Fwd: NYT Now: Your Thursday Briefing

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From: NYTimes.com <nytdirect@nytimes.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 16, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Subject: NYT Now: Your Thursday Briefing
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View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. Thursday, April 16, 2015 Thursday, April 16, 2015 nytnow.com » Enjoy this newsletter? Get continuous updates on today's most important stories with the NYT Now app for iPhone. Download now. South Korea observed today the anniversary of the Sewol ferry accident that claimed more than 300 lives. Jeon Heon-Kyun/European Pressphoto Agency Your Thursday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN Good morning. Here's what you need to know: • Hello, Mr. President. Russia's leader, Vladimir V. Putin, is taking questions at his annual national call-in show, which usually goes on for hours. Our Moscow bureau chief, Neil MacFarquhar, is posting live updates on Twitter. On Monday, Mr. Putin approved the delivery of a sophisticated air defense missile system to Iran, potentially complicating nuclear negotiations and further straining ties with Washington. Iran's defense minister speaks at an international security conference in Moscow today. • On Capitol Hill. The Senate takes up consideration today of a bill on human trafficking. An abortion provision in the measure has been holding up the confirmation of Loretta E. Lynch as attorney general, who appears to have the 51 votes needed. And a House committee looks into "The Worst Places to Work in the Federal Government." You can watch the hearing at 9 a.m. Eastern. • More legal troubles for former Patriot. Aaron Hernandez still faces murder charges and civil lawsuits over a double killing in Boston, as well as a suit in Florida from a former friend who said he was shot in the face after arguing with Mr. Hernandez. The football player was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole on Wednesday. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts automatically prompts an appeal process. • Heartache in South Korea. The country's president said today that the government would raise a ferry that sank a year ago today, killing more than 300 people, including 250 high school students. Nine bodies are still missing. Ceremonies are being held throughout the country, and the city where the students were from seems unsure of whether, or how, to move on. • California vaccine bill is delayed. A small but vocal group of parents who object to childhood vaccinations showed up in force at the State Capitol on Wednesday, helping to stall a measure that would bar parents from seeking vaccine exemptions for their children because of religious or personal beliefs. The measles outbreak that began at Disneyland and that rekindled the debate about vaccinations is likely to be declared over on Friday. • Big-city mayor in the heartland. New York's mayor, Bill de Blasio, is in Iowa today. No, not to test the presidential campaign waters, but to jump-start a countrywide movement to promote liberal policies like raising taxes on the rich. That's not making some centrist Democrats happy. MARKETS • Wall Street stock futures are little changed. European shares are mostly lower, and Asian indexes closed ahead. • Ben S. Bernanke, the former Federal Reserve chairman, will become a senior adviser to the Citadel Investment Group, a $25 billion hedge fund. • Etsy, the money-losing online marketplace for handcrafted and vintage goods and apparel, begins trading publicly today at $16 a share. Virtu Financial, one of the world's largest high-frequency trading companies, also lists on Nasdaq today at $19 a share. NOTEWORTHY • New pregnancy findings. Nearly a third of American mothers become pregnant again within 18 months, sooner than health experts advise, a government study said today. Experts say women should wait at least that long to allow time to recover and increase the chances that the next child reaches full term and is healthy. • No. 1 in film and music. The soundtrack to the movie "Furious 7," which has dominated the box office for the past two weeks, is at the top of the Billboard album chart this week. The song "See You Again," a tribute to the actor Paul Walker, who died in 2013 and starred in the film, helped vault it to No. 1. • In the company of pop stars. Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most powerful and influential people, as chosen by its editors, is announced today. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia won this year's readers' poll. He was followed by the South Korean pop singer CL, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. • Danger for dogs. A canine flu outbreak has sickened at least 1,000 dogs in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. Veterinarians there are cautioning pet owners to keep their dogs from playing with other four-legged friends. BACK STORY We found ourselves in the murky waters of international criminal law on Monday when we wrote that the re-election of Sudan's president would give him continued immunity from prosecution on genocide charges. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan for 25 years, can indeed be prosecuted — but only if someone arrests him and turns him over to the International Criminal Court, based in the Netherlands. The problem is that Sudan won't arrest its own president, and other countries to which he travels don't want to turn him over either. We asked one of our readers, Luke Wilson, an international lawyer who teaches at George Washington University, to help us understand what kind of legal protections leaders like Mr. Bashir enjoy. The sovereignty that countries have is routinely extended to their leaders in the form of immunity from prosecution in any other country, Mr. Wilson told us. That makes Mr. Bashir safe from prosecution anywhere but an international tribunal like the I.C.C. as long as he is a sitting head of state, he said. Victoria Shannon contributed reporting. Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning. What would you like to see here? Contact us at briefing@nytimes.com. Want to get the briefing by email? Here's the sign-up. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTNOW @NYTNOW NYT Now app for iPhone Now the news keeps up with you Available on the App Store Get more NYTimes.com newsletters » | Sign Up for the Morning Briefing newsletter » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's NYT Now newsletter. As a member of the TRUSTe privacy program, we are committed to protecting your privacy. 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