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| Security Clearances, Elon Musk, Aretha Franklin: Your Weekend Briefing | Security Clearances, Elon Musk, Aretha Franklin: Your Weekend Briefing |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. | Here are the week’s top stories, and a look ahead. |
| 1. The word of the week was clearance. As in security clearance. | 1. The word of the week was clearance. As in security clearance. |
| On Wednesday, President Trump revoked the security clearance of John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, a striking act of retaliation against an outspoken critic. | On Wednesday, President Trump revoked the security clearance of John O. Brennan, the former C.I.A. director, a striking act of retaliation against an outspoken critic. |
| Mr. Brennan bit back in a Times Op-Ed in which he called the president’s denials of Russian interference in the election “hogwash.” | Mr. Brennan bit back in a Times Op-Ed in which he called the president’s denials of Russian interference in the election “hogwash.” |
| And we learned from more than a dozen sources that the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, has been cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the question into whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. | And we learned from more than a dozen sources that the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, has been cooperating with the special counsel’s investigation, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the question into whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice. |
| Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, and our crossword puzzles. | Have you been keeping up with the headlines? Test your knowledge with our news quiz. And here’s the front page of our Sunday paper, and our crossword puzzles. |
| _____ | _____ |
| 2. President Trump was also visited by a ghost of his administration’s past. | 2. President Trump was also visited by a ghost of his administration’s past. |
| Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who served as the director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, has a powerful method of publicizing “Unhinged,” her book on her time in the administration. | Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who served as the director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, has a powerful method of publicizing “Unhinged,” her book on her time in the administration. |
| She has been releasing recordings, including one of her firing by the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, and another that she says proves the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump offered her a $15,000-a-month contract in exchange for her silence. | She has been releasing recordings, including one of her firing by the White House chief of staff, John Kelly, and another that she says proves the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump offered her a $15,000-a-month contract in exchange for her silence. |
| The Trump campaign says she’s violated a confidentiality agreement. | The Trump campaign says she’s violated a confidentiality agreement. |
| And Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, is also still haunting the president. The jury begins a third day of deliberations in his fraud trial on Monday. | And Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, is also still haunting the president. The jury begins a third day of deliberations in his fraud trial on Monday. |
| ____ | ____ |
| 3. Elon Musk, the tech mogul and Tesla chief, has his own problems. | 3. Elon Musk, the tech mogul and Tesla chief, has his own problems. |
| In a sometimes tearful interview with The Times, he shared his struggles in trying to make Tesla’s production goals, saying, “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career. It was excruciating.” | In a sometimes tearful interview with The Times, he shared his struggles in trying to make Tesla’s production goals, saying, “This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career. It was excruciating.” |
| Things have only gotten more intense since he declared on Twitter on Aug. 7 that he hoped to convert the publicly traded company into a private one. | Things have only gotten more intense since he declared on Twitter on Aug. 7 that he hoped to convert the publicly traded company into a private one. |
| ____ | ____ |
| 4. The Queen of Soul has left us. | 4. The Queen of Soul has left us. |
| Aretha Franklin died on Thursday at her home in Detroit, at 76. In his must-read obituary, the Times’s chief popular music critic, Jon Pareles, wrote that “Respect,” her signature song, “was never just about how a woman wanted to be greeted by a spouse coming home from work. It was a demand for equality and freedom and a harbinger of feminism, carried by a voice that would accept nothing less.” | Aretha Franklin died on Thursday at her home in Detroit, at 76. In his must-read obituary, the Times’s chief popular music critic, Jon Pareles, wrote that “Respect,” her signature song, “was never just about how a woman wanted to be greeted by a spouse coming home from work. It was a demand for equality and freedom and a harbinger of feminism, carried by a voice that would accept nothing less.” |
| And our critic-at-large, Wesley Morris, wrote of her “bravado and nerve and daring” in his appraisal. | And our critic-at-large, Wesley Morris, wrote of her “bravado and nerve and daring” in his appraisal. |
| We also looked at her activism, her onscreen presence and her magic, and gave you a playlist of her 20 essential songs. | We also looked at her activism, her onscreen presence and her magic, and gave you a playlist of her 20 essential songs. |
| Farewell also to Kofi Annan, who died Saturday at the age of 80. You could say he was a conductor of sorts, trying as the seventh secretary general of the United Nations to get the world to work together. He projected himself and his organization as the world’s conscience despite bloody debacles that left indelible stains on his peacekeeping record. | |
| ____ | ____ |
| 5. A bombshell hit the Catholic Church. | 5. A bombshell hit the Catholic Church. |
| A searing report issued by a grand jury on Tuesday said bishops and other church leaders in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years. | A searing report issued by a grand jury on Tuesday said bishops and other church leaders in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years. |
