Tuesday, June 11, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning,

We’re covering the Hong Kong extradition plan, the trade war with Mexico and maritime safety in South Korea.

By Katie Van Syckle and Victoria Shannon

A protester at a rally in Hong Kong. Dale De La Rey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Hong Kong’s leader is unmoved by protests

After one of the largest protests in the territory’s history, its chief executive, Carrie Lam, said Monday that she didn’t intend to withdraw legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China.

“We were doing it, and we are still doing it, out of our clear conscience, and our commitment to Hong Kong,” Ms. Lam said after hundreds of thousands of people marched through Hong Kong over the weekend. “I have not received any instruction or mandate from Beijing to do this bill,” she added.

The government’s plan, which is heading for a vote this month, set off widespread fears that it would accelerate Beijing’s growing influence over Hong Kong and leave residents subject to the whims of the Chinese authorities.

Explainer: The relationship between Hong Kong and the central government in Beijing is complicated and evolving. Here’s some background.

Perspective: In an Op-Ed, a former editor of The Hong Kong Economic Journal writes that the legislation also threatens the territory’s business community.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller at the Department of Justice in May. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Justice Department agrees to give key evidence to Congress

Congress will gain access to information collected by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, that could shed light on possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power by President Trump.

Because the Trump administration blocked other relevant witnesses from appearing before Congress, John Dean, a former White House counsel who turned against President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate affair, testified on Monday.

Go deeper: Attorney General William Barr has become an influential figure in the Trump administration. A Times examination of Mr. Barr’s record found that he is neither as apolitical as his defenders claim, nor as partisan as his detractors fear.

Tariffs are ‘beautiful,’ Trump says

President Trump defended his administration’s decision to use the threat of tariffs against a number of trading partners, calling the levies a “beautiful thing.” He also asserted that the U.S. was close to a trade deal with China because of his aggressive policies.

The Mexican foreign minister said no secret immigration deal existed with the U.S., directly contradicting Mr. Trump’s claim on Twitter that a “fully signed and documented” agreement would be revealed soon.

Separately: The U.S. president also renewed his criticism of the Federal Reserve, saying the central bank had erred in lifting interest rates last year and had put the United States at a disadvantage to China.

The ferry being salvaged in 2017. Choi Young-su/Yonhap, via Associated Press

Promises were made. Were they kept?

More than 300 people, most of them high school students, died in 2014 when an overloaded South Korean ferry capsized. Officials vowed to change a culture that put profits over people, but five years later The Times has found that the country’s ferries are still vulnerable to cheating and corruption.

The article is the latest in a Times series in which we return to the scene of major news events to see if those in power kept their promises.

If you have 9 minutes, this is worth it

Washington is scrutinizing tech companies

Andrew Ding, who has said Google is hurting his business, inside of his restaurant, The Handpulled Noodle, in Harlem, New York. Donavon Smallwood for The New York Times

After years of showing little interest, U.S. lawmakers and regulators plan to scrutinize the power, influence and dominance of Big Tech.

Scores of companies and critics are lining up to complain about how the biggest firms used their power and scale to bully them.

Here’s what else is happening

India: An Indian court on Monday convicted six men in the kidnapping, rape and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim nomadic girl last year. The men, who included police officers, received from five years to life imprisonment for their crimes.

The Vatican: The department overseeing Catholic education rejected the notion that individuals could choose their gender identity, saying it posed a threat to traditional families.

Japan: Cracks in the Nissan-Renault alliance grew as the Japanese automaker condemned as “most regrettable” a decision by the French company to withdraw support for Nissan’s efforts to overhaul its governance.

Huawei: A top Trump administration official called for a two-year delay of part of a measure that bars government agencies from contracting with the Chinese telecommunications giant, arguing that it would cause too much burden for American companies.

Kazakhstan: The government confirmed that the handpicked successor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev had won in a lopsided vote. Opponents and observers called the results a farce.

Sudan: At least three more protesters were killed as the military continued a crackdown on those demanding a transition to civilian rule after the ouster of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in April.

Afghanistan: A band of peace marchers succeeded in their long-delayed quest to sit down with the Taliban, and found that leaders of both the Taliban and the Afghan government were unwilling to make the kinds of compromises that could end the war, now in its 18th year.

Climate change: A new study warns that global warming is poised to increase the spread of dengue fever to the United States, China, Japan and Australia. The deadly disease, carried by mosquitoes, is common in warmer climates like Brazil and India.

Canadian basketball: Raptor fever has taken over Toronto, especially immigrant neighborhoods. And the team itself provides a clear reflection of Canada’s largest city in the 21st century.

Oceanography: Human knowledge of coral reefs will be expanded now that a team of scientists has developed technologies that can map the ocean seafloor to a depth of 50 feet, in three dimensions.

Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press

World Cup: Above, Japan, the 2011 women’s World Cup champions, played to a 0-0 draw against Argentina, in Paris. Thailand plays the U.S. on Tuesday. Our continuing coverage is here.

Mindy Kaling: David Marchese, The Times Magazine’s Talk columnist, interviewed the writer, producer, and actor about her career, motherhood and her new film, “Late Night,” which she wrote.

Tony Award winners: “Hadestown,” based on a Greek myth, was the most honored Broadway show at the weekend ceremony with eight awards, including best musical. “The Ferryman,” about a family in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, was named best new play. Here’s a full list of the winners.

What we’re reading: This article in The New Yorker. “Some growers have seen the future, and it has robotic farm workers,” says Kevin McKenna, a deputy business editor. “This recent piece tells how GPS and A.I. are being tapped to design machines that pick crops — day and night.”

Now, a break from the news

Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist:Vivian Lui

Cook: Tired of doing dishes? This one-pot recipe for turmeric coconut rice with greens keeps things simple. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

Watch: Sophie Turner and Michael Fassbender battle it out in a scene from the newest X-Men movie, “Dark Phoenix,” narrated by the writer and director Simon Kinberg.

Read: We’ve revisited the “it” books of summers past in the U.S.

Smarter Living: So you’ve made a terrible mistake. The first step to correcting a monumental blunder is to acknowledge to yourself that it was indeed a mistake. Then, don’t allow it to define you or your self-worth. From there, the way out comes in low-risk baby steps. If it happens to be a mistake you continue to make, do whatever you can to stop making the situation worse.

And we also have suggestions for a week’s worth of simple, science-based steps you can take to foster a deeper connection with your partner.

And now for the Back Story on …

The E3 games convention

Thousands of video game industry workers, fans and media will fill the Los Angeles Convention Center today as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, begins its three-day run.

Fans attend the Xbox E3 2019 Briefing at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Casey Rodgers/Invision, via Associated Press

The annual trade show, once described as “35 football fields filled with video games,” is far from the largest games convention in terms of attendance.

However, since its inception in 1995, it has anchored a frenzied period of the year for the industry.

The preshow news conferences are often a spectacle. In 2006, Bill Gates directly appealed to the gamers. This year, Keanu Reeves greeted a roaring crowd from the Xbox stage after revealing his casting in CD Projekt Red’s upcoming release Cyberpunk 2077.

Sony, which promoted its original PlayStation console at the inaugural E3, is absent from the event for the first time, while Google furthered its inclusion in the gaming landscape by detailing its Stadia streaming service.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Katie and Victoria

Thank you
To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. Brian Hoerst, a senior staff editor in the London newsroom, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” This week’s episodes are about the rise of nationalism and populism in Europe.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Ostentatious (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Our journalists traveled to more than 160 countries last year.