By Mike Ives

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Good morning.

We’re covering explosive document leaks from Iran and China, a reversal on proposed e-cigarette restrictions, and the latest N.F.L. results

Secret cables show Iran’s role in Iraq

A leak of hundreds of secret Iranian intelligence reports reveals the country’s shadow war for influence in Iraq — and the battle within its own spy divisions.

Working with The Intercept, The Times reviewed hundreds of reports and cables sent by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Iran’s version of the C.I.A., from 2014 to 2015 that detail work by Iranian spies to co-opt Iraq’s leaders, pay Iraqi agents working for the U.S. to switch sides and infiltrate every aspect of political, economic and religious life.

Closer look: Read the main takeaways from the report.

Another angle: The Iranian government, which has faced protests in Iraq and Lebanon over its outsize influence, is now being challenged domestically over gasoline price increases. It has blocked nearly all internet access.

China defends its Xinjiang detentions

Beijing today criticized a New York Times investigation that exposed how China forced as many as a million ethnic Uighurs, Kazakhs and others into internment camps and prisons over the past three years.

More than 400 pages of internal papers obtained by The Times reveal how top-level policy led to the creation of the camps in western China where inmates sometimes undergo years of indoctrination and interrogation.

The documents, leaked by a Chinese official concerned about the policies behind the crackdown, showed the direct involvement of senior officials in conceiving and ordering it — including President Xi Jinping.

The basics: Here are five takeaways from our report.

Response: A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that “preventive” measures in Xinjiang had helped to prevent terrorist attacks. But he did not dispute the authenticity of the documents.

Numbed to political news

With impeachment proceedings underway and an election less than a year away, information is crucial. Yet many Americans say they feel disoriented by the rise of social media, the proliferation of online material and a flood of news.

“Now more than ever, the lines between fact-based reporting and opinionated commentary seem blurred for people,” said Evette Alexander, research director at a journalism foundation. “That means they trust what they are seeing less. They are feeling less informed.”

Details: According to one recent poll, 47 percent of Americans believe it’s difficult to know whether the information they encounter is true. About 60 percent say they regularly see conflicting reports about the same set of facts from different sources.

Moderates sense a political opening

With new entrants into the Democratic race and centrist victories in recent governor’s contests, moderates in the party have found encouragement to fight for control in the 2020 campaign.

Here’s more:

Skeptical that the existing crop of candidates could unite the Democratic Party, two moderates — Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick — moved to join the presidential race.

Moderate-to-conservative Democrats prevailed in governors’ races in Kentucky and Louisiana, states that President Trump worked strenuously to win for his party.

Former President Barack Obama said voters who may support Democrats weren’t driven to “tear down the system.”

Poll: Pete Buttigieg jumped out to a robust lead among likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa. Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders were effectively tied for second.

Related: Ms. Warren’s embrace of Medicare for all may be the riskiest political bet of her presidential campaign. We analyzed how she built her health care policy.

If you have 10 minutes, this is worth it

Hollywood’s next seismic shift

The long-promised streaming revolution is here, and the three biggest old-line media companies — Disney, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia — are charging into the fray to challenge streaming services like Netflix.

It’s upending how Hollywood does business. Instead of relying exclusively on middlemen to get shows and movies to viewers, traditional entertainment companies are selling content directly to consumers — and studios are releasing fewer films in theaters.

Here’s what else is happening

Hong Kong protests: Students, armed with homemade weapons, bunkered down on a university campus to resist the police. We have maps to show how universities became battlegrounds in the demonstrations.

Shooting in California: At least four were killed and six others wounded late Sunday after at least one gunman opened fire on a family gathering in Fresno, the authorities said.

E-cigarette reversal: Advisers say President Trump pulled back from proposals to curb teenage vaping after he was warned of the fallout among voters.

Reconsidering heart surgery: Drug therapy alone may save lives as effectively as bypass or stenting procedures, a large federal study showed.

Bloomberg’s apology: The former New York mayor reversed his support of the “stop-and-frisk” policing strategy that he pursued for a decade — and that led to the disproportionate stopping of blacks and Latinos.

WeWork retools: The beleaguered office space company may cut at least 4,000 employees in a bid to stabilize its business.

Real Walter Whites: In what sounds like a scene from the TV show “Breaking Bad,” the Arkansas authorities on Friday charged two chemistry professors in connection with methamphetamine production.

Tennis keepsake: The racket that Serena Williams broke in last year’s U.S. Open final goes on sale today. The price is expected to reach five figures.

“The Weekly”: The latest episode of The Times’s TV show is about a Mexican drug cartel’s daylong siege to free El Chapo’s son. Read behind-the-scenes notes about the episode, which is available on FX and Hulu. It is also available for Times subscribers in the U.S., along with other episodes from earlier in the season.

Snapshot: Ford’s new S.U.V. is electric. The Mustang Mach E, above, which was introduced on Sunday, is Detroit’s biggest bet yet on battery-powered cars.

In memoriam: Bogaletch Gebre, an Ethiopian activist and scientist who helped lead a successful campaign against female genital mutilation, died this month in Los Angeles. She was said to be 66.

Opinion: Fertility rates have been dropping precipitously around the world for decades, most markedly in rich countries. A writer considered the case of Denmark.

N.F.L. results: The Vikings, the 49ers and the Patriots all overcame double-digit point deficits. Here’s what we learned in Week 11.

Metropolitan Diary: In this week’s column, reporting the smell of gas, getting a private bus ride and more reader tales of New York City.

What we’re reading: This essay in The Atlantic. “Tom Junod’s remembrance of his friend and subject Mister Rogers was filled with all kinds of revelations that brought me to my knees a little,” writes Taffy Brodesser-Akner.

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Make a buttery cranberry crumb cake to enjoy all week.

Watch: Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in “Ford v Ferrari,” James Mangold’s look at the golden age of auto racing. It’s a Critic’s Pick — and the weekend’s box office winner.

Listen: Whipping between the establishment and the avant-garde, the pianist and composer Conrad Tao, 25, is a rising star.

Smarter Living: It pays to plan ahead for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

And now for the Back Story on …

Shipwrecked booze

Treasure hunters in Scandinavia have recovered dozens of cases of cognac and liqueur from wreckage 250 feet down in the Baltic Sea. The burning question: Is it drinkable?

The liquor sank with a Swedish steamship that was attacked by a German submarine in 1917, during World War I. The haul included 50 cases of cognac and 15 cases of Benedictine, a herbal liqueur.

Amanda Schuster, a cocktail expert, said it would be unlikely that the spirits would be safe to drink.

But David Wondrich, senior drinks columnist at The Daily Beast, said the cold water might have preserved them. Spirits, he said, “tend to keep far better than most wines over very long periods. I’ve tasted numerous not just drinkable, but delicious bottles from the 1910s and before.”

The world’s oldest known booze is in the Speyer wine bottle, which dates back nearly 1,700 years. Scientists say drinking it probably wouldn’t kill you — but it would taste terrible.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Mike

Thank you
Melina Delkic and Andrea Kannapell helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. The Back Story is based on a report by Mihir Zaveri. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is on the rise and fall of WeWork.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Moray or conger (three letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times’s wine critic recently reflected on his series examining climate change through the lens of wine and agriculture.

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