Your Thursday Evening Briefing – The New York Times

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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.

1. Former President Donald J. Trump carried out a plan to overturn the 2020 election despite knowing the scheme was illegal, the Jan. 6 committee argued.

In its third hearing, the committee presented evidence that John Eastman, a conservative lawyer, told Trump that if his vice president, Mike Pence, refused to certify election results, it would violate the law. But he and Trump still pressured Pence to do so. When Pence wouldn’t comply, Trump tweeted a denunciation, whipping up a mob that called for Pence’s execution.

Yesterday the Justice Department sent a letter to the committee, asking again for transcripts of over 1,000 witness interviews and accusing it of stymieing a federal criminal investigation. The committee has said it won’t turn over the transcripts until its work is done — likely not until the fall.

In other political news, Herschel Walker, the Georgia Republican Senate nominee who has criticized absent Black fathers, has now admitted to at least three publicly unacknowledged children.

3. Global stock markets tumbled and interest rates rose.

Wall Street shuddered when stock prices took a nosedive, as investors’ focus returned to inflation and the repercussions of a surge in interest rates. The S&P 500 closed down about 3.2 percent, the Stoxx 600 index in Europe fell 2.5 percent and the FTSE 100 in London dropped 3.1 percent.

5. Vincent Chin’s killing 40 years ago still has echoes in anti-Asian hate crimes.

In 1982, two white Detroit autoworkers beat Chin to death with a bat in front of a crowd on the night of his bachelor party. The men received probation and a fine, but no jail time.

The rise of Japanese carmakers stoked anti-Asian racism then. Now, the coronavirus’s emergence from China seems to have exacerbated existing biases. A study that sampled large U.S. cities found a 224 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021. “It’s worse now. It’s absolutely worse now than it was 40 years ago,” said a lawyer who was involved in the Chin case.

As the 40th anniversary of the murder approaches, a group of Asian Americans around Detroit have decided to remind younger residents of it. A four-day series of events in Chin’s memory begins today.

6. Could executive action be a workaround if Roe v. Wade is overturned?

The administration is looking at how to help women in Republican-controlled states get abortions if Roe falls. Ideas under consideration: Declaring a national public health emergency, readying the Justice Department to fight state attempts to criminalize travel for abortion, and asserting that F.D.A. regulations on abortion medications pre-empt state bans.

While executive orders can’t restore constitutional rights, Biden says he’s looking at the options. “I don’t think the country will stand for it,” he told the talk show host Jimmy Kimmel last week, discussing the likely end of Roe v. Wade. His aides fear such a ruling would trigger a political crisis, including mass protests.

In related news, Ms. magazine was founded 50 years ago. The Times convened Gloria Steinem, editors and contributors to discuss what has — and hasn’t — changed since then.

7. Elon Musk held his first meeting with Twitter employees.

He said he hoped Twitter would contribute to understanding “the nature of the universe, as much as it is possible to understand.”

In the video Q. and A., Musk appeared ready to close the $44 billion deal despite his well-publicized concerns about bot accounts. He said that he expected to be hands-on at the company — especially with the site’s features — and was open to employees working remotely. When asked about layoffs, Musk said, “Right now, costs exceed revenue. That’s not a great situation.” Twitter’s stock was down when the meeting started, but it rose by about 1 percent.

Related: Employees at Musk’s company SpaceX wrote an open letter denouncing his behavior after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

8. Some polar bears have adapted in a way that will help them endure climate change.

Polar bears normally survive by hunting seals on sea ice, but climate change has reduced the sea ice in many habitats. A subpopulation of several hundred polar bears in southeastern Greenland, however, hunts from ice that breaks off glaciers, which could help these bears outlast others. But experts say the species could still become nearly extinct by the end of the century if warming continues unabated.

In other science news, a group of researchers analyzed the pulp of teeth from people buried centuries ago and determined that the Black Death originated in what is now Kyrgyzstan.

10. And, finally, New York’s chicest handbag repair shop is headed to Florida.

During a 90-year reign, Artbag forged a reputation as being the best at repairing New Yorkers’ purses and wallets. Ladies who lunched, movie stars and other top names got their Chanel and Hermès bags cleaned and fixed there. Clients have included Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Cicely Tyson.

At age 18, Christopher Moore took over the business from his father, who started out at Artbag sweeping the floors in 1959. Moving the shop is necessary, Moore said, because “rents on Madison Avenue are killing us.” It may spell the end of the only Black-owned business on that street in Midtown Manhattan. Moore and his family, including his father, are relocating to Coral Springs, Fla. Fortunately, clients can still ship bags there for repair.

Have a restorative evening.

Allison Zaucha and Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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