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| Catalonia, John Kelly, Donald Trump: Your Weekend Briefing | Catalonia, John Kelly, Donald Trump: Your Weekend Briefing |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. | Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. |
| 1. Two very different, very intense debates are dominating the news. | 1. Two very different, very intense debates are dominating the news. |
| First, how did President Trump’s condolence call to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson go so far off the rails? Above, his coffin. The administration has been swept up into a feud that pits Mr. Trump and his chief of staff, John Kelly, against Frederica Wilson, a Democratic congresswoman who sharply criticized the call as insensitive. | |
| The bitter exchanges raised new questions about exactly how Sergeant Johnson died. The Pentagon and, unusually, the F.B.I. are investigating the conflicting accounts surrounding the Oct. 4 ambush in Niger that claimed his life, along with those of three other Americans and four Nigerien soldiers. | |
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| 2. The second sweeping phenomenon: the groundswell over sexual harassment, which has spread far beyond Hollywood. | 2. The second sweeping phenomenon: the groundswell over sexual harassment, which has spread far beyond Hollywood. |
| The undoing of Harvey Weinstein underscored the increasing gravity of women’s accusations. Big-name actresses like the Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, above, have come forward with long-withheld accounts of his behavior. “Now that we are speaking, let us never shut up about this kind of thing,” she writes in an Op-Ed. | |
| Actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon discussed other perpetrators, and hundreds of thousands of women posted #MeToo messages. | Actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon discussed other perpetrators, and hundreds of thousands of women posted #MeToo messages. |
| In California’s capital, more than 140 women — including legislators and lobbyists — denounced pervasive sexual misconduct in the legislature. France, after a #MeToo-style outburst, is considering fines for catcalls. | In California’s capital, more than 140 women — including legislators and lobbyists — denounced pervasive sexual misconduct in the legislature. France, after a #MeToo-style outburst, is considering fines for catcalls. |
| And The Times reported a previously undisclosed sixth settlement over sexual harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host. A month after the $32 million deal in January, Fox extended his contract. | And The Times reported a previously undisclosed sixth settlement over sexual harassment allegations against Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News host. A month after the $32 million deal in January, Fox extended his contract. |
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| 3. Meanwhile, the wheels of government are turning, if slowly. Republicans, still striving for a single marquee legislative achievement in the Trump presidency, narrowly secured Senate approval for a budget blueprint paving the way for a $1.5 trillion tax cut. | 3. Meanwhile, the wheels of government are turning, if slowly. Republicans, still striving for a single marquee legislative achievement in the Trump presidency, narrowly secured Senate approval for a budget blueprint paving the way for a $1.5 trillion tax cut. |
| The House takes it up this week, shadowed by news from the Treasury Department: the largest annual budget deficit in four years. | The House takes it up this week, shadowed by news from the Treasury Department: the largest annual budget deficit in four years. |
| Republicans aim to pass the tax bill by Christmas, but few on or off Capitol Hill have seen even a draft. Here are the mechanics of the effort. | Republicans aim to pass the tax bill by Christmas, but few on or off Capitol Hill have seen even a draft. Here are the mechanics of the effort. |
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| 4. Senator Mitch McConnell and President Trump made a show of togetherness, moving to fill scores of federal court vacancies with conservatives. Above, Mr. McConnell, center left, with Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. | 4. Senator Mitch McConnell and President Trump made a show of togetherness, moving to fill scores of federal court vacancies with conservatives. Above, Mr. McConnell, center left, with Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. |
| On health care, Mr. Trump walked back his endorsement of a bipartisan effort to save insurance subsidies. Conversely, the I.R.S. announced a move that would bolster Obamacare: It will enforce the individual mandate, declining 2017 tax returns that do not disclose the filer’s health insurance status. | On health care, Mr. Trump walked back his endorsement of a bipartisan effort to save insurance subsidies. Conversely, the I.R.S. announced a move that would bolster Obamacare: It will enforce the individual mandate, declining 2017 tax returns that do not disclose the filer’s health insurance status. |
| At the same time, the E.P.A. has been moving to ease restrictions on toxic chemicals, under the direction of a former industry lobbyist. | At the same time, the E.P.A. has been moving to ease restrictions on toxic chemicals, under the direction of a former industry lobbyist. |
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| 5. Without speaking President Trump’s name, two former presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, in separate speeches implicitly condemned the president and the powers that thrust him into office. “Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children,” Mr. Bush said. | 5. Without speaking President Trump’s name, two former presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, in separate speeches implicitly condemned the president and the powers that thrust him into office. “Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry and compromises the moral education of children,” Mr. Bush said. |
| And George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund manager and a major Democratic donor, revealed that he had transferred $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations. A lightning rod for conservative critics, he is now squarely in the middle of the social and political debates convulsing the country. | And George Soros, the billionaire hedge fund manager and a major Democratic donor, revealed that he had transferred $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations. A lightning rod for conservative critics, he is now squarely in the middle of the social and political debates convulsing the country. |
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| 6. Disaster recovery continues: A month after Hurricane Maria, 80 percent of Puerto Rico remains without electricity. “We need trucks, we need poles, we need crews, we need lines, we need more people,” said a local utility employee. | 6. Disaster recovery continues: A month after Hurricane Maria, 80 percent of Puerto Rico remains without electricity. “We need trucks, we need poles, we need crews, we need lines, we need more people,” said a local utility employee. |
| In Northern California, some businesses are reopening as investigators dig through debris to determine what set off the region’s staggering outbreak of wildfires, whose toll includes 40 lives and almost 8,000 structures. The findings will help decide who pays for damages that are estimated to have surpassed $1 billion. | In Northern California, some businesses are reopening as investigators dig through debris to determine what set off the region’s staggering outbreak of wildfires, whose toll includes 40 lives and almost 8,000 structures. The findings will help decide who pays for damages that are estimated to have surpassed $1 billion. |
