Your Wednesday Briefing

What you need to know today. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Wednesday, February 28, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( Europe Edition [Your Wednesday Briefing]( By PATRICK BOEHLER Good morning. Germany wrestles with diesel emissions, Jared Kushner loses his top-secret clearance and Europe shivers. Here's the news: Gordon Welters for The New York Times • A German court ruling has shaken the auto industry. It [ruled]( that cities can ban diesel-powered vehicles to tackle air pollution in cases that pitted environmentalists against carmakers. Our bureau chief [gauged reactions in]( the home of storied German car brands. “Economic history is littered with examples where protecting today’s jobs destroys tomorrow’s,” the city’s mayor said. In other climate news, Kenya’s soon-to-be-first coal power plant [embodies a contradiction of Chinese climate leadership]( Cutting coal use at home while promoting it abroad. _____ Neil Hall/European Pressphoto Agency • Snow and subzero temperatures [caused several deaths]( and led to traffic disruptions and school closings across much of Europe. And it's not over yet. [Here’s some]( advice]( on how to best get through such cold days. (Just remember that soon you may find yourself craving warm mugs and thick sweaters again.) _____ Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times • Italians will vote in pivotal national elections on Sunday, but nearly 30 percent of voters remain undecided. The unpredictability of the outcome has enhanced the chances that the result could generate financial tumult and threaten a fresh shock for Europe. The root of widespread voter apathy, [our economics correspondent reports from the southern city of Taranto]( is that many local companies have been growing without hiring. What jobs have been created are largely temporary and part time. _____ Doug Mills/The New York Times • Jared Kushner, the U.S. president’s adviser and son-in-law, has been [stripped of his top-secret security clearance]( at the White House. (Now he’s privy only to more ordinary secrets.) The move was part of an overhaul by the [embattled chief of staff, John Kelly](. Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told lawmakers that her work [occasionally required her to say falsehoods]( but that she had not lied in relation to the Russia inquiry. A top cyberintelligence official acknowledged that [the White House had not asked his agencies]( to find ways to counter the Kremlin. “Clearly what we have done hasn’t been enough,” he said. Separately, the Feb. 14 school massacre in Florida [has thrust gun rights into the midterm election campaigns](. Protests against the gun lobby [have coalesced into a powerful movement](. _____ Bassam Khabieh/Reuters • North Korea has been shipping supplies to the Syrian government [that could be used in the production of chemical weapons]( according to an unreleased report by U.N. experts. It cites years of North Korean shipments of necessary components to Syria and the presence of the North’s technicians at Syrian chemical weapons facilities. Fighting persisted in [eastern Ghouta, above, a rebel-held enclave near Damascus]( despite a Russian declaration of a cease-fire. Business Doug Chayka • Amazon [acquired a maker of doorbells and cameras]( amid its push into the smart-home market. (Smart cameras create intriguing and sometimes eerie possibilities, [our tech columnist writes]( • China’s takeover of Anbang, one of its biggest global spenders, [threatens to bring overseas acquisitions]( to a near stop. • Comcast bid [$31 billion for the British satellite broadcaster Sky]( complicating Disney’s [$52 billion plan]( to buy a significant portion of 21st Century Fox. • Meet Francesca Bellettini, the Italian who propelled Kering’s French fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent [into the billion-euro club](. • Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • With China scrapping term limits, President Xi Jinping has new authority to pursue his drive to make the country a dominant global power. Chinese analysts see the risk of a new Cold War. [[The New York Times]( • The Slovak police are [looking into possible foreign links]( in the murder of the journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend. His recent work focused on the Italian crime syndicate ‘Ndrangheta. [[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project]( • A Czech court ordered the release of Salih Muslim, a senior Kurdish official, despite an extradition request from Turkey, which wanted to try him as a terrorist. [[The New York Times]( • Saudi Arabia reshuffled its military and security leadership in the latest shake-up propelled by the ascendancy of the crown prince. A woman was appointed deputy labor minister. [[The New York Times]( • Macedonia’s government proposed four new names for the country in a major overture to settle its long-running name dispute with Greece. There were [also protests](. [[Politico]( • A court in Egypt has sentenced Sherine Abdel-Wahab, a famous singer, to six months in prison after she suggested in a video that the Nile is polluted. She remains free on bail and can appeal. [[Associated Press]( • One of the best strikers in Spanish soccer history has died. Enrique Castro, better known as Quini, was 68. [[Reuters]( • Many in Taiwan were in panic over a shortage of one of modern life’s basic necessities: toilet paper. Forest fires in Canada and production problems in Brazil have disrupted supply. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life. Justin Tallis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images • A shopping ban can help you reassess [what you really need](. • Bless you if you [sneeze into your elbow](. It’s far preferable to using your hands to avoid spreading germs. • Recipe of the day: Fresh paprika makes for a superlative [chicken paprikash](. (Sweet or hot Hungarian paprika is best.) Noteworthy The New York Times • A former problematic dude is [asking men to honor the #MeToo movement]( by taking a public vow to honor affirmative consent. • It took a dance dream team to transform Jennifer Lawrence, the actress, [into a credible ballet dancer]( — a Bolshoi prima, no less — for her role in the dark spy thriller “Red Sparrow.” • In London, a collaborative exhibition by Virgil Abloh, the American designer, and Takashi Murakami, the Japanese fine artist, has attracted an [unusual crowd that includes sneakerheads and blue-chip art collectors](. • Our reporter found that scientists love to study dogs, but often [ignore cats](. (He shares their bias.) Back Story Associated Press [Our recent obituary for the Rev. Billy Graham]( referred to the Scopes “monkey trial,” so we thought we’d revisit the case. It was a turning point in the acceptance of evolution in the U.S. In 1925, after Tennessee barred schools from teaching evolution, the American Civil Liberties Union offered to defend anyone who [challenged the law](. Residents of the town of Dayton convinced a young teacher named John Scopes to do so, in a bid for publicity. They got it. The proceedings became a nationally watched showdown between science and religion, each represented by a prominent figure: Clarence Darrow, a lawyer and agnostic, defended Scopes; William Jennings Bryan, a Christian orator, prosecuted him. Dayton officials encouraged the spectacle. They considered moving the trial to a baseball field. [A barbecue pit was dug]( in the courthouse’s lawn. And [The Times described a display]( of “two chimpanzees and a strange-appearing man who is called the ‘missing link.’ ” In [the trial’s climactic moment]( Darrow called Bryan as a witness, grilling him on biblical literalism. Darrow declared that he wanted to keep “bigots and ignoramuses from controlling” education. Bryan retorted that he needed to protect religion from the country’s “greatest atheist and agnostic.” In the end, Scopes was convicted after eight minutes of jury debate and fined $100, a decision later overturned on a technicality. But it was Darrow’s impassioned critique of fundamentalism that won hearts and minds across the country. Jillian Rayfield contributed reporting. _____ Your Morning Briefing is published weekday mornings and updated online. [Check out this page]( to find a Morning Briefing for your region. (In addition to our European edition, we have Australian, Asian and U.S. editions.) [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights, and [here’s our full range of free newsletters](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [europebriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:europebriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Europe)). ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? 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