Diana, Emmanuel Macron, Melania Trump: Your Thursday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/31/briefing/diana-macron-melania-trump.html

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• In the United States, Hurricane Harvey, downgraded to a tropical depression, shifted its wrath to areas east of Houston, bringing more record-breaking rainfall and devastating floods.

At least 38 deaths have been reported throughout the region. Among the victims was a woman who was swept into a canal and drowned while her child survived by clinging to her. The video above shows the emotional and physical toll on the storm’s survivors.

Here’s a collection of the most powerful photographs, a guide to our coverage and how to help. Access is free.

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• The U.S.-led military coalition in Syria bombed a road and bridge to block the transfer of hundreds of Islamic State fighters, foiling a deal the terrorist group had made with the Lebanese Army, Hezbollah and Syrian loyalist forces. A U.S. military spokesman said airstrikes on the convoy remained a possibility.

The U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon amid U.S. and Israeli concerns that the force was ignoring a Hezbollah arms buildup. In a compromise with France, which objected to changes to the mandate, peacekeepers were given stronger inspection powers.

Separately, the Pentagon acknowledged publicly for the first time that the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan was higher than previously disclosed. It said that the U.S. had about 11,000 troops in the country.

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• President Trump pitched a sweeping tax overhaul but offered few specifics beyond a goal of a 15 percent corporate tax rate, down from 35 percent. (A leading economist disputed the notion that changing the tax system would lead to a growth spurt.)

Meanwhile, a Senate race in Pennsylvania suggests that the Republican Party’s base voters remain loyal to Mr. Trump and his agenda even as the larger electorate drifts away from him.

Mr. Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, disputed a dossier complied by a former British spy, which said that Mr. Cohen had deep ties to Russian officials.

On a side note, our most-read article in Europe today is our fashion critic’s interpretation of the message that Melania Trump, the first lady, sent by wearing stiletto heels en route to storm-ravaged Texas.

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• “A totally unprecedented kind of mass anguish, a febrile convulsion of grief.” That’s how one of our correspondents recalled Britain after the death of the Princess of Wales, 20 years ago today.

The public outpouring of grief for Diana ultimately modernized the British monarchy, now represented by a new generation of better-prepared royals, and allowed the country to be more emotional and expressive.

We dug into our archives to retrace her life and work in the pages of The New York Times. And here’s a look at fan fiction that imagines her life taking a different course.

• Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, gained U.S. regulatory approval for the first cancer treatment that genetically alters a patient’s own cells. It will cost $475,000.

• The U.S. economic recovery is showing some unexpected vigor. Revised estimates put growth at 3 percent for the second quarter, the fastest pace in two years.

• The New America Foundation, a U.S. think tank backed by Google, fired a scholar after he praised the E.U.’s record $2.7 billion fine against the tech giant.

• Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

• The French government is expected to unveil its plan to overhaul the labor code today, a major test for President Emmanuel Macron’s agenda. In an interview with a local weekly, Mr. Macron said he expected staunch opposition. [Bloomberg]

• The U.N.’s human rights chief condemned President Trump’s denunciations of some media outlets as “fake news,” warning that such statements could amount to incitement to violence. [The New York Times]

• In Germany’s election next month, four parties wrestle for third place behind the leading Conservatives and the Social Democrats to possibly become a coalition partner in the next government. [Politico]

• Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is the subject of the opposition leader Aleksei Navalny’s latest anti-corruption exposé. Mr. Navalny said that Mr. Putin used a luxurious holiday home near the Finnish border. [RFE/RL]

• A Czech parliamentary committee recommended that lawmakers lift the immunity of Andrej Babis, the populist candidate for prime minister leading in the polls ahead of elections in October, in a fraud inquiry. [Reuters]

• Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, the French athlete who won the gold in the 800 meters at the World Championships in London this month, said he suffered facial injuries in an assault. [Reuters]

• Nearly two million Muslim worshipers have arrived in Saudi Arabia this week for the hajj pilgrimage. [Reuters]

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

• Here’s how to properly care for your clothes.

• Recipe of the day: Make tonight’s dinner special with mustard-glazed pork tenderloin.

• At the U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova, above, advanced. Here’s a look at Frances Tiafoe, the 19-year-old American who challenged Roger Federer. And here’s a rundown of other results.

• “Downsizing,” a fantastical drama, is one of three highly anticipated big-studio productions in competition for Golden Lion honors at the Venice Film Festival.

• In Spain, a group of artists turned a fleet of trucks into moving works of art.

• The New York City Council is following the example of London, Berlin, Paris and Zurich with the creation of an Office of Nightlife, and giving activities a more congenial reputation.

Our story last week about how the Spanish language is thriving in the U.S. mentioned the song of the summer, “Despacito.” A remix of a hit by the Puerto Rican musicians Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, above, the song features Justin Bieber singing in Spanish.

It’s one of only three Spanish-language songs to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Can you guess the other two?

Time’s up.

The first was the only one of the three songs to be sung entirely in Spanish: a cover of “La Bamba” by the group Los Lobos that coincidentally enough topped the U.S. chart 30 years ago this week.

A Mexican folk song, “La Bamba” was propelled to (renewed) fame by the 1987 film of the same name, a biopic of Ritchie Valens. Valens released what is perhaps the best-known version of the song, in 1958, before dying the next year in a plane crash at 17.

The other hit was “Macarena,” originally released by the Spanish duo Los del Río before a remix by the Bayside Boys became inescapable in 1996. Even delegates at that summer’s Democratic National Convention got into the rhythm. Sort of.

The song made headlines again recently after the police in Saudi Arabia detained a teenager who was captured on video dancing along.

Sandra E. Garcia contributed reporting.

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