Start United States USA — Political Davos, Senate, Larry Nassar: Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

Davos, Senate, Larry Nassar: Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

281
0
TEILEN

Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up .)
Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. President Trump is headed to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, setting the stage for one of the most intriguing encounters of his year-old presidency.
Mr. Trump will bring his protectionist, “America First” message to “the snowy, mountaintop resort where financial titans mingle with heads of state in an annual saturnalia of capitalism,” as our White House correspondent puts it.
Before he left, Mr. Trump told reporters that he was willing to speak under oath with Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the investigation into Russian meddling in the election, ending months of speculation.
____
2. Meanwhile, the immigration debate rages at home. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, above, says a border wall is off the table. And the bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators who came together to end the shutdown are setting their sights on an immigration deal.
Separately, the administration is increasing pressure on so-called sanctuary cities. The Justice Department sent letters to 23 local governments demanding proof they had not kept information from federal immigration authorities.
____
3. “It is my honor and privilege to sentence you.”
That was Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentencing Larry Nassar, above, the former doctor for the American gymnastics team, to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing athletes in his care.
Dr. Nassar, 54, had already been sentenced to 60 years on child pornography charges. Noting the length of the new sentence, Judge Aquilina added, “I just signed your death warrant.”
We collected some of the powerful statements from the more than 150 victims who spoke at his sentencing.
____
4. In China, women are also trying to forge a #MeToo movement.
But they face a male-dominated culture and censors who delete online petitions and scrub social media of phrases like “anti-sexual harassment.”
“So many sincere and eager voices are being muted,” said Zhang Leilei, above, an activist in the southern city of Guangzhou.
____
5. Tuesday’s deadly shooting in Kentucky was the 11th on a school property this year in the U. S. And we’re not even through January.
Researchers and gun control advocates say that since 2013, they have logged school shootings at a rate of about one a week .
Two students were killed Tuesday in Kentucky, and 18 others were wounded. Prosecutors said the 15-year-old suspect, also a student, would be charged as an adult. Above, students embraced after a vigil at a nearby high school.
____
6. The U. S. is accusing Syria’s government of another chlorine gas attack on civilians, and has rebuked Russia for failing to stop such a war crime.
Separately, a strategic city in Syria, Manbij, is emerging as the ultimate target of the Turkish offensive into Kurdish-controlled territory, seen above.
The assault could bring Turkish forces into direct conflict with American troops stationed there, with unpredictable results.
____
7. A reporter in Alabama may have found the wreckage of the last known slave ship in the U. S.
The ship, the Clotilda, carried 110 enslaved people from West Africa to the Alabama coast in 1860. The slaves were unloaded and the ship was set ablaze after it landed, as the smugglers tried to evade the authorities.
The recent “bomb cyclone” created extremely low tides in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, exposing charred beams forming the shape of a vessel with almost the exact dimensions of the Clotilda.
____
8. In Saudi Arabia, 12 camels were disqualified from a beauty contest after their owners used Botox on their lips.
The contestants at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival had to adhere to one condition: All beauty must be “natural.”
The monthlong festival, the largest in the Persian Gulf, features up to 30,000 camels and has so far attracted at least 300,000 visitors.
____
9. Valentine’s Day might be three weeks away, but it is certainly not too early to start thinking about gifts.
Our experts from the Styles section and Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews products, put their heads together for this gift guide .
There are really good versions of the usual ideas, like champagne and chocolates. And then there are less obvious items, like cameras, kids’ books, ideas for the newly single and snow boots.
Yes, that’s right: comfortable footwear. It’s romantic.
____
10. Finally, the 60th annual Grammy Awards are on Sunday night.
We talked to the R&B singer SZA, who is the most nominated woman, with five nods including best new artist, for her debut album “Ctrl.” She was once filled with self-doubt, second-guessing the album so thoroughly that its release was delayed by a year.
“I never imagined anything like this would happen in a million years,” she said.
Have a great night.
____
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 .
If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play .
What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com .

Continue reading...