Spying Apps, Brexit, Markets: Your Monday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/briefing/spying-apps-brexit-markets.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. Wanted: A new White House chief of staff.

The hunt is on after President Trump announced over the weekend that John Kelly, above, would leave at the end of the year — and Nick Ayers, the president’s first choice to replace him, declined the job.

Mr. Ayers, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said on Sunday that he, too, was leaving the administration.

That leaves the White House in another chaotic staffing scramble. According to one study, turnover among senior staff is at 62 percent, far higher than at the same point in the administrations of President Obama (24 percent) and George W. Bush (33 percent).

Among the possible successors in the role are Representative Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican; the Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin; Mr. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney; and the U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer.

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2. Economic and trade tensions drove global markets lower, with U.S. stocks swinging from gains to losses and back again.

The S&P 500 ended 0.18 percent higher, after having dropped more than 1.5 percent. Markets in Europe and Asia ended their trading sessions lower.

Investors could face more stock swings in the days ahead, after the S&P 500-stock index fell more than 4.6 percent last week, its worst weekly drop since March.

But it’s a good idea to put slides like that in context. The index is still up more than 16 percent since President Trump took office and more than 23 percent higher since Election Day 2016. We take a step-back look at the charts.

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3. Facing the prospect of a humiliating defeat, Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek to delay a parliamentary vote, scheduled to take place Tuesday, on her proposal to leave the E.U.

After weeks of bitter criticism and days of debate in Parliament, it was clear her plan would be rejected by “a significant margin,” Ms. May said in an unscheduled address to Parliament, where she was heckled by lawmakers. Above, a protest outside Parliament.

Although she appears to have the authority to unilaterally postpone the vote, there was opposition to such a move — adding yet more uncertainty to the process.

So what comes next? We examine some possibilities, including a second Brexit referendum, a snap general election or a leadership challenge.

Separately, after a fourth weekend of violent protests over economic inequality in France, President Emmanuel Macron promised tax cuts and income increases for the struggling middle class and working poor.

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4. American dollars are guiding the fight to contain gang violence in El Salvador.

Over the last two years, the U.S. has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars and dozens of law enforcement and military personnel to fighting gangs like MS-13 that send so many Salvadorans fleeing to the U.S. border. Above, a gang tattoo.

The goal is to create a self-sufficient Salvadoran justice system. But the consequences of the effort are difficult to assess.

And President Trump’s fiery rhetoric and threats to walk away — including claims that most Salvadoran immigrants are gang members in disguise — have at times endangered his administration’s diplomacy in a region where American involvement has long been viewed with suspicion.

Here’s our deep report on America’s conflicted involvement in El Salvador.

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5. At the international climate talks in Poland, U.S. representatives defended fossil fuel use, arguing that a rapid retreat from coal, oil and gas was unrealistic.

At a panel discussion, President Trump’s energy and climate adviser said it was in the world’s interest to find more efficient ways to develop and burn those fuels. The panel was interrupted by protesters chanting “Shame on you” and “Keep it in the ground!” Above, a protester outside the meeting.

But there are signs that the administration has gained some powerful allies. On the panel, Australia’s representative expressed agreement. And the U.S. was joined by Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in withholding support for a report on cutting global fossil-fuel emissions.

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6. The world’s coral reefs are being ravaged by warmer oceans caused by global warming.

That’s significant because reefs support as much as a quarter of ocean life. But scientists studying the Great Barrier Reef off Australia are finding a reason for optimism. Above, a reef near Lizard Island, Australia.

Ocean temperatures surged in 2016 around the Great Barrier Reef, causing severe damage. But researchers found that the corals that survived were more heat-tolerant, and were able to survive a period of extreme warmth the following year.

“It’s one enormous natural selection event,” said one researcher.

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7. Apps know where you’ve been sleeping. They know where you’re awake.

In a fascinating and eerie report, our journalists show how your smartphone apps track your movements and snoop on your daily habits. The practice is increasingly intrusive, they found, as data is sold to advertisers, who spent $21 billion this year on location-targeted advertising.

Dozens of companies say the information they collect and sell is anonymous, and that they are interested only in patterns. But we reviewed a database with information from more than a million phones in the New York area, above, that revealed individuals’ travels in startling — and identifiable — detail. Read more about our reporters’ methodology here.

Here’s how to tell if apps are sharing your location — and how to stop them.

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8. Our ancestors’ suffering may be inheritable, some researchers say.

The idea of that field of study, known as epigenetics, is that trauma can leave a chemical mark on a person’s genes, which then is passed along to subsequent generations.

One recent study showed that male children of abused Civil War prisoners were more likely to die than their peers were in any given year after middle age. Another showed a link between famine in one generation and body mass in the next. Above, doctors in Annapolis, Md., examining a Civil War prisoner of war.

But many scientists aren’t so sure.

“These are, in fact, extraordinary claims, and they are being advanced on less than ordinary evidence,” one said.

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9. Is too much screen time bad for kids’ brains?

A study on children’s use of electronic devices, featured on “60 Minutes” over the weekend, is sure to alarm parents.

Early results from research financed by the National Institutes of Health seem to show that heavy screen use is associated with lower scores on some aptitude tests, and with accelerated “cortical thinning” — a natural process — in some children. Above, a child at a trade fair in Cologne, Germany.

But the data is preliminary, our science reporter cautions, and it’s unclear whether the effects are lasting — or even meaningful.

He answers common questions about what researchers know about kids and screen time.

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10. Finally, say “pleas.”

The Supreme Court justices lined up in seniority order last month to sit for a class picture, a longstanding tradition when a new justice joins the bench.

It can be an awkward and illuminating moment, our Supreme Court reporter observes in a retrospective of judicial group shots, which have been taken since 1867. Photographers have to work fast, and the justices may or may not cooperate. Above, the latest portrait.

“It’s a tradition that all the photographers in town look forward to getting a crack at,” our photographer said, “because it’s a historical picture no matter what.”

Have an appealing evening.

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