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Two crucial votes in Parliament leave Brexit in further disarray. Our team also got an inside look at a Kurdish-controlled prison in Syria and initiatives to desalinate seawater.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday before two crucial votes. Jessica Taylor/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

One step forward, one step back for Brexit

In two back-to-back votes on Tuesday, the British Parliament approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s withdrawal plan in principle, then, minutes later, rejected his second bill that would have fast-tracked necessary legislation in time for the Oct. 31 deadline.

The E.U. now has to decide whether to grant Britain another extension. But Mr. Johnson said he would “pause” the legislation and tell European leaders that the country isn’t interested in another extension.

Feeling lost? You’re not alone. But today’s developments could mean months of further delays and a possible general election.

Takeaway: Though the whiplash of the day left the fate of Brexit in disarray once again, there was one significant development: Lawmakers had approved the contours of an exit blueprint — something that they had never done before.

“How welcome it is, even joyful, that for the first time in this long saga, this House has actually accepted its responsibilities together, come together, and embraced a deal,” Mr. Johnson said.

Suspected ISIS members detained by Kurdish forces in a prison cell in northeastern Syria. Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

A glimpse into a prison for ISIS detainees

Our reporter Ben Hubbard and photographer Ivor Prickett visited a Kurdish-run prison in northern Syria that was holding more than 10,000 men who once belonged to the world’s most fearsome terrorist organization.

They found that most of the detainees were foreigners and their countries had refused to bring them back home, leaving them stuck in chaos after the recent Turkish invasion.

“Will the Kurds maintain control of the prisons? Will determining these men’s fate fall to Turkey or the government of President Bashar al-Assad? Might they escape to fight another day?” Mr. Hubbard writes. “No one knows.”

Related: On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to take joint control of a vast swath of territory in northern Syria that was once held by Kurdish forces — a move that cements Russia’s growing influence in Syria.

A star witness in the impeachment inquiry

In what Democrats called the most damaging impeachment testimony yet, William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, drew a “direct line” between President Trump’s withholding of security aid from Ukraine and his demand for investigations into his political rivals.

Mr. Taylor characterized the situation as “a rancorous story” about “side channels, quid pro quos, corruption and interference in elections.” Read his opening statement.

Related: Mr. Trump took to Twitter to denounce the impeachment inquiry as a “lynching” — language that quickly sparked outrage among Democrats, particularly African-Americans, and even some Republicans.

WeWork accepts lifeline from SoftBank

The beleaguered work space company agreed on Tuesday to be taken over by the Japanese technology giant, its biggest outside investor, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The SoftBank sale values WeWork at $7 billion — a fraction of its $47 billion valuation just a few months ago when it was preparing to sell stock to Wall Street investors.

Catch up: WeWork shelved its I.P.O. plans last month because investors were increasingly wary of its huge losses. Analysts last month estimated that without a large infusion of capital, the company would run out of cash by the middle of next year.

The company’s unusual corporate governance structure also worried investors, forcing its co-founder Andy Neumann to step down as chief executive. Under the SoftBank deal, Mr. Neumann would receive a $1.7 billion payout (more on this below) and also leave the board.

If you have 6 minutes, this is worth it

The cost of making water

Jamie McGregor Smith for The New York Times

Desalinated seawater is increasingly seen as an answer to water shortages that will worsen with population growth and climate change.

Our reporter traveled to a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, pictured above, to learn more about the promise, and challenges, of the process.

Here’s what else is happening

Boeing: One of the aircraft maker’s top executives is expected to leave in the wake of two deadly 737 Max crashes — the most senior official to step down amid the company’s biggest crisis in its 103-year history. The company will report its latest quarterly financial results today.

U.S.: The anonymous Trump administration official who wrote a New York Times Op-Ed about resisting the president’s agenda will publish a book next month. Here’s the original essay.

Canada: The results of this week’s national election that returned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a second term revealed a widening urban-rural divide in a country viewed as a model of social harmony.

The Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte cut short his trip to Japan because of “unbearable pain” from a motorcycle accident last week, his spokesman said, adding to concerns over his health.

Lebanon: Protesters in Beirut serenaded a 15-month-old toddler with the earworm song “Baby Shark” after he woke up from his nap as his mother tried to drive through the middle of loud demonstrations. A video of the episode quickly spread online, becoming a symbol for the antigovernment movement that has gripped the country for days.

Pool photo by Kazuhiro Nogi

Snapshot: Above, Emperor Naruhito during a ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, formally declaring his ascension to the throne before the rest of the world. Still to come: a celebratory parade through Tokyo and another mysterious ceremony.

Jeff Bezos: The billionaire Amazon founder announced that his aerospace company, Blue Origin, would work with three established space companies to design a lunar lander for NASA in a bid to get American astronauts back on the moon.

What we’re reading: This Esquire story about the failed restart of Gawker, the once-insatiable news site. “The behind-the-scenes look,” Remy Tumin on the Briefings team writes, “is delicious.”

Now, a break from the news

David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: Roasted sausages, sweet grapes and vinegar-spiked onions make a good combination.

Watch: “Catherine the Great,” HBO’s new four-part mini-series that focuses on the 18th-century Russian empress — played by Helen Mirren — at the height of her powers.

Listen: It was inevitable that Prince’s 1979 acoustic demo for “I Feel for You” would be stunning. He sings sweetly but softly, and plays a more intricate rhythmic line on guitar than the eventual version had room for, our music critics write.

Smarter Living: How old are you? Actually, how old do you feel? The way someone answers the second question will tell you a lot about that person’s health and well-being. Scientists found that people who feel younger than their chronological age are typically healthier and more psychologically resilient.

Regardless of your age, it’s good to have a will. Here’s what you need to know about the growing movement to allow electronic wills.

And now for the Back Story on …

Golden parachutes

The WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann will get a huge payout as part of a deal that will give control of the co-working start-up to its Japanese investor, Softbank — a move that some described as an enormous “golden parachute.”

The phrase dates to 1961, and initially described a contract clause designed to ensure that a top executive would get paid in the event of a corporate takeover. “Equipped with this safety device, an executive who is shoved out the door by a new owner will be cushioned by a tidy pile of cash,” the Times reporter N.R. Kleinfield wrote in 1982.

Adam Neumann, co-founder of WeWork. Peter Prato for The New York Times

The definition has become broader over the years, and has come to mean any large corporate severance payout, especially if the executive in question has a tarnished reputation.

Where does Mr. Neumann rank in the annals of golden parachutes? It depends on how you measure his payout, which includes a line of credit and the ability to sell some of his shares to Softbank. But the co-founder’s “consulting fee” of $185 million, on its own, ranks among the biggest corporate exit payouts ever.

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

— Alisha

Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Adam Pasick, on the briefings team, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is the second of a two-part series about the effort to extract detainees from northern Syria.
• Here’s our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Slices of history (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• For nearly a decade, Brian Rea, an illustrator for The Times, has drawn the distinctive images that appear in our Modern Love columns. He discussed how he does it.