Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

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October 16, 2019

Your Wednesday Evening Briefing

By victoria shannon and elizabeth pierson

Good evening. Here's the latest.

T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

1. President Trump lashed out on Syria.

Mr. Trump essentially washed his hands of the Turkish assault on the United States' Kurdish allies, saying: "That has nothing to do with us. The Kurds know how to fight, and, as I said, they're not angels, they're not angels."

Infuriated, Republicans joined Democrats in the House in condemning Mr. Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. forces inside Syria's border, after which Mr. Trump had a sharp exchange in a meeting with Democratic leaders. They walked out.

Above, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said immediately afterward that Mr. Trump had seemed "very shaken up" and was having "a meltdown."

Vice President Mike Pence is leading a delegation on Thursday to Turkey, hoping to persuade the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to pull back his offensive. Read Mr. Trump's letter to Mr. Erdogan, dated Oct. 9.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

2. Michael McKinley, a former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, told House impeachment investigators that he quit last week because career diplomats had been sidelined.

A pattern is emerging in the closed-door testimony this week: President Trump went his own way on Ukraine, which he wanted to investigate his Democratic rivals.

We learned that Fiona Hill, a former top White House foreign policy adviser, testified on Monday that she saw Gordon Sondland, a Trump donor who was named ambassador to the European Union, as a potential national security risk because of his inexperience.

Mr. Sondland, who played a role in the administration's approaches to Ukraine, meets with impeachment investigators tomorrow.

Tolga Akmen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

3. Brexit talks are going to the wire.

Terms for Britain to leave the European Union could be struck at any time, the president of the European Council said, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain said his goal was still "shrouded in mist."

Deadlines are approaching: E.U. leaders gather for a summit tomorrow at which they could consider adopting a deal, while Saturday is Mr. Johnson's chance to get it through Parliament.

If the efforts fail, Mr. Johnson is required by British law to ask for an extension to the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline set by the E.U.

Anastasiia Sapon for The New York Times

4. A $50 billion drug deal.

We've just learned that the nation's three largest drug distributors and two manufacturers are trying to settle thousands of opioid-related cases before Monday, when opening statements are scheduled for the first federal trial to determine responsibility for the opioid epidemic.

The deal in progress would release them from a rapidly growing list of more than 2,300 lawsuits in federal and state courts.

The drugmakers are Johnson & Johnson and Teva. The distributors, which together handle about 90 percent of the country's medicines, are AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

5. The Democratic debate, the day after.

President Trump and fellow Republicans followed up Tuesday's debate by accusing the Democrats of pursuing a vendetta against him while ignoring more pressing pocketbook issues. Mr. Trump referred to the 12 debaters in Ohio as "clowns" who would wreck the economy if elected.

And former Vice President Joe Biden escalated criticism of his most formidable rival, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, questioning her "credibility" on the costs of her far-reaching policy proposals.

The strong showing of Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., relied in part on his experience as a veteran and his ability to tackle questions about foreign policy and military intervention, one of our political reporters writes.

Erin Kirkland for The New York Times

6. One strike on (maybe), one strike off (maybe).

Chicago's schools will be shut tomorrow before an expected teachers' strike, though the union representing the 25,000 teachers continues to negotiate with the city. A strike would be the latest in a string of more than a dozen by teachers in the U.S. since early last year.

In Detroit, G.M. reached a tentative agreement on a labor contract that could end a monthlong strike that has idled plants across the Midwest and the South. The United Auto Workers said it had "achieved major wins." Above, G.M.'s plant in Flint, Mich., today, the 31st day of the strike.

The contract terms need to be approved by the union leadership, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, then ratified by a majority of G.M.'s 49,000 U.A.W. members.

Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

7. Trade uncertainty is depressing forecasts for global growth.

The International Monetary Fund lowered its expectations for 2019 to 3 percent, the lowest rate since the financial crisis, saying that rising trade barriers and uncertainty were reducing investment and capital-goods demand.

While President Trump's trade truce last week with China temporarily cooled tensions, the "agreement in principle" would not roll back existing tariffs. Mr. Trump is also escalating tariffs on other fronts.

Meanwhile, with American manufacturing already in a recession, U.S. retail sales, reported today, fell for the first time in seven months.

Gabriel Bouys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

8. A Paris visit for "Vitruvian Man."

An Italian court ruled that Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing would be allowed to leave Italy for a much-ballyhooed exhibition of his work that opens at the Louvre next week.

The heritage conservation group Italia Nostra had tried to block the loan, arguing that the study of the proportions of the human body that dates to around 1490 was too delicate to travel from Venice.

A lawyer for a consumer-rights group said the ruling "recognized the fact that art is something that should be shared."

Korean Central News Agency

9. Yes, that's Kim Jong-un on a white horse.

The North Korean leader looks a little worried to us, but state media said his eyes "were full of noble glitters" on a ride to the mythical mountainous home of the Korean people.

While he was burnishing his cult of personality, he also became the newest entrant in the "world leaders on horseback" photo genre.

It's been on the rise at least since Vladimir Putin's famous bare-chested ride in 2009. Other members include Justin Trudeau of Canada, Boris Johnson of Britain, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Narendra Modi of India and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico.

To our knowledge, President Trump has not been photographed on a horse, though he did get near one recently.

Calla Kessler/The New York Times

10. "Going to space should be sexy."

That was Richard Branson introducing the high-tech space wear developed by Under Armour for passengers going to the edge of space on his Virgin Galactic rocket-powered voyages, expected to start next year.

Passengers will get to keep their space clothes — including the jumpsuits, underwear and boots — as part of the $250,000 price of a ticket for the 90-minute ride.

NASA has unveiled its own next-generation spacesuits. A bit less sexy, they will make it easier for astronauts to walk, bend and twist on moon landings in temperatures ranging from 250 degrees Fahrenheit down to minus 250 degrees.

Have a hardy evening.

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