(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)
Good evening. Here’s the latest.
1. They have a deal.
House and Senate Republicans reached an agreement on a tax bill that keeps the party on track for final votes next week. President Trump delivered what was dubbed a closing argument for the bill from the White House, above.
The key provisions, as described by a senior Congressional aide: The corporate tax rate drops to 21 percent in 2018. Individuals can deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes. The corporate alternative minimum tax gets nixed. Here’s the latest from Capitol Hill.
_____
2. “We knew the world was looking at us.”
Black voters were crucial in the victory of Doug Jones, above, over Roy Moore to represent Alabama in the Senate. The share of African-American voters, including the man quoted above, was even higher than in 2008 and 2012.
Here’s how writers from across the political spectrum reacted to the outcome. And our colleagues at “The Daily” stayed up all night to bring you this discussion.
Continue reading the main story_____
3. No surprises from the Federal Reserve. It raised its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent.
Anyone with a credit card will see a small but instant jump in the interest rate, followed by borrowers with student and auto loans and, eventually, mortgage holders.
We profiled the outgoing Fed chair, Janet Yellen, above. The first woman to occupy that office, she is leaving with rock-star status.
_____
4. Chuck Schumer’s office filed a police report about a fraudulent document, set up to look like a court filing, that described the senator sexually harassing a staff member. The senator, above, and the supposed accuser confirmed that it was false.
Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, testified before a House Judiciary Committee. Republicans, seizing on revelations of an exchange of texts critical of Donald Trump between an F.B.I. agent and an F.B.I. lawyer, pressed their efforts to discredit the Mueller investigation.
Omarosa Manigault Newman, who went from “The Apprentice” to the White House, is leaving the administration in January.
_____
5. Los Angeles fire officials said that the Skirball fire, which burned through the wealthy neighborhood of Bel-Air last week, was started by a cooking fire at a homeless encampment. They have no expectation of finding those responsible.
The blaze almost reached the world-famous Getty art museum. But officials there maintained that there was no danger to the collection, including works by Vincent van Gogh. The billion-dollar complex was constructed to be highly fire resistant.
_____
6. Disney is closing in on the once-unthinkable purchase of most of Rupert Murdoch’s movie and television empire, 21st Century Fox. Above, Disney’s chief executive, Robert Iger.
The company is rushing to pivot from traditional TV into digital streaming services as the market changes. The $60 billion-plus deal could transform the entertainment world.
_____
7. “Fake news,” President Trump’s battle cry, is now in heavy rotation with autocrats and dictators from Venezuela to Cambodia.
In China, Russia, Turkey, Thailand and many other countries, leaders are using it to silence critics and thwart media scrutiny. For strongmen like President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, above, invoking “fake news” provides the leeway to ignore democratic norms.
_____
8. Today in #MeToo: Salma Hayek, above, details Harvey Weinstein’s crude advances and threats toward her — and how he tried to shut down “Frida,” the Oscar-winning biopic.
And four women accused the hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons of sexual harassment and assault. The allegations span from 1988 to 2014. He denies the claims.
Our gender editor, Jessica Bennett, answered questions from readers.
_____
9. The 2018 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are: Bon Jovi (above), the Cars, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues and Nina Simone. The gospel pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe will get an Award for Early Influence.
Bon Jovi won the Rock Hall’s fan poll, receiving more than a million public votes.
The ceremony will be held on April 14 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland; the show will be broadcast later by HBO and SiriusXM.
Market Snapshot View Full Overview
_____
10. Finally, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is garnering great reviews from critics.
The film “is expected to make more than $425 million by Sunday. You can tell they’re making a lot of money because today Yoda endorsed the Republican tax plan,” Jimmy Fallon joked.
It’s a good night to stay up late: NASA says the Geminids meteor shower, most visible between midnight and 4 a.m., will be the best all year. (And if it’s cloudy where you are, check out the live stream.) Above, a spectacular Perseid meteor shower in 2015.
Happy stargazing.
_____
The Evening Briefing by Email
Get a nightly rundown of the day's top stories delivered to your inbox every Monday through Friday.
Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.
And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays.
Want to catch up on past briefings? You can browse them here.
If photographs appear out of order, please download the updated New York Times app from iTunes or Google Play.
What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at briefing@nytimes.com.
Continue reading the main story