Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Your nightly rundown of the day's top stories delivered straight to your inbox. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, August 9, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Wednesday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND SANDRA STEVENSON Good evening. Here’s the latest. Lai Seng Sin/Reuters 1. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on his way back from a trip to Asia, [said war with North Korea is not imminent]( despite the heated exchange of warnings between President Trump and Pyongyang. “I think Americans should sleep well at night, have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days,” Mr. Tillerson said as his plane stopped to refuel in Guam, the very island North Korea threatened to target. It turns out Mr. Trump’s fiery comments yesterday [were entirely improvised](. Today on our podcast “The Daily,” [we talk to Peter Baker]( our chief White House correspondent, who is in Bedminster, N.J., with the president. _____ Lee Jin-Man/Associated Press 2. The saber rattling over North Korea [raised alarm across Asia]( and global [markets fell](. Above, watching President Trump’s remarks in Seoul. We looked at the North’s [potential targets in the region]( which include South Korea, Japan and Guam. [This video]( explains more about Guam, which has been a U.S. territory since 1898 and is home to a strategic American air base. Here are [answers to four crucial questions]( about the standoff, and [five reasons]( the danger may not be as scary as it seems. _____ Sam Hodgson for The New York Times 3. The F.B.I. [raided the home of Paul Manafort]( President Trump’s former campaign manager, above, last month as part of the investigation into Russian election meddling. The search, for tax documents and foreign banking records, suggests a broadening investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller. _____ Thomas White/Reuters 4. The dollar used to be the ultimate safe haven in the global economy. But in the Trump era, this no longer seems certain. Since the beginning of the year, [the currency has surrendered nearly 9 percent]( against a basket of major currencies. Those who trade in currencies see its fall as a possible sign of long-term damage from an unorthodox presidency. _____ Kabir Dhanji/European Pressphoto Agency 5. In Kenya, early election results were thrown into doubt after claims that the electoral commission’s servers were hacked. The opposition leader, [Raila Odinga, alleged that the hack was carried out]( to give the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, a significant lead. Given the country’s history of postelection violence, Mr. Odinga’s comments renewed fears of deadly unrest. _____ Pool photo by Antonio Calanni 6. Some European leaders are [cutting their prized vacations short]( after a tumultuous year that included terror attacks, the Brexit vote and a continuing migration crisis. The new French leader, Emmanuel Macron, is taking “just a few days” off. But Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, above, has not changed her plans. She spent three weeks in Switzerland and Italy, where she led a hotel lobby full of tourists in a rendition of “God Save the Queen.” _____ Glenna Gordon for The New York Times 7. Michael Deng joined an Asian-American fraternity to find a sense of belonging. Two months later, he died after a rough hazing ritual. Our magazine writer, [Jay Caspian Kang]( spent a year and a half reporting on the story of his death and the trial that followed, and what it all reveals about the [painful search for Asian-American identity](. _____ Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times 8. Some news from Broadway: The theater world is mourning [Barbara Cook, the stage star]( and cabaret mainstay, who died yesterday at 89. [Bruce Springsteen is coming to Broadway](. He’ll do eight weeks of a solo show this fall, and he wants it to be “as personal and intimate as possible.” And [Bill Murray went to see]( Day”]( for the first time, again. After reliving it hundreds of times in the 1993 film, he attended the Broadway musical version for the first time last night, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. _____ Bryan Anselm for The New York Times 9. The owner of the long-defunct, crumbling resort that served as the inspiration for “Dirty Dancing” wants to recreate it as a modern-day getaway spot. He applied for state help to clean up environmental contamination on [the old grounds of Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel]( which in its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s, was a hopping vacation scene. A new resort would most likely focus on activities like yoga instead of the foxtrot. _____ Viceland 10. Finally, the late-night hosts weren’t taking President Trump’s tough talk too seriously. “Today a Wall Street Journal reporter compared President Trump to a goldfish, because he forgets what happened 10 seconds ago,” [Jimmy Fallon quipped](. “Trump was pretty mad — but only for 9 seconds.” And from our team at Watching, here are [five great shows to watch]( this week. Among the picks: “Last Chance High,” a documentary series on Viceland, above. Have a great night. _____ If photographs appear out of order, please [download the updated New York Times app]( from iTunes. Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern. And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays. Want to catch up on past briefings? [You can browse them here](. What did you like? What do you want to see here? 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