Your Wednesday Briefing

nytimes.com

Wednesday, May 1, 2019 | View in browser

Good morning,

We start today with Robert Mueller’s objection to the attorney general’s description of his investigation, Juan Guaidó’s calls for uprising in Venezuela and why French is harder for some than others.

By Melina Delkic

Attorney General William Barr, center, during a news conference in April. Tom Brenner for The New York Times

Mueller objected to Barr’s summary

The special counsel Robert Mueller wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William Barr, objecting to Mr. Barr’s early description of his investigation’s conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump, according to the Justice Department.

Mr. Barr defended his descriptions of the special counsel’s conclusions in conversations with Mr. Mueller over the days that followed, according to two people with knowledge of their discussions.

The central issue in the simmering dispute is how the public’s understanding of the special counsel’s work has been shaped since Mr. Mueller ended his investigation and delivered his 448-page report to the attorney general, his boss and longtime friend.

What we don’t know: what specific objections Mr. Mueller raised in his letter. But a Justice Department spokeswoman said he “expressed a frustration over the lack of context” surrounding his findings on obstruction of justice.

What’s next: On Wednesday, Mr. Barr is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the investigation. Follow our live coverage at nytimes.com.

Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan opposition leader, in Caracas on Tuesday. Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

Guaidó increases pressure, but Maduro holds on

The Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, called on the people and the military to rise up against President Nicolás Maduro. He was flanked by men in uniform at an air base in the capital, Caracas.

Clashes between antigovernment protesters and law enforcement officers ensued. An armored vehicle rammed protesters, but it was not immediately clear how many people were hurt. See photos and videos from on the ground.

Bigger picture: Even though Mr. Guaidó fell short of toppling Mr. Maduro, the events cast a harsh new light on the division within the armed forces, which puts Venezuela in a precarious position as its political crisis deepens.

U.S. involvement: President Trump threatened to place a full embargo on Cuba to pressure Mr. Maduro. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Mr. Maduro and other members of his government had been ready to fly to Cuba, but that Russia indicated they should stay.

John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser, said top officials in the Maduro government had committed to help transition power to Mr. Guaidó. But the officials he identified came out publicly in defense of Mr. Maduro.

Why Trump is suing Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank, which has lent President Trump billions, is putting the president on the defensive.

Lawyers for the bank have cooperated with investigators from two Democratic-controlled congressional committees, which issued what one lawmaker called a “friendly subpoena” to the bank in mid-April.

The bank could end up sharing decades of Mr. Trump’s personal and corporate financial records — something that he does not want, and that prompted him to file a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and another bank, Capital One, to stop it.

Context: For decades, U.S. presidential nominees released their tax returns to the public. Mr. Trump broke with that precedent.

Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and other members of the royal families at the abdication ceremony in Tokyo on Tuesday. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Japan begins a new era

Emperor Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne today, signifying the start of a new era. Yesterday, his father, Akihito, became the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years.

Conservatives in Japan balked at Akihito’s embrace of atonement, but his son is likely to continue his emphasis on pacifism and war remembrance as well as his father’s efforts to bring the monarchy much closer to the people.

His role: Under the country’s postwar Constitution, the emperor — once regarded as a demigod — has no political power to address any of the nation’s most pressing issues directly, but he can set a tone.

Go deeper: Read our series, Survival of the Throne, about the family. In Part Three, the future of the royal family hinged on Naruhito’s finding a wife — and fathering a son. He fell in love with a diplomat and, despite the country’s impatience, waited six years for her.

If you have 18 minutes, this is worth it

Reading between the tree rings

Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

Trees, it turns out, are giant organic recording devices. The circles etched into the trunk tell ancient stories about past climate, civilizations, ecosystems and even galactic events, much of them many thousands of years old.

In recent years, techniques to pry that kind of data from tree rings have expanded, helping scientists forecast future climate patterns.

Here’s what else is happening

U.S.: Two people were fatally shot and four others injured at the University of North Carolina Charlotte on the last day of spring classes. The police said they took the suspect into custody.

