Photo Afghan National Army soldiers, left, and American soldiers blew up a Taliban firing position in Kandahar Province in 2013. Entering its 16th year, the war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history. Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times

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Good morning.

Heres what you need to know:

Trump blames media for divisions.

After a statesmanlike address on Monday about national unity, President Trump preached division at a raucous rally Tuesday night in Phoenix. (Watch video excerpts here.)

The president accused the news media of misrepresenting his condemnation of bigotry after the deadly clashes in Charlottesville, Va., and suggested that journalists were responsible for deepening divisions in the country. Outside, the police used tear gas to disperse thousands.

Mr. Trump also implied that he planned to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff in Arizona convicted over his roundups of undocumented immigrants.

I wont do it tonight because I dont want to cause any controversy, the president said. Ill make a prediction: I think hes going to be just fine.

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Inside the Trump-McConnell feud.

They havent spoken in weeks.

What was once an uneasy alliance between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has curdled into resentment and sometimes outright hostility. Mr. McConnell has privately expressed doubt that Mr. Trump can salvage his administration.

Congress faces a number of deadlines when it returns next month. That could be complicated by a president who has threatened Republican senators who cross him.

Sixteen years of war, in pictures.

Times photographers chronicled the arc of the war in Afghanistan, which has vexed three U.S. presidencies.

President Trumps speech on Monday outlining a plan for the conflict was met with a collective shrug by the Taliban and some Afghan officials, our correspondent in Kabul reports.

He said were going to win, but he didnt make it clear how were going to win, one member of the Afghan High Peace Council said.

Mr. Trumps address also met skepticism in Pakistan, whose main rival, India, the president praised. Our correspondents explain.

Navy removes fleet admiral.

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, the head of the U.S. Navys largest overseas fleet, was relieved of duty today.

His fleet has experienced four collisions since January, two of which were fatal, adding to fears of a U.S. decline in Asia.

Swedish journalists death is confirmed.

A torso found this week in Copenhagen waters was that of Kim Wall, who disappeared after boarding a Danish inventors submarine, the police announced today.

The inventor, Peter Madsen, is being held on preliminary charges of involuntary manslaughter.

The police in Copenhagen said blood was found in the submarine designed by Peter Madsen. He told investigators that he had buried a missing journalist at sea after an accident on the vessel.

The Daily, your audio news report.

In todays show, we discuss the theory and history of nation-building in Afghanistan.

Listen on a computer, an iOS device or an Android device.

Google will start offering Walmart products on Google Express, the search companys online shopping mall, to compete with Amazon.

Apple had big ambitions for driverless cars. But it has scaled them back, focusing on a shuttle service for employees that will let it test technology.

The Village Voice, the left-leaning independent weekly New York City newspaper, will end its print publication after 62 years.

U.S. stocks were up on Tuesday. Heres a snapshot of global markets.

Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.

Worried about your eyes after the eclipse? Heres what you should know.

Your guide to dorm room essentials.

Recipe of the day: Embrace the meatless meal with roasted cauliflower and broccoli with salsa verde.

When permafrost isnt permanent.

In todays 360 video, travel to Alaska, where scientists are trying to determine how much greenhouse gas could be released if rising temperatures cause the permafrost to thaw.

Scientists in Alaska are drilling into the permafrost in an attempt to determine how much greenhouse gas could be released if rising temperatures cause the permafrost to thaw.

Partisan writing you shouldnt miss.

Writers from across the political spectrum discuss President Trumps strategy in Afghanistan.

A skewed portrait of a diverse city.

The number of racial and ethnic minorities serving on the boards of New York Citys cultural institutions remains strikingly low, according to data collected by The Times.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has given museums and arts groups an ultimatum: diversify or risk losing some city financing.

Sex, drugs and sustainable agriculture.

In a new book, Alice Waters, who helped start the farm-to-table movement, looks back at her wild early years.

Best of late-night TV.

The comedy hosts tried to make sense of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

Quotation of the day.

I stand by my man both of them.

Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary, when asked about the feud between President Trump and her husband, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.

They were a dissatisfied group of Americans, determined to break away.

Not Californians in 2017. Or Texans for decades. But on this day in 1784, settlers in western North Carolina declared an independent state. They were concerned that the local and national governments, which were in a debate over debts related to the Revolutionary War, did not have their best interests at heart.

The State of Franklin, in what is now eastern Tennessee, adopted a constitution with power divided among three branches, like the national government that its leaders hoped one day to join.

The state made treaties, levied taxes and set salaries, but not in currency. Instead, those salaries included 1,000 deer skins a year for the governor, 500 raccoon skins for the governors secretary and a single mink skin for the constable for each warrant signed, according to one account published in The Times in 1852.

Officials sought the help of Benjamin Franklin, but hopes of national recognition were never realized. The state only lasted a few years because of internal dissent and external pressure.

But it had an impact. The State of Franklin was eventually absorbed into Tennessee, and its leader, John Sevier, became Tennessees first governor when it joined the union in 1796.

Sarah Anderson contributed reporting.

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Donald Trump, Afghanistan, Kyrie Irving: Your Wednesday Briefing ... - New York Times