March.]( Editorial [What's the Deal, Mr. Trump?]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The president calls himself a deal maker. But any skills he had have failed him in the White House. Now Congress is pushing him to the side. Editorial [Pulling Back on the Barbaric Use of Solitary Confinement]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD There are efforts to end the harmful isolation of young people in prison, but the country still has a long way to go. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] Op-Ed [President Trump has plenty to say and Robert Mueller, the special counsel, is taking it all in.]( Op-Ed Columnist [Bobby Sticks It to Trump]( By MAUREEN DOWD In a capital consumed with crime and punishment, Robert Mueller, a.k.a. Bobby Three Sticks, keeps the president in his sights. Op-Ed Columnist [An Elusive Immigration Compromise]( By ROSS DOUTHAT The national interest lies between the extremes of nativism and open borders. [A flag for sale outside a Trump rally in Texas last year.]( Opinion [The Policies of White Resentment]( By CAROL ANDERSON Trump won on the politics of racial backlash. Now he's following through with an agenda meant to stoke it further. Opinion [A Feminist Defense of Bridezillas]( By KELSEY McKINNEY What was once a wedding season slur is now seen for what it really is: one of many words designed to mock women for simply getting things done. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] ON THIS DAY On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare. 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