Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

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SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

Your Tuesday Evening Briefing

By remy tumin and elizabeth pierson

Good evening.

It's been a momentous day. Here's the latest.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

1. A formal impeachment inquiry for a sitting president is set to begin for the fourth time in American history.

"The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in her announcement at the Capitol, adding that President Trump "must be held accountable. No one is above the law."

The tipping point: the startling allegations that Mr. Trump sought to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain and the administration's stonewalling. Here are the basics of the impeachment process. (To date, it has never resulted in the removal of an American president from office.)

Mr. Trump said that on Wednesday he would release the transcript of a call with the Ukrainian president in an effort to quell the controversy over whether he pressed for Kiev to investigate Joe Biden.

From Opinion: When should a president be impeached?

Doug Mills/The New York Times

2. This morning, President Trump took to the world stage at the United Nations General Assembly with a message of nationalism.

He told the gathered world leaders that the "future belongs to patriots." He spoke of China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Afghanistan and other hot spots around the world, while saying little about Iran or the recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities, and nothing on Ukraine or Russia.

Mr. Trump's presidency has survived one scandal after another, but the split-screen day highlighted "a moment of renewed jeopardy," our chief White House correspondent writes.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump will meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time in person.

Will Oliver/EPA, via Shutterstock

3. Britain's top court ruled that Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he suspended Parliament, an unprecedented ruling that will push the country's politics into — dare we say it — even deeper turmoil.

Lady Hale, the first woman to sit on the British Supreme Court, brought down the hammer in calm, clipped, riveting tones.

The court's unanimous decision was a resounding defeat for the British prime minister, giving Parliament crucial time to debate the country's scheduled withdrawal from the European Union on Oct. 31.

Parliament goes back in session on Wednesday, almost three weeks earlier than Mr. Johnson had intended. Here's what happens next.

Calla Kessler/The New York Times

4. A wealth tax on the richest Americans is gaining steam among Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Bernie Sanders, pictured above in Rock Hill, S.C., last week, unveiled a proposal to create a wealth tax, embracing an idea at the center of Elizabeth Warren's campaign. His proposal would apply to accumulated wealth, not just income, raising more money.

The new taxes would fund a laundry list of liberal proposals — "Medicare for all," free college, combating global warming and rebuilding roads and bridges. Here's how those plans would work (or not).

Eric Rojas/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

5. Puerto Rico is bracing for a deluge.

The center of Tropical Storm Karen is approaching the island, bringing with it heavy rains that could cause flash flooding and mudslides. Up to 30,000 survivors of Hurricane Maria are still living under leaky tarps.

Late Monday, a 6.0-magnitude quake struck, but there were no reports of injuries or any significant damage from the quake.

Sima Diab for The New York Times

6. We're turning the camera around with a story of one of our own.

In 2017, The Times Cairo bureau chief, Declan Walsh, faced arrest after his reporting angered the Egyptian government. The warning came from a U.S. official — who was worried the State Department would simply stand by.

"For decades, major American news outlets figured they could count on their government to do everything it could to help reporters abroad when they found themselves under threat," Declan writes in a firsthand account of the events. "We no longer work under that assumption."

Our publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, broke the news of the case in an address about the growing threat to journalism around the world that was published by Times Opinion.

Karsten Moran for The New York Times

7. Plácido Domingo dropped out of "Macbeth."

Mr. Domingo, still one of opera's biggest stars at 78, announced his withdrawal from the production in a statement to The Times on the eve of Wednesday's opening. He also suggested that he would not be returning to the Met.

Backstage tensions at the Met had boiled over in recent days over Mr. Domingo's return despite his having been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment.

A turning point seems to have come Saturday, in the form of a heated, sometimes emotional meeting with Peter Gelb, the company's general manager, and members of the orchestra and chorus.

Julia Stotz for The New York Times; food stylist: Maya Bookbinder; prop stylist: Amy Taylor

8. A merger between Kraft and Heinz is turning into a giant tummy ache.

The company, which controls dozens of American food staples, including Oscar Mayer and Planters, has recently found itself in dire financial straits. Sales are dwindling, thousands of workers have been laid off, and the company's stock price has dropped 51 percent in the past year.

Kraft Heinz isn't the only company feeling the squeeze: WeWork's C.E.O. is said to be stepping down, a stunning fall for an entrepreneur who oversaw one of the most valuable start-ups of the last decade.

Jessica Obert for The New York Times

9. Chicken suya in Lagos, Nigeria, saltimbocca alla Romana in Rome, kotleti in Moscow, sos pwa nwa and lalo, above, in Haiti.

Emily Weinstein, one of our Food editors, has been recommending five weeknight dinner ideas for the past year (here's what she learned). We decided to look beyond our own kitchens, asking 18 families around the world to show us what they have for dinner on a typical weeknight.

No matter where you are, one thing is a constant: "All the important things are discussed, celebrated and mourned around food," said Katia Barragán as she made her family huevos revueltos in northeastern Mexico.

Jessica Wynne

10. And finally, do not erase.

In the age of whiteboards and PowerPoint, mathematicians are holdouts for chalk and blackboards. Cheaper and biodegradable, chalk also smells better than whiteboard markers and is easier to clean up. It is also more fun to write with, the mathematicians say.

For the last year, Jessica Wynne has been photographing the swirling gangs of symbols they leave behind. Above, a blackboard at the University of Chicago.

"I am attracted to the timeless beauty and physicality of the mathematicians' chalkboard," she said, "and to their higher aspiration to uncover the truth and solve a problem."

Hope your slate is wiped clean before bed.

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