Your Friday Evening Briefing

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October 25, 2019

Your Friday Evening Briefing

By remy tumin and elizabeth pierson

Good evening. Here's the latest.

Erin Kirkland for The New York Times

1. The General Motors workers strike is officially over.

The United Auto Workers union approved a new contract with G.M., putting an end to the strike that has idled tens of thousands of workers for almost six weeks. Some employees could go back to work tomorrow. Above, union members after voting in Flint, Mich.

The contract gives the union a series of wage increases and a path for temporary workers to become permanent employees. It also allows G.M. to close three idled factories permanently, including one in Lordstown, Ohio.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

2. A judge ruled that lawmakers can see some of Robert Mueller's secret evidence after determining that the House is legally engaged in an impeachment inquiry. Attorney General William Barr was trying to withhold the material.

The decision undercuts a key argument by President Trump and his allies that the investigation is not legitimate because lawmakers have not yet taken a vote on the process. Above, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff earlier this month.

In case you missed it: The Justice Department's administrative review of the investigation into Russian election interference has become a criminal inquiry.

Separately, the Trumps are considering selling their Washington hotel after nearly three years of legal fights and questions about conflicts of interest.

Max Whittaker for The New York Times

3. Wildfires continue to burn across California: 50,000 people were evacuated in Los Angeles County because of the Tick Fire, and the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County continues to spread. Here are the latest updates. Above, Geyserville, Calif.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in both counties because of the fires, and all schools were closed in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys. Thousands of acres have burned, and high winds are expected through the weekend. We're tracking the fires here.

Pacific Gas & Electric, the state's largest utility, said it was investigating whether an equipment malfunction had caused the Kincade blaze. PG&E also warned that weekend weather conditions would probably prompt power shut-offs on the scale of the vast blackouts earlier this month — but these episodes could last longer.

Justin T. Gellerson for The New York Times

4. "You're not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect."

That was former President Barack Obama in his eulogy for Representative Elijah Cummings, the longtime Maryland congressman who died last week. His funeral drew a star-studded political lineup of speakers and thousands of mourners to Baltimore.

While he never mentioned him by name, Mr. Obama's tribute sounded to some listeners like an implicit rebuke of President Trump. Other speakers included former President Bill Clinton, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Christopher Lee for The New York Times

5. The political dividing line in America used to be between Democratic cities and Republican suburbs. Now it runs through the center of the suburbs themselves.

The result: a densely populated inner ring of suburbs that is turning blue and a more spacious outer ring that is becoming ever more red. Above, Grand Rapids, Mich.

We also spoke with the actress-turned-celebrity-activist Alyssa Milano, who is trying to stay just famous enough to get access as an activist in Washington — and it's working.

Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

6. Pilot fatigue and flaws in a Boeing jet were among the reasons a 2018 Lion Air flight crashed, according to a report by Indonesian regulators.

Investigators blamed a combination of nine factors for the disaster, including systemic design flaws in the 737 Max jet, compounded by maintenance issues and lapses on the part of the flight crew. The crash killed all 189 people aboard. Above, wheels from the flight were recovered last year.

"If one of those nine contributing factors did not happen, the crash would not have happened," one official said.

Erik S Lesser/EPA, via Shutterstock

7. The nation's capital hosts its first World Series in 86 years tonight. We'll have live updates.

Missing from the lineup: President Trump. The president plans to skip Game 3 between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros, but said he would go to Sunday's Game 5, if there is one.

Mr. Trump also said he won't throw out the first pitch because the Kevlar vest he would have to wear would make him "look too heavy." Mr. Trump is the first president since 1910 not to have attended a Major League Baseball game while living in the White House.

The Nationals, who are up 2-0, have the oldest team in the majors by average age. The Astros are the third oldest. That might not be a coincidence.

Ben Sklar for The New York Times

8. If you build a $5 billion megamall — with stores, an indoor ski slope, above, water slides, and a caviar bar — will they come?

The American Dream mall opened in the Meadowlands in New Jersey today after 15 years of development. Some say it's an unrealistic bet that tens of thousands of people will visit each day, especially given the rapidly changing retail landscape in recent years.

We also have two stories about retail families who have faced that shift differently: the Nordstrom family, who are opening a flagship store in New York City, and the Chang family, who built Forever 21 into a retail empire — and are now being blamed for its recent bankruptcy

Victor Llorente for The New York Times

9. Four operas in 48 hours. Nothing to it, right?

With its new Sunday matinees, the Metropolitan Opera does four shows between Friday and Sunday. That's four casts putting on 718 costumes with the help of 37 dressers, frenetic work by a stage crew of 178 people, and much more.

Here is a look at a very crowded weekend for the nation's largest performing arts organization.

Tetris145

10. And finally, buyer beware.

eBay is littered with "haunted" listings — feathers, coins, pebbles, dolls — that come with disclaimers of luck or misfortune. "So many things have happened when this doll is near," one seller warned. "She must go. I cannot have her in my home any longer."

Two years ago, the artist Eric Oglander became fascinated with the listings and has been chronicling them ever since. Have a look at some of them in our latest Surfacing column.

Have an enchanting weekend.

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