| Wednesday, July 10, 2019 | | | | We’re covering the arrest of a prominent Chinese billionaire, new rules for Twitter posts and a dancing cockatoo. | |  By Alisha Haridasani Gupta | | | Wang Zhenhua, a real estate billionaire, was arrested last week. Reuters | | | Government censors initially blocked online discussions and media reports about the case, fueling a wider public backlash. | | | Mr. Wang’s case carries echoes of one in Manhattan of the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is in custody on charges of the sex trafficking of girls. Both raise questions about the delivering of justice when the wealthy, privileged and connected are accused of crimes. | | | Special vulnerability: Over the past two decades, hundreds of millions of people have moved to crowded cities in China from rural areas, leaving tens of millions of children behind, often with limited care. | | | Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. Jason Henry for The New York Times | | | Last year, top executives considered a broad policy that would ban “dehumanizing” language. But defining that proved so complex — and the public response so critical — that they narrowed their focus to banning insulting speech that is directed at religious groups. | | | Related: A federal court in the U.S. ruled that President Trump has violated the Constitution by blocking people on Twitter because they criticized or mocked him, a decision that could have wider implications for how freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment applies to the social media era. | | | Boris Johnson, Britain’s former foreign secretary and widely considered to be the leading candidate for prime minister, has pushed for an abrupt withdrawal from the E.U. on Oct. 31 — a prospect that business leaders have warned would imperil the economy. | | | Global economy: There are signs around the world that another global downturn is imminent: The chances that the U.S. enters a recession next year have grown, unemployment in Germany has ticked up and factory production in Japan has been weak. | | | The U.S. tentatively approved a $2 billion arms sale to the self-governing island, which China claims as its territory. | | | The new military equipment — including tanks, armored vehicles and antiaircraft missiles — could help Taiwan deter a growing military threat from Beijing, but would likely further increase tensions between China and the U.S. | | | Background: The U.S. broke formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 to establish relations with China, but Congress then passed a measure requiring the U.S. to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. | | | Looking ahead: U.S. lawmakers have 30 days to object to the sale of the weapons but are unlikely to do so. Later this week, Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, will visit the U.S., making a stop in New York. | | | An elephant and a caretaker at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha. Robin Schwartz for The New York Times | | | Elephant relocations to zoos have often been promoted as rescues from drought-stricken landscapes that have limited resources. But elephants’ high level of intelligence makes them vulnerable to the same ills that trouble imprisoned humans: depression, manic pacing and heightened aggression. | | | PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM CAMPAIGN MONITOR | | Email Marketing 101: Never Sacrifice Beauty for Simplicity | | A drag-and-drop email builder, a gallery of templates and turnkey designs, personalized customer journeys, and engagement segments. It's everything you need to create stunning, results-driven email campaigns in minutes. And with Campaign Monitor, you have access to it all, along with award-winning support around the clock. It's beautiful email marketing done simply. | | | Learn More | | | | Hong Kong: The city’s embattled leader, Carrie Lam, said a proposed extradition bill was “dead,” her most emphatic promise yet that it would not be revived. But she stopped short of fully withdrawing it, setting the stage for more demonstrations. | | | Mehrab Ibrahimi/Associated Press | | | Snapshot: Above, Afghans mourning victims of an airstrike in Baghlan Province on Tuesday. Despite progress in peace talks between the Taliban and an Afghan delegation, including a joint pledge to reduce “civilian casualties to zero,” combatants continue to seek leverage with attacks that endanger bystanders. | | | Virgin Galactic: Richard Branson’s space company announced it plans to merge with a public shell company, allowing it to raise money through the stock market — a potentially crucial advantage in the space tourism race. Mr. Branson was previously in negotiations to raise $1 billion from Saudi Arabia for Virgin Galactic but suspended those talks after the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. | | | Wimbledon: Serena Williams beat Alison Riske for a spot in the semifinals, putting her within reach of the Grand Slam title that has eluded her since the birth of her daughter in 2018. | | | Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Erin Jeanne McDowell. | | | Cook: They’re s’mores without the campfire, but don’t let that deter you from these blondies. | | | Read: In “Supper Club,” the debut novel by the British writer Lara Williams, insatiable women have bacchanalian gatherings. | | | Smarter Living: If you routinely struggle to get every detail right, someone may have tossed the often-quoted platitude “Perfect is the enemy of good” at you. Two strategies can help you just get it done. First, knock the task off in achievable, satisfying micro-steps. Second, focus on the process rather than the outcome, so you can enjoy the progress you’re making. And try a new saying: “Done is better than perfect.” | | | And happiness isn’t something that just happens to you. Our guide can help you make small changes in your behavior, surroundings and relationships for a happier life. | | | For a psychoactive substance that’s still nominally illegal in most of the world, cannabis has never been more popular in the U.S. — and that means it’s time to mind our manners beyond “don’t bogart that joint.” | | | Lizzie Post, the great-great-granddaughter of the American etiquette doyenne Emily Post, delves into the finer points with a new book called “Higher Etiquette,” which Dwight Garner, a Times book critic, calls “helpful and inquisitive.” | | | A guest enjoying a CBD vape pen at a party in Los Angeles. Richard Vogel/Associated Press | | | Among her recommendations: Thoughtful hosts should provide finger bowls, so a guest can dampen a joint that’s burning unevenly, and place vape pens “to the right of the setting or across the top of the setting either between the place card and dessertware or behind the place card.” | | | As for bogarting — that’s wastefully hanging on to a joint without smoking it — Ms. Post notes that the term is “derived from the way Humphrey Bogart would just let a cigarette hang out of his mouth, not seeming to actually smoke it.” | | | That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. | | 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. | | | Were you sent this briefing by a friend? Sign up here to get the Morning Briefing. | | |
