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Good morning.
We’re covering a warning from Congress over Russian election interference and looking at what’s next for Puerto Rico. It’s also Friday, so there’s a new news quiz.
How Jeffrey Epstein used the chief of Victoria’s Secret
Mr. Epstein first met Leslie Wexner, the chief executive of the lingerie and women’s wear company, in the 1980s. Within years, Mr. Wexner had given Mr. Epstein sweeping powers over his finances and private life, according to interviews with people who knew the men and to court documents and financial records.
Mr. Epstein became extraordinarily rich, obtaining a New York mansion, a private plane and a luxury estate in Ohio that were previously owned by Mr. Wexner or his companies. Mr. Epstein also gained access to young women, including by trying to involve himself in the recruitment of lingerie models for the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
Response: Through a spokesman, Mr. Wexner, the longest-serving chief executive in the S&P 500, declined repeated requests for an interview. In a letter this month to employees, he said he was “NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment.”
Related: Mr. Epstein was found unconscious in his cell on Tuesday with marks on his neck. Prison officials were investigating whether he had tried to kill himself.
Russia targeted elections in all 50 states, report finds
Moscow’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 elections were more widespread than previously acknowledged and went largely undetected by state and federal officials at the time, according to a report released on Thursday by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The bipartisan report warned that voting remains vulnerable, but its findings, including key recommendations for 2020, were heavily redacted at the insistence of American intelligence agencies.
Related: Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, moved again on Thursday to block election security legislation put forward by Democrats. He has long opposed giving the federal government more control over a process typically run by the states.
Another angle: The report came a day after Robert Mueller, the former special counsel, warned that Russia was interfering “as we sit here.” His testimony has deepened Democrats’ divisions over whether to pursue impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
The mess that Puerto Rico’s next leader will inherit
When Gov. Ricardo Rosselló steps down next week, his successor will be left with the biggest governmental bankruptcy in U.S. history and an economy propped up by emergency aid.
As it recovers from Hurricane Maria, the island is in the middle of restructuring about $129 billion in debt and unfunded pensions, and there is no resolution in sight. We looked at some of the challenges.
Related: Jenniffer González-Colón represents Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million residents in Congress, but she has far less power than others in the House.
Voices: We asked Puerto Ricans how years of economic mismanagement, cuts to public services and a 12-year recession have affected their lives. “The anger and frustration is everywhere,” one said. Read more here.
Democrats trade jabs over race
Before next week’s presidential debates, the two leading black candidates, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, have challenged Joe Biden’s record on race in the hopes of undermining his standing with black voters.
The two senators have accused the former vice president of reframing his history, while Mr. Biden and his campaign have defended his record and drawn contrasts on issues like health care and policing.
Related: The debates on Tuesday and Wednesday will feature 20 candidates, many of whom have struggled to connect with voters. John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor, is one of them, but he’s not ready to call it quits.
If you have 25 minutes, this is worth it
How Turkey purges its intellectuals
Snapshot: Above, cooling off in Paris on Thursday, when the city recorded its hottest-ever temperature: 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit). As a dangerous heat wave scorched Western Europe, records were also broken in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
In memoriam: President Béji Caïd Essebsi of Tunisia steered the country through a democratic transition after the Arab Spring of 2011. He died on Thursday at 92.
Photo archive is sold: A collection of more than four million prints and negatives from Ebony and Jet magazines could soon be accessible to the public. Four major foundations that bought the archive said that they would donate it to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Getty Research Institute.
News quiz: Did you follow the headlines this week? Test yourself.
Modern Love: In this week’s column, a woman’s short-term amnesia helps her daughter realize what long-term love is all about.
Late-night comedy: The hosts noted that Robert Mueller’s testimony this week left some in Washington unimpressed: “We can’t determine the value of Mueller’s testimony by ratings!” Stephen Colbert said. “If that were the case, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ would be president of the United States.”
What we’re listening to: This mini-series from Radiolab on intelligence. “From the dark side of I.Q. tests to a scavenger hunt for Albert Einstein’s brain, ‘G’ highlights the power, and fragility, of humanity,” writes Remy Tumin of the briefings team.
Now, a break from the news
Read: Max Porter’s “Lanny,” a Booker Prize nominee, is equal parts fairy tale, domestic drama and fable. It’s one of six new books we recommend.
Watch: Our TV critic has recommendations for the weekend, including an Icelandic cop drama, a dog documentary and the final season of “Orange Is the New Black.”
Go: “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” featuring fragments of what feels like every pop hit ever written, “is a cloud-surfing, natural high of a production,” our critic writes. It’s playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theater in Manhattan.
Smarter Living: Flying greatly increases your carbon footprint. But you can compensate by buying carbon offsets, which lower greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere. Here’s our guide to buying and using them. (They cost less than you might think.)
And an increasing number of hotels let guests use their phones as room keys.
And now for the Back Story on …
A celebration of garlic
The world’s biggest garlic festival starts today in Gilroy, Calif., serving up more than two tons of the pungent vegetable in dishes like calamari, pesto, french fries and bread.
Garlic — a close cousin to onions and leeks — has been consumed by humans for thousands of years as both food and medicine. Hippocrates prescribed garlic to treat a variety of conditions, and the ancient Greeks gave garlic to Olympic athletes and to fighting gamecocks to help their performance.
The jury is still out on many health claims (one meta-analysis concluded the “evidence is not strong” that garlic eases high blood pressure), but any benefits are most likely linked to the antioxidant effects of the sulfur compounds that form when a garlic clove is crushed. That’s also what creates the powerful aroma.
Leave your chopped garlic out for 10 minutes to allow those compounds to form.
That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.
— Chris
Thank you
To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Victoria Shannon, on the briefings team, wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at [email protected].
P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is about Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime companion.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Indian currency (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• The Times received 13 News and Documentary Emmy nominations on Thursday, the most in our history.