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| John F. Kelly, Paris, Grammy Nominations: Your Weekend Briefing | John F. Kelly, Paris, Grammy Nominations: Your Weekend Briefing |
| (about 2 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. A damning turn for President Trump and his associates: | 1. A damning turn for President Trump and his associates: |
| Federal prosecutors say he directed illegal payments during the presidential campaign to help prevent a possible sex scandal. | Federal prosecutors say he directed illegal payments during the presidential campaign to help prevent a possible sex scandal. |
| The president’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said Mr. Trump, above, directed payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Mr. Trump. But in a memo arguing for a prison term for Mr. Cohen, prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. Cohen “acted in coordination and at the direction of an unnamed individual” — a clear reference to Mr. Trump. | |
| Separately, the special counsel’s office said that Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, had “told multiple discernible lies” about his contacts with Trump administration officials and his interactions with a Russian linked to Moscow’s intelligence services. | Separately, the special counsel’s office said that Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, had “told multiple discernible lies” about his contacts with Trump administration officials and his interactions with a Russian linked to Moscow’s intelligence services. |
| Together, the filings laid bare the most direct evidence to date linking Mr. Trump to potentially criminal conduct, and added to an already substantial case that Russia was seeking to sway the 2016 election in his favor. | Together, the filings laid bare the most direct evidence to date linking Mr. Trump to potentially criminal conduct, and added to an already substantial case that Russia was seeking to sway the 2016 election in his favor. |
| Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and our crossword puzzles. | Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, the Sunday Review from Opinion and our crossword puzzles. |
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| 2. John F. Kelly is out. The president said Saturday that Mr. Kelly, above, his second chief of staff, would leave his job by the end of the year. Mr. Kelly’s departure had long been rumored amid signs that he and Mr. Trump had grown irritated with each other. | 2. John F. Kelly is out. The president said Saturday that Mr. Kelly, above, his second chief of staff, would leave his job by the end of the year. Mr. Kelly’s departure had long been rumored amid signs that he and Mr. Trump had grown irritated with each other. |
| The president said he would announce Mr. Kelly’s replacement in the coming days. The leading candidate is the vice president’s own chief of staff, Nick Ayers, a political operative who possesses the campaign savvy that Mr. Trump has craved. | The president said he would announce Mr. Kelly’s replacement in the coming days. The leading candidate is the vice president’s own chief of staff, Nick Ayers, a political operative who possesses the campaign savvy that Mr. Trump has craved. |
| Mr. Trump also announced his pick for attorney general: William P. Barr, who served as head of the Justice Department in the first Bush administration. Mr. Barr is a skeptic of the Russia investigation and is known for his expansive vision of executive power. | Mr. Trump also announced his pick for attorney general: William P. Barr, who served as head of the Justice Department in the first Bush administration. Mr. Barr is a skeptic of the Russia investigation and is known for his expansive vision of executive power. |
| Speaking of personnel: One former cabinet member had some harsh words for Mr. Trump, who fired right back. Mr. Trump said his former secretary of state, Rex W. Tillerson, was “dumb as a rock” and “lazy as hell” after Mr. Tillerson said the president was undisciplined, did not like to read and regularly pushed him to take actions that were illegal. | |
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| 3. The war of words ended a somber week Washington, which bid farewell to former President George Bush. | |
| Beginning Monday night, Mr. Bush lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. His coffin was draped in an American flag and placed on the catafalque built for President Abraham Lincoln. Thousands lined up to pay their respects. | Beginning Monday night, Mr. Bush lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. His coffin was draped in an American flag and placed on the catafalque built for President Abraham Lincoln. Thousands lined up to pay their respects. |
| On Wednesday, at a funeral of pomp, pageantry and military precision, former President George W. Bush remembered his father as “a commander in chief of formidable accomplishment and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor.” (Our chief White House correspondent looks at the extraordinary relationship between the 41st and 43rd presidents.) | On Wednesday, at a funeral of pomp, pageantry and military precision, former President George W. Bush remembered his father as “a commander in chief of formidable accomplishment and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor.” (Our chief White House correspondent looks at the extraordinary relationship between the 41st and 43rd presidents.) |
