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| Syria, Fed Rates, Galápagos Islands: Your Thursday Briefing | Syria, Fed Rates, Galápagos Islands: Your Thursday Briefing |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) | (Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) |
| Good morning. U.S. shift on Syria, higher interest rates, a China-Pakistan military partnership. Here’s the latest: | |
| • President Trump ordered a full withdrawal from Syria. | • President Trump ordered a full withdrawal from Syria. |
| U.S. officials said they were ordered to pull all 2,000 U.S. ground troops from Syria within 30 days. | U.S. officials said they were ordered to pull all 2,000 U.S. ground troops from Syria within 30 days. |
| Top generals are against the move, saying it would betray Kurdish allies who have fought alongside American troops there. And the White House has yet to officially announce the withdrawal. | Top generals are against the move, saying it would betray Kurdish allies who have fought alongside American troops there. And the White House has yet to officially announce the withdrawal. |
| “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. He offered no details on his plans for the military mission, nor a larger strategy, in Syria. | “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. He offered no details on his plans for the military mission, nor a larger strategy, in Syria. |
| _____ | _____ |
| • U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates. | • U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates. |
| The widely expected quarter-point increase signaled confidence in the health of the U.S. economy. | |
| But U.S. stocks erased early gains after the announcement, which also indicated that rates would continue to be raised next year. | |
| Markets were well prepared for a rate increase, but policymakers had also been expected to calm jittery investors by emphasizing that further increases in 2019 would depend on sustained economic growth. | |
| Instead, the Fed indicated that interest rates would rise two more times next year. | |
| _____ | _____ |
| • Facebook shared private user data with tech giants. | • Facebook shared private user data with tech giants. |
| A Times investigation found the social network gave major technology firms far more access to users’ personal data than it had disclosed, effectively exempting some partners from its privacy rules. | A Times investigation found the social network gave major technology firms far more access to users’ personal data than it had disclosed, effectively exempting some partners from its privacy rules. |
| Facebook let Spotify and Netflix read, write and delete users’ private messages. It permitted Amazon to obtain users’ names and contact information through their friends. In all, Facebook shared data with more than 150 companies, including The Times. | Facebook let Spotify and Netflix read, write and delete users’ private messages. It permitted Amazon to obtain users’ names and contact information through their friends. In all, Facebook shared data with more than 150 companies, including The Times. |
| The data-sharing deals may have violated a 2011 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that banned Facebook from sharing user data without explicit permission. Here are the five main takeaways from our investigation. | The data-sharing deals may have violated a 2011 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that banned Facebook from sharing user data without explicit permission. Here are the five main takeaways from our investigation. |
| _____ | _____ |
| • A tighter military partnership for China and Pakistan. | |
| Under China’s $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan is working on distinctly defense-related projects, including a secret plan to build fighter jets. China insists the program is peaceful. | |
| The confidential plan, reviewed by The Times, would also deepen the countries’ cooperation in space, a frontier the Pentagon recently said Beijing was trying to militarize. | |
| It’s the first time China has explicitly tied a Belt and Road proposal to its military ambitions, confirming the concerns of a host of nations who suspect the infrastructure initiative is really about helping China project armed might. | |
| _____ | _____ |
| • Italy reached a budget deal with the E.U. after months of defiance, agreeing to drastically reduce its debt to avoid financial penalties. | • Italy reached a budget deal with the E.U. after months of defiance, agreeing to drastically reduce its debt to avoid financial penalties. |
| • GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer will merge their consumer-health divisions in a joint venture that will be the largest maker of over-the-counter products like pain-relievers and vitamins. | • GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer will merge their consumer-health divisions in a joint venture that will be the largest maker of over-the-counter products like pain-relievers and vitamins. |
| • Elon Musk’s Boring Company unveiled its first underground tunnel beneath a Los Angeles suburb. It still has a long way to go. | • Elon Musk’s Boring Company unveiled its first underground tunnel beneath a Los Angeles suburb. It still has a long way to go. |
| • The arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chairman, has exposed stark differences in how suspects are handled in Japan and in Western democracies. | • The arrest of Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chairman, has exposed stark differences in how suspects are handled in Japan and in Western democracies. |
| • U.S. stocks were bumpy. Here’s a snapshot of global markets. | • U.S. stocks were bumpy. Here’s a snapshot of global markets. |
| • Museums around the world hold the remains of Aboriginal Australians, many of them stolen. Scientists say DNA may help return the bones to their homes. [The New York Times] | |
| • China has detained a third Canadian citizen, escalating a diplomatic crisis as it pushes the U.S. to ease legal pressure on the technology company Huawei. [The New York Times ] | • China has detained a third Canadian citizen, escalating a diplomatic crisis as it pushes the U.S. to ease legal pressure on the technology company Huawei. [The New York Times ] |
