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Good morning,
We’re covering the aftermath of the arrest of the WikiLeaks founder, a flurry of news from outer space, and Uber’s coming public offering. And it’s Friday, so there’s a new news quiz.
Mysteries remain after Julian Assange’s arrest
The indictment against the WikiLeaks founder that was unsealed on Thursday makes no mention of his website’s role in Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, so it remains unclear whether his arrest will answer lingering questions.
Among them is what, if anything, Mr. Assange knew about Guccifer 2.0, a hacker whom U.S. officials have identified as a front for Russian operatives.
Mr. Assange, bearded and bedraggled, was dragged from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he had been sheltered since 2012. He was charged in the U.S. with conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer network, as part of the process that brought WikiLeaks a trove of classified U.S. material in 2010. The narrow indictment was a relief to some of those who feared a case against Mr. Assange could undermine press freedoms. We explained those concerns.
Closer look: From his beginnings as a teenage hacker in Australia, Mr. Assange has been a deeply divisive figure. Two of our reporters traced his history.
What’s next: Mr. Assange indicated that he would fight extradition, and legal experts said that the process could take years. He is likely to argue that the case is politically motivated.
Sudan’s “spider” falls from his web
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir lost his 30-year grip on the country on Thursday, after months of street demonstrations.
But protesters’ jubilation was tempered by uncertainty about what might replace Mr. al-Bashir, 75. The military said it would lead a two-year transition, with Sudan’s Constitution suspended.
Background: Mr. al-Bashir had long played up his humble origins, but even for an autocrat, he had a low reputation in the West. The International Criminal Court has accused him of playing “an essential role” in the genocide in the western region of Darfur in the 2000s.
Quotable: “He’s like the spider at the center of the web — he could pick up on the smallest tremor, then deftly use his personalized political retail skills to manage the politics of the army,” one Sudan expert said.
The perils and promise of space
Scott Kelly, who spent 340 days on the International Space Station, experienced genetic mutations and declines in cognitive test scores. NASA reported the findings on Thursday, offering a hint at how space travel affects the body.
Mr. Kelly’s twin brother, Mark, himself a former astronaut, underwent identical tests on Earth to provide a comparison. Here are four takeaways from the study.
Yesterday: An Israeli moon lander appeared to have crashed. It would have been the first private spacecraft to reach the lunar surface. Separately, SpaceX successfully launched its FalconX rocket, now the most powerful in the world, for the second time.
Another angle: Capturing the first image of a black hole required the work of more than 200 researchers. About 40 were women, and one, Katie Bouman, became a face for the project.
Uber’s numbers
Before what’s expected to be the largest initial public offering in years, the ride-hailing service said on Thursday that it had lost $1.8 billion last year, renewing questions about the sustainability of its business. The company’s prospectus also showed a slowdown in revenue growth.
The details: Uber’s main rival in North America, Lyft, went public last month and appears to be growing faster. Here’s how the companies stack up.
“Fortress North America” is a concept that has long comforted military planners in the U.S. and Canada. In the worst case, distance, ocean and ice would offer protection.
The ice is now melting. But the cold remains a formidable challenge, as two Times journalists found when they embedded with military forces readying to counter Russia.
Here’s what else is happening
Plan for “sanctuary cities”: The White House considered releasing apprehended migrants into so-called sanctuary cities represented by Democratic lawmakers, according to people familiar with the proposal. The idea was rejected by the immigration authorities.
New charges for Michael Avenatti: Already facing claims of fraud and extortion, the lawyer known for representing the porn star Stormy Daniels was accused by federal prosecutors on Thursday of stealing millions from clients and lying about his income.
Ex-Obama aide is indicted: Gregory Craig has been charged with lying to the Justice Department and hiding information about his work for the government of Ukraine.
Arrest in church fires: The 21-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy has been charged after three predominantly black churches in Louisiana were set ablaze.
Disney’s streaming service: The company has offered long-awaited details about its plan to fight the tech giants that have moved into the entertainment business. Disney Plus, a subscription video service, will cost $7 a month and arrive on Nov. 12.
Perspective: The Department of Energy wants to roll back efficiency standards for light bulbs. The bulb’s inventor, Thomas Edison, wouldn’t approve, two of his great-grandchildren write in an Op-Ed.
Snapshot: Above, the funeral procession for the rapper Nipsey Hussle in Los Angeles on Thursday. Thousands of mourners, including Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg, gathered for a bittersweet memorial to the local hero, who was fatally shot last month.
News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.
Modern Love: In this week’s column, a woman reaches 50 and decides to donate a kidney, secretly.
Late-night comedy: Seth Meyers had some advice for Michael Avenatti: “When you rip people off you gotta play it cool with the money. You’re like the guy who buys a Ferrari and asks for the vanity plate ‘BNK RBBR.’ ”
What we’re reading: This essay in The Atlantic. “The writer, Caitlin Flanagan, was once an unhappy college counselor at a private school in Los Angeles,” says Lynda Richardson, an editor for Travel. “She’s uniquely equipped to dissect the parental behavior in the college cheating scandal. Entitlement doesn’t even begin to cover what she finds in the court documents.”
Now, a break from the news
Cook: This rainbow sprinkle cake doesn’t need a special occasion.
Watch: Alex Ross Perry’s new feature, “Her Smell,” focuses on an all-female band’s lead singer (a raw, charismatic Elisabeth Moss) as she runs off the rails.
Listen: The composer George Crumb turns 90 this year. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is presenting two concerts in tribute, but, if you can’t make those, we have a Spotify playlist of his compositions.
Read: In “Horizon,” the environmentalist Barry Lopez reconstructs decades’ worth of his observations of the natural world. It’s one of eight new books we recommend.
Smarter Living: Your lawn has an environmental impact. To reduce it, try low-maintenance ground cover, like clover, creeping thyme or native plants — but take care to avoid invasive ones. Whatever you plant, avoid pesticides and aerate the soil instead.
And we have guidance on how to go paperless on tax records, securely.
And now for the Back Story on …
Yuri’s Night celebrations
Want to go to a party tonight? You could say yes, but you could also say “Poyekhali!” (poe-YEK-hoe-lee). That’s “Let’s go!” in Russian.
That’s what the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin radioed to controllers during liftoff for the world’s first human spaceflight, 58 years ago today. The term will be bandied around the world this evening, in Yuri’s Night celebrations.
The Soviet Union commemorated the flight by establishing Cosmonautics Day, which has been celebrated since with parades and space-themed events.
The hipper Yuri’s Night began in the U.S. in 2000, with raves and parties for scientists. It caught on. The crew of the International Space Station sometimes sends greetings.
Parties are planned on at least five continents, including at a research station in Antarctica.
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, a writer, public speaker and spaceflight proponent who founded Yuri’s Night with her husband, urges partyers to “have a beer with a rocket scientist.”
That’s it for this briefing.
The weekend is coming (as is the “Game of Thrones” premiere). Enjoy.
— Chris
Thank you
To Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and James K. Williamson for the break from the news. Andrew Kramer, our Moscow correspondent, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about Israel’s election, as seen by a young Palestinian.
• Here’s today’s mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: Fruit sometimes added to salsa (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Dennis Overbye, the cosmos correspondent for The Times, answered readers’ questions on black holes and his life as a science reporter on Reddit.
Source : Nytimes
