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Brett Kavanaugh, George Papadopoulos, Elon Musk: Your Friday Evening Briefing

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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 called on the Justice Department to investigate who wrote an anonymous Op-Ed in The New York Times assailing his administration.
“I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security,” he said on Air Force One, referring to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Separately, George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser who last year pleaded guilty to lying to the F. B. I., was sentenced to 14 days in jail .
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2. Despite President Trump’s rage, this week illustrated why almost all elected Republicans have quietly supported him through his travails — or at least not chastised him too loudly.
As the confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh came to a close, Senate Republicans pressed steadily through angry liberal protests and sharp questions fromDemocrats.. It may deliver one of the Trump administration’s most enduring legacies: an ideological shift in the Supreme Court that will last for decades.
Above, Senator Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
For an idea of what abortion rights may look like if Judge Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court, our reporter writes, just look to Arkansas .
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3. The U. S. added 201,000 jobs last month, slightly topping analysts’ expectations.
The unemployment rate stayed at 3.9 percent, but a 0.4 percent monthly increase in average hourly earnings relieved some of the anxiety about sluggish wages.
President Trump escalated the trade dispute with China, threatening to tax virtually all Chinese imports. But so far, political intrigue and anxieties over a trade war have done little to dent a 95-month streak of job creation.
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4. More turbulence at Tesla.
Shares dropped sharply after news that its accounting chief had departed just weeks after joining the company. The departure is the latest in a string of nearly a dozen top executives who have left Tesla this year.
Hours earlier, Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, appeared live on YouTube in an interview with the comedian Joe Rogan and seemed to be smoking marijuana.
Mr. Musk’s stability and managerial fitness have come under scrutiny after he unexpectedly tweeted he planned to take the company private, then reversed course.
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5. Alex Jones is facing a reckoning.
After news that Twitter had permanently banned his personal account and that of Infowars, his company, the big question is whether his hallmark bluster can see him out of his current peril.
With tech giants — including Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Apple — cracking down on him, Mr. Jones’s ability to reach his audience has been cut off.
But he’s as much marketer as ideological warrior, selling products to assuage the fears he is so expert at stoking. And true to form, he’s been using the challenge to move more product.
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6. The E. P. A. is reviewing a major law that restricts mercury emissions by coal-burning power plants.
The rule, based on decades of research showing that mercury damages the brain, lungs and fetal health, is among the agency’s costliest but most effective clean-air policies.
The re-evaluation fits into a far-reaching administration strategy to loosen environmental rules affecting countless other industries for years to come by adjusting the factors used to judge the benefits to human health that the rule has brought.
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7. The latest from the U. S. Open:
Rafael Nadal and Juan Martín del Potro are facing off, and the chances of an epic match are good, our reporter writes.
And Serena Williams will play Naomi Osaka will play each other. Ms. Williams will be trying to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles, while Ms. Osaka will be aiming to duplicate a win this spring over Ms. Williams and claim her first Grand Slam title.
Check back for updates and results .
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8. Voters in Sweden head to the polls on Sunday, and immigration and crime have taken center stage.
The far right is expected to take one-fifth of the vote, and some Swedes worry that one such party is becoming normalized.
“That gives a playground for the real Nazi parties to play and get more ground,” one man said. “It’s like people have forgotten history. How did Hitler come to power? He started out as a nice guy looking out for the working class.”
And a researcher found that in Germany, YouTube’s recommendation system had steered viewers to fringe and conspiracy videos on a neo-Nazi demonstration.
Activists say this may have contributed to a flood of misinformation, helping extremists shape public perceptions even after they had been run off the streets.
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9. Good news for late risers in California: The school day could start a little later.
Gov. Jerry Brown is weighing a bill that would push back many schools’ start time to 8:30 a.m., a change that some say could go a long way toward helping students learn.
This week’s Magazine is devoted to education, with stories about educators across the country who take second jobs to support themselves, a debate over what teachers can say in the classroom and a question of whether good teaching can be taught.
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10. Finally, this is your periodic reminder that it’s not all bad news out there.
This is the Week in Good News, featuring environmentally friendly Legos, above; a flourishing newspaper that serves retirees; and digital Braille.
Have a great weekend.
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Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.
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