Your Thursday Night Briefing – The New York Times

Your Thursday Night Briefing – The New York Times

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1. The House Committee Investigating the January 6th Attack at the Capitol returns to prime time tonight.

It will deliver what it is: a closing argument in his case against Donald Trump and accused the former commander in chief of dereliction of duty for failing to call off the attack. Two military veterans on the panel will be at the forefront of leading the interrogation. We have live updates here.

“The captain of a ship can’t sit there watching the ship burn to the waterline and do nothing to stop it,” Virginia Democrat Representative Elaine Luria said in an interview, citing her 20 years of experience. in the navy. The hearing will also examine why did it take so long to deploy the National Guard?.

2. President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus.

The 79-year-old president, who has been fully vaccinated and boosted twice, “experienced very mild symptoms”, including fatigue, a runny nose and a dry cough, according to the White House. He was given Paxlovid, an antiviral drug used to minimize the severity of Covid-19. He will isolate himself in the White House, but “continue to fully perform all his duties during that time,” the White House said.

3. The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the first time in 11 years.

Half a percentage point increase aimed at record high inflation was a bigger jump than expected. The couch too introduced a new measure aimed at limiting disparities in borrowing costs among the 19 members of the eurozone, an increasingly worrisome problem for the bloc.

In other economic news, Russia the flow of natural gas resumed to Germany via a vital pipeline today, but Moscow has indicated it will continue to use energy to leverage the war in Ukraine. That will pressure European countries to meet their citizens’ energy demands while encouraging gas-saving measures, such as lowering thermostats and closing public services such as swimming pools.

Related: EU plan to ration natural gas by 15 percent until next spring encounters resistance.

5. The House has passed legislation to codify access to contraception across the country.

The measure went from 228 to 195, with eight Republicans backing it. It would protect the right to buy and use contraception.

The vote was the final step in the election year for Democrats to make a sharp distinction from Republicans on a social issue that enjoys broad support. The bill will almost certainly be blocked by the GOP opposition in the Senate.

Here’s a look at where abortion measures are on the agenda during the 2022 midterm cycle.

In other legislative news, more House Republicans than expected — 47 — voted in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify federal protections for same-sex couples. There may be a narrow path to fulfillment.


6. The Italian President accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, dissolved parliament and called for new elections.

Italy now ends a period of relative stability and influence and faces the prospect of a chaotic campaign that a right-wing alliance — including a group with neo-fascist roots — is best positioned to win. The government has instituted new elections on 25 September.

Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, had magnified Italy’s international footprint and economic prospects through the sheer power of his credibility. His supporters hoped that his centrism would have a moderating influence on the country’s populist forces.


7. The Monarch Butterfly of North America has been classified as endangered by a leading wildlife monitor.

The decision of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature comes after decades of declining population driven by losses in the plants they need as caterpillars and in the forests where adults spend the winter, coupled with climate change. Using the herbicide glyphosate on crops also killed milkweed plants, which the butterflies rely on.

8. Hip. Correctly. Cool. Woke up.

A new dictionary — the Oxford Dictionary of African American English – will seek to codify the contributions of black Americans to and their rich relationship with the English language. In addition to spelling and definitions, the dictionary collects the history of the words.

“You wouldn’t normally think of a dictionary as a way to tell the story of the evolution of the African American people, but it is,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr., the project’s editor in chief.

In other book news, Michelle Obama will share her approaches to coping with challenging times in ‘The Light We Carry’ will be released this fall. And here are 13 new books we recommend this week.

9. In 1872, a group of British financiers lived in New York gathered on Staten Island to play a game of cricket. Since then, the club has not been idle.

The Staten Island Cricket Club for 150 years has been a quiet, but durable fixture. Members now come from virtually every cricket country, with strong representation from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean Islands. But every now and then a native New Yorker joins in.

“I still love baseball,” said a Staten Island resident, “but I love cricket more now.”

Another under-the-radar New York tradition: As the founder and sole contributor to Film Noir Cinema, Will Malitek… the last movie rental company left in New York City.


10. And finally, chocolate cake for a friend.

While the sound of chewing may drive some people crazy, it makes our Food columnist Eric Kim sleepy. Eating sounds gives him a relaxing, tingling sensation in his brain, an auditory-tactile synesthesia that scientists call ASMR, or autonomic sensory meridian response. “For me, that response is instant drowsiness,” he writes.

He thought he was “a freak” until he found an online community of ASMR YouTube producers eating in front of the camera. Although they never met in person, one of them, Lizzy, became one of his best friends. His favorite video was one of her eating chocolate cake from the supermarket. Read Kim’s beautiful tribute to his friendwho passed away in 2019, and try the chocolate cake recipe he developed for Lizzy.

Make it a heartwarming night.


Brent Lewis composite photos for this briefing.

Your evening briefing will be posted at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

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