Your Monday 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]( Monday, August 21, 2017 [NYTimes.com »]( [Your Monday Evening Briefing]( By KAREN ZRAICK AND LISA IABONI Good evening. Here’s the latest. Travis Dove for The New York Times 1. “That was so amazing.” There were gasps and cheers — and runs on protective eyewear — as [a total eclipse traveled across the entire country]( for the first time since 1918. Big crowds [lined the “path of totality,”]( the arc where the moon fully obscured the sun from Oregon to South Carolina, and millions more, including your delighted briefing writer in New York, saw a partial eclipse. [Readers sent in their own joyful photos]( of kids, dogs, tents, special glasses and more, while scientists conducted [numerous experiments]( to deepen the understanding of both Earth’s atmosphere and the sun itself. Above, the scene in Folly Beach, S.C. _____ Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 2. President Trump is preparing to set the “path forward for [America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia]( in his first nationally televised prime-time address since January (9 p.m. Eastern). He is expected to boost troop levels while trying to differentiate his policies from those he sharply criticized in the Obama era. U.S. military officials say that Afghan forces are still unable to defend their country alone. Hours before Mr. Trump’s speech, [Taliban insurgents overran]( the government headquarters of a district in northern Afghanistan. _____ Lluis Gene/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 3. The Spanish police shot and killed a 22-year-old man they believed to have [driven a van into crowds in Barcelona last week]( killing 13 people. He was found in Subirats, a collection of villages about 20 miles west of the city, after a Europe-wide manhunt. The authorities said that after the initial attack, he had stolen a car, killed its driver and fled with the body still inside. The attack — paired with a second that killed a 15th person — added to fears of vehicular attacks elsewhere. [Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia]( has introduced a counterterrorism strategy to protect crowded public spaces, and other countries are considering new checks for van rentals. _____ Roslan Rahman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 4. Ten U.S. Navy sailors are still being sought after a U.S.-guided-missile destroyer, the [John S. McCain, above, collided with an oil tanker]( in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Singapore. The crash has raised questions about the safety record of Navy ships, coming just two months after another [Navy destroyer collided with a freighter]( off Japan, killing seven sailors. The Navy said it would suspend operations worldwide for a day or two this week to examine its procedures. Elsewhere in the region, the U.S. and South Korea went ahead with joint military exercises that [North Korea warned would be “throwing fuel onto fire.”]( _____ Jean-Sebastien Evrard/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 5. Total, the French energy giant, is [buying the oil and gas business of Maersk]( the Danish shipping company, for $4.95 billion. Oil prices have started to recover after an extended downturn, leading to higher profits for major oil producers this year, and opening the door to more mergers in the sector. Above, a Total refinery in France. _____ Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters 6. Russia named a new ambassador to the U.S.: [Anatoly Antonov, above, a deputy foreign minister]( who is under European Union sanctions for his involvement in the annexation of Crimea. His predecessor, the tireless networker Sergey Kislyak, is due to retire. He has said that the controversy surrounding his meetings with Trump advisers had caused many in Washington to avoid him. _____ Melissa Lyttle for The New York Times 7. The Trump administration is working with sheriffs from around the country on a plan to channel undocumented immigrants [from local jails into federal detention](. They’re trying to find a way around court rulings that have limited the role of local law enforcement in immigration. Above, an arrest in Riverside, Calif., in June. On Tuesday, President Trump will hold [a rally in Phoenix]( and there’s speculation that he could announce a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the former county sheriff who became known around the country for his hard-line policies toward undocumented immigrants. _____ Eric Gay/Associated Press 8. The University of Texas at Austin became the latest institution [to remove Confederate monuments]( in the middle of the night: those of the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston and the Confederate cabinet member John Reagan. In Charlottesville, Va., officials announced that they had issued four warrants [for the arrest of Christopher Cantwell]( the white supremacist who shot to infamy after his appearance in a Vice News documentary on the violence there. And our writer looks at the showdown over [how we define norms]( Who gets to be part of civil society, and whose views belong on the fringe? _____ Ben Stansall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images 9. Big Ben, the London landmark that normally rings every hour, [went silent](. It will stay that way for most of the next four years, while the bell tower undergoes a $37 million renovation. And in news from other kingdoms, the latest episode of “Game of Thrones” was a thrill-fest of dragon fury, undead hordes, flaming swords and even a few spinoff ideas. [Here’s our recap.]( _____ Michael Lopez/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, via Associated Press 10. Finally, the eclipse was a rare thrill, but it’s not the only celestial happening you can see from Earth. We put together [a calendar of meteor showers, rocket launches and other special events]( that you can add to your own Google or iOS calendar. (Above, a meteor shower as seen from Washington State last year.) Also on the calendar: important dates in NASA’s history, like the 40th anniversary of the Voyager 1 launch, on Sept. 5. The spacecraft became the first to enter interstellar space from Earth in 2012. Read more about the engineers who have spent decades guiding the mission [here](. Have a great night. _____ Correction: Friday's Evening Briefing misstated the name of Steven Soderbergh’s new movie. It is “Logan Lucky,” not “Lucky Logan.” 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? Let us know at [briefing@nytimes.com](mailto:briefing@nytimes.com?subject=Evening%20Briefing%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Looking for Something to Watch? Three times a week, receive recommendations on the best TV shows and films to stream and watch. Sign up for our Watching newsletter [here](. Sponsor a Subscription Inspire the future generation of readers by contributing to The Times’s [sponsor-a-subscription program](. For questions, email sponsor@nytimes.com or call [1-844-698-2677](. 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 Evening Briefing newsletter. 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