Tuesday, Oct 22, 2019 | View in browser

Supported by

Good morning.

We’re covering the results of Canada’s election, today’s Brexit showdown, and the start of the new N.B.A. season.

By Chris Stanford

Hungary’s leader shared criticism of Ukraine

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a fierce critic of Ukraine, met with President Trump in the Oval Office in May, days before Mr. Trump told his top advisers that Ukraine “tried to take me down” in the 2016 election.

Mr. Orban’s negative outlook on Ukraine was similar to the views of Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who spoke with Mr. Trump by phone around the same time.

Some White House officials had opposed Mr. Orban’s visit, including the national security adviser John Bolton. The episode came up last week during testimony to impeachment investigators, whose inquiry is focused on Mr. Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to look into his political rivals.

Related: House Democrats had hoped to hold an impeachment vote by Thanksgiving but are now planning to hold a series of hearings to sharpen their case, extending the process into December.

Explainer: Readers have asked why another country’s interference in a U.S. election is such a serious issue. Here are some answers.

Yesterday: Mr. Trump dismissed as “phony” the part of the Constitution that prohibits a president from profiting from a personal business while in office.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, at his election night headquarters in Montreal on Monday. Cole Burston/Getty Images

Justin Trudeau wins a second term

Canada’s prime minister overcame doubts as his Liberal Party kept enough seats in Monday’s election to allow him to form a government, although it will lose its majority.

Canada has prospered since Mr. Trudeau, 47, came to power in 2015, with unemployment at its lowest level in decades. But his re-election campaign was damaged by his efforts to influence a corporate corruption case and by questions about his authenticity.

What’s next: Mr. Trudeau is not expected to form a formal coalition, instead relying on the support of smaller parties on a vote-by-vote basis.

American military vehicles in the town of Tel Tamer, in northern Syria, over the weekend, after pulling out of their base. Delil Souleiman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

ISIS stands to gain from U.S. withdrawal

President Trump’s decision to pull American troops from northeastern Syria has greatly improved the prospects of the Islamic State, analysts say.

The militant group still has as many as 18,000 “members” in Iraq and Syria, according to Pentagon estimates, and although it’s unlikely to regain vast territory, ISIS remains a threat, particularly as an underground insurgency.

News analysis: The withdrawal from Syria reflects Mr. Trump’s conviction that bringing troops home — or at least moving them from hot spots — is more important than negotiating concessions, our chief White House correspondent writes.

The details: The president has promised to end what he calls “endless wars.” Here’s where the roughly 200,000 U.S. troops remain overseas.

Go deeper: A Times reporter was allowed inside a Syrian prison full of Islamic State detainees. “It’s fine,” a guard said. “Go ahead.”

A homeless encampment in San Francisco. Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Backlash against the homeless in California

San Francisco residents installed boulders on a sidewalk to deter people from sleeping there. Homeowners in Los Angeles used prickly plants.

Such measures represent a growing frustration with the homeless in a state with skyrocketing housing prices and a widening gap between rich and poor.

The details: San Jose counted 6,200 homeless people this year, up 42 percent from the last count two years ago. In Oakland, the figure climbed 47 percent.

Quotable: “Some people who I’d put in the fed-up category, they’re not bad people,” said the chief executive of a social services agency in Los Angeles. “They would describe themselves as left of center, and sometimes very left of center, but at some point they reach the breaking point.”

For you: Times reporters are taking a deeper look at the issues driving inequality in California, and we want to know your questions.

If you have 6 minutes, this is worth it

The cost of making water

Jamie McGregor Smith for The New York Times

Worldwide, desalinated seawater is increasingly seen as an answer to water shortages that will worsen with population growth and climate change.

Our reporter traveled to a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, pictured above, to learn more about the promise, and challenges, of the process.

PAID POST: A MESSAGE FROM LINCOLN FINANCIAL

Will you be able to maintain your lifestyle in retirement? An annuity can help you get protected growth on the way and reliable monthly income for life when you get there. Learn how to start a conversation.

