Home » Analysis & Comment » Robert Mueller, Venezuela, Tony Awards: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing
Robert Mueller, Venezuela, Tony Awards: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing
05/01/2019
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)
Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. The special counsel Robert Mueller, above, wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William Barr, objecting to Mr. Barr’s early description of his investigation’s conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump, according to the Justice Department.
Mr. Barr defended his descriptions of the special counsel’s conclusions in conversations with Mr. Mueller over the days that followed.
The letter adds to the growing evidence of a rift between them and is another sign of the anger among the special counsel’s investigators about Mr. Barr’s characterization of their findings.
On Wednesday, Mr. Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the investigation.
_____
2.President Nicolás Maduro remains in power in Venezuela.
It was a question for much of the day, after the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, above, called for an uprising, flanked at sunrise by soldiers at an air force base in the heart of the capital, Caracas.
John Bolton, the national security adviser, told reporters that central figures in the Maduro government had committed to help transfer power to Mr. Guaidó. They, however, publicly stated their support for Mr. Maduro.
And a famed political prisoner, Leopoldo López, took refuge in the Chilean Embassy just hours after being freed. Here’s an overview of the situation.
_____
3.Democratic congressional leaders said President Trump showed “good will” at a meeting on infrastructure. They agreed to pursue a $2 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges and broadband. How to pay for it is still a question.
For Mr. Trump, an infrastructure deal would provide him with a bipartisan achievement to take on the campaign trail. For the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, pictured above today with the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, the meeting shifts the conversation from impeachment to policy agenda.
Mr. Trump is continuing to resist House Democrats’ attempts to obtain his tax returns, pursuing legal action to stop Deutsche Bank and Capital One from responding to congressional subpoenas. Among other documents, Deutsche Bank holds descriptions of the value of Mr. Trump’s assets and portions of his personal and business tax returns.
_____
4. “I don’t want to be a judge.” “So sorry that she had to go through what she went through.” “I owe her an apology.” “I wish I could have done something.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s response to his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, above in 1991, has evolved over the years. On Tuesday, he said he took “responsibility,” but he has repeatedly stopped short of a direct apology. We took a look at what Mr. Biden has said about the matter over the years as he gears up for another presidential run.
Separately, is America ready for a gay president? The chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party talked about Pete Buttigieg with our political reporter.
_____
5. Japan is beginning a new era.
Emperor Naruhito of Japan will ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, signifying the start of a new era. His father, Akihito, is the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years, above.
For this unusual shift in the world’s oldest monarchy, our Tokyo bureau chief took a deeper look at the royal family, which has faced near extinction, intrigue, drama and disappointments. Her five-part series begins after World War II.
_____
6.Facebook is getting a face-lift.
The social media company unveiled a redesign of its mobile app and desktop site, adding a host of features to promote private group communication rather than the News Feed. The shift is the most tangible sign yet of how privacy scandals have forced Facebook to change.
The features, when combined, “will end up creating a more trustworthy platform,” Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview.
_____
7. Apple’s revenue fell in the latest quarter on weak iPhone demand, the first consecutive quarterly decline in more than two years.
The company’s revenue fell 16 percent from the latest quarter of last year. But Apple has reassured investors by expanding other arms of its business and conducting huge buyback campaigns.
Separately, thousands of your personal details can be used to target you with eerily “relevant” ads. We bought some to show you how disturbing they can be in the latest installment of our Privacy Project from Opinion.
_____
8.And the Tony nominees are…
The new musical “Hadestown,” a folk-and-blues-inflected musical reimagining Greek myths, above, led with 14 nominations. The race for best new play is now likely to be a face-off between “The Ferryman” and “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Our chief theater critics discussed the choices in what one of them called an “odd year.”
In other arts news, the Obamas and Netflix revealed the shows and films they’re working on, including a movie about Frederick Douglass and an anthology series based on The Times’s Overlooked obituary project.
And last, our film critic offers his remembrance of director John Singleton. His 1991 “Boyz N the Hood,” A. O. Scott writes, “rests in American movie history like a boulder in a riverbed, altering the direction of the stream.”
_____
9.From apples to watermelon, climate change is altering the foods America grows.
In every region, farmers and scientists are trying to adapt crops to warmer temperatures, invasive pests, erratic weather and earlier growing seasons. Our Food and Climate desks collaborated on a special edition this week to highlight how growers, restaurants and consumers are adapting.
In California, one farmer is reinventing the tomato with hardy, cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant varieties. Up in Maine, Melissa Clark discovers the versatility of kelp, above, and our wine critic examines the questions wine lovers should be asking producers.
_____
10.The story of the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets: 3-pointers delivered in bulk.
It’s a strategy that helped both teams get to the Western Conference semifinals (they play Game 2 tonight), but some believe it’s costing the game variety. If current trends continue, the N.B.A. could be a majority-3-point-league by the 2030s. We broke down the unstoppable math.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals last night, the Philadelphia 76ers evened the second round against the Toronto Raptors at one game apiece by slowing the game: a throwback to past styles of play.
_____
11.And finally, reading between the tree rings.
Trees are giant organic recording devices. The oldest can tell ancient stories about our world — and even galactic events.
More and more scientists are learning to read them. Roughly a dozen large tree labs operate around the world, collecting data from 4,000 sites to add to a single database accessible to researchers.
So add this to the gifts trees give us: an ever richer picture of the nexus of past climate, ecosystems and human civilization.
Have a rooted night.
_____
Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.
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Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.
