Your Monday Evening Briefing

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/briefing/biden-taiwan-pfizer-vaccine-guy-fieri.html

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.

1. President Biden indicated that the U.S. would use military force to defend Taiwan if it were ever attacked by China.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Biden answered “yes” when asked whether he was willing to go further on behalf of Taiwan than he has in helping Ukraine. The pledge was a step away from the “strategic ambiguity” traditionally favored by U.S. presidents. While White House officials later tried to walk the comments back, they set the stage for fresh tensions between the U.S. and China, which insists that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

Biden’s comments came barely an hour before he unveiled a new 13-nation Asian-Pacific bloc of countries set up to counter Chinese influence in the region.

2. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told an audience of political and business elites that they had not yet gone far enough in isolating Moscow.

Speaking by video link to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelensky said that sanctions should be pushed to the maximum, “so that Russia and every other potential aggressor who wants to wage a brutal war against a neighbor knows exactly what this is leading to.” He urged foreign businesses to shut their Russian operations permanently, inviting them to come to Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, a Russian diplomat to the U.N. in Geneva resigned, firing off a blistering condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Never have I been so ashamed of my country,” wrote Boris Bondarev, the highest-profile Russian official to resign over the war.

3. Pfizer said that three doses of its Covid vaccine produced a strong immune response in young children.

For children under the age of 5, the only people in the U.S. not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus, Pfizer’s preliminary findings showed its three-dose regimen to be 80 percent effective in preventing symptomatic infection — a strong enough response to meet the criteria for authorization.

Pfizer said it would release the full data supporting its findings next month. Both Pfizer and Moderna are hoping to soon win authorization to vaccinate the nation’s youngest children.

4. Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention suppressed reports of sexual abuse and resisted reform for more than two decades, according to a new report.

The report, which was commissioned by the church last year after pressure from survivors of sexual abuse, found that a handful of powerful leaders had the ability to stonewall abuse reports. It also said that a former president of the denomination was credibly accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2010.

The denomination’s president, Ed Litton, whose term expires in June and who is not running for re-election, said in an interview yesterday that what he read in the report was “far worse” than anything he had anticipated. “We knew it was coming,” he said, but “it still is very challenging and surprising — shocking — to have to face these realities.”

5. A major French bank said it will re-examine its history in Haiti, after a Times report on payments that generations of Haitians were forced to make to France in exchange for their freedom.

The bank, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, which siphoned millions of dollars in fees and interest from Haiti in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, said the Times article was a “sad illustration” of its role in an “ecosystem of colonialism.”

The Times tracked each payment Haiti made over the course of 64 years. In all, they added up to about $560 million in today’s dollars. But after considering the economy-shrinking effect of the payments, our correspondents calculated that they cost Haiti between $21 billion and $115 billion in lost economic growth over time — as much as eight times the size of Haiti’s entire economy in 2020.

For more on Haiti’s reparations to France, read our summary of the findings.

6. Weeks before the Trump administration ended, Jared Kushner and Steven Mnuchin repeatedly met with Gulf rulers who later invested in their private funds.

Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary at the time, made several trips to the Middle East between the election and the end of the Trump presidency, pitching a government program called the Abraham Fund that they said would sponsor projects in the region. That fund quickly vanished after Trump left office, but within six months both Kushner and Mnuchin were given more than a billion dollars for their private funds.

In other politics news, Mike Pence, the former vice president, is part of a small group of Republicans who have visited early nominating states as they consider a presidential run in 2024 no matter what Trump decides.

7. “It’s going to be a long time before any of us really feel safe.”

That’s what Tonja Williams, the interim schools superintendent in Buffalo, wrote to parents and staff after the racist mass shooting at a supermarket where 10 Black people were killed on May 14. School officials are trying to ease Black families’ fear by increasing safety measures and offering mental health support.

But parents and students aren’t feeling all that trusting. In a city where Black students are concentrated in underperforming schools, some are wondering how a school system that has neglected its Black children for so long can be expected to help them cope with a tragedy.

8. Guy Fieri has become perhaps the most powerful and bankable figure in food television.

With his golden porcupine of hair, Fieri, the host of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” his Food Network flagship, is now the éminence grise of the eminently greasy. The fame came with certain perceptions about the exaggerated persona he displays onscreen.

But at the same time, Fieri has emerged as an influential philanthropist, helping to raise more than $20 million for restaurant workers. He has established himself as a mentor among chefs. And, for all the tropes on “Diners,” he is, at its core, hosting a travel show.

In other entertainment news, it’s day seven at the Cannes Film Festival, with two long-awaited films on the program: Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” and David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future.” Follow our updates here.

9. We have tips on how to make this a summer of cycling.

A bike can be a game changer when exploring a new city: It’s cheap, speedy and a fun way to get in some exercise while on vacation. Our Travel writers offer their favorite rides in cities known for their urban trails: Paris, Copenhagen, Bogotá and others.

In Hawaii, an e-bike can help propel you up hillsides, curl around cliffs and sail above thundering bays. Across the continental U.S., ride down some of the tens of thousands of miles of abandoned railroad tracks. And in Vancouver, follow waterside paths around Stanley Park to the Granville Island market.

Also, you’ll need the right equipment. We’ve got you covered.

10. And finally, smell good, play good?

A superstitious group of baseball players — many of them from Latin America — make a daily habit of dousing themselves in cologne or perfume before stepping on the field.

Several players said the emotions attached to their colognes — special occasions, a specific frame of mind, positive vibes — are helpful reminders during tense competitions.

Have a fragrant evening.

Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.

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