(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)
Good morning.
A new direction for President Macron, striking details about Russia’s meddling effort and an unseen front in Yemen’s civil war. Here’s the latest:
Among Russia’s 2016 targets: African Americans
A deeper look at Russia’s extraordinary social media influence campaign during the 2016 presidential election revealed efforts to target African Americans and suppress Democratic voter turnout, according to two new reports commissioned by the Senate.
The reports also showed that Russia utilized every digital surface available, including Instagram where its efforts were as effective or more effective than activity on Facebook.
Why it matters: The sweeping reports add new color to the known outlines of Russia’s disinformation campaign, confirming earlier findings that it was designed to boost then-candidate Donald Trump and widen fissures in American society.
Go deeper: The 2016 effort could be “the Pearl Harbor of the social media age,” our columnist writes, ushering in “a new era of perpetual conflict.” Indeed, Russian interference has not stopped, and other countries, including Iran and China, have demonstrated similar capabilities.
U.S. markets hit a new low.
The S&P 500 sank to its lowest level of the year, as investors anticipated a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
The benchmark index has now lost almost 5 percent for the year and if it doesn’t rebound by the end of year, the losses could represent Wall Street’s worst year since the 2008 financial crisis. Other indexes were also sharply down.
“Every part of the market has been acting like things are a lot slower,” one expert said.
More U.S. business news: CBS announced that its former chief executive, Les Moonves, who was forced out in September after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, will not receive his $120 million exit payout.
President Macron’s new reality
Less than two weeks ago, France’s president was faced with the fury and frustrations of the “Yellow Vests” protests, a crisis that threatened his survival in office.
Though the movement has already started to simmer down — after a terror attack in Strasbourg and promises of quick economic relief — the “Yellow Vests” may have altered the direction of Mr. Macron’s presidency.
Mr. Macron has been forced to backtrack on some tax increases and rethink upcoming changes to pensions and unemployment laws, which could steer him away from his promise to revolutionize France’s economy.
Another angle: The anti-government protests have been mostly concentrated in the glitziest neighborhoods of Paris, damaging the city’s landmarks, setting cars on fire and smashing store fronts. That has hit hard the luxury goods industry — France’ top export — during its most important time of year.
In Yemen, fishermen come under fire too.
Most of the criticism of the Yemen war is focused on airstrikes, carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, which have targeted weddings, funerals and a school bus.
But our reporter found that the conflict is also unfolding at sea. In August and September, at least six Yemeni fishing boats were attacked by warships, helicopters and a fighter jet, killing 50 civilians.
Though both warring sides have carried out maritime attacks, experts said there was little doubt that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for the violence against fishermen.
Speaking of Saudi Arabia: In an unusually strong statement, the kingdom lashed out at the U.S. Senate for holding Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the death of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Here’s what else is happening
Trump’s conflicts of interest: The president still owns and profits from properties in the U.S. and around the world, which two lawsuits claim violates the Constitution.
Brexit: Prime Minister Theresa May insisted there won’t be a second referendum on Britain’s withdrawal from the E.U., saying it would “break faith with the British people.” But her options seem to be dwindling.
Nigeria: The country’s officials said its soldiers acted in self-defense when they fatally shot protesters in the capital city of Abuja in October. Our close examination of video footage and interviews with witnesses shows the soldiers opening fire on unarmed demonstrators, sometimes shooting indiscriminately.
Hungary: At least four lawmakers were assaulted after they visited the headquarter of the state news media in Budapest. The politicians were there to request an end to wall-to-wall coverage of the far-right prime minister, Viktor Orban. The episode came after almost a week of protests against the government’s increasingly authoritarian turn.
Poland: The president, who dismissed several Supreme Court judges as part of his effort to overhaul the judicial system, signed a law that would reinstate them, after condemnation from the E.U.
Still no chairman: Nissan’s board met but did not name a replacement for Carlos Ghosn, who was charged with underreporting his compensation. “We shouldn’t hurry,” the automaker’s chief executive said of picking a replacement.
Goldman Sachs charged: Malaysia filed criminal charges against three subsidiaries of the Wall Street giant for its role in a vast multibillion-dollar investment fraud involving the state investment fund known as 1MDB.
Call me, maybe?: The estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, called on Queen Elizabeth to help mend his relationship with his daughter. In a television interview, he further appealed to his daughter to respond to his text messages.
World War I restored: The director Peter Jackson applied new colorization technology to bring century-old footage of World War I to life in the new documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old.”
Farout: That’s the nickname for an object found circling the sun. How far out is it? More than three times farther than Pluto.
Smarter Living
Tips for a more fulfilling life.
Recipe of the day: Dinner can be ready in 10 minutes with hot honey shrimp. (Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter for more recipe recommendations.)
Stop procrastinating and write that nonfiction book.
Want to know what your pet’s doing while you’re away? Here are the best spycams.
Back Story
Today, Keith Richards turns 75.
There are many who consider this achievement nothing short of a miracle. His career has been littered with one near-death experience after the other.
In 1965, he was electrocuted onstage in Sacramento. He recalled lying in the hospital and overhearing a doctor saying: “Well, they either wake up or they don’t.”
While in the throes of a heroin addiction in the 1970s, he barely escaped several house fires. He fell asleep at the wheel. He popped in and out of jail on drug possession charges.
In 2006, he fell out of a palm tree in Fiji, fracturing his skull. Two years later, he taunted death once more, snorting his dead father’s ashes. “Ashes to ashes, father to son,” he wrote in his memoir.
But Richards appears to have mellowed out: Last week he said he has mostly stopped drinking alcohol. “It was time to quit,” he sad. “Just like all the other stuff.”
Here’s to the next 75.
Andrew Chow, from our Culture Desk, wrote today’s Back Story.
Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings.
Check out this page to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.)
Sign up here to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and here’s our full range of free newsletters.
What would you like to see here? Contact us at europebriefing@nytimes.com.
Source : Nytimes
