(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning,

We begin today with a major Times investigation into President Trump’s finances during his business career. We’re also covering Iran’s partial withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and a deadly school shooting in Colorado.

A decade of red ink for Donald Trump

Mr. Trump has long promoted his business prowess, but 10 years of tax information obtained by The Times paints a far bleaker picture of his deal-making abilities and financial condition. From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Trump’s core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings — lost more than $1 billion.

Year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer, and the losses enabled him to avoid paying income taxes for eight of the 10 years. Here are five takeaways from our investigation.

How we know: The Times did not obtain Mr. Trump’s actual tax returns, which he has refused to release, but received the information from someone who had legal access to it. The information does not cover the tax years at the center of an escalating battle between the Trump administration and Congress.

Response: A lawyer for Mr. Trump, Charles Harder, said that The Times’s statements “about the president’s tax returns and business from 30 years ago are highly inaccurate.” He cited no specific errors but said that “I.R.S. transcripts, particularly before the days of electronic filing, are notoriously inaccurate.”

The Daily: In today’s episode, our reporters discuss the investigation.

Iran is to quit parts of nuclear deal

President Hassan Rouhani said today that his country would stop complying with two of its commitments under the 2015 agreement, which limited Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear fuel for 15 years.

His announcement came exactly one year after President Trump withdrew the U.S. entirely from the agreement, although the administration has continued to demand that Iran fulfill its commitments.

What’s next: Mr. Rouhani said Iran would begin to build up stockpiles of nuclear material and might resume construction of a reactor if European nations don’t begin trading oil, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

News analysis: Mr. Trump’s approach to foreign intervention has been driven less by ideology than by his hunger for foreign policy victories, our White House correspondent writes. That tendency has played to the advantage of hawkish advisers with strong interventionist tendencies, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the national security adviser, John Bolton.

Gunmen kill 1 student and wound 8 near Denver

Two students were being held as suspects after a shooting at a school in Highlands Ranch, Colo., on Tuesday. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspects as an 18-year-old and a juvenile.

The school, STEM School Highlands Ranch, has about 1,800 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It was one of hundreds of Denver-area schools that temporarily closed last month over security concerns related to the 20th anniversary of the massacre at the nearby Columbine High School.

Quotable: “I heard a gunshot,” said Makai Dixon, 8, who has participated in active shooter drills and lockdowns since he was in kindergarten. “I’d never heard it before.”

Justice Department vs. House Democrats

Department officials have said that they will ask President Trump to invoke executive privilege to shield the special counsel’s report if Democrats proceed with a vote today to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress.

The Justice Department accused the House Judiciary Committee of being unreasonable after it filed a subpoena for the redacted portions of Robert Mueller’s report and the evidence behind it.

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House stopped Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel and a key witness for Mr. Mueller, from handing over documents.

News analysis: Earlier administrations have fought over congressional subpoenas, but Mr. Trump’s wholesale refusal to provide information to Congress threatens to upend the Constitution’s separation of powers, our Supreme Court reporter writes.

If you have 8 minutes, this is worth it

Cornbread and an identity crisis

The dining culture in Charleston, S.C., stretches back to George Washington, but recent departures have many wondering what’s next.

Hominy Grill, a bastion of Lowcountry cooking, pictured above, closed last month after a 23-year run, and the chef Sean Brock, of Husk fame, has left for Nashville. Our correspondent explores a culinary destination that one chef complains has become “just a Southern Brooklyn. A Williamsburg.”

Here’s what else is happening

Asylum ruling: A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration can return asylum seekers to Mexico while they wait for an immigration court to decide their cases.

Georgia’s new abortion law: Gov. Brian Kemp has signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation, effectively banning the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy, when fetal heartbeats can be detected.

Planned Uber strikes: Drivers in Australia briefly went on strike today, the start of a planned series of global protests as the ride-hailing giant prepares for an initial public offering this week.

Pregnancy risks: African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women die of pregnancy-related causes at a rate about three times higher than those of white women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported.

Deadly Harlem fire: Six people, including four children, were killed early today in a blaze in an apartment in a city-owned building.

Perspective: In an Op-Ed, the chief executive of Google, Sundar Pichai, stresses the importance of privacy and explains how his company’s approach to users’ personal information works.

Snapshot: Above, waiting to vote in the township of Soweto, South Africa, in 1994, the country’s first election in which citizens of all races were allowed to vote. Voters return to the polls today, many of them increasingly disillusioned with the state of South Africa’s democracy.

Late-night comedy: James Corden joked about two seemingly endless dramas: “Who would have thought ‘Game of Thrones’ would be wrapping up before the Trump tax return story?”

What we’re reading: This piece in The Cut. Melina Delkic, a member of the briefings team, says, “Among the things that struck me about this deeply creepy and well-reported yarn about a group of Sarah Lawrence students is how hard it is to take legal action against a cult, and how easily one can manifest near you.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: This carrot tart with ricotta and feta uses store-bought puff pastry.

Watch: In Netflix’s “Dead to Me,” Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini play women linked by devastating loss. It’s a comedy … mostly.

Read: “No Visible Bruises” dismantles myths surrounding domestic violence. Our critic called it “extraordinary.”

Eat: The Freakin Rican got its start on the street-fair circuit and now offers the wonders of the Puerto Rican kitchen in Astoria, Queens. It’s a Critic’s Pick.

Smarter Living: The Times is introducing NYT Parenting, offering guidance for those bringing up children and for those thinking about having them. We’ll have new guides every day over the next few months, along with news and essays to help you conceive and raise thriving kids.

One thing we won’t do: use the term “natural childbirth.” Here’s why.

And now for the Back Story on …

Canadian Music Week

It’s part trade show, part music festival, part national celebration set in Toronto.

On Thursday, its focus will be a lifetime achievement award for Robbie Robertson, one of many Canadians who’ve become international stars. He played with The Band, which was known for its work with Bob Dylan.

Canada’s vibrant music industry owes a debt to a regulatory move in 1970.

Fears that the U.S. recording and broadcast industry would steamroller Canada’s led to the imposing of minimum Canadian content requirements on radio stations. Currently, the standard for pop music is at least 35 percent.

The rise of streaming music, which is not regulated in Canada, has diminished the effectiveness of radio as a promotional tool. But the country still churns out global stars.

This month, the rapper Drake, who is from Toronto, set a record for the greatest number of Billboard Music Awards, having received 27.

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

— Chris

Thank you
Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen provided the break from the news. Ian Austen, our Canada correspondent, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about our investigation of Donald Trump’s taxes.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Take it easy (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times seeks out the best journalists, data designers, videographers, art directors and many others. Check out our career opportunities.

Chris Stanford is the writer of the U.S. edition of the Morning Briefing. He also compiles a weekly news quiz. He was previously a home page producer at The Times. Before 2013, he worked at The Washington Post and other news outlets. @stanfordc

Source: Read Full Article