Ronny Jackson, Debbie Lesko, Finland: Your Wednesday Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/briefing/ronny-jackson-debbie-lesko-finland.html

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The confirmation hearing for Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician and President Trump’s pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, was supposed to take place today.

Instead, it’s been postponed indefinitely, to give a Senate committee time to investigate accusations that Dr. Jackson oversaw a hostile work environment, improperly dispensed prescription medication and possibly drank on the job.

After hinting on Tuesday that Dr. Jackson might withdraw, Mr. Trump later defended him against “ugly” abuse by politicians.

• The president has had less-kind things to say about his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, calling him “weak,” “disgraceful” and an “idiot.” That hasn’t kept Mr. Sessions from diligently pushing his boss’s conservative agenda.

• They may have their disagreements, but President Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France certainly seem to enjoy each other’s company.

The two men — holding hands, kissing cheeks, brushing shoulders — bordered on the intimate on Tuesday, the second day of the French leader’s visit to Washington.

(Their body language was much talked about, but so was Melania Trump’s white hat.)

Here’s the guest list for their state dinner, at which Mr. Trump offered a toast: “May our friendship grow even deeper, may our kinship grow even stronger and may our sacred liberty never die.”

• Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump signaled that he was open to negotiating a new deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear efforts. He left unclear whether he would pull out of the current agreement by his self-imposed deadline of May 12.

• Constable Ken Lam, the first officer to confront the suspect in the deadly van attack in Toronto on Monday, offered a textbook example of how to defuse a situation, policing experts said. He started by turning off his car’s siren.

The Times stitched together video recordings from a number of bystanders to analyze the high-stress confrontation, step by step.

• The suspect, Alek Minassian, 25, posted a hostile message toward women on Facebook moments before the rampage, writing of an “incel rebellion.” We explain the term, which is shorthand for “involuntary celibates.”

• After World War II, Britain invited thousands of people from its colonies in the Caribbean to help rebuild the nation, granting them automatic right of entry.

The law has since changed, and Britain imposed tough requirements in 2012 for people to prove their legal status. An estimated 50,000 to 500,000 of the Caribbean migrants — known as the “Windrush Generation” — have been caught up in the subsequent crackdown.

Some have been detained. At least one man was denied cancer treatment because he could not prove to his doctors that he was in the country legally.

• Prime Minister Theresa May has apologized and pledged to grant citizenship to the migrants. But black Britons say the scandal highlights lingering racism in government institutions.

• Debbie Lesko, a former state senator, fended off a strong Democratic challenge to win a special congressional election on Tuesday.

She may have been helped by robocalls from President Trump and fund-raisers hosted by Republican leaders.

• The party has lost support in every special election since Mr. Trump became president. We explain the forces behind the voting shifts.

• The Trump administration suffered its biggest setback yet in its attempt to end a program that shields some undocumented young adults from deportation.

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that protections for the young immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” must stay in place and that the government must resume accepting applications.

• The ruling was the third in recent months against the Trump administration’s rollback of the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.

• The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on the sales of e-cigarettes to minors, especially the popular vaping brand Juul.

• Finland captured global attention with its trial of a universal basic income, handing out cash, no strings attached. Now, the experiment is ending.

• In the corridors of American power, it can be as easy to find a man named John as it is to find a woman. Here’s our updated and expanded Glass Ceiling Index.

• U.S. stocks were down on Tuesday, falling for the fourth straight day. Here’s a snapshot of global markets today.

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

• These apps help you enjoy Paris, even if you don’t speak French.

• Using a standing desk may benefit your brain.

• Recipe of the day: Aim for big flavor with chicken thighs, mango, rum and cashews.

• In memoriam

Bob Dorough, a singer, pianist and composer, was well known for his jazz. But he achieved greater fame with “Schoolhouse Rock!,” an educational cartoon series with infectious songs like “Conjunction Junction” and “My Hero, Zero.” He was 94.

• Noma 2.0: A user’s manual

When the rule-defying restaurant opened in Copenhagen in 2003, it created a movement and a style of cuisine. It closed last year for a reimagining but reopened in February.

Our critic explains what it’s like to eat at Noma’s second incarnation.

• Speaking of second acts …

The new season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” arrives on Hulu today. As the series moves past Margaret Atwood’s novel, it feels, as it should, like the end of the world, our chief TV critic writes.

• Best of late-night TV

Conan O’Brien noted: “When President Emmanuel Macron greeted President Trump, he kissed Trump on both cheeks. Then out of habit, Michael Cohen showed up and handed Macron $130,000.”

• Quotation of the day

“I would rather believe a woman who has given birth to a baby and still insists that she is a virgin than Kim Jong-un.”

— Kim Chang-guk, 73, who joined other older citizens in the South Korean capital one recent weekend to protest the inter-Korean summit meeting.

• The Times, in other words

Here’s an image of today’s front page, and links to our Opinion content and crossword puzzles.

• What we’re reading

Michael Roston, a senior staff editor on our Science desk, recommends this piece from The Chicago Tribune: “A man is accused of filing a change of address request for UPS’s Atlanta headquarters, shifting deliveries to his one-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s North Side. Thousands of pieces of mail showed up — and so, eventually, did U.S. postal inspectors.”

Before Michael Jordan, another of the world’s most famous basketball players came from Wilmington, N.C.: Meadowlark Lemon.

Lemon, who is thought to have been born on this day in 1932, never played in the N.B.A. That’s because when he joined the Harlem Globetrotters in 1954, their mix of comedy and basketball legerdemain was the biggest draw in the game. (Check out some of his signature moves.)

The team played thousands of exhibition games around the world for millions of fans — and even helped America fight Communist propaganda during the Cold War.

The Globetrotters were founded in Chicago in 1926 — they didn’t play a game in Harlem until 1968. Lemon led the team to the height of its fame in the 1970s. Their roster wasn’t just filled with court jesters, either. They could play.

The Globetrotters have been credited with integrating the N.B.A. by beating the all-white Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949. The next year, the Globetrotters’ Nat Clifton, called Sweetwater, became the first black player to sign a contract with the league.

Lemon, who died in 2015, wrote in his memoir about the Globetrotters: “They had done more for the perception of black people and for the perception of America than almost anything you could think of.”

Robb Todd wrote today’s Back Story.

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