Syria, Michael Cohen, Facebook: Your Weekend Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/briefing/syria-michael-cohen-facebook.html

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Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead.

1. “A perfectly executed strike.” That’s what President Trump called the American-led attack to punish Syria for its suspected use of chemical weapons. (He added a familiar phrase: “Mission Accomplished!”)

Defense officials said the strikes — which were limited in scope and carried out with Britain and France — had taken out the “heart” of President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons program.

But they admitted the government had most likely retained some ability to use chemical agents. Here are seven takeaways. Above, smoke rising from the Syrian Scientific Research Center near Damascus, one of three targets.

The attack risked drawing the U.S. more deeply into a conflict with Syria’s patrons, Russia and Iran. Our Moscow bureau chief reports that despite heated rhetoric, there was a sense of relief among Russian officials that it was “a one-time shot,” in the words of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council rejected a Russian resolution condemning the strikes.

Did you keep up with the headlines this week? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. Here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, and our crossword puzzles.

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2. The week started with an F.B.I. raid on the office and hotel room of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, above.

And it ended with lawyers for Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen asking a judge to stop investigators from reading some of the documents they had seized. The judge has not yet ruled on the request.

Mr. Trump’s advisers have concluded that the wide-ranging corruption investigation poses a greater — and more imminent — threat to the president than even the special counsel’s investigation.

And Elliott Broidy, a major donor with ties to the White House, resigned as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee over revelations that he had agreed to pay $1.6 million to a former mistress to stay quiet about their affair. Mr. Cohen arranged the deal.

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3. President Trump called James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, above, an “untruthful slime ball” after salacious details from Mr. Comey’s forthcoming memoir leaked out.

In the book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership,” Mr. Comey denounces the president as “unethical, and untethered to truth,” and said Mr. Trump reminded him of a mob boss. It goes on sale Tuesday. Here’s our review.

Mr. Comey also sat down for a highly anticipated interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, which will air on Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern.

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4. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, swapped his trademark hoodie for a suit as he faced two days of grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The hearings were in response to revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that worked with the Trump campaign, had improperly harvested the data of up to 87 million users.

And they showed that momentum is building for tighter regulation of tech companies to safeguard privacy.

Our tech columnist, meanwhile, downloaded his own Facebook data, and found it pretty unsettling.

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5. Paul Ryan’s announcement that he would not seek re-election blindsided Republicans and imperiled the party’s grip on the House.

Mr. Ryan, above, the speaker of the House and a star of the party, said he was retiring at 48 — sending an undeniably pessimistic message to Republicans who had expected him to help win midterm elections. A former Virginia official called it a “nightmare scenario.”

Needless to say, it’s difficult to keep up with the pace of news from Washington, and we certainly can’t fit it all in this briefing. For more, see this roundup of the biggest stories in American politics this week.

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6. The cover story of this week’s Times Magazine asks a difficult question: Why are black American mothers and babies dying at more than double the rate of their white counterparts?

Research shows the answer has everything to do with the lived experience of being a black woman in America. But there are also some simple solutions that can dramatically improve outcomes, like providing women with doulas who support them through the birth process.

We followed a New Orleans woman, Simone Landrum, above, as she gave birth to a healthy baby boy with the help of a doula. She had been terrified after her previous pregnancy ended in a stillbirth.

We were there as her two older sons visited the hospital to meet the newborn. “Mommy, you did it,” one told her.

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7. The Harry Potter economy is filled with jaw-dropping numbers, including 500 million books sold and $7.7 billion in worldwide film grosses.

Here’s another one: “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” a two-part Broadway show now in previews and opening April 22, will cost about $68.5 million to bring to the stage. (That pays for an extensive overhaul of the theater, an unusually large cast and crew and an elaborate set, among other things.)

It’s a huge bet in a flop-prone industry, but also a seemingly safe one — predicated on the expectation that “Cursed Child” will become the biggest nonmusical hit ever on Broadway.

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8. The N.B.A. playoffs are now underway, and our sports reporters had some bold predictions about who will prevail.

Among the questions they’re asking: If Stephen Curry, above, and the Golden State Warriors win, does that cement them as a dynasty? If they don’t win, does it invalidate the hyperbole about them that’s been thrown around the last three years? And can they learn to enjoy themselves?

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9. “Saturday Night Live” featured surprise appearances by Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, above, who played the special counsel Robert Mueller and Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer.

The two actors recreated a lie-detector scene from their 2000 comedy “Meet the Parents.”

And a standout sketch asked: Why would anyone ever order lobster at a New York City diner?

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10. Finally, looking for more of our signature journalism? Check out this collection of our best weekend reads, which includes portraits of young women once held as captives by Boko Haram, such as the photo above; the gladiators of “Scandal” on their impending exit from the arena; and one man’s quest to solve a decades-old mystery.

And for more suggestions on what to watch and read, may we suggest perusing this rundown of the 11 shows we’ll be talking about in April, on TV and streaming services; and the titles on the New York Times best-seller lists.

Have a great week.

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