| The mass shooting in Las Vegas continues to mystify investigators. Using forensic analysis, we mapped 30 videos on a timeline to reconstruct the attack minute by minute, above, drawing perhaps the most complete picture to date of what happened when Stephen Paddock rained an estimated 900 rounds onto concertgoers. | |
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| 7. Abroad, Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, in an unexpectedly forceful move, said he would seek the removal of Catalonia’s leader, Carles Puigdemont, to halt the region’s secessionist movement. | |
| The question of independence is particularly complex in Barcelona, which is divided between its identity as a global city and as Catalonia’s capital. | The question of independence is particularly complex in Barcelona, which is divided between its identity as a global city and as Catalonia’s capital. |
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| 8. In the Middle East, our photographer accompanied some of the U.S.-backed forces that drove the Islamic State from its de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria. That capped the group’s ouster from most of Syria and Iraq, but at the cost of unfathomable destruction. Above, fighters in Raqqa. | 8. In the Middle East, our photographer accompanied some of the U.S.-backed forces that drove the Islamic State from its de facto capital, Raqqa, Syria. That capped the group’s ouster from most of Syria and Iraq, but at the cost of unfathomable destruction. Above, fighters in Raqqa. |
| And counterterrorism officials say ISIS could morph into a new, lethal incarnation. | And counterterrorism officials say ISIS could morph into a new, lethal incarnation. |
| To the west, the Iraqi military vanquished Kurdish forces to reclaim Kirkuk, checking the Kurds’ move toward independence. The U.S., despite its long reliance on the Kurds in the fight against ISIS, sat by, lining up with Iran’s priorities. | To the west, the Iraqi military vanquished Kurdish forces to reclaim Kirkuk, checking the Kurds’ move toward independence. The U.S., despite its long reliance on the Kurds in the fight against ISIS, sat by, lining up with Iran’s priorities. |
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| 9. While world attention has been on North Korea’s nuclear program, the country has nurtured a secretive hard-currency trade that nets $1 billion annually, and built a cyberwar program capable of stealing millions and unleashing global havoc. | |
| Elsewhere on the world stage, Nikki Haley, President Trump’s U.N. ambassador, made strident denunciations of Iran and urged tougher action by the Security Council against its “outlaw behavior.” | Elsewhere on the world stage, Nikki Haley, President Trump’s U.N. ambassador, made strident denunciations of Iran and urged tougher action by the Security Council against its “outlaw behavior.” |
| (She also received something of a tutorial on statecraft at a panel discussion with the former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright.) | (She also received something of a tutorial on statecraft at a panel discussion with the former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright.) |
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| 10. In Africa, some are referring to the twin truck bombings in Mogadishu that killed more than 270 people as Somalia’s 9/11. | 10. In Africa, some are referring to the twin truck bombings in Mogadishu that killed more than 270 people as Somalia’s 9/11. |
| Kenyans are on edge as the redo of their presidential election approaches on Thursday. The warring between parties led an official to say that the repeat might not be credible, either. | Kenyans are on edge as the redo of their presidential election approaches on Thursday. The warring between parties led an official to say that the repeat might not be credible, either. |
| In West Africa, a health implication resulting from the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak is shocking doctors: Many survivors have cataracts, even children as young as 5. Above, a child preparing to undergo eye surgery in Sierra Leone. | In West Africa, a health implication resulting from the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak is shocking doctors: Many survivors have cataracts, even children as young as 5. Above, a child preparing to undergo eye surgery in Sierra Leone. |
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| 11. President Xi Jinping’s dominance in China has been on display at the Communist Party congress, which culminates this week with a reshuffle of the powerful Politburo. | 11. President Xi Jinping’s dominance in China has been on display at the Communist Party congress, which culminates this week with a reshuffle of the powerful Politburo. |
| Here are the five takeaways from Mr. Xi’s marathon, 205-minute opening speech, which projected military and economic power. | Here are the five takeaways from Mr. Xi’s marathon, 205-minute opening speech, which projected military and economic power. |
| And the extraordinary security clampdown on Beijing for the congress further emphasized his message: Nothing can stand in my way. | And the extraordinary security clampdown on Beijing for the congress further emphasized his message: Nothing can stand in my way. |
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| 12. The Houston Astros are back. They face the Dodgers in L.A. on Tuesday for Game 1 of the World Series. | |
| The Yankees lost the chance Saturday night, after the Astros — celebrating above — held them to three hits and no runs to win the American League Championship Series. | |
| Lance McCullers Jr. spun curve after curve — 24 in a row to end the game. | |
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| 13. Finally, ready for a bit of escapism? For those who stream, here are 11 underappreciated TV shows now on Hulu. For those who’d rather scream, “The Walking Dead” returns tonight for Season 8. Here’s a look back at where the horror series left off. | |
| For a more erudite diversion, curl up with George Saunders’s experimental first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which just won the Man Booker Prize, or this year’s T Magazine Greats issue. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, above, a defining voice on race and gender for the digital age, is featured. | For a more erudite diversion, curl up with George Saunders’s experimental first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which just won the Man Booker Prize, or this year’s T Magazine Greats issue. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, above, a defining voice on race and gender for the digital age, is featured. |
| Have a great week. | Have a great week. |
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| Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. | Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. |
| And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Evening Briefing, weeknights at 6 p.m. Eastern. | And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Evening Briefing, weeknights at 6 p.m. Eastern. |
| Want to look back? You can browse past Morning and Evening Briefings. | Want to look back? You can browse past Morning and Evening Briefings. |
| If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play. | If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play. |
| What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com. | What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com. |