| • The U.S. will review its travel ban on North Korea, Washington’s top envoy to the North said, indicating that it was easing pressure to break a stalemate in talks on denuclearizing the country. [The New York Times] | • The U.S. will review its travel ban on North Korea, Washington’s top envoy to the North said, indicating that it was easing pressure to break a stalemate in talks on denuclearizing the country. [The New York Times] |
| • The U.S. Senate passed the biggest changes in a generation to federal prison and sentencing laws. The House will follow, and President Trump is expected to sign the bill. [The New York Times] | • The U.S. Senate passed the biggest changes in a generation to federal prison and sentencing laws. The House will follow, and President Trump is expected to sign the bill. [The New York Times] |
| • Qatar retooled its economy, beefed up its military and adjusted to a new reality after its larger neighbors began a blockade of the tiny Gulf state. [The New York Times] | • Qatar retooled its economy, beefed up its military and adjusted to a new reality after its larger neighbors began a blockade of the tiny Gulf state. [The New York Times] |
| • Teenagers are getting addicted to vaped nicotine. Experts say there’s no established path to helping them quit. [The New York Times] | • Teenagers are getting addicted to vaped nicotine. Experts say there’s no established path to helping them quit. [The New York Times] |
| • A Chinese city banned Christmas decorations as part of crackdown on religion and increasing hostility toward “Western culture.” [The New York Times] | • A Chinese city banned Christmas decorations as part of crackdown on religion and increasing hostility toward “Western culture.” [The New York Times] |
| • At least 53 journalists were killed worldwide in 2018, the most in three years, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. [The New York Times] | • At least 53 journalists were killed worldwide in 2018, the most in three years, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. [The New York Times] |
| Tips for a more fulfilling life. | Tips for a more fulfilling life. |
| • Recipe of the day: For a fast pasta dinner, try broccoli, peppers and sweet Italian sausage. | • Recipe of the day: For a fast pasta dinner, try broccoli, peppers and sweet Italian sausage. |
| • 5 cheap(ish) things for cold weather running. | • 5 cheap(ish) things for cold weather running. |
| • Talking about money can be difficult. Here’s how to do it. | • Talking about money can be difficult. Here’s how to do it. |
| • The Galápagos Islands, where Charles Darwin saw a blueprint for the origin of every species, faces its greatest evolutionary test: climate change. Warming waters have already started to threaten its native creatures with starvation and death. | • The Galápagos Islands, where Charles Darwin saw a blueprint for the origin of every species, faces its greatest evolutionary test: climate change. Warming waters have already started to threaten its native creatures with starvation and death. |
| • Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is the multimillionaire face of Fortnite. If you’ve never heard of him, find some 12-year-olds and ask them, because they surely know. | • Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is the multimillionaire face of Fortnite. If you’ve never heard of him, find some 12-year-olds and ask them, because they surely know. |
| • Two men are racing across Antarctica, each trying to become the first person to cross the continent alone and unsupported. This map is tracking their progress. | • Two men are racing across Antarctica, each trying to become the first person to cross the continent alone and unsupported. This map is tracking their progress. |
| Clare Macdonald, a reader from Keene, N.H., asked us when the first electric lights were used on a Christmas tree. | Clare Macdonald, a reader from Keene, N.H., asked us when the first electric lights were used on a Christmas tree. |
| It was in 1882, just three years after Thomas Edison filed a patent for his light bulb. The tree became a fixture in the experiment-filled home of an executive at his company. | It was in 1882, just three years after Thomas Edison filed a patent for his light bulb. The tree became a fixture in the experiment-filled home of an executive at his company. |
| Eighty walnut-size red, white and blue bulbs covered the tree, which sat on a revolving box. A newspaper article described it: “As the tree turned, the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue, all evening.” | Eighty walnut-size red, white and blue bulbs covered the tree, which sat on a revolving box. A newspaper article described it: “As the tree turned, the colors alternated, all the lamps going out and being relit at every revolution. The result was a continuous twinkling of dancing colors, red, white, blue, white, red, blue, all evening.” |
| President Grover Cleveland popularized electric Christmas lights in the 1890s by installing them on the White House tree. Above, the tree in Rockefeller Center in 1949. | President Grover Cleveland popularized electric Christmas lights in the 1890s by installing them on the White House tree. Above, the tree in Rockefeller Center in 1949. |
| But it was not until (relatively) inexpensive strings of Christmas lights began to be sold a few years later that the tradition really caught on. | But it was not until (relatively) inexpensive strings of Christmas lights began to be sold a few years later that the tradition really caught on. |
| Albert Sun wrote today’s Back Story. | Albert Sun wrote today’s Back Story. |
| _____ | _____ |
| Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Sign up here to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. You can also receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. | Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. Sign up here to get it by email in the Australian, Asian, European or American morning. You can also receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. |
| And our Australia bureau chief offers a weekly letter adding analysis and conversations with readers. | And our Australia bureau chief offers a weekly letter adding analysis and conversations with readers. |
| Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. | Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. |
| What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes.com. | What would you like to see here? Contact us at asiabriefing@nytimes.com. |