Get Tools and Resources

Here’s what else is happening

Deal in opioid suit: Three major drug distributors and a manufacturer reached a $260 million settlement with two Ohio counties shortly before the first federal opioid trial was set to begin.

Brexit showdown: A vote set for today in Parliament is expected to indicate whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a shot at ratifying his plan to withdraw Britain from the European Union by Oct. 31, as he has promised.

Disinformation on Facebook: The company said it had removed four campaigns supported by Iran and Russia and announced new steps to reduce the spread of false information.

New mandate in Israel: Benny Gantz will be given the chance to become the country’s leader after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abandoned his efforts to form a government.

California power cuts: The state’s largest utility warned that hundreds of thousands of customers in Northern California would most likely lose electricity by Wednesday. It is the second such cut in two weeks to reduce wildfire risk.

Detlev van Ravenswaay/Science Source

Snapshot: Above, an artist’s rendering of a crater left by an asteroid about 66 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs. The event also acidified the oceans, resulting in a mass extinction of marine life as severe as that which occurred on land, according to a new study.

World Series preview: Game 1 between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals is tonight. Here’s what to expect.

N.B.A. season begins: Zion Williamson, arguably the most anticipated rookie since LeBron James, won’t play until at least December because of a knee injury. Here’s a look at the Eastern and Western conferences.

Late-night comedy: Senator Mitt Romney admitted that he was behind the “Pierre Delecto” Twitter account, which “sounds like an evil chef at Au Bon Pain,” Jimmy Fallon said.

What we’re reading: This account of how the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations unit receives America’s war dead, by The Record of North Jersey. Will Lamb, a Times editor, called it “an extraordinary and moving look at a sensitive mission that few of us get to see.”

Now, a break from the news

Craig Lee for The New York Times

Cook: You need only five ingredients for penne with roasted cherry tomatoes. (Our Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter has more recommendations.)

See: A revival of “Little Shop of Horrors,” at the Westside Theater in Manhattan, turns the genially gruesome classic into a sly morality tale. Read our review.

Watch: Noel Fielding went from Britain’s favorite goth to a beloved host of “The Great British Baking Show.” It’s been an adjustment.

Go: A blockbuster exhibit at the Louvre follows Leonardo da Vinci’s trajectory as an artist.

Smarter Living: Taking a vacation can be a great way for adult siblings to reconnect. Splitting up the planning encourages communication. And don’t be afraid to embrace solo side trips.

And our Social Q’s column tackles the tricky subject of dealing with an ex who interferes with family visits.

And now for the Back Story on …

Esperanto

Long before appearing in an errant presidential tweet about Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Esperanto was the name given to a language invented by a doctor in the late 1800s.

Its creator, L.L. Zamenhof, was from what is now Poland. He hoped that Esperanto would be adopted universally as a way to bridge international differences. If everyone spoke the same language, he reasoned, “education, ideals, convictions, aims, would be the same too, and all nations would be united in a common brotherhood.”

L.L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. Ullstein Bild, via Getty Images

Dr. Zamenhof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910, and Esperanto was later proposed as the official language of the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations.

Esperanto has a Latin-based alphabet of 28 letters and relatively simple grammar rules.

While no country recognizes it as an official language, Esperanto has recently experienced a surge of interest online, including on Duolingo, the language-learning app, and as an option on Google Translate.

As an Esperantist would say, “Bonan matenon!” (“Good morning!”)

A correction: Monday’s Morning Briefing misstated the circumstances of the new $450 million expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The first phase of construction began in February 2016, not four months ago. (The museum was closed for the past four months during the project’s final phase.)

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Chris

Thank you
Melina Delkic helped compile today’s briefing. Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. Chris wrote today’s Back Story. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.
• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is the second of a two-part series about the effort to extract detainees from northern Syria.
• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Slices of history (four letters). You can find all our puzzles here.
• Get to know the 21 reporters who are covering the 2020 election for The Times.