Tech: Apple’s revenue fell in the latest quarter on weak iPhone demand, its first consecutive quarterly decline in more than two years.

Eurozone economy: The 19 countries in the eurozone grew 0.4 percent in the first three months of 2019 compared with the last three months of 2018, the E.U. statistics agency estimated. That was the best growth since the second quarter of last year.

Health: A new U.N. report says the overuse of antibiotics and antifungal medicines is fueling drug-resistant pathogens that could kill 10 million people annually by 2050.

Facebook: The social network rolled out a redesign in an attempt to shift to private communications as it tries to move past its user-data issues and privacy scandals.

Northern Ireland: More than two decades after a peace deal persuaded Northern Ireland’s main militant groups to end their war, some groups are still fighting.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Snapshot: Above, the Somali-American model Halima Aden, who will be the first woman to wear a hijab and burkini in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.

Tony Awards: The new musical “Hadestown,” a folk-and-blues-inflected musical reimagining Greek myths, led with 14 nominations. The awards ceremony will take place on June 9.

Learning French: A writer who moved to Paris in her early 30s explores why, in 15 years of living in the city, she has “merely gone from bad to not bad” instead of achieving fluency. It’s significantly easier for children, experts noted. But even imperfect multilingualism has benefits.

What we’re reading: This piece in The Guardian. Stephen Hiltner, who’s been writing some of our briefings, says: “This characteristically brilliant essay by one of my favorite nature writers, Robert Macfarlane, asks us to consider the world’s oft-neglected underground spaces — and what they might tell us about our planet’s future.”

Now, a break from the news

Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.

Cook: Are you a planner? Then try this recipe for Marsala-marinated chicken with roasted vegetables.

Listen: From Kanye West to serpentwithfeet to the Stellar Awards returning to BET, our critics discuss how gospel and pop’s dialogue has been evolving.

Watch: The comedian Anthony Jeselnik says he can say very dark things because audiences and social media followers understand that he’s not a monster — his character is. His new special is now on Netflix.

Go: Collages and Polaroids by Dash Snow; Barbara Ess’s surveillance photographs; and Jeffrey Gibson’s geometrically patterned garments. Find these and more in our guide to what to see in New York’s art galleries right now.

Smarter Living: Are you always too busy? There’s a way out of the madness. Taking regular breaks to do nothing improves productivity. Whether at work or at home, sitting still might be uncomfortable at first and could take practice — just like exercise. Keep your devices out of reach, and play with open-ended toys such as kinetic sand.

And bring this list of questions to ask your vet at your next appointment.

And now for the Back Story on …

Honoring workers

In many countries, today is observed as International Workers’ Day. The date memorializes a conflict that became a flash point in the organized labor movement around the world.

In 1886, on the fourth day of national protests in the U.S. calling for an eight-hour work day, police officers responded to a homemade bomb in Chicago’s Haymarket Square with gunfire. Within minutes, seven officers and four protesters were dead. Eight labor organizers were arrested, tried and convicted.

A Labor Day parade in Gastonia, N.C., in 1934. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Socialist and Communist groups meeting in Paris a few years later chose to remember the Haymarket affair by making the date the protests began, May 1, a labor holiday. But some U.S. politicians feared following suit.

The country eventually followed the lead of a handful of states and Canada, which had been observing a holiday for workers in September since the early 1880s.

In 1894, the U.S. made Labor Day a national holiday, to be celebrated each year on the first Monday in September.

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

— Melina

Thank you
Chris Stanford helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen provided the break from the news. Stacy Cowley, a business reporter, 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 about the power struggle at the National Rifle Association.
• Here’s today’s mini crossword puzzle, and a clue: Singer who's part of the celebrity couple “J-Rod” (3 letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Society of Professional Journalists recognized The New York Times for “Lost in the Storm,” a Magazine article following one family through Hurricane Harvey, and a follow-up “Daily” episode.