Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Jeff Sessions, Roy Moore, Digital Pill: Your Tuesday Briefing

A drone camera showed nine of the 10 sperm whales that were stranded off the coast of Aceh Province, Indonesia, on Monday. Six of the whales were led back to sea.Credit...Chaideer Mahyuddin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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

Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Justice Department is looking into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate political rivals of President Trump, including Hillary Clinton.

The president has said that suspicions about the Clinton Foundation and its ties to an Obama-era uranium deal with Russia should be examined.

“I’m really not involved with the Justice Department,” Mr. Trump said recently. “I’d like to let it run itself. But, honestly, they should be looking at the Democrats. And a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me.”

Our reporters note: “Any such investigation would raise questions about the independence of federal investigations under Mr. Trump. Since Watergate, the Justice Department has largely operated independently of political influence on cases related to the president’s opponents.”

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions is back on Capitol Hill today, where he is almost certain to face questions about his contacts with Russians during last year’s presidential campaign. Here’s what to expect from his appearance, which begins at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Image
Attorney General Jeff Sessions in New York this month. He has twice told lawmakers that he did not communicate with Russians to aid the Trump campaign.Credit...Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Separately, it was revealed that Donald Trump Jr. had multiple conversations with WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group that released a trove of Democrats’ emails during the campaign.

And President Trump nominated Alex Azar II as secretary of health and human services. The former executive of one of the largest drug companies would have responsibility for regulating the pharmaceutical industry.

• Our chief Washington correspondent looks at how Senator Mitch McConnell has shown little tolerance for sex scandals that could tarnish the image of the Senate and the Republican Party.

On Monday, Mr. McConnell called on Roy Moore, the Republican Alabama Senate candidate, to quit the race, after a fifth woman accused Mr. Moore of sexual misconduct. Beverly Young Nelson said Mr. Moore had assaulted her when she was 16. Read her full statement here.

Mr. Moore has denied any wrongdoing.

Video
Video player loading
Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama, was accused of sexual misconduct by a fifth woman. Republicans in the Senate have called for him to drop out of the campaign.CreditCredit...Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Today, a House panel will convene a hearing on harassment in Congress, which has joined Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the media and other industries under scrutiny.

We’d like to hear from readers for whom the sexual harassment accusations have prompted frank discussions with parents or grandparents about changing attitudes across generations.

• Have you taken your medicine today? In the future, your doctor may already know, after the first digital pill won F.D.A. approval on Monday.

Medication embedded with a sensor “has the potential to improve public health,” a Harvard medical instructor said, but “it’s like a biomedical Big Brother,” another doctor said.

Separately, tens of millions more Americans will be classified as having high blood pressure under new guidelines. That will drastically increase the need for medication and lifestyle changes. (However distressing the headlines, you should keep reading the briefing though.)

We also looked at the debate over taxing sugary drinks, which has turned into a policy brawl around the world. In Colombia, where soda is often cheaper than bottled water, proponents of a tax face intimidation and censorship.

Listen on a computer, an iOS device or an Android device.

• Like the Morning Briefing? Then consider subscribing to our Evening Briefing. It’s a rundown of the day’s biggest news and the stories you won’t want to miss.

Free, right to your inbox. Sign up here.

Our DealBook writers look at how rapid changes in politics, technology and social media are testing the business world.

Student loans are now the largest source of household debt after mortgages. The tide of rising defaults is also a lucrative business.

Radhika Jones, the editorial director of The Times’s books coverage, will be the next editor in chief of Vanity Fair.

Image
Radhika Jones will succeed Graydon Carter to become the sixth editor of Vanity Fair since the magazine’s founding in 1913.Credit...Chad Batka for The New York Times

U.S. stocks were up on Monday. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

Should we bother to count calories? Yes and no.

Our wine critic shares the four rules of Thanksgiving wines.

Pick up the Korean condiment gochujang and braise some chicken.

Jewels in northern Canada.

In today’s 360 video, visit a jewelry studio in Nunavut and listen to its award-winning founder discuss his creations.

Video
Video player loading
Visit Aayuraa Studio in Northern Canada and listen to its founder, Mathew Nuqingaq, who was named to the Order of Canada, talk about the stories of the jewelry he makes.CreditCredit...Nathan Griffiths/The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.

Partisan writing you shouldn’t miss.

Writers from across the political spectrum discuss the accusations against Roy Moore.

A possible clue in Green Beret’s death.

Two Navy SEAL commandos under investigation in the strangling of an Army soldier in Mali are also under scrutiny in the theft of money from a fund to pay confidential informants.

Trillions of flies can’t all be wrong.

For each person on earth, there are 17 million flies.

But they do more than annoy us. Pollinating plants and cleaning up carcasses are among their jobs.

Image
Fly specimens at the Natural History Museum in London.Credit...Elizabeth Dalziel for The New York Times

Best of late-night TV.

Appearing on “The Late Show,” Joe Biden didn’t dispel rumors that he might run for the White House in 2020.

The former vice president was promoting his new memoir, “Promise Me, Dad.” Read our review here.

Quotation of the day.

“I believe the women.”

Senator Mitch McConnell on the accusations facing Roy Moore.

Image
Italy, a four-time World Cup champion, failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time in six decades after a scoreless tie on Monday against Sweden.Credit...Luca Bruno/Associated Press

The twice-a-year fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris have dominated the industry calendar for decades.

In recent years, however, new contenders have started jostling for attention, including Dubai, where Arab Fashion Week begins on Wednesday.

Image
A fashion show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last month. The global Muslim clothing market is forecast to be worth $368 billion by 2021.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The five-day event is a predictably splashy affair, showcasing talent from the 22 countries in the Arab League. Plenty of emerging Western designers are also on the schedule, eager to cater to the valuable Middle Eastern client base.

Expect a broad mix of both Western-style ready-to-wear and modest clothing in the catwalk collections. As a growing global chorus of women demands attire in tune both with Islam and the societies around them, designers are responding with flowing printed tunics and colorful head scarves. Interestingly, designers from abroad are often the more conservative.

Modest fashion is becoming a commercial phenomenon. The global Muslim clothing market is forecast to be worth $368 billion by 2021, according to the latest Global Islamic Economy report.

With its blend of trends from around the world, Arab Fashion Week is playing a considerable role in reshaping perceptions of 21st-century Muslim identity in ways that go far beyond the veil.

Elizabeth Paton contributed reporting.

_____

Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated all morning. Browse past briefings here.

If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play.

What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com.

You can get the briefing delivered to your inbox Sunday through Friday. We have four global editions, timed for the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, and an Evening Briefing on weeknights. Check out our full range of free newsletters here.

Follow Chris Stanford on Twitter: @stanfordc.

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT