Republican Party, C.I.A., Syria: Your Thursday Evening Briefing

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/briefing/republican-party-cia-syria.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. President Trump is marshaling the full power of his office to win support for the Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act.

On Capitol Hill, the bill was approved by two House committees despite vociferous opposition from Democrats, health care providers and some conservatives.

It goes to the Budget Committee next, before a final House vote that Speaker Paul Ryan, above, plans for the week of March 20.

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2. The administration is considering deep cuts to the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund its southern border security plan.

The goal is to shift about $5 billion toward hiring agents for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, infrastructure and building a wall.

The three agencies in question have played high-profile roles in the Department of Homeland Security’s post-Sept. 11 security architecture. Some agency veterans were befuddled by the news.

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3. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, said in a TV appearance that carbon dioxide was not a primary contributor to global warming.

That statement is at odds with the global scientific consensus on climate change.

His remarks come as the Trump administration prepares to roll back President Barack Obama’s two signature global warming policies: a pair of sweeping regulations intended to curb carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles and power plant smokestacks.

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4. The United States is sending an additional 400 troops to Syria to help prepare for the looming fight for Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate.

The increase, which includes a team of Army Rangers and a Marine artillery unit that have already arrived in the country, appears to represent a near-doubling of the number of American troops in the country.

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5. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, moved to seize the moment after his organization released a new trove of classified information about the C.I.A.’s cyberweaponry.

Speaking from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has sought refuge since 2012, Mr. Assange presented himself as a defender of some of the biggest American technology companies against their own government.

The C.I.A. responded by saying that any spying it does is restricted by law to foreigners and foreign countries, and described Mr. Assange as “not exactly a bastion of truth and integrity.”

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6. In a rare public disclosure, Fox News released a joint statement with a former contributor, Tamara Holder, about her report of sexual assault by a company executive.

In late February, 21st Century Fox reached a settlement worth more than $2.5 million with Ms. Holder, who said that she was assaulted at company headquarters two years ago.

She said she struggled with whether to come forward with her claims. The company is still dealing with the fallout from the harassment scandal involving Roger Ailes.

“I was told by agents and lawyers that if I opened up, I would forever be ‘toxic’ and my career would be over,” Ms. Holder said in an email. “I had to turn my fear into courage.”

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7. And in Texas, sexual assault accusations piled up while Baylor University made football its top priority. The victims, furious alumni and the authorities are seeking answers.

One lawsuit claims there were 52 rapes from 2011 to 2014 — a period when the once-hapless football program became a dominant force in the Big 12 conference.

Collectively, the cases have become a cautionary parable for modern-day college athletics, one in which a Christian university seemed to lose sight of its core values in pursuit of football glory and protected gridiron heroes who preyed on women.

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8. We’re getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17.

So was Mr. Trump’s online store, which briefly stocked a $50 green “Make America Great Again” hat embroidered with a four-leaf clover.

The designers may have been thinking of the three-leaf shamrock, often mistaken for a four-leaf clover. The latter is not a symbol of Ireland.

The hats have now disappeared from the website.

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9. Here’s a new category of TV show: “pastoral porn.”

That’s how our writer described “Countryfile,” a wildly popular BBC documentary show that portrays the slow-paced lifestyle and grassy valleys of the English countryside.

The “quintessentially British” program moves at a leisurely clip, and doesn’t shy away from difficult topics such as dementia or domestic abuse.

“A lot of television may be made with ratings in mind,” one of the show’s directors said. “That may be where they are getting it wrong, as far as I am concerned.”

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10. Finally, in 2017, identity is at the absolute center of our conversations about music. Here are 25 songs that show why. In the process, they show us where music is going.

To celebrate the release of the Times Magazine Music Issue, we offer a curated playlist featuring Future, Kelela, Adele and more, with essays by Margo Jefferson, Wesley Morris, Angela Flournoy and others.

Happy listening.

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