| The Vatican’s response, two days later: “The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible.” | |
| Across the country, Catholics reeled from the graphic descriptions in the report and parishioners at one Pittsburgh church finally found out why their priest had suddenly retired. | Across the country, Catholics reeled from the graphic descriptions in the report and parishioners at one Pittsburgh church finally found out why their priest had suddenly retired. |
| _____ | _____ |
| 6. A day of national mourning in Italy. | 6. A day of national mourning in Italy. |
| The country paused Saturday for a state funeral for some of the known victims of a bridge collapse in Genoa on Tuesday. Others are still missing, and emergency workers continue to dig through the rubble. | |
| The collapse was not exactly a surprise. | The collapse was not exactly a surprise. |
| The bridge required constant repairs, and experts in Parliament, industry and academia had raised alarms years earlier. | The bridge required constant repairs, and experts in Parliament, industry and academia had raised alarms years earlier. |
| On Friday, the government said that it would create a national databank to determine the state of all national infrastructure. | On Friday, the government said that it would create a national databank to determine the state of all national infrastructure. |
| ____ | ____ |
| 7. Afghanistan is being torn both by Taliban military assaults and bloody bombings against civilian targets, like schools. | 7. Afghanistan is being torn both by Taliban military assaults and bloody bombings against civilian targets, like schools. |
| But Afghan and American officials appear unready to acknowledge the devastating new level of violence. | But Afghan and American officials appear unready to acknowledge the devastating new level of violence. |
| Rod Nordland, who has been reporting on the country since the 1979 Soviet invasion, writes that there are two wars convulsing Afghanistan: “the war of blood and guts, and the war of truth and lies.” | Rod Nordland, who has been reporting on the country since the 1979 Soviet invasion, writes that there are two wars convulsing Afghanistan: “the war of blood and guts, and the war of truth and lies.” |
| _____ | _____ |
| 8. Changes on climate-change regulations: | 8. Changes on climate-change regulations: |
| The Trump administration is readying a formal proposal for a vast overhaul that would allow individual states to decide how, or even whether, to curb carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. | The Trump administration is readying a formal proposal for a vast overhaul that would allow individual states to decide how, or even whether, to curb carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. |
| We’ve seen a summary of the plan, and three people who have seen the full proposal filled in the details. | We’ve seen a summary of the plan, and three people who have seen the full proposal filled in the details. |
| President Trump is expected to highlight the plan on Tuesday, at a rally in West Virginia. | President Trump is expected to highlight the plan on Tuesday, at a rally in West Virginia. |
| ____ | ____ |
| 9. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is turning American actions against Turkey to his advantage, appealing to national pride and deflecting responsibility for the lira’s collapse. | 9. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is turning American actions against Turkey to his advantage, appealing to national pride and deflecting responsibility for the lira’s collapse. |
| But economists see the lira’s plunge as a sign of growing domestic economic pressures that could be nearing a breaking point. | But economists see the lira’s plunge as a sign of growing domestic economic pressures that could be nearing a breaking point. |
| The analysis by our European economics correspondent, Peter S. Goodman: Turkey’s descent into authoritarianism and crisis has destroyed whatever hopes remained that Mr. Erdogan might serve as a regional force for moderation. | The analysis by our European economics correspondent, Peter S. Goodman: Turkey’s descent into authoritarianism and crisis has destroyed whatever hopes remained that Mr. Erdogan might serve as a regional force for moderation. |
| ____ | ____ |
| 10. Back to the U.S. | 10. Back to the U.S. |
| Getting inside the teenage mind is … not easy. | Getting inside the teenage mind is … not easy. |
| But there are several new marketing firms trying to illuminate the inner workings of young people without condescension. | But there are several new marketing firms trying to illuminate the inner workings of young people without condescension. |
| One, JÜV Consulting (named for a combination of the words “juvenile” and “rejuvenate”), is staffed entirely by people who range in age from 14 to 22. | One, JÜV Consulting (named for a combination of the words “juvenile” and “rejuvenate”), is staffed entirely by people who range in age from 14 to 22. |
| “Don’t talk about teenagers, talk to teenagers,” said Ziad Ahmed, 19, the C.E.O. and a rising sophomore at Yale (major undecided). | “Don’t talk about teenagers, talk to teenagers,” said Ziad Ahmed, 19, the C.E.O. and a rising sophomore at Yale (major undecided). |
| ____ | ____ |
| 11. Finally, looking for some great journalism? We’ve got you covered. | 11. Finally, looking for some great journalism? We’ve got you covered. |
| In Weekend Reads, we explore the popularity of cubing, celebrate Madonna at 60 and find retailers playing hardball over shoplifting. | In Weekend Reads, we explore the popularity of cubing, celebrate Madonna at 60 and find retailers playing hardball over shoplifting. |
| We’ve got some good news for you, too, like free tuition at N.Y.U.’s medical school. | We’ve got some good news for you, too, like free tuition at N.Y.U.’s medical school. |
| And hundreds of American newspapers published editorials defending the free press. Here’s ours. | And hundreds of American newspapers published editorials defending the free press. Here’s ours. |
| Have a great week! | Have a great week! |
| Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. | Your Weekend Briefing is published Sundays at 6 a.m. Eastern. |
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| Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. | Browse our full range of Times newsletters here. |
| What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com. | What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com. |