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Home » Analysis & Comment » Robert Mueller, Venezuela, Tony Awards: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing
Robert Mueller, Venezuela, Tony Awards: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)
Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. The special counsel Robert Mueller, above, wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William Barr, objecting to Mr. Barr’s early description of his investigation’s conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump, according to the Justice Department.
Mr. Barr defended his descriptions of the special counsel’s conclusions in conversations with Mr. Mueller over the days that followed.
The letter adds to the growing evidence of a rift between them and is another sign of the anger among the special counsel’s investigators about Mr. Barr’s characterization of their findings.
On Wednesday, Mr. Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the investigation.
_____
2. President Nicolás Maduro remains in power in Venezuela.
It was a question for much of the day, after the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, above, called for an uprising, flanked at sunrise by soldiers at an air force base in the heart of the capital, Caracas.
John Bolton, the national security adviser, told reporters that central figures in the Maduro government had committed to help transfer power to Mr. Guaidó. They, however, publicly stated their support for Mr. Maduro.
And a famed political prisoner, Leopoldo López, took refuge in the Chilean Embassy just hours after being freed. Here’s an overview of the situation.
_____
3. Democratic congressional leaders said President Trump showed “good will” at a meeting on infrastructure. They agreed to pursue a $2 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges and broadband. How to pay for it is still a question.
For Mr. Trump, an infrastructure deal would provide him with a bipartisan achievement to take on the campaign trail. For the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, pictured above today with the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, the meeting shifts the conversation from impeachment to policy agenda.
Mr. Trump is continuing to resist House Democrats’ attempts to obtain his tax returns, pursuing legal action to stop Deutsche Bank and Capital One from responding to congressional subpoenas. Among other documents, Deutsche Bank holds descriptions of the value of Mr. Trump’s assets and portions of his personal and business tax returns.
_____
4. “I don’t want to be a judge.” “So sorry that she had to go through what she went through.” “I owe her an apology.” “I wish I could have done something.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s response to his treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, above in 1991, has evolved over the years. On Tuesday, he said he took “responsibility,” but he has repeatedly stopped short of a direct apology. We took a look at what Mr. Biden has said about the matter over the years as he gears up for another presidential run.
Separately, is America ready for a gay president? The chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party talked about Pete Buttigieg with our political reporter.
_____
5. Japan is beginning a new era.
Emperor Naruhito of Japan will ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, signifying the start of a new era. His father, Akihito, is the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years, above.
For this unusual shift in the world’s oldest monarchy, our Tokyo bureau chief took a deeper look at the royal family, which has faced near extinction, intrigue, drama and disappointments. Her five-part series begins after World War II.
_____
6. Facebook is getting a face-lift.
The social media company unveiled a redesign of its mobile app and desktop site, adding a host of features to promote private group communication rather than the News Feed. The shift is the most tangible sign yet of how privacy scandals have forced Facebook to change.
The features, when combined, “will end up creating a more trustworthy platform,” Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview.
_____
7. Apple’s revenue fell in the latest quarter on weak iPhone demand, the first consecutive quarterly decline in more than two years.
The company’s revenue fell 16 percent from the latest quarter of last year. But Apple has reassured investors by expanding other arms of its business and conducting huge buyback campaigns.
Separately, thousands of your personal details can be used to target you with eerily “relevant” ads. We bought some to show you how disturbing they can be in the latest installment of our Privacy Project from Opinion.
_____
8. And the Tony nominees are …
The new musical “Hadestown,” a folk-and-blues-inflected musical reimagining Greek myths, above, led with 14 nominations. The race for best new play is now likely to be a face-off between “The Ferryman” and “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
Our chief theater critics discussed the choices in what one of them called an “odd year.”
In other arts news, the Obamas and Netflix revealed the shows and films they’re working on, including a movie about Frederick Douglass and an anthology series based on The Times’s Overlooked obituary project.
And last, our film critic offers his remembrance of director John Singleton. His 1991 “Boyz N the Hood,” A. O. Scott writes, “rests in American movie history like a boulder in a riverbed, altering the direction of the stream.”
_____
9. From apples to watermelon, climate change is altering the foods America grows.
In every region, farmers and scientists are trying to adapt crops to warmer temperatures, invasive pests, erratic weather and earlier growing seasons. Our Food and Climate desks collaborated on a special edition this week to highlight how growers, restaurants and consumers are adapting.
In California, one farmer is reinventing the tomato with hardy, cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant varieties. Up in Maine, Melissa Clark discovers the versatility of kelp, above, and our wine critic examines the questions wine lovers should be asking producers.
_____
10. The story of the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets: 3-pointers delivered in bulk.
It’s a strategy that helped both teams get to the Western Conference semifinals (they play Game 2 tonight), but some believe it’s costing the game variety. If current trends continue, the N.B.A. could be a majority-3-point-league by the 2030s. We broke down the unstoppable math.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals last night, the Philadelphia 76ers evened the second round against the Toronto Raptors at one game apiece by slowing the game: a throwback to past styles of play.
_____
11. And finally, reading between the tree rings.
Trees are giant organic recording devices. The oldest can tell ancient stories about our world — and even galactic events.
More and more scientists are learning to read them. Roughly a dozen large tree labs operate around the world, collecting data from 4,000 sites to add to a single database accessible to researchers.
So add this to the gifts trees give us: an ever richer picture of the nexus of past climate, ecosystems and human civilization.
Have a rooted night.
_____
Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.
And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing. Sign up here to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning.
Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.
What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at [email protected].
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