Here\u2019s what you need to know at the end of the day.<\/b>
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Good evening. Here\u2019s the latest.
1. \u201cThis is conduct that none of us in America would approve of in any way.\u201d
That\u2019s Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, reacting to a classified briefing by Gina Haspel, the C. I. A. director, about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. The session left senators more certain than ever that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, ordered the journalist\u2019s death. Above, Ms. Haspel at the Capitol.
The senators\u2019 assessment puts them at odds with the White House, which has refused to blame Saudi Arabia\u2019s leadership. But there was no consensus about next steps, after a stinging vote last week to consider cutting off U. S. military aid to Saudi Arabia\u2019s campaign in Yemen.
Separately, John Bolton, the national security adviser, said that President Trump would still meet with Kim Jong-un, despite North Korea\u2019s lack of progress on ending its nuclear program.
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2. The campaign arm for House Republicans was hacked during the 2018 midterm campaign, a spokesman for the organization said.
The hack exposed thousands of sensitive emails from senior aides at the National Republican Congressional Committee. It isn\u2019t clear who was behind the breach, first reported by Politico. Above, at a committee event in March.
The techniques used in the hack suggested the breach was carried out by \u201ca sophisticated actor,\u201d our reporters learned. Top national security leaders had warned before the elections that Russia was engaged in a \u201cpervasive\u201d campaign to sow discord and influence American voters.
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3. Stocks fell after a tweet by President Trump cast doubt on a truce in the U. S.-China trade war. The S&P 500 dropped more than 2 percent. Above, at the New York Stock Exchange.
The Trump administration and Beijing said over the weekend that they would pause the trade war for 90 days while the two sides tried to reach a formal trade deal. But Mr. Trump\u2019s tweet on Tuesday seemed to undercut the promise of that agreement.
\u201cI am a Tariff Man,\u201d the president tweeted. \u201cWe are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs.\u201d
Separately, the yield curve \u2014 the difference between the interest rates on short- and long-term Treasury bonds \u2014 was at its narrowest level since 2007, which some experts see as a recession warning signal.
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4. President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s government announced it would suspend the fuel tax increase that set off three weeks of intense protests across France by the so-called Yellow Vest movement. Above, a protest in Le Mans in western France.
The tax increase, which has been put off for six months, amounted to 25 cents a gallon. It proved to be a tipping point for a country that has some of the highest taxes in Europe, particularly galvanizing people in small villages and towns who have been grappling with stagnant salaries and steep utility costs.
Anger over the tax added to wider discontent with Mr. Macron, who the working class views as a president of the rich. Here are some figures that explain France\u2019s wealth gap.
And our fashion critic explains the origins of the \u201c gilet jaune,\u201d the fluorescent yellow hazard vest that has become synonymous with the protest.
If the protests continue, travelers in France may want to consider these safety tips .
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5. They\u2019re writing a new climate rule book.
Diplomats from 195 countries are in Poland to hammer out new guidelines to help cut fossil fuel emissions. Our climate team looks at some of the questions they\u2019ll be grappling with.
The stakes are high, our reporter writes: In an agreement signed by world leaders in Paris in 2015, countries agreed to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels. Above, a power plant in central Poland.
But plans written so far are insufficient, raising the risks of heat waves, floods, the collapse of polar ice caps and other potential calamities.
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6. Former President George Bush will be celebrated in a national funeral service in Washington tomorrow morning.
President Trump designated Wednesday as a National Day of Mourning, ordering \u201call executive departments and agencies\u201d closed. The U. S. stock markets will close, the Supreme Court has postponed arguments and most mail service will be suspended.
Former President George W. Bush, Mr. Bush\u2019s son, will deliver a eulogy at the service, which President Trump and all the other living former presidents \u2014 Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama \u2014 are expected to attend. A gathering of five presidents in the same place, at the same time, is rare: There have been only five since 1991.
Mr. Bush is lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. We explain what that means. Among the mourners: Gina Haspel, the current C. I. A. director; and two former directors, John O. Brennan and George Tenet; and Mr. Bush\u2019s service dog, Sully, above.
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7. \u201cOur porch was the gathering place.\u201d
That simple architectural fixture has played an outsized role in African-American culture across the U. S., making strangers into neighbors and channeling family stories from one generation to the next.
Our writer and photographer visited black homeowners across Detroit, who shared their memories of meaningful life moments playing out on that signature structural backdrop.
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8. Steve Bannon and a Chinese billionaire have joined forces. Since Mr. Bannon was pushed out of the White House last year, he has had dozens of meetings with a fugitive Chinese billionaire, Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok.
Mr. Guo has been accused of bribery, fraud and money laundering, which he denies, and is wanted in China. He\u2019s also a fierce critic of Beijing who claims to have evidence of corruption at the highest levels of the Chinese government. Mr. Bannon, left, has come to view China as a military and economic threat to the U. S.
Together, the unusual pair have a common, if lofty, objective: bringing down the Chinese Communist Party.
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9. An ancient statue may be a step closer to home.
After a decade-long legal battle, Italy\u2019s highest court ruled that the Getty Villa outside Los Angeles must give Italy back \u201cVictorious Youth,\u201d above, a 2,000-year-old bronze statue of a young athlete.
The work was discovered by Italian fishermen in 1964. Historians theorize that it was made in ancient Greece and lost in the Adriatic Sea after being stolen by ancient Romans.
But the Getty vowed to fight to keep it on display. \u201cWe will continue to defend our legal right to the statue,\u201d the museum\u2019s lawyer said.
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10. Finally, just in time for National Cookie Day, our holiday baking coverage is in full frenzy.
Our Cooking team has collected our 35 best holiday cookie recipes and gives tips on how to decorate them . (Your Evening Briefing writer admits to a weakness for pecan tassies.)
Skip the measuring cups, our experts say, and bake by weight, not volume. They offer recommendations for all the best tools, including mixers, pans and decorations, and the best baking cookbooks of 2018.
Have a sweet evening.
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