Fwd: NYT Now: Your Friday Briefing

RESPEKT!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: NYTimes.com <nytdirect@nytimes.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2015 at 12:16 PM
Subject: NYT Now: Your Friday Briefing
To: pascal.alter@gmail.com

View in Browser | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. Friday, June 19, 2015 Friday, June 19, 2015 nytnow.com » Enjoy this newsletter? The NYT Now app for iPhone is now completely free. It's the fastest way to catch up with the news throughout the day. Download now. Residents of Charleston, S.C., left flowers on Thursday at the church where nine people were killed. Travis Dove for The New York Times Your Friday Briefing By ADEEL HASSAN Good morning. Here's what you need to know: • A nation grieves with Charleston. Dylann Storm Roof, the suspect held in Wednesday's church massacre in Charleston, S.C., is expected to make a court appearance today. Prayer services continue today for the nine victims, ages 26 to 87, who friends and relatives say were leaders, motivators and counselors. Many civil rights advocates are asking why the attack has not officially been called terrorism. • The president speaks. President Obama addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors today in San Francisco. He may expand on comments he made on Thursday about the difficulty of getting meaningful gun laws passed in Washington. • Truck pollution targeted. The Obama administration unveils today draft regulation to cut planet-warming carbon pollution from heavy-duty trucks. The proposed rule is intended to raise the fuel efficiency of big rigs and set emissions targets for other trucks that are larger than light-duty pickups, as well as for buses. • Brian Williams's apology tour. The former anchor of NBC "Nightly News" is interviewed by his colleague Matt Lauer this morning on the "Today" show (7 a.m. Eastern). On Thursday, Mr. Williams apologized to NBC News staff members in New York and Washington for exaggerating his experiences in Iraq. He will anchor breaking news and special reports at the cable network MSNBC. • Al Qaeda's denial. The group's branch in North Africa is denying that the militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in an American airstrike in Libya this week. Separately, the State Department releases its annual report on terrorism this morning. • Denmark moves right. The leader of the conservative Liberal Party is expected to become prime minister after Danish voters ousted their center-left government in a swing to the right. • Arson at "Loaves and Fishes" church. The police are investigating a fire at a Catholic church at a revered site near the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, saying the attack could be a hate crime by Jewish extremists. • Stormy weather. The remnants of Tropical Storm Bill are prompting flood warnings across the Ozarks and the mid-Mississippi Valley today. MARKETS • The European Central Bank holds an emergency meeting by phone today to decide whether to extend further emergency funding for Greek banks. The banks have reportedly suffered high withdrawals over worries the country could leave the eurozone. Eurozone leaders meet in an emergency session over Greece on Monday. • Office Depot shareholders vote today on the proposed $6.3 billion merger with Staples. The merger still needs U.S. regulatory approval. • Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is close to selling itself to Sequential Brands Group, a retail-licensing company, The Wall Street Journal reported. • Wall Street stock futures are slightly positive, as European shares rise. Asian indexes advanced, with the distinct exception of Shanghai, which fell 6 percent. NOTEWORTHY • Journey in an 11-year-old's head. "Inside Out," an animated comedy opening today, takes place inside a girl's mind, where five emotions — fear, anger, disgust, sadness and joy — are played by bickering characters. And "Dope" is a comic drama about a teenager in a tough Los Angeles neighborhood who sets aside college applications to go to a party that leads to an adventure. Here's what else is coming to theaters today. • Popular reads. Judy Blume, best known for her books for young adults, scores her fourth best-selling adult novel with "In the Unlikely Event." And "The Soul of an Octopus," by the naturalist Sy Montgomery, makes its debut on our monthly animals best-seller list. Yes, we have a list for best sellers about animals, and for many other categories. • Tiger's bad day. Tiger Woods tallied his worst score in the U.S. Open on Thursday. Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson lead the way as play resumes today. • Britannia rules. The British band Muse tops the Billboard album chart for the first time, with its seventh studio release, "Drones." Muse replaced Florence and the Machine at No. 1. It's the first time two British acts have debuted atop the album chart in consecutive weeks. • What's on TV. Our TV critic likes "Killjoys," a new series that follows three young entrepreneurs as they roam a distant planetary system rounding up miscreants for pay (9 p.m. Eastern, Syfy). • Ditch the shoes. It's National Flip-Flop Day, an annual celebration the helps raise funds for Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. BACK STORY Long, narrow boats decorated with dragons are raced around this time every year in China's more than 2,000-year-old Dragon Boat Festival. It falls on Saturday this year, the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year. On that day around 278 B.C., a great statesman and poet drowned himself in the Miluo river, a tributary of the Yangtze. (Or maybe he was murdered.) We think he did this to protest government corruption. His followers and local fishermen were said to be so moved by his sacrifice that they raced their boats to try to recover his body before fish could eat it. They threw rice into the water to distract the fish, or perhaps so that he would have something to eat in the afterlife. Today's races are symbolic attempts to rescue him. Up to 20 paddlers cram into the boats, and a drummer sits in the front to beat out a cadence for the team. Packets of sticky rice wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves are served to spectators, who also throw leaves with rice into the water. So what role does the dragon play? In Chinese mythology, the dragon controls water: rain, rivers and seas. 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. (.....)| Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise (....) Copyright 2015 The New York Times Company | 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018