| President Trump and all four living former presidents, as well as more than 3,000 foreign leaders, lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and other mourners, were in attendance. Here are some major moments from the service. | President Trump and all four living former presidents, as well as more than 3,000 foreign leaders, lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and other mourners, were in attendance. Here are some major moments from the service. |
| The comedian Dana Carvey wrote about his friendship with the elder Mr. Bush, whom he impersonated on “Saturday Night Live,” and activists reflected on Mr. Bush’s “mixed legacy” on addressing the AIDS epidemic. | The comedian Dana Carvey wrote about his friendship with the elder Mr. Bush, whom he impersonated on “Saturday Night Live,” and activists reflected on Mr. Bush’s “mixed legacy” on addressing the AIDS epidemic. |
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| 4. Inside Jared Kushner’s relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia: | 4. Inside Jared Kushner’s relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia: |
| The crown prince cultivated Mr. Kushner’s friendship even before his succession, and the two men have had informal, private discussions. Several U.S. advisers worried that Mr. Kushner’s political inexperience could make him a target for manipulation. Their close communication continued even after the killing of the dissident Jamal Khashoggi in October set off a firestorm across the world. Above, the crown prince, left, with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, last year. | |
| The benefits of their relationship to the U.S. are uncertain, but it has paid off well for the Saudis. | The benefits of their relationship to the U.S. are uncertain, but it has paid off well for the Saudis. |
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| 5. France was roiled by protests for the fourth weekend in a row, as thousands of the so-called Yellow Vests took to the streets across the country. In Paris, the protests turned violent, above, with the police firing water cannons and tear gas to control crowds. | 5. France was roiled by protests for the fourth weekend in a row, as thousands of the so-called Yellow Vests took to the streets across the country. In Paris, the protests turned violent, above, with the police firing water cannons and tear gas to control crowds. |
| In a time of populist uprisings across the world, the Yellow Vests are different. Though the movement is filled with the working poor from rural areas, these demonstrators have deeper demands, including lower taxes, higher salaries and freedom from financial fear. | In a time of populist uprisings across the world, the Yellow Vests are different. Though the movement is filled with the working poor from rural areas, these demonstrators have deeper demands, including lower taxes, higher salaries and freedom from financial fear. |
| President Emmanuel Macron’s government has backed off on a planned fuel tax increase, but that has done little to assuage the protesters, whose outrage has morphed into a broader outcry at his economic policies. | President Emmanuel Macron’s government has backed off on a planned fuel tax increase, but that has done little to assuage the protesters, whose outrage has morphed into a broader outcry at his economic policies. |
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| 6. The arrest of a top executive at Huawei, one of China’s flagship technology firms, has thrown President Trump’s trade negotiations with China into disarray. | 6. The arrest of a top executive at Huawei, one of China’s flagship technology firms, has thrown President Trump’s trade negotiations with China into disarray. |
| Unlike another round of tariffs or tough rhetoric from American officials, the detention of the executive, Meng Wanzhou, above, appears to have driven home the rivalry between the United States and China in a visceral way for the Chinese establishment. | Unlike another round of tariffs or tough rhetoric from American officials, the detention of the executive, Meng Wanzhou, above, appears to have driven home the rivalry between the United States and China in a visceral way for the Chinese establishment. |
| China’s president, Xi Jinping, now faces competing pressures: to show strength, perhaps by retaliating against the United States, but also to limit the cost of rising tensions on China’s ruling class. | China’s president, Xi Jinping, now faces competing pressures: to show strength, perhaps by retaliating against the United States, but also to limit the cost of rising tensions on China’s ruling class. |
| The Justice Department is investigating Huawei on charges of violating sanctions on Iran. China sees the firm as an important driver of its global ambitions, but much of the world increasingly sees the company as a potential conduit for espionage and sabotage. | The Justice Department is investigating Huawei on charges of violating sanctions on Iran. China sees the firm as an important driver of its global ambitions, but much of the world increasingly sees the company as a potential conduit for espionage and sabotage. |
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| 7. The friction between the United States and China on a range of issues threatens to slow global action on climate change at a critical time. | 7. The friction between the United States and China on a range of issues threatens to slow global action on climate change at a critical time. |
| The emissions produced by both countries account for more than 40 percent of the global total — and those emissions went up this year. That fact is hovering over Katowice, Poland, where the United Nations is leading two weeks of talks on how to implement the Paris Agreement. | The emissions produced by both countries account for more than 40 percent of the global total — and those emissions went up this year. That fact is hovering over Katowice, Poland, where the United Nations is leading two weeks of talks on how to implement the Paris Agreement. |
