Thursday Briefing: A blocked ethics report

Plus, the secret to great Thanksgiving turkey.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 21, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering an ethics report into Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, and a U.N. Security Council vote on a cease-fire in Gaza. Plus: A Thanksgiving turkey with wow factor. Matt Gaetz appeared with Senator JD Vance in Washington. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Republicans blocked the release of an ethics report House Republicans voted to block the release of an Ethics Committee report about allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for attorney general, setting up a possible constitutional clash between the House and the Senate. Separately, federal investigators established a trail of payments made by Gaetz to women, including some who testified that he had hired them for sex, according to a document obtained by The Times and a lawyer representing some of the women. The document shows a web of thousands of dollars in Venmo payments between Gaetz and a group of his friends, associates and women who had drug-fueled sex parties between 2017 and 2020, according to testimony that participants are said to have given to federal and congressional investigators. The latest: Gaetz, who has gleefully disparaged some Republican senators whose votes he now needs to be confirmed as attorney general, went to Capitol Hill yesterday to win the support of key members. Senator JD Vance, the vice president-elect, ushered him to the meetings. Context: It was not so long ago that nominees for high-level jobs needed to be above reproach, to the point where a relatively minor tax issue could derail them, Carl Hulse writes in this analysis. But times are evidently changing. In other politics news: Trump tapped Matthew Whitaker, who served as acting attorney general in 2018, as ambassador to NATO. The president-elect's pick for education secretary, Linda McMahon, is an unconventional choice. Speaker Mike Johnson said he supported an effort to block Sarah McBride, the first transgender member of Congress, from using Capitol women's rooms. China hawks are set to join Trump's cabinet. But there are signs that he might consider a more moderate approach. Robert A. Wood, the American ambassador to the U.N., at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. Angela Weiss/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The U.S. blocked a Gaza cease-fire resolution The U.S. was the only member of the U.N. Security Council to veto a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where fighting has raged for more than 13 months. The U.S. said it vetoed the resolution because it did not make the cease-fire contingent on the release of the hostages still being held in Gaza. The resolution does call for the release of all hostages, but the wording suggests that they would be released only after a cease-fire has been put in place. It was the fourth time the U.S. has blocked an effort by the Council to demand a cease-fire in Gaza since last year, when a devastating attack on Israel led by Hamas killed about 1,200 people. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the local health authorities, and the territory is at risk of famine, experts say. In Lebanon: A top U.S. envoy, Amos Hochstein, said that there had been "additional progress" in truce talks aimed at halting the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied with Hamas. He traveled to Israel yesterday evening. In other news from the region: The Israeli military is now offering to preserve the sperm of soldiers killed in war. Over 200 families have taken up the opportunity. Kianoosh Sanjari, a dissident who had been repeatedly imprisoned, plummeted to his death from a commercial building in central Tehran as a final act of protest. Lebanon's national airline has become an unexpected hero, with its planes taking off and landing only hundreds of yards away from the bombings rocking Beirut. Britain, France, Germany and the U.S. moved to censure Iran over its secretive nuclear program. Israel has devastated Hezbollah, but it hasn't been able to eliminate its short-range rockets. That failure has put pressure on Israel's government to embrace a cease-fire. A Ukrainian soldier outside Toretsk, defending against a Russian advance, in October. The city is at risk of falling to Russian forces. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times Biden agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel mines The Biden administration agreed to supply Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to strengthen its defenses against Russian attacks. The U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, said yesterday that Russia's increasing reliance on foot soldiers, rather than armored vehicles, had prompted the decision. Here's how the mines work. It came as Ukraine fired a number of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia's Kursk region, according to Pentagon and Ukrainian officials. Britain had previously allowed Ukraine to use the missiles against Russian positions within Ukrainian territory. On the ground: Marc Santora and Tyler Hicks reported from the front in eastern Ukraine, where the Ukrainians are "simply worn out." In Kyiv: The U.S. embassy issued a rare warning of a "significant air attack" and shut down temporarily. MORE TOP NEWS Betsy Joles for The New York Times Pakistan: Weekend lockdowns are set to begin in Lahore, where a dense, suffocating smog has caused a health crisis. Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, testified for the first time at his national security trial. Uganda: A prominent opposition figure who disappeared last week surfaced yesterday in a military court. He was charged with security-related offenses, officials said. Pope: The Vatican announced new rules to simplify papal funerals, reflecting Pope Francis's yearslong commitment to shedding some rituals and papal pageantry. Art: A banana that for years has stirred controversy in the art world sold for $6.2 million with fees at Sotheby's contemporary art auction last night. France: Hundreds of employees at the Hennessy cognac factory in the Charente region, north of Bordeaux, walked off the job over plans to move the company's brandy bottling to China. Autos: Ford Motor said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs in Europe as it struggles with Chinese competition and slowing demand for electric vehicles. Music: A funeral was held in England for the former One Direction singer Liam Payne, a month after his death in a fall from a hotel balcony. Cinema: Alec Baldwin's film "Rust," which was dogged by tragedy, lawsuits and criminal trials, premiered at a small film festival in Poland. Heist: Two trucks' worth — or 24,240 bottles — of tequila from a company founded by Guy Fieri were stolen en route to Pennsylvania. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Rúben Amorim is Manchester United's new manager. He represents the club's latest shot at redemption after years in the wilderness. N.F.L. power rankings: We ranked every team from best to worst. Formula 1: Inside F1 Las Vegas's plans for a successful sequel — hopefully without drain cover drama. (Last year, a loose water valve cover caused the first practice to be canceled.) Golf: The L.P.G.A. will celebrate its 75th-anniversary season in 2025 by offering a record-breaking $131 million in prize money. MORNING READ Ben Wiseman Google stores the world's information, but for the past 15 years it has been concealing its own. The company told employees to destroy messages, avoid using words like "monopoly" and copy lawyers on documents as often as possible — all to avoid antitrust suits. The plan backfired. Here's everything we know about the tech giant's culture of distrust. Lives lived: Diane Coleman, a fierce disability-rights advocate who was born with muscular spinal atrophy and who took on the right-to-die movement, has died at 71. CONVERSATION STARTERS Move over, Picasso: At a Christie's auction, the Belgian surrealist René Magritte entered the $100 million club. Reintroducing Daniel Craig: After 15 years playing James Bond, the actor's next move may surprise his fans. Raise a glass: Some winemakers in a former Soviet republic are trying to shake their dependence on Russia and focus more on high-value Western markets. Saving giants: U.S. wildlife officials say that giraffes are dying so rapidly that they should be under government protection. ARTS AND IDEAS David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. The secret to the best turkey Eric Kim has been in charge of cooking his family's Thanksgiving turkey for the past 20 years. But, he writes, there's one major problem: The stately, russet Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving turkey is just too big to taste any good. This year, Eric and other colleagues from Times Cooking tested three different turkey techniques: salting simply (the control), wet brining (in a saltwater solution) and dry brining (salting a few days ahead). They then tasted eight breast portions, each prepared according to readers' suggestions. What emerged was an effortlessly tender bird with immense flavor and unabashed wow factor. Here's how to do it. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Julia Gartland for The New York Times Cook: This flavorful butternut squash soup is one of our most popular recipes this week. Watch: We chose the best true crime to stream right now. Read: Check out these five vintage crime novels. Treat: Has menopause made you ache? There's a name for that — and ways to cope. Travel: "Black London" is vibrant, resilient and joyful. Here's how to experience it. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha P.S. What were the best things you watched, read and heard this year? Tell us here. Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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