Israel, China, Saudi Arabia: Your Thursday Briefing – The New York Times

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Good morning.

Were decoding Israeli election results and taking a closer look at Chinas Twitter trolls. Weve also got a story about a chef who turns dim sum dough into art.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used the strongest terms yet from an American official to describe the strikes on Saudi oil facilities, and said that the U.S. was working to build a coalition to deter further attacks.

He made the remarks after arriving in Saudi Arabia for an emergency meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia, for its part, showed what it described as debris from the site of the attack, which it attributed to Iran, but didnt specify how it plans to respond.

President Trump played down the possibility of another American military engagement in the Middle East. He instead ordered new sanctions, but gave no details.

Related: Mr. Trump selected Robert OBrien, the State Departments chief hostage negotiator, to replace John Bolton as his national security adviser. Mr. OBrien has previously worked for Mr. Bolton and has cited his hawkish views.

The center-left Blue and White party, led by the former army chief Benny Gantz, seemed to come out just ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Likud party. And the Joint List of Arab parties performed better than expected.

The murky outcome itself represents a setback for Mr. Netanyahu, the countrys longest-serving leader, who had failed to form a government after elections in April. Here are other takeaways from the election.

Whats next: In a few days, President Reuven Rivlin will give the mandate to form a government to the candidate with the best chance of forming a viable coalition. If projections hold, that opportunity could fall to Mr. Gantz.

Last month, the company took down nearly 1,000 accounts that it said were part of a Chinese disinformation campaign to undermine the antigovernment demonstrations in Hong Kong.

It was the first time that an American technology giant had attributed such an effort to the Chinese government. The Times worked with several researchers to analyze how the campaign worked and found that it lacked the sophistication of Russias disinformation efforts during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Details: Many of the accounts posted messages that matched, word for word, others that Twitter had deleted, or posted messages at exactly 12 and 42 minutes past the hour, indicating an automated effort.

Perspective: While social media has made it easier to build mass movements, like the one in Hong Kong, it has made it harder to translate the sentiment into real change, argues our columnist Thomas Friedman. These modern movements are crowdsourced but also crowd-enforced, he writes, and thats intimidating for anyone who wants to make a deal.

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by a quarter percentage point, the second time since late July, and suggested it was prepared to do more if the economy showed continued signs of weakness.

But the rate cut did little to appease President Trump, who has been pushing the central bank to take a bigger step and cut rates to zero, or even into negative territory.

A growing number of officials expect one more reduction in the coming months, based on economic projections released on Wednesday.

Another angle: Oil shocks, autoworkers on strike, political pressure on the Fed at first glance, this economic era seems similar to one in the 1970s. But there are a few big differences that are crucial to understanding the world economy in 2019.

A filmmaker, Miki Dezaki, set out to examine why a small group of conservatives continues to deny the countrys wartime atrocities, particularly the sexual enslavement of so-called comfort women, pictured above. The people he interviewed have reaches at the highest levels of the Japanese government, shaping the countrys cultural, political and social narrative.

Now, five of them are suing Mr. Dezaki for defamation.

The Philippines: President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to admit in a speech this week that he ordered an assassination attempt on a politician last year. A spokesman said he had misspoken.

Myanmar: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys civilian leader and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, could face prosecution for crimes against humanity stemming from the militarys brutal oppression of Rohingya Muslims.

Climate: The Trump administration is expected to revoke Californias authority to set auto emissions rules that are stricter than federal standards, part of a broader effort to weaken regulations that address climate change.

Snapshot: Above, a miniature scene from ancient China created by chef Joe Ng out of dim sum dough. The dough is steamed, plunged into boiling water, tinted with artists paint and left overnight to dry. Then Mr. Ng, considered one of the best Chinese chefs in the West, begins assembling his figurines, pressing one layer of dough at a time around a toothpick base.

Cook: Comfort is a cup of tea and a slice of apple skillet cake with salted caramel frosting.

Watch: Midnight Traveler documents a refugee familys search for safety. At its best, our film critic writes, it reminds you that those of us with homes make choices every day that affect the lives of others.

Read: In Red at the Bone, a new novel from Jacqueline Woodson, an unplanned pregnancy ripples through three generations of a Brooklyn family.

Listen: Trapcorridos tales of love, bandits, heroes and gangsters are a sensation in California and Mexico.

Smarter Living: Medical emergencies on airplanes are rare, but they do happen. If youre taking the kids on a flight, pediatricians have some advice: Keep childrens medications in your carry-on, and dont seat them on the aisle, where heavy bags could fall.

And many day care centers have guidelines for pink eye that dont follow the latest medical advice. Heres what parents should know.

Pack heavy items close to your back. Use both shoulder straps. And carry no more than 10 percent of your weight.

These are some of the ABCs of school backpacks from the American Occupational Therapy Association, which declared yesterday to be National School Backpack Awareness Day.

(Dont laugh the group also has ergonomic advice for toting purses, briefcases and suitcases.)

The first lightweight nylon backpacks appeared around 1967, designed by JanSport and Gerry Outdoors for use by hikers and, uh, backpackers. Soon, college kids started to adopt them. By the 1980s, backpack companies were making them specifically for textbooks.

The packs filtered down through the grades and around the world, replacing the book straps, satchels and schoolbags of earlier eras as an indelible part of a students identity.

Thats it for this briefing. See you next time.

Alisha

Thank youTo Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Victoria Shannon, on the briefings team, wrote todays Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. Were listening to The Daily. Our latest episode is the first of a two-part series about a new book about Harvey Weinstein by two Times reporters. Heres our Mini Crossword, and a clue: Claus subordinates (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. The Timess Travel section has introduced a new column, Tripped Up, that offers advice on how to resolve travel disasters.

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Israel, China, Saudi Arabia: Your Thursday Briefing - The New York Times