| In the U.S., the Trump administration is hurriedly clearing the way for oil exploration in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, seen above, as part of the administration’s campaign to exploit fossil fuels and erase restrictive policies protecting the environment and addressing global warming. | In the U.S., the Trump administration is hurriedly clearing the way for oil exploration in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, seen above, as part of the administration’s campaign to exploit fossil fuels and erase restrictive policies protecting the environment and addressing global warming. |
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| 8. Some lawmakers are not taking their midterm losses quietly. After Gov. Scott Walker’s stunning loss last month, Wisconsin Republicans pushed through a sweeping set of bills Wednesday designed to limit the power of the incoming Democratic leaders. The move sent protesters flooding into the State Capitol, above. | |
| Michigan Republicans followed suit, but may not have the support of their departing governor, Rick Snyder, who portrays himself as a pragmatic businessman. | |
| One congressional race in North Carolina is still not settled. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about the election turmoil in the Ninth District, where the campaign of the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, hired a “guru of elections” who may have gone too far. | One congressional race in North Carolina is still not settled. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — about the election turmoil in the Ninth District, where the campaign of the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, hired a “guru of elections” who may have gone too far. |
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| 9. “Saturday Night Live” brought back Robert De Niro in his role as Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who visited Eric Trump, played by Alex Moffat, in his Trump Tower bedroom. “Mr. Mueller, people say you’re the worst thing to ever happen to my dad,” Moffat said. | 9. “Saturday Night Live” brought back Robert De Niro in his role as Robert Mueller, the special counsel, who visited Eric Trump, played by Alex Moffat, in his Trump Tower bedroom. “Mr. Mueller, people say you’re the worst thing to ever happen to my dad,” Moffat said. |
| “No, Eric,” answered De Niro. “Getting elected president was the worst thing that ever happened to your dad.” | “No, Eric,” answered De Niro. “Getting elected president was the worst thing that ever happened to your dad.” |
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| 10. The nominees are here for the Grammys and the Golden Globes. | 10. The nominees are here for the Grammys and the Golden Globes. |
| For both awards, there were surprises, snubs and refreshing developments: All four of the Grammys’ major categories — record of the year, song of the year, album of the year and best new artist — are dominated by women, including Cardi B, above. | For both awards, there were surprises, snubs and refreshing developments: All four of the Grammys’ major categories — record of the year, song of the year, album of the year and best new artist — are dominated by women, including Cardi B, above. |
| Our writers had some opinions on the picks. And our critics put out their guides to their favorite albums, movies and performances of the year. | Our writers had some opinions on the picks. And our critics put out their guides to their favorite albums, movies and performances of the year. |
| In case you missed it, the actor Kevin Hart stepped down as the host of the Oscars after an outcry over homophobic tweets and comments. | In case you missed it, the actor Kevin Hart stepped down as the host of the Oscars after an outcry over homophobic tweets and comments. |
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| 11. Therapeutic cookie baking; the journalist Isabel Wilkerson on Michelle Obama’s new memoir, “Becoming,” above; and President Trump’s undocumented housekeeper speaks out: We have these stories and more in our Best Weekend Reads. | 11. Therapeutic cookie baking; the journalist Isabel Wilkerson on Michelle Obama’s new memoir, “Becoming,” above; and President Trump’s undocumented housekeeper speaks out: We have these stories and more in our Best Weekend Reads. |
| For more suggestions on what to watch and listen to, may we suggest the latest small-screen recommendations from Watching, 11 new books our editors liked this week and our music critics’ latest playlist. | For more suggestions on what to watch and listen to, may we suggest the latest small-screen recommendations from Watching, 11 new books our editors liked this week and our music critics’ latest playlist. |
| Have a great week. | Have a great week. |
| Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. | Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. |
| You can sign up here to get our Morning Briefings by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or here to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. | You can sign up here to get our Morning Briefings by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning, or here to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. |
| Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. | Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. |
| 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. |
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